M's Pub

Sunday, May 21, 2018

M’s Pub

422 S. 11th Street, Omaha NE

Where we went:

Tonight was a special night, Wicked was performing at Omaha’s Orpheum Theater. Despite having been in Omaha four times before, the show was still sold out. Kyle had seen Wicked twice before (once in Chicago and once here in Omaha), but Eric and our mutual friends, Eric S. and Todd, had never seen it, so we got tickets. In planning the night we chose to head back down to the Old Market to eat at an Omaha restaurant that has been in the news quite a lot over the past year, M’s Pub.

M’s Pub is a small, fine dining restaurant in the historic Mercer Building in the heart of the Old Market, and has been a premier dining location since its opening in 1972, long before the Old Market was a destination. However, at 2:51pm on Saturday, January 9, 2016, a gas leak causes an explosion in the building's basement. Within minutes M’s pub, surrounding business and three floors of high end lofts above, were engulfed in flames. Fortunately, nobody was injured, but the building was a complete loss.

After more than a year of rebuilding, the Mercer building and M’s Pub reopened in August of 2017. Out of our group Kyle was the only one who hadn’t been to M’s before the fire, and none of us had been since its reopening. Due to the popularity of M’s, and the fact it had only been open for ten months, we made a point to make reservations.

What we Eat:

M’s Pub features two menus, their standard menu and a menu of special items that changes every month. Kyle ordered from the standard menu, trying the Chicken, Pesto, Pasta, Eric meanwhile ordered of the special menu trying a ham, potato and asparagus meal. Unfortunately, I forgot to record what Eric S. and Todd had ordered, they both ordered off the special meal.

The Food:

The food at M’s Pub was quite good. The meals were warm and tasty, Kyle and Eric S. didn’t like the food quite as much Eric and Todd. Eric and Todd raved about their meals. However, Kyle and Eric S., though enjoying their tasty meals, didn’t think they were anything exceptional. Kyle and Eric S. won’t be going back to M’s Pub just for the food.

The Atmosphere:

M’s Pub is a very small, yet very high end dining experience. Although there is no dress code, one would feel out of place in a T-shirt and shorts. Do to its massive popularity, especially at the moment, it feels very crowded. Our table, in fact, was so far against the wall I couldn’t sit in the center of my side of the table. They were able to restore the old charm of the building despite almost everything, except a few exposed brick walls, is brand new. The owner did say in an interview in January that they were doing everything they could to make the new restaurant exactly like the old, “Everyone liked the old restaurant, so if it isn’t broke, why fix it.”

The Service:

The service at M’s was spectacular. They had our reservation ready when we arrived and, despite how busy they were, we were almost immediately greeted by our waiter taking our drink order. All the staff we encountered were friendly and upbeat, despite the crowds, this is a rarity in busy restaurants, as staff are usually stressed and cranky.

In the End:

If you want a truly classic and unique experience in Omaha, and you don’t mind the high end dining experience, and the price that goes with it (the price wasn’t all that bad, just more than we normally pay for a meal), M’s Pub is for you. The food is good, the service is great, but you really go for the atmosphere.

We are very glad that M's Pub was able to rebuild and hope that other businesses that were lost in the fire are able to re-open again soon.