WILSON & WASHBURN

Hoppen Hierarchy:★★★

Scratch Kitchen Pub w/ Craft Beer

Perfect For: Lunch; Casual Dining; Drinks

Standout Dishes: Smoked Wings; Scotch Egg; Reuben

When Wilson & Washburn opened in 2013, owner Jeff Luby noticed a gap in the downtown bar scene. There were essentially two buckets: dive bars serving cheap national beers, or high-end cocktail lounges. There wasn’t that in between space where someone could stop in, have a craft beer, and just unwind for an hour or two.

So Jeff set out to create that third space, and even though there are more high-end bars in downtown Omaha now, Wilson & Washburn continues to stand out.

And a lot of it has to do with the food. Because typical pub fare this is not.

Like so much of Wilson & Washburn, the menu appears simple and pretty straightforward: it’s burgers, sandwiches, fish & chips, and the type of plates you’d expect to find at a pub. But there are tweaks in every offering that make the dish serve as more than it seems to be, and that’s a theme that runs through the restaurant.

The restaurant, named after a pair of Omaha brothel owners in the early 1900s, is relatively understated from the outside. But once you step in the doors you find a bright bar with 24 craft and import beers on tap alongside a wide selections of wines, whiskeys, and cordials. The space feels like a trip back to the 20th century, as brick walls and an abundance of wood give it a rustic feel.

The highlight of the menu is the Smoked Buffalo Wings, which don’t commonly come up in the “best in Omaha” discussion but deserve to. The wings are par-cooked in the smoker, then fried to order. That process gives them an underlying smokiness to go with a tender, meaty bite.

The exterior isn’t super crispy, but it does have a pleasant pull, almost as if you’re eating a BBQ rib. The buffalo sauce adds a mellow, buttery heat, and you can ask W&W to charbuff the wings, or finish them on the grill. Doing so enhances the smoky flavor and adds nice char pockets.

They’re simple and straightforward, but cooked to order and executed at a high level. That’s what you can expect from most of the menu at Wilson & Washburn.

It’s certainly how one would describe the Scotch Egg, a European snack that needs to be on more Omaha menus. The idea of a soft-boiled egg encased in sausage and deep-fried might sound wild, but once you try it, you understand why it’s so popular across the pond.

And few in Omaha execute the dish as well as Wilson & Washburn. The yolk is firm and could use a little more run to it, but it has a pleasant jammy consistency. The sausage is rich and deeply savory, and the breading gives a great crispy texture.

The finish is untraditional, however; W&W plates the golden orb atop greens dressed with a stoneground mustard vinaigrette, which brings some vinegary tang to cut through the richness of the dish. It’s a welcome addition, and a peak into W&W’s ethos to put their twist on pub food.

The Reuben is the perfect example of this. All the familiar elements are present: smoked corned beef, Swiss, rye bread, and sauerkraut. But instead of 1000 Island dressing, W&W subs in a beet horseradish dressing, which adds a sharp, earthy element to the sandwich. It’s one of Omaha’s more creative takes on the Reuben, and the corned beef has nice caramelization and smokiness.

Speaking of beets, they show up again in maybe W&W’s most iconic dish: Beet Chips. The beets are shaved super thin, so while they still have a nice crisp, they melt in your mouth after a few seconds. The earthy, sweet flavor of the beet, along with tangy malt vinegar and salt, coats your tongue in a wonderful way. These are dangerously addicting.

Not all of the twists are as successful as others. While I like the heat that the shisito peppers bring to the Philly, the meat is a bit tough and overcooked. It has a nice savory flavor, but it fights back more than it does on most Omaha cheesesteaks.

And the Lemon Pepper Broccoli is surprisingly bland for the bold spice it employs. The broccoli is cooked to a nice tenderness and bites with more of the seasoning bring a punch, but it’s a bit muted.

To this writer, the menu item that might sum up W&W the best is one you’d never expect at a pub: the Cuban. Both proteins (smoky pulled pork and thick-cut ham) are executed well, and the in-house pickles and onions (nice addition) added a sharp, acidic bite. The bread could be toasted more, but it’s at least buttered and pressed; you can see that the effort is there.

Is it Omaha’s best Cubano? Not by a long shot. But it’s a really tasty, well-executed sandwich that would please any day of the week.

That’s what W&W does. It’s not gourmet food, but pub dishes crafted with care and a little wink of the imagination. Call it a bar, call it a restaurant, whatever you like. I just know I’ve enjoyed every meal I’ve had here, and I think you will, too.