It’s that time of year again: annual food lists are back. Honestly, I always enjoy digging around my own archive, remembering what I enjoyed (and sometimes what I didn’t) and realizing which restaurants, in my real life, I have visited again and again. Favorites change. 

This year, I’m trying something new: taking a look back at the last five years – just before the beginning of COVID times – to find the five best restaurants that have opened in Omaha since Jan. 1, 2020. The resulting list, I think, is a good indication of where Omaha is headed in post-pandemic dining. Lots of new. Lots of good. More chef-driven food in west Omaha. At least two “firsts.” We have plenty to look forward to, even as we take a look back.

Dumpling Empire (2024)

I have been waxing poetic about the soup dumplings at Dumpling Empire since my glowing review earlier this fall. As far as I know, Dumpling Empire is the first spot in Omaha to serve soup dumplings. And it really is that good — good enough that I have recommended it to many friends and strangers and good enough to be on this list. If you have not yet been, the tri-color soup buns are a great place to begin. Served in a steam basket with green, white and orange wrappers, each one comes filled with a pork meatball and a small amount of steaming hot broth rich with umami and flavors of pork, ginger, garlic and soy. And though, for me, the dumplings are the star of the show, there’s more to love, including the hand-pulled chili oil noodles, with tender handmade noodles twirled among crisp-tender bok choi and chili peppers. Never eaten a soup dumpling? Read my full review; I’ll tell you how.

5413 S. 72nd St., Ralston, 531-867-3929
dumplingempireralston.kwickmenu.com/

Dolomiti Pizzeria & Enoteca (2023)

Almost right after it opened in May 2023, Dolomiti pushed its way into any legit conversation about the best pizza in this city. Dolomiti’s chef, Roberto Garcia, is the primary reason. He’s made a menu, under the guidance of co-owner Tim Maides, that features pizzas with unusual topping combinations. He’s cooking pizzas that star a crust that’s craggy and crisp, with dark bubbles and burnt bits, its finish airy and chewy, its flavor deep. He’s also making an absolutely killer mortadella sandwich, as my Flatwater review notes. The homemade Italian lunch meat, gets paired with a spread of verdant house-made pesto and a bit of homemade ricotta, all of it sandwiched inside a pillowy, folded half circle of housemade bread.  On the side is a bright, acidic arugula salad, complete with lacto-fermented farro, that proves to be far more than an afterthought.  

That thoughtfulness runs through Dolomiti, and it’s what put it on this list.  

1105 N. 13th St., inside Millwork Commons, 531-375-5111
www.pizzadolomiti.com/

Salted Edge (2023)

For a few weeks in 2023, the Salted Edge bread board absolutely owned my social media accounts. Every time I opened Facebook, there it was. I actively avoided reading more about it online, or looking it up on the restaurant’s menu, because I wanted a clear head when I first encountered it. And here’s what my first and subsequent bread board encounters taught me:  It is indeed quite good. The house-made sweet and savory breads get paired with compound butters to match each flavor profile. It’s simple in its inventiveness and changes all the time. 

And it’s only one of the top-notch dishes coming out of chef Joel Hassanali’s kitchen. The menu is long and broad, and a handful of menu items  stand out, particularly those inspired by Hassanali’s background — he is from Trinidad, and grew up in the Caribbean where his parents ran a restaurant. 

One example: Locally raised Plum Creek chicken is listed on the menu as “chef spiced,” and that’s because Hassanali uses his own spice blend, which starts with palm sugar and includes a dozen more ingredients, including cumin and curry. Another: The Vadouvan roasted cauliflower (now just listed as “roasted cauliflower” on the menu) is rich and warmly-spiced. And there’s more to like, including a colossal shrimp cocktail and an excellent burger. As Omaha grows up and out, the western edge of the city can and should expect more chef-driven spots like this one to take root. 

110 S. 243rd St., Waterloo, NE, 402-625-3343
www.salted-edge.com/

Koji (2022)

When Koji opened in the spring of 2022 I wrote that it felt like a gift. Chef and owner David Utterback had already leveled up our city’s game once with Yoshitomo, his now nationally renowned Benson sushi spot. He did it again in 2022, introducing a whole new food category to Omaha: yakitori. Koji has become one of our favorite spots in the past two years – especially when we’re lucky enough to snag a coveted spot at the sushi bar. Book a reservation early at Koji, or prepare to eat early or late. The wildly popular restaurant’s yakitori program — yakitori translates from Japanese as “grilled bird” — focuses on chicken and stars chicken thigh, wing and breast done as meatballs and with curry. There are also more obscure cuts, like chicken heart, skin, oysters and belly. As the program has grown, and the restaurant has become more popular, the specialty cuts list has gotten bigger. 

Pro tip: If they’re available, don’t skip the chicken oysters, which have become my favorite, along with belly. The sushi menu, a sister of the menu at Yoshitomo, has also grown, as Utterback and chef Dylan Espinoza have added more small and medium-sized share plates and hand rolls. Two years on, Koji still feels like a gift, one that keeps on giving.  

8718 Pacific St., In Countryside Village, 531-721-2626
Izakayakoji.com

Committee Chophouse (2020)

When I sat down for dinner at the Committee Chophouse in the spring of 2021, it was the first time I had sat down to dine inside a restaurant for more than a year. Dining out, I wrote, felt “like an old friend I had deeply missed.” Glad that friend is back in our lives in full force, as this list illustrates. I still love the Committee’s singular blend of new school meets old school, and they’ve  refined it in the past four years. Since that review came out, I’ve celebrated New Year’s there twice, and will ring in 2025 there, too. That’s because it feels special and fun. The service is fantastic, friendly and not too formal. 

Since that review, the kitchen has beefed up (pun intended) the focus on the old-school, with a fantastic beef Wellington, served wrapped in puffed pastry with layers of prosciutto and duxelles, a paste of minced mushrooms, onions, herbs and black pepper sautéed in butter. It is rich. It is decadent. It is just what it should be. The beautifully executed baked Alaska is worth ordering, too, so save room. The Committee is the kind of place that has settled firmly into Omaha’s dining lexicon, just as we have settled firmly into its cozy dining room, lit with a warm glow. See you on New Year’s Eve, old friend.  

302 S. 36th St., inside the Cottonwood Hotel, 402-810-9500
www.thecommitteechophouse.com/

Five honorable mentions: