Chef and restaurateur Jose Dionicio’s Ika Ramen moved from the outskirts of Benson to the neighborhood’s heart and added a slate of new dishes to its menu of ramen, small bites, sushi, and shared plates, including a rotating list of creative bowls. A past special: a mashup of butternut squash soup and fried chicken ramen. Dionicio also partnered with bartender Alex Diimig, an alum of V. Mertz who also helped open the city’s first Tiki lounge, on a basement spot, Kaitei. It’s focused on sake, cocktails, and Japanese spirits. Both places are tiny, so expect a wait. To find Kaitei, look for the blue door inside the restaurant; there’s also an alley entrance.

Chef Benjamin Maides is behind the hottest ticket in Omaha at the moment with his European-influenced, locally focused, seasonal menu. The restaurant took over for a long-time Benson restaurant — Espana — cementing the neighborhood’s status as a new culinary destination. The six-course chef’s tasting menu is a reasonable $55.

Chef David Utterback is best known for his work at Omaha’s Blue Sushi as well as his series of underground omakase events. Yoshitomo — his first effort in Benson — serves creative versions of nigiri, sashimi, and maki, along with beer, wine, and sake, just down the street from a string of new Benson spots. Monthly omakase events take place in a private room at the front of the restaurant, and Utterback prepares special fish just for the evening.

“Farm to cone” is the theme at Coneflower, in the trendy Blackstone District. Brian Langbehn and Katie Arant make every single flavor, cone, and mix-in (including sprinkles) from scratch at the tiny shop. Additionally, Coneflower sources its milk from local dairies, its produce from local farms, and its coffee and beer infusions from local makers. Residents, in turn, line up even in the dead of winter for vegan or regular scoops and ice cream sandwiches made with house-baked cookies.  

Omaha’s only vegan coffee shop, Amateur makes the usual lineup of espresso-based coffee drinks with either oat milk or almond milk, and serves a wide array of vegan pastries from a few local bakeries with which it’s partnered. House-made vegan waffles come with or without chocolate chips, and the shop’s bags of beans, which change seasonally, are available in a small retail area. It also serves Omaha-made Artemis tea.

The latest bar to open in Blackstone, the Red Lion Lounge takes its name from the 1960s bar that once occupied this spot in the basement of the former Colonial Hotel. The rest of the building was developed into apartments, and Matt Carper, who also manages Stirnella, a restaurant down the street, has created a ’60s vibe with a menu of midcentury-appropriate drinks. There’s also a shortlist of wine and bar snacks.

Nebraska native Ellie Pegler spent time baking at New York’s Marea and Aquavit before returning to Omaha and opening Farine + Four, a new daytime restaurant and bakery just outside downtown. She serves scratch-made baguettes, muffins, croissants, cookies, and other baked goods, as well as bon bons, ice cream, espresso, and a daily sandwich special during lunch.

The latest take on the high-end Omaha steakhouse, Monarch Prime and Bar is part of a revamp of a classic downtown hotel. Situated in the lobby of Hotel Deco, the steakhouse serves craft cocktails and house-aged meats, including its signature 60-day aged wagyu tomahawk chop, the signature dish. The interior, sexy and dim in hues of purple and black, is punctuated by large floral murals decorated with dimensional butterflies, and a window where guests can see hanging beef aging.

Chef Paul Kulik, formerly of wine bar La Buvette and the wine-centric Boiler Room Restaurant, knows grapes and terroir. His new wine shop and bar, in the Old Market, focuses on his favorites, including more obscure offerings, along with select beer and liquors. Regular samplings take place in the tasting room, which is through a set of doors adjacent to the bar at his old market restaurant, Le Bouillon. He also hosts wine-focused pop-ups in the space, and a wine club lets oenophiles attend a release party each month.

Housed in a former Omaha Pizza Hut, Umami is the pet project of Keen Zheng, a 32-year-old New York transplant who worked his way through a stint of high-profile restaurants, including Manhattan’s four-star Sushi Nakazawa, before settling in Nebraska. Here, Zheng executes classic sushi with dramatic presentation to a regularly packed house. Omakase is coming soon, but for now, expect a unique selection of original rolls and hibachi grilled dishes.