Dolce

Dolce is THE place should you want an intimate, romantic date night.
Atmosphere:
What incredible ambiance. The décor combined with pleasant music makes it a pleasure to dine here. Come on Wednesday nights if you want to hear live music.
Service:
The staff are attentive while keeping their distance to allow for time to eat and converse with my companion. Their knowledge of the food is great, yet when they don’t know something they will ask the chef for answers.
Food:
Each dish I have tried is incredible. I rarely say that about a restaurant’s food, but it’s true. I had the cioppino pasta and it was wonderful. I even liked the cayenne pepper used in it and I don’t normally like spicy. The chef knows what he is about and how to make excellent dishes.
Bottom line:
If you want a place to come for a romantic dinner with your loved one, pick Dolce. You won’t regret it.
Of note, this is not the place for kiddies. Get a babysitter for this night out.

In a word: Intimate. Quality. Friendly. Attentive. Superb. I could tell you what we ate and the details about it. But judging by what we had, I can’t imagine anything on the menu being anything but excellent. The dining room is small, but not crowded. The tables are candlelit, and the conversation heard from others is barely more than a murmur. We ate from the left side of the menu, «Date Night», where the appetizer and dessert are shared. And even with sharing, we ended up completely stuffed. Dolce is a place where dining is leisurely, and the attention from the staff is impeccable and thorough, but never intrusive. Plan on about an hour and a half to enjoy all four courses. And leave the kiddies at home; this is grown-​up food.

Very good dining experience. Nice atmosphere. Great food. Pleasant service.

Dolce has redecorated and rolled out a new seasonal menu.
The food is still among the best meals we can get in Omaha.
The new décor has really made this a special atmosphere! Banquettes and new chairs have replaced the previous seating. When I first learned this was about to happen, I was willing to wait and see.
This new roll-​out has tweaked Dolce to a new updated space in which to enjoy some of the best food in Omaha.
I savored a dish of finitely sauted Opah with shaved rainbow carrots, bok choy and legumes with an orange sauce, served to the right proportions.
There are 2 sides to the menu. A date night side, chef tasting menu, and a regular side without all the courses. However you may make choices from both sides if you are not doing the «date night» nor chef’s tasting menu.
The wine menu is adequate, not the best available and on the pricey side.
I highly recommend checking Dolce out if you have not been there for a while. You will really enjoy the new décor.
If you have never been to Dolce, try it!

We stumbled upon this place through OpenTable, and the short and dolce of it is, this is a GREAT find. The staff is very attentive and creative (a member of our party asked for a mocktail, and our server came up with a delicious concoction). The food is tasty and fresh… from a pork chop, to duck, to the nightly crème brûlée (which was kahlua when we dined).
Overall a great, intimate experience. Such a nice find in an otherwise industrial part of town. Lots of parking and lots of different choices on the menu!

Don’t judge a book by its cover, or in the case of Dolce, don’t judge the quality of the restaurant by the fact that it’s in a strip mall. The food is outstanding, has nice atmosphere and you receive a fine dining experience where the cuisine is both creative and tasty. Very impressed and will be back again.

I was excited to try Dolce tonight for restaurant week and wow it did not disappoint! The place is small and basic but clean and nice enough. Our server was friendly… Drinks were great! The food though… Wonderful! Every single dish was plated beautifully… which I appreciate! My friend had the butternut squash soup and she was raving about it. She said slightly spicy. My pork belly had that slight crisp on the outside… melt in your mouth perfection. Best I’ve ever had. The shrimp and grits were ok but grits were bland. I’d order the wagyu flatiron steak instead, which was excellent. The almond parfait had a good flavor but «interesting» texture… I’d definitely go with the bread pudding for dessert instead. which was exactly how you want bread pudding to be! I’ll definitely be back. This would be a good date spot as it’s nice and intimate and unique.

