THE GREEN GATEAU
Hoppen Hierarchy:★★★
District: Lincoln
European-Inspired Bistro with Standout Brunch
Perfect For: Breakfast/Brunch; Lunch; Casual Dining; Drinks
Standout Dishes: Potato Pancake; Eggs Benedict; Chef’s Breakfast
To properly introduce The Green Gateau, allow me to use a personal story.
At the recommendations of several friends, I purchased my wife’s wedding ring from Nebraska Diamond, which is located in downtown Lincoln. We both lived in Omaha at the time, so we had to make several trips down back to pick out my wedding band and get our rings re-sized and cleaned.
But we didn’t view these trips as a hassle. Because we knew, every time, a trip to Lincoln came with a visit to The Green Gateau.
A downtown hub for more than 25 years, The Green Gateau isn’t strictly a breakfast joint. In fact, it only serves brunch on the weekends, opting for a lunch and dinner only schedule during the week. But the amazing dishes they serve on the weekends are enough to make the restaurant stand out despite limited availability.
The long, narrow restaurant is designed with inspiration from European country inns. The atmosphere is warm and friendly, and there’s a French influence present throughout. Just about everything on the menu is tantalizing, ranging from appetizers like the fried calamari and various lavoshes, to delicious twists on American classics such as steak and eggs, a pancake sandwich with bacon and eggs, customizable mac and cheese dishes and a croque madame.
Though I’ve tried a number of dishes, I can’t stay away from the multiple versions of The Hash (the featured image for this post). Quartered, grilled red potatoes are topped with sautéed peppers and onions and one of three meats: corned beef, duck sausage or steak. The traditional corned beef is salty, fatty and brilliant, but I opted for the duck on my most recent trip (pictured at the top of this post). The sausage is absolutely fantastic, crispy and cooked to perfection. It plays well with the tender tomatoes and the sweetness of the sautéed vegetables. The creamy yolk of the two eggs, which can be ordered any style (I went over easy), almost provides a sauce that brings the whole dish together.
The Chef’s Breakfast is ridiculously delicious as well. Green Gateau stuffs scrambled eggs and diced ham inside a croissant. The menu claims it contains two eggs, but I can’t believe that. The egg cascades past the dough’s edges. It’s soft and perfectly cooked, and the ham provides a salty protein. The croissant is flaky and infuses each bite with that desired burst of butter. It’s soft, yet strong enough to hold the sandwich together.
Tasty as the entree is, the side dish is the star. Green Gateau’s Potato Pancake combines hash browns with pancake batter to create a tremendous pairing of sweet and savory. The crispy hash browns receive a hint of sugar from the pancake batter, which fuses the offering together. The portions are massive, and it’s honestly one of the best breakfast items I’ve ever eaten.
Eggs Benedict is a wonderful dish on its own, but GG takes its offerings to the next level. Two English muffins are topped with poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce and crab cakes , salmon, shrimp or sirloin tips. The salmon and shrimp options are both delicious, but the best version adds lobster to the mix. GG combines tender, buttery hunks of lobster claws with this classic. The creamy, fatty Hollandaise is actually a bit much, but the eggs are cooked to perfection. These dishes is incredibly rich, sometimes toeing the line between being too much so, but as long as you’re in for some extra time on the treadmill, they’re worth it.
The Shrimp and Grits are a wonderful delicacy. The savory grits are thicker than the traditional offering, presented as more of a puck than a bed of soupy ground maize. This version manages to retain the creamy texture of normal grits, which is perfect when sampled with the enormous, succulent shrimp and rich duck eggs.
Then there are the Huevos Rancheros, which feature a spectacular and slightly spicy green pork chili along with two eggs (any style) atop a grilled tortilla. Literally everything on GG’s menu sounds incredible, making it very difficult to order the same thing twice.
I advise saving plenty of room for the entrees, which are large enough to handle most appetites. But if you’re particularly hungry or can spare the stomach space, go for one of The Green Gateau’s delicious appetizers, including five different lavoshes. Served on a crispy cracker crust with mozzarella cheese, all of the offerings sound delicious, but I can confirm the Rib Tips Lavosh is truly decadent. Adorned with salty, smoked rib tips, chicken, prosciutto, sliced tomato and sun-dried tomato pesto, it’s nearly impossible to stop reaching for more bites of this delectable appetizer.
Also excellent are the Coconut Shrimp Lollipops. A fried shrimp is stretched out on a skewer and served with a delicious, sweet mango salsa. These crispy crustaceans are the perfect start to a meal.
My one complaint about this appetizer extends to much of the menu—it’s very expensive. These four shrimp run you $11. The hash and Eggs Benedict were both north of $15, a common theme on the menu. The portion size and awesome flavors help justify the lofty bill, but paying $60 for brunch (after tip) feels pretty exorbitant.
That’s basically where my gripes with The Green Gateau end, however. The vast menu allows diners to try something new and delicious any time if they please. The service is friendly and helpful, and food arrives quickly at the table. Every experience I’ve had at The Green Gateau has been a memorable experience.
I think it’s about time to go get our rings cleaned again…