Brazen Head Irish Pub — Restaurant in Omaha

First time experience at Brazen Head Pub last night!

North of 78th & Dodge, this pub is such a fun experience for Irish fare. We were actually supposed to be on a trip to Ireland right now... but you know, COVID. So this was a great consolation.

The pub is “seat yourself” and was incredibly full when we arrived at 7:00pm. Somehow we lucked out and got a big booth away from crowd, tucked back in a nook by the bar. If I could’ve picked any table it would’ve been this one. Wooden and stained glass partitions really defined our space as our own. We almost thought we’d get kicked out of our table because it was just too good to be true. Fortunately the space was ours to keep for the next couple hours.

They have six varieties of Irish coffees on the menu here. Since Brazen Head is an Irish pub and Irish coffee just happen to be one of my absolute favorite adult beverages, naturally I had to try a couple of them. I started with the “Oh Danny Boy” Irish coffee at the recommendation of our waitress. This one is made with coffee, kahlua, Irish cream, and topped with whipped cream. I should’ve saved this one for last because the sweetness made it more of a dessert. But it was very good! The second one I got was “The Traditional” with coffee, Jameson, and topped with whipped cream. I really wanted to compare their basic one to others I’ve had and loved. While they were both delicious, I prefer mine sans whipped cream. The best Irish coffees I’ve had in Omaha so far are at Inkwell and Backlot Taphouse. I strive to try them all.

Our waitress was on top of it! She got all of our drinks and food exactly how we requested and was super friendly and kind. Our table ordered the fish and chips, the Dubb Linn Stew, and the reuben. I got a chicken Caesar salad and a bowl of the baked onion soup. I tried all of the food and the best was the fish and chips by far. The fish is battered with Fat Tire beer batter and you can douse it with malt vinegar at the table and dip it in a side of tartar sauce. You can taste the beer in the batter and it was f*cking phenomenal. Definitely one of the all stars of our meal. My baked onion soup however I was a little disappointed with. It did taste good, but my own preconception left me wanting something else. I was picturing a French onion soup like the phenomenal one I’ve had at Le Bouillon and will now crave until I get it again. However I missed the word “creamy” in the title of this one. This one is more of a chowder. It was good, just not what I expected. I’m not really a chowder person so I probably wouldn’t have selected it if I had known.

Other than the incredibly delicious beer battered fish and super crispy waffle fries (chips) the real star of our meal was the spinach artichoke dip. I’ve had a lot of spinach artichoke dips but this one takes the cake. It’s served in a bread bowl with an abundance of crispy, thick flour chips. But it’s not the bread or the chips that even makes this so stellar (although it definitely didn’t hurt). You can taste the variety of rich cheeses in this dip. It soooooo creamy, rich, thick, and flavorful. Check out the cheese pull in the video in this post... ugh... YUM. I’m not sure what subtle spices they use in this (I’m guessing garlic powder, onion powder, maybe some cayenne and a light dash of red pepper flakes) but it was EVERYTHING. So. Damn. Good.

All in all an excellent first experience and won’t be our last! If you get the chance to check out Brazen Head DEFINITELY get the spinach artichoke dip to start and the fish and chips for your meal. Out of this f*cking world. Especially if you luck out and get our secluded...

I've been to Brazen Head multiple times. Today, December 17 2020, the gf and I headed in for a late lunch around 3 p.m. The restaurant was mostly empty but that didn't seem to affect the server's attitude. They've always been pleasant and friendly. Just inside the entryway they have made little cups of sanitizer for patrons.

Within a minute or so of seating ourselves (that is the general situation during non-peak hours) our server stopped over, checked in with us and asked if we'd like some drinks. They have several holiday drinks that sounded appealing, so while we perused the beverage menu she offered to fetch us glasses of water. We opted out of alcoholic drinks, in spite of the myriad delicious options on offer, and settled on two frosty glass root beers.

Appetizers were potato skins (well made even though they're standard bar fare) and baked brie which my girlfriend LOVES. For our main courses I had their delicious salmon melt and she had the pub classic which earns all rights to that name.

We opted to take home some food for dinner as well just like last time, selecting the tasty Clonarf Club sandwich and the Dubb Linn Stew in the bread bowl. I decided to write this review because we just reheated the stew and it is INCREDIBLE. Beef chunks that are melt-in-your-mouth good, a tantalizing gravy with a zingy but pleasing blend of spices, and all the usual vegetables you want to see in a stew. I can't believe how good this is!

The only caveats I might have are: 1) our server was almost too fast in bringing out our main courses, as I felt we'd barely started our appetizers before the sandwiches came out, but not too big a deal, and might have been mitigated if we'd asked for a little time in-between. 2) their coleslaw is just okay. It's a bit bland for my tastes. But we added a little creamed horseradish and a touch of black pepper, and it pepped it up nicely.

Anyhow. Go there and eat. They deserve five stars. And to our waitress, I wish I'd had more cash on me. $17 is not nearly a big enough tip for y'all. We'll definitely make it up to you guys next...

I felt like I was a burden by being there. It’s 1600 on a Saturday so I don’t feel like it was a bad time. I wasn’t mistreated nor was the staff rude. Also, I’m here for work (from KY) so it could be a cultural difference. I just felt like I wanted to hurry up and leave.

I ordered the Chicken Pot Pie. I know I saw a sense of chicken in the dish so I can’t say there wasn’t any. The potatoes were definitely not cooked so I was disappointed in that feature. Again this could be a cultural thing but there was a large mound of what appeared to be uncooked or undercooked dough on top of the dish. I’ve never had a pot pie dish served in that fashion and I just removed it so I could just eat the remainder of the dish.

Again I feel like I’m being nitpicky, but the crust was at the bottom and it was pretty tough. It appeared to be more of a pillsbury crescent roll in regard to the flaky texture that was not covered underneath the sauce. That part was enjoyable, but you need a knife to cut the crust that is under the sauce.

I wouldn’t say don’t eat here bc this could have been an isolated experience. But I would recommend the staff to interact with the clients. I saw 4 different staff members at the bar and was not spoken to and that struck me as unusual. However I will say that the younger generation doesn’t utilize the same communication skills that I was taught. Making eye contact and greeting customers was always the simplest method to convey a welcoming atmosphere.

Again I can be so descriptive that it comes off to some as negative. It wasn’t a “bad” experience, I just wouldn’t want to come back based on this...