PLANK PROVISIONS
Hoppen Hierarchy:★★★
District: Downtown Omaha
Seafood with Oyster Bar
Perfect For: Lunch; Casual Dining; Happy Hour; Date Night
Standout Dishes: Lobster & Shrimp Roll; Baja Ceviche; Oysters
Anthony Hitchcock and Tony Gentile, two of the 4 founding members of the massive Omaha-based Flagship Restaurant Group, are avid fishermen who spend as much time as they can on the water. That’s part of the reason that their first restaurant, Blue Sushi & Sake Grill (opened in 2002), is seafood-based. But it wasn’t until 11 years later that they opened their restaurant all about the sea: Plank Provisions.
And given how much these guys care about the catch, it’s no surprise that Plank provides an excellent seafood experience, even in the middle of the country.
Plank works great fish partners that not only prioritize sustainability, but also deliver their product safely and quickly. That results in seafood that tastes incredibly fresh despite its great distance traveled.
That’s especially prevalent in Plank’s Oysters, one of the hallmarks of the restaurant. The oyster bar is front and center in the restaurant, the first thing you see when you enter the modern space. Sidle up to the counter and you can watch your oysters be shucked and prepared right in front of you.
On their own, the oysters are briny and salty with a consistency that allows them to slide right down the throat. They taste like they were pulled from the ocean 10 minutes ago, and Plank offers a sweet cocktail sauce, vinegar-based Crystal hot sauce, or a nasal-clearing horseradish to pair them with if you please.
The oysters are a great introduction to the menu because they’re seafood presented in its simplest form. But Plank, under the leadership of Flagship Culinary Director Ben Maides (the chef behind Au Courant) underwent a menu in early 2025, finding new ways to brilliantly pair the beautiful fish with complementary ingredients.
The Lobster & Shrimp Roll (pictured in the header photo) is the perfect example. The lobster is succulent and sweet, while the shrimp is mildly flavored and has a great snap. Plank accentuates them with a nutty brown butter vinaigrette and a buttered, toasted New England hot dog roll. The crustaceans are chopped rather finely, making the sandwich a bit difficult to eat, but the flavor is spot on.
Another sandwich that delivers on all the fish flavor is the Crispy Fish Sandwich. Mild, flaky Pacific Cod is hand-breaded and fried to a crispy consistency, and while the breading is pleasantly savory, it doesn’t overwhelm the flavor of the fish. Tartar sauce adds a creamy sour component.
All sandwiches comes with Plank Fries, which are an evolved version of the typical potato. These thick-cut spuds have a pronounced crunchy exterior and are greasy and sinful in all the right ways.
Of course, you don’t have to get the fish between buns at Plank. Plank offers simply prepared by excellent versions of seafood like the Faroe Island Salmon or the Blackened Mississippi Catfish. There are also a number of fried preparations such as Fish & Chips and Fried Catfish, Shrimp, and Oysters.
To truly experience the freshness of the fish itself, go for one of the raw preparations. The Baja Ceviche features a raw redfish that’s delightfully sweet and mild, accented by the leche de tigre marinade that adds a serious acidic punch. Creamy avocado and crunchy onions round out the dish as you load it all onto a crunchy tostada.
As strong as the seafood is, you don’t have to order something from the ocean to have a good meal at Plank. There are salads, starters, and sandwiches that feature the bounty of the land rather than that of the sea.
The Brussels Sprouts are a great way to start of the meal, as the sprouts as fried to give them crispy leaves but maintain their meat-like chew. The ancho-chile honey glaze is on the sweet side.
And while Plank’s calling card is fish, the chefs here can cook a very fine steak. A great example is the Flat Iron Steak: juicy, rich, and buttery, the steak is better than you’ll find at many steakhouses around town.
The cocktails at Plank are solid versions of what you expect without bringing a true “wow” factor. The Port Old Fashioned, for example, has that nice rich whiskey flavor, but the muskiness of the port and the sweetness of the rum distract a bit from what makes an Old Fashioned great.
Plank does what many on the coasts would deem to be a fool’s errand: it serves fresh fish in the middle of America, and does so in creative ways that highlight the beauty of the seafood rather than mask it. It might not serve the best seafood in Omaha, but if you’re in the mood for fish and wanted to taste it showcased in creative ways… well, there’s a reason this restaurant has been around so long, and Plank isn’t going anywhere soon.