This is the very first Indian restaurant I've ever been to and how I wish I popped my cherry somewhere else. Anywhere in Downtown Omaha is pricey but the restaurants are usually pretty good...well, this one is mid-range but the food is not good.
I got the Tandoori chicken, naan and samosa. Â The naan and samosa were ok. But the Tandoori chicken was extremely dry and flavorless. Â That bird was definitely dead and I could only hope it will reincarnate and get cooked properly some place where they know how to cook chicken the right way.
After that evening, I told myself not to eat Indian food ever again. That didn't happen as I've tried other Indian restaurants that I loved.
I had not been back to this restaurant for 5 years. Â I was pleasantly surprised at the new bar set up and very well executed drinks. Â It's a cocktail bar which is unusual for an Indian restaurant but I can't fault the service and drinks.
Now to the food, the Mulligatawny soup was nicely balanced and the server was prompt and efficient. Â The Lamb Korma was well cooked and my wife had the Saag Gosht which was a bit salty but still acceptable. Â
The only downside was the state of the basement. Â I ventured down there to use the toilet and found an entirely unused bar and seating area. Â There was cleaning products lying around all over the place with dirty cleaning rags. Â The actual bar was not in use with bottles and glasses piled up. Â It was not a good look for a quality restaurant. Â Either use the place and utilize this lovely space or clean it up. Â The toilet was pretty dire, the mens had that older roller towel on a spindle (not hygienic) and the women's light did not work.
I asked the owner on the way out why he was not using the basement, he said it's his play area whatever that means... Â He was a very nice chap and his mother was very pleasant. Â I was surprised they had taken the best table in the house sitting right outside by door on a busy Friday night. Â He also had a table in the restaurant spread out near the bar with his laptop and paperwork, pretty unprofessional. Â
I will be back again as the food is good but they could do with emphasizing this restaurant is for the clientele.
This review is for the speakeasy part of IO only. Â This bartender knows what he's doing! Most of the bitters and syrups are homemade, which is pretty impressive in an of itself. The menu has the old pre-prohibition style drinks, made the way they were back then and newer modern concoctions, made up by the bartender himself. It's a cool place to enjoy a good craft cocktail or two.
Pros: homemade ingredients, bartender knows his stuff
Cons; pricey (drinks are $9-10)
Came here for my birthday yesterday...relatively small place but very nice inside...sat upstairs away from everyone which was great...Abigail was my waitress and she was simply amazing...I ordered the meat samosas,chicken tika masala and garlic naan bread...the food was quite simply out of this world...everything was cooked to pefection, with the samosas in particular being mouth wateringly orgasmic...the prices are what you'd expect from an ethnic restaurant...the service was great...I totally will come back again...
Review Source:Amazing meal!
Okay, it was the perfect night. The weather was PERFECT for sitting outside. The waitress was very personable and attentive, but not overbearing. And the food was phenomenal.
We started with Baba Ghanoush, which I was surprised to see on the menu at an Indian cuisine restaurant because I've always considered Baba Ghanoush a Mediterranean dish.
So I was very surprised to see the Baba Ghanoush when it arrived. I expected an eggplant paste, but we were presented with a martini glass of eggplant deliciousness that was unlike any baba ghanoush I'd ever seen before. It was delicately spiced in an fashion one would expect in an Indian restaurant and was served with toasted Naan. So very different and so very delicious. I told the waitress about the difference between what I expected and what was delivered. She had no idea Babb Ghanoush is typically a paste. Anyway... YUM!!!!
The main dish was also delicious. What did I have? Well, I didn't have Saag Paneer, which is my Indian staple because it wasn't on the menu. Instead I had ALOO GOBI - north indian style potatoes, cauliflower, onions stir-fried with spices. It was perfection.
