SAND POINT

Hoppen Hierarchy:★★★

Lobster Rolls & Seafood Dishes

Standout Dishes: Lobster Roll; Beef Tips w/ Truffled Corn Sauce

Jonathan Taylor has incredible memories of visiting his family’s cabin in Bar Harbor, Maine, and he’s passionate about giving Omaha a taste of some of the food he so dearly remembers. Sand Point is his attempt to help Omaha diners make that connection.

While these dishes might not quite transport your tastebuds to a wooden pier off a Maine harbor, they do create a vacation vibe and offer a different seafood dining experience than you’ll find elsewhere in Omaha.

Jonathan was already serving a piece of his childhood through Three Kids Lobster, his food truck offering lobster rolls, clam strips, and steamed mussels. But the brick and mortar location, located just off 114th and Dodge, allows him to present plated dishes and a level of hospitality the food truck just can’t.

With a sun-splashed dining area and slatted wood walls, you very much get that “seaside cottage” atmosphere, which puts you in the mood for some great seafood. And the staff are more than happy to provide great service, to the point where they might hover a tad much.

Given Jonathan’s years of experience with the sandwich, it’s no surprise the Lobster Roll is a clear standout. Sand Point offers Maine (cold) and Connecticut (warm) lobster rolls, but the former is what Jonathan connects with more closely and is his speciality.

The claw and knuckle meat is succulent and slightly sweet, and it’s dressed with a light application of mayo to bring creaminess and tang. A generous portion is stuffed into a buttered, toasted top split roll, before a drizzle of brown butter completes the sandwich off with a nutty finish.

Outside of the special that occasionally graces Block 16‘s menu, this is the best lobster roll you’ll find in Omaha.

It’s not the only solid sandwich on Sand Point’s menu, however. The Crab Cake Sandwich is impressive too, and it all starts with the meteor-sized patty. Large as it is, it has little breadcrumbs and filler, as the dominant flavor is that brilliant sweet, briny taste of the crab itself. There’s a bit of citrusy lemon and a touch of Old Bay flavor present as well, and the cake is fried to give it a nice crust. It’s a delicious crab cake, and combining it with a buttery brioche bun and a light application of roasted red pepper aioli makes for a delicious sandwich.

The Seared Tuna Sandwich starts with mild, meaty ahi tuna, and there’s plenty of it. It’s seared to achieve a crispy crust. Avocado and aioli add some welcome fat and creaminess, but the sweetness of the buttery brioche bun is really what ties this all together. The cut of the tuna and sliced avocado make it a bit clumsy to eat, but that’s a minor complaint.

That same delicately sweet tuna shows up again in the Ahi Tuna Bruschetta, this time perched upon a toasty crostini with a kick from horseradish aioli. A drizzle of bright balsamic glaze adds a nice sweet touch.

The Lobster Arancini, with creamy risotto centers and crispy exteriors, are a great use of contrasting textures. There’s a good-sized lump of lobster inside, though having just one chunk made it more difficult to eat than if it were dispersed throughout.

Surprisingly, one of the restaurant’s best bites comes from the land rather than the sea. The Beef Tips with Truffled Corn Sauce makes great use of cooking, sauces, and plating to construct a dish that could well be featured on a steakhouse menu.

It starts with large hunks of Angus beef, with heavy marbling to give them a rich buttery flavor and excellent tenderness. They’re placed atop a truffled corn sauce, which is all at once creamy, sweet, and earthy.

But it’s the finish of demi glace that pulls the dish together, adding a richness that further pulls out the beefy, savory flavor of the excellently-cooked beef.

While the lunch menu mostly sticks to sandwiches, apps, soups, and salads, the dinner menu is more expansive, with steaks, pot pies, risotto, and, of course, several different fish dishes.

The sides aren’t as successful as some of the mains. The Lobster Bisque, while warm and with a buttery richness, isn’t as creamy as most versions of the dish, and it could use more chunks of the titular lobster.

The Roasted Rainbow Carrots are cooked to a pleasant tenderness, but they’re pretty mild on flavor. And the portion size is appalling; to get about 6 bites of carrot for $4 is quite steep.

Price definitely factors into the evaluation at Sand Point. With sandwiches ranging between $20-25 and entrees $30-48, your bill can add up quickly, even before drinks. Overall, the portions aren’t as large as you’ll find at some restaurants and are a bit more expensive. This is mostly due to the ingredients (lobster and crab ain’t cheap, especially at this quality), but it’s important to know what to expect going in.

Price aside, Sand Point brings a fresh, much-needed perspective to Omaha. The city doesn’t have any other restaurants focused specifically on North Eastern fare, and many of the dishes here are completely unique in this locale. Good luck finding a lobster roll or crab cake sandwich of this quality elsewhere in the city.

What Sand Point brings is an elevated take on seafood in a casual environment. It’s not easy to serve fresh-tasting fish in the middle of the country, and Sand Point’s seafood tastes very clean. It’s cooked well and presenting in interesting ways, and the menu is large enough to provide a different experience each time you visit.

The price point prevents Salt Point from being a restaurant most can visit often, but it’s worthy of being a “special occasion” restaurant.