So this is Warren Buffet's favorite steak restaurant? I may disagree with your taste buds here on this one Mr. Buffet. So I went here with my family because well if you live in Nebraska, you have to try the restaurant that raves about being the best place to get a steak. Once we arrived, we waited like 10 minutes to get seated.. Where were all the employees? Then we got seated in the corner next to the kitchen. I should have taken a picture, but there were several other seat options and that's where they put us.... Alright already off to a bad start. Then we got the most atrocious waitress who forgot about us. We actually had another waitress refill our drinks. KUDOS to her. Okay so my dad and brother ordered the Whiskey Ribeye and I ordered the 10 oz club steak with bleu cheese butter. My mother ordered good ol' Chicken Alfredo. We started with some bread and butter. It was just ordinary bread and butter. My dad was raving about the butter, but really... it's butter. At least it was softened butter. On to the salad.. delicious Italian dressing with the salad. So after the salad, we waited an entire hour before getting served our food. SLOW service. Got my steak and it was cooked a little more well-done rather than medium, but I didn't mind. The steak was not as amazing as I would have hoped for. I definitely have had better at other Steakhouses. Sad moment in my life...especially since I was talking this restaurant up to my family... yikes! I also got seasoned vegetables and a side of mashed potatoes with brown gravy. The seasoned vegetables were seasoned a bit on the sour side, but they were okay. The mashed potatoes tasted like they were made from the easy do it yourself mashed potatoes box at the grocery store. Maybe I expected too much of this place, but it definitely was not a favorite of mine. I will probably never go back again.
(3)
joe m.
OK IT HAS BEEN 2 YEARS AND STILL HORRIBLE Tried eating at the bar this time...Very slow service.It took 40 minutes to get our food which was not warm.I noticed the cook spent most of his time BS ing in the bar with friends. Chicken pacacta( $14) states on the menu it comes with a creamy lemon sauce.It came out dry with no sauce and a pile of dried rice ECK......Had to ask for bread and butter.what we got was a few pieces of DRIED OUT slices which fell apart when trying to butter then to soften them,nasty. The chicken parmesan ($14)came out Burnt and not warm HHMmnn. A tiny bowl of tasteless pasta. Both meals had NO FLAVOR what so ever.Not worth the money.We cant beleive this place is still open HORRIBLE;;;; Slow service,cold food and they can not follow what ever you order,. .ex medium rare will come out well done to burnt well done will come out rare shrimp so under cook and hard. drinks 20 minutes per order $250 for a table of 6 GO ELSE WHERE.
(2)
Jenn L.
We really wanted to like this place. The atmosphere is great, love the live music, but the service and food were very lackluster. I unfortunately cannot recommend it other than the appetizers and the seasonal veggies which happily happened to be brussels sprouts. It was very slow and rushed at the same time. Sadly disappointed.
"Meh" sums up my feelings for Gorat's. We went basically to see what all the hoopla was about. And was left wondering why there was such a fuss about it. The steaks weren't bad... But they were definitely not the best in Omaha, by far. The Whiskey sauce was pretty tasty. But the rib-eye itself was just meh. We had a tuna starter, and it wasn't that great. Pretty dry & not very flavorful. The bathrooms were severely outdated. They were dingy, gross & falling apart. In the men's restroom, the faucet handle was sitting on the counter. In the women's, one of the doors wouldn't lock & they looked dirty. I've seen much better gas station bathrooms. I wouldn't recommend this steak house to anyone. There are far better options in Omaha.
(2)
A W.
Went there for our anniversary. Nice private dining area. Service was good. Food was average. Steak was undercooked- despite request for medium it came medium rare. I've never had to use salt on my steaks, but this time I had to. Shrimp was not fresh and tasted fishy (not worth the $3 price per shrimp). Hashbrowns were too salty. Sides were average. Flatbread appetizer was soggy. Better off eating at Mahogany steakhouse for the price. Cook must have worked at a hospital previously because everything was bland.
(3)
Michelle P.
Our food was very delicious and our waitress, Rita, was very attentive and great about explaining all of the options. Main course came with soup/salad plus veggie (which could be swapped out if you preferred) plus an additional side. Somehow we all saved room for dessert (to share). Started with the homemade onion rings. While nothing unique, they were delicious and even the one-year old liked them. Everyone ordered some version of steak, because duh, and everyone enjoyed their options. The vibe is very casual but you get quality food. The building is also very unassuming so you may pass it up if you were just driving by, but it is worth a stop and a visit to central Omaha!
