Local (Beer, Patio, & Kitchen) – Omaha, NE

While in Omaha, some beer-loving friends of ours read about a new highly-rated restaurant that specialized in local beers. It Is called “Local”, which led to some three stooges-level humor when trying to text everyone where we were going for lunch. We found it pretty easily and went inside to check it out.

They do, indeed, have a great selection of beers from Nebraska, so I got a Zipline Nut Brown Ale. I was immediately drawn to the poutine, so we got an order of that for our table. D.Rough got the meatloaf and I got the Local burger with pepperjack, bacon, and an egg. And of course tots with buffalo sauce – don’t ask, it’s just my new thing.

The poutine arrived and was just alright. I’ve had better and I’ve had worse. The gravy wasn’t fantastic, so maybe that was it, but the fries were cooked nicely, so that helped redeem it. I always say there could be more cheese curds in it, but there were a portion-appropriate amount in here, in all honesty. It was fine, just not rave-worthy.

D.Rough was meh about her meatloaf. It was fine, but nothing ground-breaking.

The burger was actually pretty good though. It was nice and juicy and just barely pink – perfect. The toppings were nice and sloppy and the egg got on everything, but that’s what you want when you order something with an egg. It was really filling and large, as well. The tots were fine, and the buffalo sauce was weird. Not bad weird, just weird. I’m still glad I did the tots over the fries, though. I feel it was worth it, even with the confusion about the side of buffalo sauce.

I think this place will do just fine, but I don’t know if it qualifies for any sort of “best new restaurant in Omaha” sort of article, however. Again, go for the beer selection and the burger. You won’t be disappointed. The servers were all very friendly and competent, so it isn’t like you’re going to be sitting there for a few hours. 

Top 5 things about Local

1. Local burger

2. Beer selection and the way they’ve categorized and described beers is fantastic

3. Friendly staff

4. They have a parking lot downtown

5. Huge outdoor patio

Bottom 5 things

1. Confusing name

2. Meatloaf was meh

3. Poutine was meh

4. Weird that the beer pairings listed so many beers for each item

5. I’m not sure anyone in our group was astounded by the food there

www.localbeer.co