Upstream Brewing Company

Great food, great service, nice micro brews, perfect atmosphere. Will be going back.

It was really terrible. The service was extremely slow. Not a good venue to take important clients.

Exclusively a brunch review: i’ve been to upstream brewing quite a few times and I really like to take friends here for brunch when they visit Omaha. There’s a classy touch to the presentation that makes it both good for families and college students with some money. There are even pool tables on the second floor. Even though it’s a brewing company, it doesn’t feel like a pub, which is great for families. The food is American cuisine and everyone who comes during Sunday brunch absolutely loves the buffet option. There’s always a fresh salad area, pastries, a few rotating entrees to choose from, an omelette service, waffles with fresh strawberries and cream. There is a carving station available that also changes from either roast beef to tri-​tip. On top of all that, there’s really great fresh beer and tvs in various parts of the restaurant. You can request for a channel if you’re going there to dine and watch a game. Service is great and the restaurant is clean and welcoming. My only complaint is the cook of the meat at the carving station. I don’t know how they want their meat done usually but I’ve noticed that it is often well-​done, causing the meat to taste very dry. If I could change anything about this place, it would be that. I’m a rare girl so… I like it a little juicier. Perhaps even a medium to the meat would be appreciated; otherwise, brunch here is highly recommended.

The filet mignon was excellent, the green beans wrapped in bacon were a brilliant side, but the pomme frites were cold, and didn’t seem fresh. The service was good, and wine and beer selection was nice. I was very happy to see that they serve dinner until 10 on Sunday.

Decent upscale brewery. Has a good décor, crowd is interesting and the house beer selection is broad. Menu looks appealing, Omaha steaks included of course. I would pass on the chicken quesadilla. The meat was chopped so fine it had the consistency of pâté’. I will try another dish though. This place has enough to offer to not let one dish discourage me.

I’ve been to Nebraska a few times for work and I have to stop by and grab one of these pizzas when I’m the area. The crust is thin, the sauce is delicate and not too heavy. I love seafood so I get extra shrimp. Just a solid pizza overall. Half price on Tuesdays I believe.

Upstream Brewing Company sounded too good to be true when we visited this past summer with a very large group. Located in a really great part of downtown Omaha, NE in a really cool building with TVs, a variety of foods and cold brews — so what’s not to like?
While the beer was good, the ‘special’ menu we received was a mess; They described two ‘Ribeye Specials’ — one for $ 20 and one for $ 30.
Wellll…the ribeyes were good (not great) — but the kicker came when the bill came and the ‘Ribeye Specials’ were really $ 29 and $ 39 (not such a great deal).
When we pointed this out to our server, all we got was a ‘Meh’. Well Mr. Server, here’s your review to coincide with the a passive attitude.

The beers were good but the service pretty lacking. The building is really neat and make sure to check out the lounge/​pool area upstairs. Great location and a good place to get a drink before dinner.

The beer soup, great. Creamy, flavorful, definitely worth trying. The environment, industrial and warm, with tv’s pretty plentiful in the bar (not like BWW’s but enough), I really liked it.
The burger, mediocre would be too kind. It was dry and didn’t have much flavor, really disappointing for being steak country…
The service was fine. Not bad, not great.

I really enjoy Upstream. Went today for a little holiday lunch with my leaders. Very attentive, courteous service, orders came out quick and right and everyone enjoyed the food. I had an 8 oz filet (without the sauce they serve on it) and it was every bit as delicious as Sullivan’s. Special was a bacon wrapped Haddock that the table raved about. Add to that the great beer selection (no one went back to work!) and it’s really a very pleasant lunch. I can say that o enjoy the Old Market location much more than the one out West.

Rating is a soft three and it mostly based on past dining at this and the west locations.
Brought my family of 12 in on Sunday for our anniversary lunch. Several of us decided to go with the brunch buffet, even though at nearly $ 17 (adults) ($ 7 or so for kids down to three) it seemed expensive. Server was good and pleasant throughout and was kind enough to split our bill in two checks.
At the buffet many of the items were not warm and should have been, but the real problem was the meat carving station and omelet bar. The server at the meat station was off chatting with someone when I arrived and after moment or two came over, and without a sound sliced me 1 piece of beef and backed away. Might have wanted two pieces but he didn’t seem interested. Came back with my granddaughter as she wanted an omelet. He came over and she asked what she could have in it and he motioned to 8 or so plastic buckets near by. We had to walk around the station to see what was in them. Her omelet once completed was small and was as skinny an omelet as I have ever seen, not like Grandmothers use to make.
I guess in hindsight I would not go with the buffet and would just stick to the items on the menu.

The bartender made our night. Great appetizers and great beer to try. Love the sampler availability. We will return and hopefully for a meal. The food looked amazing. Definitely recommend you try this place.

Upstream Brewing Company is the perfect place to grab a drink, and just hang out with your friends. There are leather couches and chairs to lounge in and rearrange, there are pool tables. It’s just a really fun atmosphere and the beer was fantastic!

This is a regular lunch spot for my office, and I always enjoy it. It’s never amazing, but it IS always consistent. The food is good, if unremarkable and a bit pricey, and their beer is solid. Their regular offerings are good (but like the food, nothing special), but some of their seasonal and limited beers are truly excellent.
If you’re going, be sure to come in for happy hour; the deals are great, and make for one of the best bargains in downtown Omaha.
Upstream may not blow me away, but I’m always glad to go there.

