V. Mertz

Best restaurant in Omaha, period. Superior cuisine really brings out the best from the region’s best farmers; wait staff is attentive, friendly, and incredibly knowledgeable and proud of the dining experience they deliver. Cocktails are well crafted, every wine pairing we’ve had from Matt is superb, and the ambiance and environment are perfectly in sync to give you an amazing evening. Don’t hold back; everything from your first bite till dessert (absolute must) will blow your socks off. Dinner at V. Mertz isn’t just a meal, but rather Omaha’s crowning culinary experience.
At the end of this summer when I leave Omaha, V. Mertz is the place I will miss the most.

This is an excellent restaurant for atmosphere, food quality and service. We had our wedding dinner there, our waiter was on the ball and was attentive. My steak was excellent, flavorful and tender. My wife got the pork chop with was also tasty. Several of our guests raved over the halibut. Located in the famed Old Market Passageway, you wont find a better spot for ambiance in Omaha. The only con I can come up with is the price being a bit steep. But, it is fine dining at its best and you probably knew the prices before you went in. 5 Stars!

Amazing food and ambience. I had the prix fix — the ingredients were fresh and beautiful presentation. My server was very attentive as well.

I love this restaurant! The food and service are both top notch. I recently took my friend there for her birthday-​they printed a special menu with her name, made me a DELICIOUS cocktail off menu, and got all of our food out in time for us to see a show at Century Link. They even put a candle on our crew brûlée plate :) The atmosphere is a little dark, but very romantic (not exactly what we were going for, but lovely nonetheless). The menu changes regularly and is always seasonal. Can’t recommend this place enough!

I have been to V Mertz every few months for the last few years but I feel like this last visit wasn’t near as good as it usually has been.
We were seated in a corner booth that was very noisy. There was a window behind us where it sounded like someone was spraying dishes down. When you are paying a lot of money for your dinner, this isn’t the ambiance that you want. Where we were sitting was SO dark too, my sister had to pull the flashlight out on her phone to look at look at something she wasn’t sure of in her food. We had reservations for as soon as the restaurant opened so I feel like there was no reason for us to be sat in such a bad spot.
My husband and always get the pepper steak for dinner because its usually amazing. I normally cant stop eating it because its so good, but this time neither one of us finished ours because it wasn’t very good. My meat was very fatty this time too and it has never been that way.
The service here is always extraordinary. They definitely know how to treat you right and make you feel special. The servers are always very accommodating and do everything that they can to make your visit special.
I am really hoping that there was new chef this time and that this visit was a fluke. I love how this restaurant usually is and its in the beautiful passageway so I will be back to try it again. I think I will wait a few more months to return though.

I wanted to take my fiancé out for a romantic dinner for her birthday. Not only was the food exceptional, but the staff here is the best in town in my opinion. This place is classy without being uptight about it. Dress is business casual or formal if you like. Also, several other associates that weren’t even our servers made a point to say happy birthday to her as we were walking to use restroom or up and about by the bar. The icing on the cake was a personalized menu that read happy bday Connie typed just above the entrees. Thanks for making it a special evening V Mertz!

We had an outstanding dining experience.
The bartenders mixed bourbon cocktails that set the tone. Peppercorn beef was everything that expectations had set up.
Try the carrot cake and ginger sorbet — I’d go back if that was the only thing on the menu. Really fine dinning.

AMAZING. Really can’t say anything else that would beat that. This is one of the finest restaurants in Omaha and the very best. You really can’t find anything like it around! The service is absolutely phenomenal! The food is hands down the best I have ever had! Even when walking to the restroom the employees always greet you by suffix and kindly stop and move to the side to let you through. Right there says a lot about how the employees are taught to interact with customers. Food can be pricing but that’s expected with this kind of restaurant. Will be returning soon!

I’d been wanting to go to V. Mertz for a while, having always seen it in ratings and top restaurant lists for Omaha. I bought a groupon and figured it would be a good chance to see what all the fuss was about. I enjoyed my experience but wasn’t wowed.
The atmosphere was very dark and almost cavelike. It reminded me of the restaurants in underground alleys and passageways in Plaza Mayor in Madrid. The chairs had covers with logos and the table setup was nice, albeit very tiny. There’s a wall of spirits in the middle and on the other side you can see the sous chefs prepping dishes.
The food was good, and some dishes were quite tasty, but overall I was underwhelmed. Things got off to a good start… amuse-​bouche was a perfect bite. It had great acid from the pickled dikon, a smooth creaminess from the swipe of squash soup and ricotta, nice crunchiness from the crispy chicken skin, and a sharp (but not overly so) pepperiness to finish.
I ordered the pepper steak for my main dish. Cauliflower too peppery to me, almost like a radish. The sauce with peppercorns was almost sour and I didn’t care for the taste that hit my tongue first. After a moment it wasn’t bad but I didn’t like the initial bite. Steak was cooked perfectly. While I enjoy a steak as much as the next person, I was disappointed at the menu offerings. Only two entrees sounded good to me.
The service was attentive but not memorable. I can’t remember the waiter’s name or personality. He brought us our food and filled the water, but didn’t do much to enhance the eating experience.
Overall it wasn’t a bad experience, but I probably won’t be back. If I’m going out for a really nice dinner, I want to be impressed.