Went to this restaurant on a recent trip to omaha and i am soooooooo glad to have found this little gem of a restaurant!
My friend and I had purchased the prefix dinner from groupon and it was a steal but even the regular price would have been worth it!
The chef knows what he is doing in the kitchen.. highlights of the night were the potatoes and mushroom purée soup … the lamb that was braised for hours it was tender and juicy and flavorful (not gamey at all) … the best entrée was the kobe beef sirloin … it was the best piece of steak i had tasted in a long time! But the finisher was the homemade bread pudding with vanilla bean ice cream… ohhh wow!
Plus their in house entertainment (guy playing guitar) had a smooth voice and easy on the eyes for sure!
If you live in omaha definitely check this place out! You won’t regret it!

This is the first time that I have been to Dolce. We went there to celebrate my 71^st birthday. If this restaurant had existed back in 70’s and 80’s in Boston or Chicago, it would have been in an converted old home of townhouse. It would also have had a dress code requiring men to ware a jacket and tie, woman to ware a dress or slacks. That would provide the proper atmosphere.
We had 5:30 PM reservations (I like to eat early.). When we got there, we were greeted by Heather who was both the hostess and our waiter. She was very pleasant and seated us immediately.
I had taken a LivingSocial deal for a Date Night meal. Heather told us the specials of the day, that we could substitute. I chose the swordfish special and my wife ordered the American Kobe Ragu. I asked Heather to suggest a wind that would go with both orders. She recommended an Angelina Pinot Noir 2014. It hit the spot. Everything we had was delicious and everything was served at the correct time. Too many times I go to a restaurant that serve you their schedule not yours, resulting with you having 2 courses on the table at the same time.
We will definitely be going back again. I’m looking forward to ordering from their «Five Course Chefs Tasting Menu».
To sum it up, the service, the food and the wine were of the highest standards and I would recommend it to everyone.

Chefs Anthony, Mike, Randy and Jared are putting out seriously good food at Dolce.
Tonight we had the sole special and some gnocchi for an app. Both were delicious.
The gnocchi has incredibly authentic Italian taste and texture. Soft, pillowy, perfect.
Anthony explained he is combining two varieties of potatoes to get this particular starch combination.
Our servers Skyler and Olivia also have great serving style. We enjoy them so much!
We love Dolce.

