Gorat's — Restaurant in Omaha

I can’t believe I’ve lived in Omaha most of my life and I’ve never been to Gorat’s steak house. In the mood for Chicken Fried Steak, I consulted Google for “best chicken friend steak Omaha” and Gorat’s popped up. I thought “I guess we are going to Gorat’s” boy am I glad we did! The outside is pretty dated although I did note the metal cow head skulls with the red glowing eyes, their kitschiness kept them from being eerie.

The inside was nicely done, clearly recently and tastefully updated, smelled great and had fantastic subdued lighting, I was feeling good about my choice. It was early so it wasn’t too busy. The friendly hostess brought me to a cozy table tucked into a corner, framed by a heavy drape. They had some fantastic pictures of Omaha yesteryears gracing the walls. There was a live duo serving up some classic tunes in the lounge. I was really liking the “old Omaha steak vibe” the place was giving.

I ordered a Rusty Nail, it was spot on, sweet and strong. Our waitress, Lori, has worked at Gorat’s for 30 years and she was a treat! Overall, the staff was super friendly but she was special - charming, warm and personable. On Lori’s recommendation we started with Gorat’s “famous” onion rings. They were great, light crispy coating, piping hot and served with a red pepper aioli, so good! I, of course, ordered the Chicken fried steak, with brown gravy on the mashed potatoes and white gravy on the steak. The meal came with choice of soup or salad. I had the baked potato soup. It was rich, tasty and decadent, full of big chunks of tender potato, a hint of something spicy, garnished with cheese, bacon and green onion. When the meals were served everything was hot and straight from the kitchen. The Chicken fried steak was everything I hope it would be, tasty crisp breading, delicious tender chewiness and impeccably seasoned. Usually, I find it necessary to salt and or pepper my food but this needed none. The side vegetable was green beans and they were delicious, tender but not soggy and subtly seasoned. Usually, I prefer brown gravy. It is the safer choice. In many restaurants the white gravy is flavor-less, floury glop, not so at Gorat’s. The country cream gravy was a masterpiece of flavors. Through-out the meal Lori checked on us appropriately and we chatted amiably. She and the bus staff made sure we had everything we needed. The manager came around a couple times making sure everything was good without being overbearing, which takes real finesse to pull off. Lori recommended the Pink Squirrel for dessert and all I can say is wow, it was yummy! Eventually it was time to tab out and I was pleasantly surprised by the total.

Short and sweet, I love Gorat’s!! We will definitely be back, I’m pretty sure I’m going to be a faithful regular. It might have taken me 50 years to discover the glory that is Gorat’s but now that I have, I can’t wait to go back. You can be sure when I go again, we will ask for Lori and...

Underwhelmed...The sign out front says "finest steaks in the world", if only it would've come out warm...not only was the entire plate and all of its contents of Whiskey Ribeye, vegetables, mashed potatoes and gravy were cold but our waitress seemed put off that we didn't order alcohol and we saw how different she treated the table next to us that ordered a bunch of drinks from the bar. We also ordered the fish and chip special, which was delicious, and the Lobster Mac and Cheese was phenomenal. My wife had a coke and I had Cherry Coke and on my second drink, I could tell that the mix was off and was waiting to get our waitresses attention but she was too busy bringing out beer and mixed drinks to the other table she was waiting on and never even looked our way. I finally got up and went over to her, and she seemed confused that I would ask for another drink, like there was anything she could change. She finally brought me another drink , which was worse than the first one, but she didn't hang around to find out if it tasted okay because she had to go check on her other table. Keep in mind that this was not a priority for her as she walked around doing other things while she carried my glass around with her. Finally, I was able to flag her down to let her know, expecting her to maybe go to the bar to get a cherry coke or offer to get me another drink or take it off the bill but she said that she didn't know when they could fix it and just left with my drink. Later, I told her that I could go fix the problem because all she needed to do was change the box of syrup on the machine but she said that the guys that normally fix it were busy and she didn't know when they could fix it... What??? She also told me that she didn't know what the special was earlier when I was trying to order it because she was late from her other job...I'm sorry to be so inconsiderate but check it at the door...go find out the answer and do it cheerfully. This was my first time and maybe my last..I guess I had too high of an expectation because I figured if it is good enough for Warren Buffet to eat at, it must be good. I'm sure he gets good service...

My wife and I don't get to go out without the kids very often, so tonight was going to be a treat. At least I had good company but the experience at Gorats was underwhelming, to say the least. The worst part was that our server didn't seem to care. The hostess asked us how everything was on our way out and I let her know and she seemed to be concerned and told us that she would let management know. Hopefully they can train their staff to offer world class experience to future customers coming in looking for a fine steak and fine service to...

After years of swearing I would not eat here again I had to try it out. The last time I visited was 2018 when i waited an hour for our food. We were told by a head server or manager that they were buying us drinks while we waited. She may have just sampled those drinks because she reaked of smoke and beverages when we talked. No surprise because the waitress forgot our drink and onion ring order and was talking to herself the whole meal. We wondered what the rule was but knew it was a family restaurant. I felt that Gorats had given up on trying to make the food more enticing or the service better and they would dissapear like our other famous restaurants that don't improve. The meal did not end any better than it began and we left embarrassed to have bragged to our visitors about Gorats.

Turn the clock to 2021.

My boss said he went to a wine dinner a few months ago and had a great time with food he has never had before and bought a bunch of wine bottles.

We heard that the Mothers day buffet was delicious, but we didnt make it.

We were invited by friends to go eat there recently because Gorats was donating part of their sales to a suicide prevent charity. They said they were treated like royalty! We got free drinks that were bought by the manager to toast. I called and spoke with a host named Ryan i think the next afternoon and he said that they really care about helping their Omaha friends and this cause had a personal meaning.

The music hasnt changed, but they now have their own big speakers and is still attended by huge crowds from looking at their facebook page.

My neighbors told me a month ago that they wont be back because the happy hour was changed. Now they go at least one per week and say they love it.

After Church yesterday a group was talking about some outdoor event this summer they are planning with live music. There isnt much except the Aksarben area happening so this sounds like a fun party. i hope its true.

I read a story about the guy that worked there for 50 years died. I didnt know him but my sister said they put on a free luncheon for his passing. That man hasnt worked there for many years but they still wanted to something nice. She said she saw people she hadnt seen in 10years.

I live than three miles from Gorats and love going to a local place to show support. It was hard the last few years having to go somewhere else.

The reason gorats gets a 5 is because they are not just a business they are my neighbor and I am sure happy they stuck around waiting for me. The dinner I had this weekend weekend was worth the three year wait. The service was efficient and warm. The Prime Rib...