But wait... there's more and what I have to tell you about next is something you MUST order. Oh My Goodness... I'm swooning now just thinking about it and it was nearly two weeks ago we ate here. Please do yourself a favor and order the BOMBAY NAAN - white bread, spiced onion, three cheeses. Serve with an amazing green sauce that I'm sure has an appropriate Indian name, this dish was out of this world!!! If you are just stopping in for a drink and appetizers, then THIS dish is what you need to order. I think I may need to walk to Indian Oven and get some to-go tonight!! Yes, it's really, really delicious. It reminded me of a pizza, but the green sauce brought the flavors back to India. Oh my...it was good.
So yes, I had my Sweetheart in town for a little over a week and we ate out most every night and Indian Oven was our favorite.
This place is an excellent date-night, and I can't say enough about the food or service.
I eat a lot of Indian Food.  Of all the cities I've visited, Omaha's Indian Oven is still one of my absolute favorites. The well-thought-out menu is delicious. You'll  seriously want to scarf your whole plate and order seconds. I dare you not to eat here every night. It's tough to resist.
And the cocktails? You won't find better in Omaha. These prohibition-era drinks are works of art. Every ingredient is fresh. The bartender/owner even makes his own bitters! He shaves ice off of an actual ice block like he's from a bygone era. It's amazing and gives you a unique dining experience.
This was amazing Indian food! I have eaten at a lot of Indian restaurants and this is one of the best i have had. The rice was very flavorful and not dry at all like some places i have eaten at. The tandoori chicken my husband ordered was so good (i normally do not eat tandoori chicken because it usually does not interest me at other restaurants). Â I would actually order this tandoori chicken though. I ordered the chicken korma and it was delicious. My kids ordered the chicken masala and that was delicious as well...i ate their leftovers the next day. :) The mango lassi was okay...and kind of small. The rice pudding was really good. It had a light flavor...not too sweet at all. I would definitely recommend this restaurant.
Review Source:I have been a patron of the Indian Oven since I was a little child and it's never failed me. Â Not only is the food delicious, but the ambiance and location is unmatched by other Indian restaurants in Omaha.
One aspect of this restaurant that truly sets it apart from any other Indian restaurant that I have dined at is their house bartender. Â He takes his job seriously and in return, he's pretty darn good at what he does. Â Ask him about his drinks from the prohibition era.
Recommended Small Plates:
--Chole Batura
--Behl Puri
--SAMOSA!!!!!!
Recommended Large Plates
--Chicken Tikke Korma (Delicious and easy for those new to Indian food)
--Lamb Vindaloo (Spicy)
--Tandori Chicken (Great flavor. Bones can be annoying)
--Aloo Gobi (Excellent vegetarian dish)
--Konkan Shrimp Molee (Great sauce)
Not bad, but nothing special. Â I was in town on business and decided to eat Indian. The service was OK in a slightly uppity sort of way. Â Although the food was fairly good, it was nothing that would have earned a "Best Of" rating in any even marginally-urbanized area, especially at that price. Â I had the chicken marsala, which I'd recommend.
Review Source:This is a great indian restaurant, especially for the mid-west.
Food: Excellent
The group I was with had the chicken masala, and it was one of the best we have ever had. Also tried the Dhaka, and it was exceptional. The lamb was cooked just right, and this seemed to be a house special according to the waiter who recommended it. One comment, the basmati rice needs some work...did not seem fresh, but left over from lunch. That said, when asked about it, the waiter brought fresh naan on the house.
Drinks: Excellent
While this was a none alcoholic meal, the traditional Indian drinks available more than made up for this fact. They where the perfect retreat from the 101 degree temp outside.
Atmosphere: Average/Hip
Ok..what I mean by this is the atmosphere is clean and well done, but well done for a hipster restaurant in 1995. The artwork needs to be returned to Miami Vice. The service on the other hand was excellent. From what I could tell, each table had two servers working as a team. This approach lead to a quick, and well informed service that made the experience extremely enjoyable. ( Thanks Tony & Tessa )
The service was quick, and alway there to answer a questions.