I’ll start with the bottom line, as the top line, and say: Head Chef Anthony Kueper has a menu worth checkin’ out — and Dolce is the bomb. Eat there, now!
I took my wife and 1-​year-​old son to Dolce recently for her birthday dinner this year. What the heck have we been missing out on?! I should have been coming here long ago.
The ownership has changed hands, and when it comes to the food, it’s for the Better (yes, Better with a CAPITAL B, baby!). While I enjoyed myself at the Dolce-​of-​old, it was never enough to bring me back. I thought it was, frankly, a tad overrated — though I did enjoy a cupcake here and there. The meatballs certainly didn’t live up to my Sicilian grandfather’s recipe — no one’s does — so it isn’t totally fair to hold that against her. Gina Sterns ran a tight ship. But I digress, I’ll leave the rest of my review to honor the fine group that made my wife’s birthday a real pleasure.
I had a Living Social certificate good for the chef’s 5-​course tasting menu. When my beautiful bride found out, she said, «You’re using a coupon for my birthday!?» I confidently replied, hoping my manly façade would give me a pass, «You betcha! Didn’t you marry me for my prudence, intelligence, and of course — great taste in food? Besides, it’s Dolce — I’ve been hearing great things!» And… It worked! Hope she’s not reading this…
Anyway, we had a reservation (Open Table made that part easy), and after running almost 10 minutes late, were seated immediately. We ordered a bottle of pinot noir — Angelina, which I must recommend — to enjoy with our dinner, and perused the 5-​Course menu (which is separate from the normal dinner menu, so be sure to ask for it if you’re interested!) There were two 5-​course options. We went the more «traditional» route. The other offering looked really good as well, but chocolate for dessert and duck for an appetizer shifted the balance. My wife opted for the same.
The first course came out in the hands of the chef himself. He was friendly, professional, and informed us about the dish — from the flavors involved, to the local sourcing of the ingredients. He also asked about our son. First impression: complete. Result: Wife and I were very impressed. He was running the kitchen, and the room? Wow. I can’t say I’ve experienced that before.
This was my son’s first opportunity to eat some fine dining food. It was absolutely awesome. He tried, and ate, EVERYTHING. He’s always been a great eater. But this experience was just hysterical. After every bite, he clapped. Joyous, happy clapping. Maybe I have a future foodie on my hands, here! He wanted some wine, too — but, sorry, buddy — maybe in 20 years, or so.
Every course was balanced in flavor beautifully. Each bite, my eyes met my wife’s, and any nearby table could likely hear a harmonious choir of, «Mmmmmm!» The pork loin had a flavor I’ve never tasted before — just amazing. My wife’s favorite course was the scallop. It was perfectly cooked. The dessert featured a peanut butter cup that’d easily put 40 pounds on me if I worked there in any capacity. (Psst — Anthony told me they roast their own peanuts and make the peanut butter in house! Fantastic!)
Finally, I grabbed the check. Our son was going to start a melt down at any time (likely because we didn’t have any more delicious food to feed him), and so my wife ran him out to the car.
Of course I left the diaper bag behind. And the high chair cover. Typical me.
We had a missed call and message from the restaurant by the time we got home. I slapped my forehead and my wife said, «You forgot the diaper bag, didn’t you?»
They were nice enough to hold onto it overnight for us. I stopped in the next day, where the entire troupe from the night before was getting prepped for dinner service. Justifiably, I got a bit of good-​humored ribbing. Well, I guess they’ll remember me!
Thanks for a great night, great food, unbelievable service, and free overnight storage (note: not everyone will be special enough to receive free storage… guess you’ll have to leave something to find out!). And thanks to Chef Anthony. We will be back, soon!

After eating qdoba every other night, I decided to try Dolce for carryout. Had no idea what the restaurant would offer.
Luckily, I walked into what was Valentine’s Day in April. Once I sat at the bar for 2 minutes, I knew that the atmosphere was worth a dine-​in experience. The was a talented musician singing and playing the guitar and the server was so welcoming and attentive.
I had the goat cheese salad and soup of the day. I’d rate both a ⁴⁄₅. I also had a cocktail and their bread pudding. The bread pudding was a little dry for my preference, but the ice cream served with it was delicious.
This is definitely a «date night» selection. However, without a date it was still a wonderful dining experience.

A little gem in a strip center. What a great surprise. My wife and I stopped by for lunch. The lunch menu was small but everything looked delicious. Food was fantastic, service was good, atmosphere and the music was awesome as well.
Would be great for a date night. We will definitely return.

Valentine’s day dinner, fantastic food. The chef is awesome and the flavors were perfection! Service and venue leave a bit to be desired but still very good. We would totally return and the price versus other amazing chefs in town is definitely competitive. Great décor and so neat and clean.

My husband I tried the date night menu here and absolutely loved it! My husband is a vegetarian so they created things from scratch for us off the menu. This was the best idea every and if you can do that I highly recommend it. The veggie risotto was fabulous, as was the homemade raviolis, and the bread pudding. I’m not a big fan of bread pudding and I was licking the plate. It was crazy how good it was. The atmosphere was great. We will definitely be coming back!

Our first meal at Dolce has been more than we expected. The risotto was a wonderful beginning, the mushroom soup was excellent and our entrées? Our entrées were perfect. That is not overstatement, the entrées were perfect. I had chicken and goat cheese Panini stacked with mild red peppers and spinach… my lunch partner ordered the chicken and polenta. Neither of us could think of a single thing we would’ve changed. Dessert? He had an apple pastry/​Galette that was superb and I ordered the chocolate mint ice cream. Now let me explain something: this was no average ice cream! It was house-​made with no artificial green coloring. This was the real thing and the mint was lovely and authentic and perfect. Although we had never stopped at Dolce before, I promise you that will not be the case in the future. Try them out soon, I plan to be back myself!