The general opinion is that Omaha has great beef. I asked at my hotel where the locals eat and the woman I spoke to wanted to know if I was on an expense account. I lied and said yes. She sent me here and I’m glad I fibbed. The service, wine selection, attention to detail and, of course, the quality of the beef, was outstanding.
My dinner companion, a friend from California, and definitely a foodie, raved about the preparation and the dead-​on cooking of our steaks. Medium rare for me, rare for him. Fantastic
The tab was a little high but most if that was due to the really killer bottle of wine my friend ordered.
Nice area (Old Market) and classy atmosphere.
Best meal we had in several visits to Omaha.
Recommended.

This is by far one of the most unique dining experiences. They have a menu where you can pay to be basically surprised by the chef for the course of your meal! Chefs choice. Each dish was splendid. Presentation was beautiful. Very romantic.

Since my wife and I moved to Omaha over two years ago, we’ve been wanting to go to V. Mertz. We frequently walk by it in the Old Market passageway and admire the upscale but approachable vibe while speculating about what the food would be like.
Given that it’s one of the more expensive restaurants around, we wanted to wait for a special occasion. Well, that occasion finally arose — in the form of a Groupon that was threatening to expire. I’m so glad we finally made it in, because we had an absolutely delicious meal.
We started with a couple of drinks. I got a unique take on a gin sour, with raspberry purée, citrus, and cardamom syrup. It was the perfect blend of sweet and tart, and was just right for getting my palate warmed up for the meal.
I got a delicious arugula and bean salad as an appetizer. It was served over a creamy house made ricotta and topped with a sweet-​tart tomato jam. We both really enjoyed it, and would definitely order it again.
For our entrees, my wife got a roasted (locally-​farmed) chicken breast, which she thoroughly enjoyed, and I got the autumn harvest vegetable dish, which was chock full of perfectly roasted fresh vegetables. There were red wine poached sweet potatoes, charred calabrese broccoli, beets, dried figs, and plenty of other awesome ingredients. Rather than being a boring plate of veggies, it was incredibly well seasoned and tossed in a light but extremely flavorful sauce. It was served over incredibly tender white beans, which added a nice hearty (and filling!) component to the meal.
For dessert, I got a unique spin on carrot cake, with a toasted meringue topping and a scoop of ginger gelato. The gelato was a bit bland for my liking, but the cake, cream cheese filling, and meringue topping were all excellent.
If you haven’t been to V. Mertz, it’s definitely worth checking out for a special occasion meal, especially if you can get a Groupon (which they offer frequently!).

One of my favorite restaurants in Omaha, if not the top spot. It’s a special occasion restaurant for sure, but well worth the splurge. The food is always excellent. I’ve genuinely never had a bad dish. The menu rotates but there are a few dishes that we’ve seen (pepper steak) that seem to be «regular» features. Most recently we came on our anniversary and the menu said «Happy Anniversary» on the top. While not a novel idea, it was a nice touch. The venue is small. Make reservations. Put on a nice outfit. And enjoy your meal.

Service was amazing, the waitress that helped throughout the night was very knowledgeable about the variety of dishes we ordered. Price per dish is average for a place this nice and its serving portions. I’m hesitant to give it 5 stars because while the food was incredibly appetizing, it just didn’t leave me with that feeling of «I need to comeback.» So while I was extremely satisfied with the food it feels more like a «one and done» for me.

I went to V. Mertz with my girlfriend. There were some hits and some misses.
Hits: Peppercorn steak, Swordfish, Root beer float. I enjoyed the first two the most. They were large plates and both the steak and fish were done extremely well. The root beer float dessert was delicious as well (though, I’m a sucker for root beer). Both of those main dishes were the highlights of the meal.
Misses: I should have written this down when we first went here, but I’m fairly certain it was the pork shoulder? (I know V. Mertz changes their menu often). Either way, we ate a pork shoulder (or something similar) that was disappointing. I didn’t have a problem with the taste as much as the overall texture of the dish (it was very fatty and hard to eat).
Chocolate and Vanilla dessert– As a whole, this dessert was fairly good. However, there were some elements that we didn’t like as much (the white chocolate ratio was lacking; etc).
Portion sizing– I don’t come into V. Mertz expecting portions that are comparative to much cheaper restaurants. I’ve dined in enough upscale restaurants in the past to know that I am probably not going to get a very large sizing. The overall sizings for V. Mertz were disappointing, even for an upscale place. The swordfish, while delicious, was half the size of my balled fist (and I probably could have fit the entire thing in my mouth).
Overall, V. Mertz was a good but not fantastic restaurant. We tried 2 appetizers, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts. The main courses were my favorite parts. Other notes: the small plate salad was enjoyable and fresh and the bread was also nice.