Maybe the talk of the town in Omaha, but I've def had better. Â
I don't feel its fair since I eat a lot of great indian food in little India in Orange County, CA, so please take that into account for this review.
Food was kinda bland.. n i was biting into whole cloves in the korma i ordered. Â rice was ok.. my soda was flat and my waiter kinda flat too.
This place supposedly made some "Best in Omaha" list a few times, and I can't see how. Â Maybe I was just there on an off night, but the experience was not great.
I ordered vegetable samosas, and two were brought out on a plate. Â One was lukewarm when I cut into it, the other was cold. Â The alu parata was dry and tough, and my lamb dish wasn't much different. Â The lamb cubes tasted like they had been cooked awhile ago and just dumped into some sauce. Â They didn't taste like they had been marinated and slow-cooked in the sauce at all. Â My rice was also dry, and the side salad was just some shredded iceberg lettuce with a dull sauce drizzled over it.
It's located next to a cigar bar, so be prepared for wafts of cigar smoke coming your way during dinner if you sit outside or near the open doors.
Do not use for large events or special occassions!
In Jan 2011 I had a conversation with a manager at Indian Oven about reserving the resturant for a special event in 2012. Â We agreed upon many details, including that there was no reservation fee, as we would have over 60 people attending. Â
In July 2011 we visited the restaurant (we are from out of town) to discuss menu options and finalize details. Â However, things quickly went sour. Â
After months of Indian Oven not returning phone calls about our event, we have just discovered that they decided that they would charge us over $2,000 just to have the event at the restaurant. Â We know have an extremely short time frame to find a new venue and determine new logistics.
The food was satisfactory when we visited, but I would not recommend dealing with this venue for any type of special occassion or large group function.
Note too that they said they didn't have an official contract, so we had nothing holding them to their promises, as our conversations occured over the phone or via email.
Food was slightly under-seasoned, (seemed like they were using dried spices) and, overall, kind of small portions. Â The spicyness level was perfect, but we ordered everything as an 8. Â Pretty cool location, and over all a pleasureable experience. Â If you are looking for classic Indian food thuogh, I would go elsewhere.
Review Source:The restaurant is definitely not the worst Indian-inspired restaurant I've ever visited, but it's no where near the best in comparison to what is in Omaha or beyond.
Atmosphere: There are more hipster themed/artwork pieces than "Indian (north or south) " pieces on the walls. The music selection was a typical house mix that one can find on last.fm. Nothing was used to reinforce an motif that the business's name alludes to.
I don't mind a new-take on ethnic cuisine or even a "fusion" restaurant, but this place left me feeling "Is that it?"
Drink: Considering it's Old Market, the wine selection was not terrible. The lowest priced wine was $28 of decent quality. They did have a tiered selection that I looked at but unfortunately my wallet was not deep enough at that time. Later, I selected an India brewed beer, of which I found pretty decent (Taj Mahal Lager $7.50 22 oz.).
Food: I had an overwhelming feeling that I should have been appreciative of the presentation rather than the food itself. I ordered a typical dish (Aloo Gobhi) consisting of onions, potatoes, cauliflower, and bell pepper, The dish was small for the price ($12.95) as I would've paid more for a bigger portion in order to take it home for another day. My girlfriend had Bhindi do Pyas (Okra two onions) which she was satisfied with.
Overall: If this business was a college student, I'd give it a "C+". Mission was accomplished but with a bit more effort an "A" could've been attained. I felt the place was trying to hard to present even the most simple cuisines from that region of the world.
Alternatives: Indian Garden 125th and W. Center...or Mother India 51st and Levanworth (Most authentic that you will find in Omaha). Also, one might want to give Jaipur brew house a try..At least they would be able to mask any subpar food with copious amounts of locally brewed beer. For a South Indian restaurant try Dhaba's near 132nd and Arbor.
I have no authority over cuisine. I cook indian food myself and have studied the Hindi language and India as a whole for roughly 4 years. I hope that you'll make your own opinion of this establishment.