As of December 2013, Dolce has switched ownership. Not sure if this change is immediately apparent to some, but for me two of my favorite things about the restaurant were apparently closely tied to the previous ownership.
Gina Sterns (of pastry fame), originally opened the restaurant in summer of 2011, and during this time, I frequented Dolce for lunch due to convenience, yes. But also because they had my favorite sandwich in town… the Goat Cheese Chicken Panini. And, yes, the cupcakes were also to die for.
The restaurant was sold to Jason Kuhr and Tyler Mohr, owners of J.T.K. Cuisine and Cocktails in Lincoln. And it took me a really long time to return. Under Stern’s ownership, I visited Dolce around a dozen times. Never did I visit for dinner. My previous review was based on all those successful lunch visits, plus a birthday cupcake special order.
But now it’s time to update.
The Unilocal reviews really tell an interesting story. Of the 46 current reviews, 25 were under the previous ownership and 21 are under current ownership. Starting with just an average, pre-​sale average rating was 4.4 stars, with a post-​sale average of 3.7 stars.
Pre-​sale ratings break down like this:
5-​stars — 19 (73%)
4-​stars — 2 (8%)
3-​stars — 3 (12%)
2-​stars — 1 (4%)
1-​star — 1 (4%)
Post-​sale numbers:
5-​stars — 9 (43%)
4-​stars — 3 (14%)
3-​stars — 5 (24%)
2-​stars — 1 (5%)
1-​star — 3 (14%)
Anyway, enough with the data.
I recently bought a Groupon for a Prix Fixe dinner at Dolce since I was apparently feeling nostalgic and on doing, noticed they’re open for lunch again!
Sadly, the menu has totally changed. Gone is my favorite goat cheese and chicken panini and other lunch staple salads (not to mention mac & cheese with the option for meatballs), replaced with a warm goat cheese salad (with option to add chicken) and/​or sandwich options of Muffaletta or Annunziata … And a $ 25 lunch, including tax and tip.
The food was still good though, I really liked the soup, but the salad showed up… differently… than I’d imagined. Unlikely I’d order it again.
I’m used to feeling cheated when it comes to beets and salad, but not lettuce. The goat cheese croquettes were placed on sliced roasted beets, with a sprinkling of arugula. (In case you’re wondering, the chicken is the piece in the middle).
… and yes, we also split a bread pudding for the table. That was delicious.
The new bar back is a classy touch, but I still think the hostess stand is somewhat awkwardly placed. Not sure if there’s even a better place for it, actually. I wonder if not having one is an option.
Anyway, on to our trip for dinner. I last-​minute realized the Groupon was going to expire soon, and we headed out west on a Tuesday evening to sample the ‘Date Night’ menu. (Tuesday, Wednesday or Monday… I can’t remember now). I hate the looks you sometimes get at nice places when using Groupons, so I like to announce that I have one right away and get that out of the way. Who knows if it effects the service or not, but I know we’d all like to think ‘not’.
In this case, our server was attentive and friendly. Not too much, not too little. Good, I’d say.
We started our meal with the ‘Taste of the Moment’, a salmon tartar concoction I forget the name of now. Whatever it was, the moment was fleeting because we polished it off pretty handily.
Next up, Soup du Jour, a smoked tomato. Really pretty special with a bold smoky flavor. All it needed was some bread… which we asked for (and received). I have no idea if the rolls are made in house, but they really didn’t do it for me — this coming from an admitted carbaholic. (Don’t get me wrong, I still slathered it with butter and ate it all).
Next up for entrees were the Tuscan Steak (a tender 6 oz. kobe flatiron) and the Pan Roasted Chicken. Both dishes were presented very well, and had solid, hearty flavors indicative of the fall to come. I preferred the meat in the steak dish and the sides in the chicken, personally. What I originally wanted to try, the Kobe Ragu, took a back seat to an either-​or recommendation request in which the chicken won out when I asked the server.
Dessert was, once again, the star of the show. Dark Chocolate Mousse with rosemary toffee, gluhwein syrup and fresh berries. (And to save you on the Googling, ‘gluhwein’ is a German mulled wine). It all went down very nicely to round out the experience.
The new Dolce is something unique and one of the better restaurants in West Omaha. Unfortunately my recent meals here haven’t lived up to what I loved about the original, but they’re forging their own path, and I think it’s a welcome one.

