Fleetwood Haymarket — Restaurant in Lincoln

I was very excited to find out about Fleetwood opening last month and wanted to pick out a nice restaurant for my birthday! After reading some great reviews I felt at ease making my reservation for about 15 people (ended up being 13). I was surprised when the person who took my reservation said that someone would reach out to me with information confirming my reservation as well as to set up a limited menu for my party as we would be in a separate room from everything else (I did not request a special room btw).

This was the first time I've ever experienced this with a restaurant so I was confused haha but went with it. Jessica was great! She communicated everything clearly to me. I picked the amount of courses, the 4 entrees that my party would pick from for their order and submitted everything at the beginning of the week of the reservation.

Our server, Haylee, was amazing! She was easy to talk to and everyone had great rapport with her. Service as a whole was fantastic, though, drinks did take a while to come out. I do understand that there was a large party dining at the same time as ours as well and they looked pretty busy! So no biggie!

As for the cons of this experience, I understand with Fleetwood being more geared towards a fine dining experience or like more fancy compared to their sister companies (Toast & Leadbelly), I wasn't really a big fan of the whole limited menu for my party although I understand that it's to make it go smoother for the chefs and staff. Everyone didn't know what Fleetwood was prior to the reservation and of course we look up the full menu online to see what is offered. I found it to be a bit stressful/anxiety inducing when it came down to picking out the entrees because of possible accomodations needed for anyone that I wasn't aware of and then having to tell everyone that it was a limited menu and not the full menu that they had gotten excited about. I know, this is very minimal but everyone joked saying it was like I was planning a wedding! Haha. I did mention that it was definitely more casual with friends while I was emailing all of the information over.

As for the food, to be honest I was very underwhelmed. A huge point was made that our party would have a dedicated chef for our table, which is awesome! Most of us ordered the ribeye all medium rare for the temp. The cook on everyone's ribeye was very off (more on the rare side). Mine specifically, the flavor was good! The steak itself was more rare on the outer edges (you can see that in the picture attached) and towards the center was a decent medium rare. My cousin who sat next to me ordered medium rare and it was medium rare on the outer edges but medium/well done towards the center and was very dry. I know that we could have asked for them to refire but everyone was hungry at that point and didn't want to wait for a refire.

Drinks are FANTASTIC. The kale Caesar salad with the bread was delicious! And the sticky fig cake (pictured) was also very good!

Overall, even though I didn't have the greatest meal here, I will definitely be back to try it again with a smaller group of people and access to...

Date Night

We were downtown without any pre-planning trying to find somewhere without a wait. Wandered to the edge and poked our heads into Fleetwood. They were surprisingly slow for a Saturday night. First time, totally cool atmosphere. If you are unaware this is a sister restaurant to LeadBelly and Toast!

They update their menu pretty frequently plus had an additional list of specials you can't find online. One of their schticks is their "Dirty Devils." Random fancy Deviled Eggs with rotating flavors. My husband tried the Carbonara eggs which he enjoyed just fine. We also ordered the Fried Mushrooms, Portabellas and Onions with a bit of a kick. They were yummy but originally delivered with the wrong sauce (a lemon aioli which came into play later). When brought out the intended Honey Mustard it made a lot more sense!

He was trying to choose between several meaty entrees and finally decided on the Porterhouse Pork Chop. He added a bowl of Broccoli Cheddar Soup that he Loved and it was only 4 bucks! This dish contained so many of his favorite things...Gorgonzola honey butter, Cheddar Bacon Whipped Potatoes, and Blistered Green Beans. His Pork Chop was cooked perfectly and he was happy with Every Single aspect of his meal!

I had to try the Fish & Chips from the Specials Menu thinking they'd probably be similar to LeadBellys. Imagine my disappointment when served pre-fab frozen filets. As far as that goes they were one of the better ones. House-made Hushpuppies were really doughy and I couldn't eat them. Fries were partially seasoned and okay. I didn't care for the Pub Sauce but the Lemon Aioli mistake from earlier was the saving grace to accompany the Fish!

Finished with a Signature Cocktail, the Jay Made Me Crazy. A fruity rum drink with many components it was Very well balanced and Delicious! Our server seemed distracted like she'd had a long day. Still got a great tip. Kitchen closes a bit later at 10pm. We left before then. Plan on going back but will probably ask a lot more questions with my order!

• Originally posted to EAT IT in Lincoln, NE on Facebook *

Edit to add I was pretty much immediately contacted by corporate to address any...

Sometimes I think that Lincoln lacks in good restaurants, and so I was pleasantly surprised to find that Fleetwood makes it on the short list of restaurants that I would absolutely recommend to a visiting foreign delegation.

Location is nice, haymarket is good because you have to park a few blocks away. This necessitates a nice walk to (awkward) and from (jovial) the restaurant during which the best conversations tend to take place. I have disdain for a near-the-door parking spot where your accompanying friend or date can hardly get a word in before you’re telling the hostess “table for 3 please and don’t sit us near the kitchen door again please”.

We sat at the bar because there was a wait (which is a good sign) and because of this we had the lucky fortune of finishing our meals before a pregnant woman and her family were even seated. Which I did feel a little bad about. But I digress.

We both got the chicken Parmesan. It was pretty nice. The noodles were big and tasted like nothing, the sauce was real. The cheese and seasonings were good. The chicken is what brought an otherwise wonderful Fleetwood experience to a baffling and chaotic one. Not only was it some sort of Sysco frozen breaded chicken breast, but there was an awful size disparity. One chicken was nearly twice the size of the other. Since I was paying for the meal I kindly requested to my friend that she fork over the larger breast. She did and I was satisfied but it left the question on my mind of “what would happen if she said no?” It would have ruined my night, and to be honest Fleetwood would have received a 3 or perhaps even 2 star review. So, I hope Fleetwood practices some chicken quality control, or just starts breading and frying their own chicken breasts.

Dessert was fantastic, it saved the day. Fig cake with toffee and ice cream. I mean genius. One of the best I’ve had in a very long time and perhaps ever. I’m rarely blown away by a dessert but this really sealed the deal on an extremely respectable Jack H 4 star review.

I would absolutely return to Fleetwood as I would like to work my way...