This placed rocks! I ordered a chicken vindaloo that tied for first as the best chicken vindaloo I ever had. The best was in a little restaurant in the east village called Calcutta. Chef brought a complimentary appetizer as well that made this Latin boy sweat along with the vindaloo. I never sweat. Rich flavors and perfectly seasoned. Benoit, the bartender made an excellent sidecar! Check this place out!!
Review Source:I was very pleased after trying several things from the menu. We had a couple different stuffed naans, raita, shrimp molee, coconut chicken, eggplant, and a vegetable dish. Everything was great. The service was good and the server was very helpful and enthusiastic. The atmosphere was nice, though I seemed to be sitting in a hot area. Drinks were mixed well and everything was seemingly priced reasonably.
Review Source:Chicago to Omaha.
I eat vegetarian, I love food, and I'm a picky eater. When I found out I would be in Omaha for a few days, I was seriously concerned about the food selection.
When speaking with a client of mine, he informed me that his wife is from Omaha and he recommended I try the Indian Oven. I was totally impressed by the recommendation because I looooooove Indian Food.
I walked in the Indian Oven with 5-6 co-workers - some of whom have eaten Indian Food, most had not.
We absolutely looved all the food we ordered, we had an amazing meal.
This restaurant might be expensive for the area it's in, however they offer excellent food in a fun location.
Highly recommended.
Had a wonderful time last night at Indian Oven. Â Great atmosphere in Old Market. Â We went there before a show at the Orpheum. Â
Good service, small quaint atmosphere, great food at reasonable prices. Â We had the Lamb Korma and Chicken Tiki Masala. Â The waitress asked us if we liked Tiki Masala creamy or more like a stew and we said creamy, so she recommended a different chicken dish (can't remember the name). Â They were both really good. Â They were not very spicy, but then again they had things on the menu that were really spicy and we opted for these instead.
The naan is great. Â They have a lot of different kinds. Â We tried the one with cashews and berries with a side of the mango chutney. Â Awesomeness in my belly!
I would say the only con is that your meal comes with about a cup of rice which is fine, but some may say that is not very much.
Definitely recommend a reservation.
Bland tasteless "indian" food. Nothing to recommend for people who have had good Indian before. Samosas were bad, drinks were bad, and the entrees as well. We asked for split checks and they charged us 20 percent for doing so without informing us of the fee. Bad, Bad, Bad and relatively expensive for what you get. If you think this place is good Indian you shouldn't be writing reviews.
Review Source:I travel for a living and am a vegetarian. I was a bit concerned about finding something to eat here and quickly searched Indian. Surprised to find this place one block from my hotel I walked on over.
I eat Indian food all over the world and what I found here was excellent. I had Nan, Rice, and Chana masala. The presentation was fantastic, the flavor was excellent. 80% of the meals I eat are Indian and I will return here everytime I pass through Omaha and try something new.
This is a great spot and I encourage the people of this area to patronize this place.
Well, done.
The food was pretty good. I'm not into spicy food and this place wasn't that spicy at all. The way they made my chicken was amazing. I should go back sometime soon and try another dish.
It's a small restaurant and when we went it was pretty dead in there. But maybe we can try it when it's at night.
Wow! Â I was not expecting such a good meal after reading recent reviews here on Yelp...but my out-of-town friends had been told by a foodie friend they know in Kansas City that this place was excellent. Â So, with some trepidation, off we went yesterday for lunch.
There was only one other table of people, a group of Indian businessmen, when we arrived. Â Only a takeout customer, also Indian, came the whole time we were there. Â That aside....our experience was wonderful.
We ordered four entrees, each one very good. Â I have never tasted such good aloo saag. Â My husbands chicken tikka masala was fine. Â My friend's prawn and okra dish was a standout, and she is very picky about food, as her family is in the restaurant business. Â Her husband's vegetarian sampler was very good. Â All the naan we tried (onion and potatoe) were good. Â The mango lassi was very nice.