Very small and cozy, brick floors and cut wood beams– great ambiance. Servers are very attentive and knowledgeable. Wine list is extensive and we ended up with a fantastic Red from Lebanon. Chose the house made charcuterie to start and had the Wagyu peppercorn steak. Amazingly tender with nice root vegetables. My wife had the Salmon and raved about it as well. Dessert was so artful it was almost too pretty to eat but it was also fantastic. This is on our top restaurants we’ve ever been to list. We will be back.

I’ve eaten here two times. My first time was just to use an expired Groupon. The second time, which was within a month later, was for my boyfriend’s birthday.
The menu hadn’t changed too much from the first to the second visit. However, my boyfriend and I didn’t mind because there were some items on the menu we didn’t get to try on our first visit.
The first time, we shared the Braised Wagyu Chuck Roast, TD Niche Pork Belly, Faroe Islands Salmon, and the V. Mertz Peppersteak. The first two dishes were under ‘Shared Plates’ on the menu, the last two were ‘Large Plates’. For desert, we shared the House-​Made Candy Bar. Everything was very delicious; I don’t think I could pick a favorite. My boyfriend’s favorite was the Pork Belly. If they had that as a Large Plate, I’m sure my boyfriend would have eaten that. The belly was actually better than I thought it would be. I usually don’t like to order these kids of dishes, because I don’t like the taste of fat. However, this dish didn’t taste as fatty as I had expected, and I really enjoyed it.
The second time, we tried the Butter Poached Bunching Onion, TD Niche Pork Belly (AGAIN), Morgan Ranch Wagyu Bavette, and the Meadow’s Grass-​fed Lamb. For desert we shared the Candy Bar. This candy bar was different than the first, but still very good. The pork belly was great again, of course. Again, I didn’t have a favorite. The pumpkin pie in the wagyu bavette dish was a great accompaniment.
Both times, we finished dinner with french-​pressed coffee from Omaha’s own Blue Line Coffee Company. The coffee was very good and one of the only one’s that I would drink black.
Although I thought the prices could be better, I understand that this is a nice restaurant that tries to make dishes with both local and seasonal ingredients. When dining here, don’t expect a meal that will fill you up, but a meal that will expand your taste. There were so many small items on my plate that I had not tried before. I really liked the combination of ingredients in all the dishes. You can tell that the chef here is a real chef, who is proud of his work, and sees cooking as an art.

I finally made it V Mertz and all I could think was «why did I wait so long?». The location is «unique» but once inside the ambiance is on par with any fine dining/​special occasion restaurant. The staff was friendly, knowledgeable and very helpful and the food was absolutely AMAZING.
For the meal, we went with a sheep’s milk cheese for the local & artisanal cheese option, the Wagyu beef tartar (the pea emulsion was amazing) appetizer; saffron risotto with squid & leek from the small plates and then duck breast (with pickled rhubarb & mustard) and peppersteak with tasty veggies for the main courses.
There was not a unsatisfying portion in the entire menu and the risotto may have been the best I have every had! Unfortunately (or not), I was very full after the meal so I skipped dessert (there are SEVERAL nice looking options there).
If you are seeking a nice meal for a special occasion (or just want to treat yourself), DEFINITELY add Mertz to your list.

The menu is shown on a single sheet of paper & portions of either snack, share, ½ or full size! The drink menu is a full book of wines & cocktails! So many different exotic choices & mixes I’ve never heard of! The staff is extremely knowledgeable with all the contents of each meal/snack…our waiter offered me a rhubarb jelly to go with my bread since I have a butter allergy. The tomato/​cucumber salad with yogurt seemed fresh picked from the garden! The salmon melted in my mouth with garden veggies & rice! The meal presentation & seating atmosphere is one of a kind! This is a must for a dining experience in the Old Market! My experience was wonderful & delightful! Looking forward to going back for another special occasion!

Well, one year later and another Restaurant Week. Ironically I wasn’t able to sample that menu as we were using a last-​minute Groupon.
Turns out, I’m glad we were able to try the regular menu because I had a much better meal this time around. I wonder how restaurant week menu would’ve been though because when I went back to rad last year’s review it was hard to believe it transpired at the same place.
This time we started with an amuse bouche of compressed watermelon and cucumber. A refreshing taste of summer… I easily wanted more.
Next up was house onion roll & butter. (Drastically different than my last experience… This was good. Really good.)
Appetizer was charcuterie, served with small rounds of the heartiest whole grain bread I’ve had recently. Interesting accompaniment, and different than the standard French baguette.
My meal was the Magnolia Ranch Wagu Bavette. Peppersteak for Bill. I was hoping for a pork dish but was glad to settle for the tender Bavette dish, with corn bread and vegetable ratatouille.
We didn’t stuff any dessert on top of that, but did enough several Hoegaarden ales to wash everything down.
Ultimately, after this meal I’d rank V. Mertz pretty highly up the scale on fine dining options in town.