Best Steak in Omaha: Classic Steakhouses and Old Market

The best steak in Omaha comes with a long history. The city grew beside the stockyards, and its steakhouses still carry the swagger of a town that once fed the country. Three old classics are mentioned on local lists, and others sit in the brick lanes of the Old Market.

Choose the cut by the room: a strip has bite and flavor, and a ribeye has more fat. Prime rib is a slow roasted rib roast sliced to order.

What is the best steak in Omaha?

The honest answer depends on the cut and the room. A strip steak has bite and flavor. A ribeye is richer and fattier. A filet is tender and mild. Prime rib, roasted slowly and carved to order, is a classic that many Omaha kitchens do well.

Judge a steak by its crust, its temperature and its seasoning. A good kitchen sears the outside hard and leaves the center the color you asked for. Ask for the steak medium rare if you are not sure, since overcooking is the most common way to ruin a good cut.

Omaha steakhouses also tend to serve the full meal in the old style. Expect a relish tray or a salad before the steak, a baked potato or fries on the side and a slab of cake or pie to finish. The meal is meant to be a long, comfortable evening, and the pace reflects that.

Which Omaha steakhouses are the classics?

Omaha's classics come in three kinds: a long-running room known for prime rib and onion rings, a Midtown steakhouse with a reputation that reaches well beyond Nebraska and an Italian-style steakhouse near the Old Market. Check what each serves before you plan around it.

Opinions change, so ask locals which room they prefer this year. A fair way to compare is to order the same thing at two rooms, such as a strip steak medium rare with a baked potato, and let the difference in the crust and the seasoning make the case.

What is the Old Market Omaha dining scene like?

The Old Market is Omaha's historic entertainment district, a grid of cobblestone streets and converted warehouses. Old Market Omaha restaurants include Omaha Prime, Sullivan's Steakhouse and the regional chain 801 Chophouse, which appear on a current OpenTable list. The rooms are polished and the service is formal.

Come for a special dinner, and book ahead on weekends. After dinner, walk the streets to browse shops and galleries. The district is also a good place for a drink before or after a meal.

How does Omaha prime rib compare?

Omaha prime rib is a slow roasted rib roast, sliced thick and served with au jus and horseradish. It differs from a seared steak in that the meat is tender all the way through, and the edges are crusted with seasoning. Many diners treat it as a weekend special.

The long-running room is the one most often named for prime rib. Order it with a baked potato and a side salad, and ask about the cut sizes before you decide.

Where does a Nebraska runza fit in?

A runza is a yeast dough pocket stuffed with beef, cabbage and onion. It is a Nebraska classic, and it came from Volga German settlers who brought the bierock to the Plains.

A Nebraska runza makes a good lunch before a steak dinner, or a cheap meal between big dinners. The pocket is hearty and savory, and it comes with fries. If you want one on the road, look for the chain's sign.

What should you know before you order?

Make a reservation for popular rooms, and arrive on time. Ask your server for the cut they recommend and how thick it is. If you are splitting a steak, order a second side to share. Add a simple salad, since the richness of steak asks for something fresh.

Bring an appetite and plan for leftovers. If the steakhouse offers a smaller cut at lunch, take it, since many of the classic rooms serve the same kitchen at a gentler size in the middle of the day. Omaha portions are generous, and a doggie bag of steak makes a fine sandwich the next day.

What else should you eat around Nebraska?

For a road trip beyond Omaha, read food worth a drive in Nebraska. The Great Plains regional foods guide follows the runza back to its roots, and the South Dakota kuchen and comfort food guide heads north. The US guides page lists more.

How can Mosey help with steak in Omaha?

Top 3 in the Mosey app keeps up to three ranked places per category in a city, built from questions about places you have actually eaten at, one at a time. After a few steak dinners in Omaha you will have your own order, and rating each cut by the dish keeps the notes honest.

A steak dinner is a memory, and memories fade. Download the Mosey app, rate each steak by its crust, its doneness and its sides, and build an Omaha list that tells you where to celebrate next time.