I’ve popped in for lunch 4 or 5 times and dinner now three times. Every meal has been wonderful!!!
The first time dear husband went with me, we opted for the 5 course chef’s dinner. It amazed! The flavors were outstanding and each course unique, flavorful and delightful! Truly THE BEST meal we have had in Omaha this year … and trust me … we get around to some of the best spots.
Today I stopped in with a friend for lunch. I opted to start with the soup, and after our great waitress described how the chef made it without cream or broth (and to order!)We had to try it. It was the most favorable, rich (in a great way) and creamy potato soup I have had. Served on top were a few crisp fried cross-​cut purple potatoes and one beet, which as you dug into your soup created an artful colorful swirl. Whether intended or not, the detail was fun.
Since it was a cold comfort food kind of day I opted for the American Kobe Ragu. I fell silent upon the first bite. It was THAT good. It paired wonderfully with a light Pinot which cut down a bit on the richness. There was enough I’m looking forward to my lunch tomorrow if my husband does’t beat me to it!!!
My friend had never been and was thrilled as well, and can’t wait to take her husband and partake in «Date Night». My husband and I are heading back soon for the «duck dinner» that chef spoke to us about on an earlier visit. Call ahead several days and he will ready a whole roasted duck, all the accouterments you could imagine and the price is unbeatable! Their wines are affordable, the service has always been great and for the life of me I can’t figure out why this place isn’t busier for lunch.
So happy to have a tasty «foodie» spot in West O!

The new Dolce is pretty good, but it doesn’t quite make it to my favorites list. My most recent visit was on a Saturday for the date night menu. We started with a couple of cocktails. Stewart had an Old Fashioned, which he wasn’t impressed with. I had a Sea Breeze, which didn’t quite hit the mark.
Next came a generous portion of Margarita Mussels. They were in a nice broth that was very flavorful. This was one of the highlights of the meal.
The second course consisted of a mediocre (too dry, a bit wilted) salad and an ok potato soup. For the main course, I had the salmon, which was cooked just right and was well seasoned. The flavors came together perfectly. Stewart really enjoyed his pan fried chicken too.
Dessert was cheesecake, which was utterly forgettable. I’m not sure I’ve ever met a cheesecake I didn’t like, until last night.
Another highlight was the service. I missed our server’s name, but she was just right. Very friendly and was always right there when we needed her, despite having several tables to look after. The meal was timed perfectly, which is something I always appreciate. All in all, I’ll probably be back some day, but I’m not plotting my next visit.

Dolce is one of those places that has great potential once they work the kinks out. Maybe with the recent changes, it’ll get there. I’ve been many times and the food has been hit or miss. I’ve had the: beet salad (ok), chicken (good), risotto several times several ways (great), the pasta with pork (decent/​good), and the new mac n cheese (ok).
Most recently I had the mac n cheese because it’s new on the menu and because of course I’m always looking for new places to put on my mac n cheese list! Well theirs is only ok, unfortunately. The flavor was fine but it was just too basic; it was the START of a good mac. They needed to toss some chunked cheese in it and then throw it in the oven to solidify a little or something… maybe cheese or breadcrumbs on top to give it a crust? Something. I felt like I was eating mac from the kids menu, but with penne pasta.
The menu is very limited and doesn’t change as often as it should if they have any hope of repeat customers.
But I keep returning because I still like the place. I like the modern minimal décor, the service, and the French press coffee. Dinner is over priced, but lunch is more reasonable.