Semo Pasta + Wine — Restaurant in Fremont

We had an incredible first experience at Semo Pasta + Wine in Fremont Friday night.

The restaurant atmosphere is fantastic. Great for an intimate date night or a small group dinner. I’ve joked to my husband that I’m going to start traveling with my own votive candle so I always have a candlelit dinner. Fortunately the Semo crew knows how to set a mood and had them on every table. That along with the painted tin ceiling, wood parquet floors, exposed brick walls with historic mural intact, and schoolhouse pendants in the storefront windows made the perfect cozy atmosphere for a rainy Friday evening dinner.

For starters we did the bread and butter and artisan cheese plate. The bread was served warm with a drizzle of olive oil. The softened salted butter was fantastic. The cheese plate was accompanied with honeycomb which created a wonderful sweet and savory duo with the nuttiness of the manchego cheese.

For drinks, we shared a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. I also tried a sip of the Pumpkin Spiked Latte. This was a delicious fall cocktail and tasted incredibly similar to Starbucks’ PSL. It would be a perfect dessert cocktail to end your meal.

For entrees we got five out of the six pasta dishes they were serving that night. These were surprisingly generous portions of pasta - which we loved. My favorite was my order of zucca with pheasant, autumn squash, and pumpkin seed. The zucca was the perfect al dente and the sauce was subtly sweet, nutty, and creamy. A flawless autumnal dish.

This was followed by the tagliatelle with burgundy truffle and Parmigiano Reggiano as a close second favorite of mine. I’m a big Parmigiano Reggiano fan - almost to a fault. I always have a wedge of it in my fridge and put it on top of pretty much everything that I cook. That cheesy sauce along with the truffles and housemade tagliatelle was the pasta trifecta. 10/10.

I also tried bites of the basil spaghettini with Dungeness crab, spaghetti carbonara, and malfadine bolognese which were all delicious. The Semo crew is unmatched in their pairing of noodle and sauce profiles with locally sourced meats and produce from Nebraska farms. When I perused their menu for Friday evening and saw the ragu and bolognese dishes along with the pheasant, rabbit, duck, and Wagyu ribeye proteins I thought “oh they know what they’re doing here…” Very fitting selections for their location to bring upscale dishes with a small town Nebraska flair to appease just about any guest that walks through the door.

For desserts we had the apple crisp cake with brown butter ice cream and flourless chocolate cake. The chocolate cake is very rich, dense, and packed with a deep chocolate flavor. The apple cake had a brown sugar granola that added a tasty crunch to the soft apple cake. The brown butter ice cream complimented it perfectly. I’d highly recommend this desert as long as it’s on the menu.

Downtown Fremont is incredibly fortunate to have Chef Drew, Michelle, Jack, and the rest of their crew bring their housemade pasta, exceptional desserts, and extensive wine selections to the heart of their downtown. There are several establishments that have popped up along Fremont’s Main Street in recent years. If you haven’t been in awhile, I’d highly recommend the short trip to check it out.

Thank you to the Semo crew for your hospitality and incomparable dishes. It was a wonderful night. We’ll...

Semo is a true gem for Fremont and West Omaha area. Dining is an experience, and they do it well. It starts with a warm welcome (so many hosts operate almost mechanically to get you seated; at Semo, it was a genuine welcome, with a thank you for the reservation, and honor of the nice table request). Terrific start.

Austin was taking care of us, and he knows hospitality. He told us about the chef owners and their respective passions, which showed in the dishes. It made for a personal experience. Austin paid attention to details we overlooked (he quickly replaced a saucer mistaken for a butter dish, which we didn’t even pick up on). He suggested a great (and very reasonably priced) New Zealand Sav. Fantastic service.

The ambience was warm, brick lined interior and historic tin ceilings, candles on the tables, and freshly trimmed greenery. We were seated by the front window, which made for a quieter and more romantic experience for two.

The food was the star of the evening. Ricotta agnolotti (similar to ravioli) was served with hazelnut roasted butter and generous truffle shavings. These pillowy bites were scrumptious. Scallop spaghettini was wonderfully done as well. We were tempted by King Salmon, but had to choose home made pasta at a restaurant named after semolina pasta flour. We would gladly order both dishes again. These guys know good pasta (I lived in Italy and will vouch for it). For dessert, an affogato and a strawberry shortcake rounded out the meal with just the right amount of balanced sweetness. Make those...

We had a marvelous time at Semo Pasta + Wine. We went for our anniversary. My wife is also 7 months pregnant but on arrival they brought us a specialty n/a sparkling flavored water. Which already was above and beyond anything we expected. Our waiter was very good, answered questions and explained all parts of the menu. We started with the bread and house made butter which was infused with fresh herbs. Highly recommend! I had an old fashioned to drink which I thoroughly enjoyed. The back bone bourbon was very good in it. For main dishes I ordered the tagliatelle with smoked pork. The smoked pork was melt in your mouth good. My wife who isn’t a huge fan of pork even commented how good it was after I made her try it. She ordered the radiatore with spicy sausage ragu. This was the star of the night for me personally and the wife really enjoyed it as well. For dessert we got the ice cream with the cappuccino poured over the top. I can’t remember the name and forgot a picture of the dessert menu. It was also very very good. They take your plate and box everything in the back for you and bag it. Then after we payed our check and were about to leave the manager/maybe owner came over and gave us another bag with a smaller bottle of champagne and another sparkling water with a note saying happy anniversary and with our upcoming baby and it was signed by the staff. The food alone is worth going for but the staff will keep us coming back from Omaha again and again! Definitely worth the drive!

Thanks for such a...