The food was eh and the service was well below par for a slow lunch hour. I probably give it one more star than it deserves because they have an awesome outdoor patio space.
I ordered the Thai chicken salad and requested the dressing on the side. It came with a side of dressing in addition to swimming IN dressing. I suppose dressing on the side should have been specified as ALL the dressing on the side *dramatic eye roll*. The Thai salad had chicken, hot grilled onions and green pepper, tomato wedges, peanuts and white puff noodles on top of a bed of mix greens. The flaw in this «design» was that the hot grill veggies wilted many of the greens… and wilted greens are slimy. And that dressing it was already swimming in was SO SO SO dang salty, perhaps I should have just requested NO dressing at all.
I’d go back, but just for beer.

This is a great brewery with fantastic food. It also happens to be located in a cool part of the city with lots of warehouses that have been converted to business and living space.
I had 2 Scotch Ales which were very fresh and delicious. I washed that down with a New York strip steak. I’m in Omaha, how can I not have steak?!
In true, Omaha style, the steak was prepared very well. Meat was tender, juicy, right on the money.
We didn’t have any problems finding parking on the street, even during dinner time. This place is worth checking out for fresh beer and good steak.

I was passing through Omaha on a cross-​country road trip and had only one night in town. Walked around a bit before settling on eating here, and wasn’t disappointed.
They have a wide variety of food and beer, which was rather impressive. The service was good and bartender was really friendly, I don’t think my beer glass (or water glass) went empty. I figured you can’t go to Omaha and not have an Omaha steak, so naturally that’s what I ate. It was cooked perfectly and had good flavor, my only critique is that they should offer it without any topping (mine came with a butter-​type sauce).
This place is pretty big, but it was also busy so you might have to wait. However, it’s worth it as the food is good and the atmosphere is relaxed and comfortable. Would definitely come here again.

The atmosphere and food here are decent, as long as you aren’t expecting more than bar fare.
It’s still fun to stop in for dinner before going out to the other bars, but it’s not as upscale as it used to be.

I tried Upstream about three years ago and wasn’t particularly impressed then, so my husband and I decided to give it another chance this past weekend. We got there about 6:40 on a Saturday night, in the Old Market, so I expected to have to wait a bit. The hostess told us about 20 – 30 minutes. Not a big deal. 45 minutes later we were finally walked upstairs to our table. (The restaurant has two levels and tons of seating) We were seated and then waited another 15 minutes for our waiter to even come over and acknowledge us. At this point, I was not happy. When we were brought upstairs there was plenty of seating available. Not sure why we waited so long. I did give them the benefit of the doubt that maybe they were understaffed. At least I hope so, at this point I was not pleased with the service.
Once we finally ordered our drinks, that took another 10 – 15 minutes. There is a bar upstairs AND downstairs. It should not have taken this long, especially when we saw our waiter just standing there. I ordered the beer sampler and tried four different beers. If you like choices when it comes to your draft beer, this is the place to go. We ordered the Calamari for our appetizer and that was amazing! I ordered the Blonde flatbread pizza. My server suggested I try it with blackened chicken and I went with it. IT WAS SOOO GOOD!!! Excellent pairing! My husband got the jambalaya and he liked it. Thank goodness the food made up for the slow and unorganized service. I would possibly go back for just the pizza because it really was amazing. But I don’t know If it’s worth it to put up with the service. The food is average, prices are decent, and you have a good selection of drinks. Nothing that really makes it stand out in the Old Market. There are so many better options!

This may be surprising to some, but the time has come to update my thoughts and feelings on one of my ‘goto’ spots.
When I first wrote about Upstream I was glazed and thoroughly enjoyed nearly every aspect about this place. Over the past year I have been here countless times. Early, midday, even late night.
The main reason is the beer. Specifically Capitol Pale Ale. It is my most liked Omaha offering. There are many other offerings that stand out and Dallas, the Head Brewer, does a great job on the staples. There have been some misses; like Ebenezer (xmas ale) w/​habenero and Sriracha, but I don’t usually go for those.
Most recently I feel like the management change has affected me the most. TJ, John, Tim and the rest of the staff seem to like what they do.
The prices have now been adjusted and the specials reflect what is sure to become the end of many locals’ delight.
During Happy Hour 3−6pm, the appetizers used to be half off. That’s right 50%. Now it has been changed to a mere $ 3 off. How is that going to sell more? Sure, the pretzel bites @$ 5.99 are a deal for $ 2.99, but my favorite Artichoke dip @$ 9.75 (overpriced, but good) is not worth $ 6.75. It was at $ 4.88, but not now. Sometimes you need a good ‘loss leader’ and now there is none.
The beers used to be more affordable, too. $ 2.75 a pint and $ 3.50 for a 23oz equaled about 15.9 and 15.2 cents and ounce respectively. Now it is $ 3 for a pint and $ 4 for the 23oz which is about 18.7 and 17.4 cents per ounce respectively.
Did the beer get magically better? No. It is still good, but it is like gas prices jumping out of control from $ 2.50/G to $ 4/​G. Does this mean I won’t take a road trip? No. Does this mean I won’t go cruising? Yes. It is not really fair to equate beer prices to gasoline, but the analogy is not far off. I will be lessening the time and money I spend here to a decidedly shorter duration and less frequency.
Overall I am at a loss as to where I am with these guys. There are many other breweries in town and I feel alienated for a bottom line. I know we all need to profit in business, but the new prices and offerings are dismal. Employee prices jumped 25% as well.
TL:DR; Good food, beer and staff. Now overpriced out of enjoyable standards. the cost of 2 Stars in my book