Truly, it was a fabulous lunch and I would not hesitate to go back, or recommend it to anyone who enjoys Indian food. Â Lunch prices were very reasonable. Â My only regret was they were out of soup.
Either this place WAS pretty decent when I was in high school, or my tastebuds hadn't grown in yet, or... they're having an off year... or something... but it sure sucks big time now. The service is always lovely and warm but the food was bland and depressing the last two times I came through. HOW DO YOU SCREW UP SAAG PANEER? I should've just eaten 5 orders of naan. Even the pakoras were just meh. What happened?
Review Source:For a long time, this was the only Indian restaurant I was aware of in town and I was for some reason under the impression that it was a 'special occasions only' type of place for two reasons. Â One, it's in the Old Market. Â Two, it's a little spendy. Â
If you're in the neighborhood for lunch, I'd recommend stopping by because you can get a decent lunch for $12 or so, but don't go uber hungry or you're likely to empty out your wallet. Â Personally when I'm in the mood for Indian there are other Omaha area Indian restaurants that are cheaper, closer to home, or just flat out so delicious that I don't care about throwing my money at them. Â This isn't any of those, in my opinion. Â But it gets an A+ for location and atmosphere.
What can you possibly do to Indian food to make it this expensive? Â Seriously. Â The food was ok- flavorful made with just the right ghee- but it just didn't justify the extraordinarily high cost.
The space, though, is beautiful, the waiters are attentive, and overall it's a great experience. Â It's just not a $30 great experience.
I've been to this place many times under different managements and currently, this is a great place to go. The food is great, the service is good and the atmosphere is nice. You really can't go wrong with any of the dishes. Whatever you do, just make sure you order Naan with your curry or any meal! If you don't know, it's a big round piece of bread that you dip into your main course.
Review Source:Week 2 in Omaha. Stepped out after an excruciatingly long day at the client-site into a dreary, rainy Nov evening and the heart, mind and palate were all screaming for some comfort food.
Indian Oven was therefore the destination of choice. One of the friendliest bunch of folks ever, best pronunciation of Indian dishes by a non-Indian crew, though I couldn't quite trust their recommendations!
I love that all restaraunts on Howard street have the retro loft vibe, this one had other intriguiting aspects as well. Three levels of seating (all empty!), white table cloth but seating that sported a combination of casual, trendy chairs and booths reminding me of divans (a futon with the Indian touch!) and celtic music playing in the background...my kind of Indian!
I digress -- in case you're wondering if food would ever figure in this review, here goes. Bonus points for no-grease, no-spice, almost a home-cooked feel to it. No points for flair or flavor. Penalties for being somewhat pricey, location considered.
Verdict - go for the food, stay for the experience, return if you can't find better Indian food elsewhere!
Indian food in Omaha for 20 years, who knew? Indian Oven in The Old Market nightlife district has offered northern style Indian food over that period. I had spinach pakoras appetizer ($4), which was about 8 clumps deep fried with a nice spicy dipping sauce. Main dish was chicken Vindaloo ($16), warned as spicy, but how spicy can food in the Heartland of corn fed steaks and succotash really be? Well, bottom line...this was Hot! And I like spicy food. Garlic Naan was served piping hot to help soak up the Vindaloo heat, along with rice that came with the dish. I ordered Raita (yogurt with onions and cucumbers) to help cool the palette, too. A nice tall Taj Mahal beer also helped (they have Kingfisher, too). Everything was a la cart, and added up in total, was a little too pricy for the too spicy! (Must be the cost of flying in the spices daily from Mumbai? hehe) Â If you yearn for some tandoori, kabobs, or other northern style Indian flavors in Omaha, this is one of only a couple of choices in the metro area.
Review Source:Have to say I am a bit disappointed in the Indian Oven. Â Lamb Ke Bob, Chicken Tikki Korma, all the great breads, that is still there but in general I do not like the new menu. Â I think the portions size has gone down while the price went up. Â Service varies but has been a bit poor of late.
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