(4)
Shaunda F.
WOW these reviews are really good or really bad?! I love this place. My first visit was before the remodel. I seriously did not want to go back after my first meal there, but my mother in-law had been eating there for the last 62yrs and its her favorite. I love her so off I'd go. Then all of a sudden one visit they were closed. And yes with growth there is change. Good and bad. In my opinion the quality of the food 10X's better. Great bar. Always busy, yes they can be a little under staffed. But I have never had horrible service or bad food. Its priced well, its yummy. Come on folks- this is not a 4 star place and its not trying to be. Great food, great prices. And the owners sat down at our table and talked about the old days and listened to moms stories. I'll be there each time I'm in Omaha.....
(5)
Grey B.
For a heralded steak house I thought it would be better. Went in this evening and had a two star meal. I am only giving it two stars cause the staff was wonderful, but I eat food not service. Ordered the 10oz whiskey rib eye. First steak was overcooked. The staff took care of that immediately. Second steak comes out cooked properly at medium rare. The baked potatoes had seen better days as did the vegetables. Don't see what the buzz is about. I would dare say most of the chain steak places do a better job. And really an iceberg lettuce salad?
(2)
Meesh G.
I trust warren buffetts judgement on anything except this place. It was embarrassingly bad. The salad is out a mixed greens bag from the local hivee at 52nd and dodge. The shrimp appetizer was fine. The buffalo steak was more rare than seeing a hot girl at 10th and Howard. The "vegetables" we're simply steamed carrots that might have been tasty the last time the huskers had a good football team. Sweet potato fries were fine. Hash browns had a bad taste. Honestly I can just picture management walking through the frozen aisle at hincky dinky and just plucking all of their ingredients and laughing at how much they over charge people. I have a really bad stomach ache- anyone know a good Walgreens on pacific??? Runza down the street would have been a better value.
(1)
Sonia C.
I came here because it's Warren Buffett's favorite steakhouse. I ordered the t-bone and hashbrowns because it's Warren Buffett's favorite meal. ...No offense, but I'm sure Warren has had better steak but probably needed to endorse an Omaha restaurant for his legion of fans that flock to the city every year for the shareholder's meeting. The steak was quite tough. It was hard to saw through the piece of meat. It wasn't well-seasoned and I needed salt and A1 to get it down. The hashbrowns were great though it's one of those things that are kind of hard to mess up. The creme brulee had such a thick shell that we needed to stab at it repeatedly before it cracked. It's inexpensive though, so you get what you pay for. Worth the initial experience, but probably not worth a repeat visit.
(2)
Marcy C.
I was in town for work and wanted to try some Omaha steak. After asking around the locals recommended Gorats. I was a little reluctant but I'm glad I came. I ordered the filet mignon which was just the perfect size for me. My coworkers ordered the whiskey ribeye, club sirloin steak, and chicken fried steak. I got a Cesar salad and was surprised to see it had avocado on top. Never seen that on a Cesar but no complaints here. I love avocado. Everyone enjoyed a great dinner. Beware the salads are huge! It's a bit on the retro side but it was kinda fun.
(4)
Royal B.
Cleanliness 4 Service 4 Food 4 Likelihood 5 1-5 (5 Best!) 4.3 I have not had the pleasure of dining at Gorat's since its face lift. WOW! INCREDIBLE! A great local steak house we all can be proud of, have great service at and that is comfortable and modern. GREAT JOB GENE! Easter Brunch was a hit! We were seated right away and on time. Our server was hopping busy and didn't seem to miss a beat with any of her tables; refills were plenty, used dishes were removed and we were well taken care of. Restroom was VERY clean, well stocked and updated. Nice job. It is nice to see the 45 bus stations gone and walls torn down to reveal the way the dinning room was over 45 years ago. Instead of remodel, it was a "de-model" a great modern look. The food was hot, fresh, and VERY tasty. I was very impressed. For buffet food, they had it going on. Best buffet I have eaten at in recent years.
(4)
Colleen L.
We went here for restaurant week, and were not disappointed! Curiously the new owner or chef has added some "different" items to the menu, which included asian chicken skewers and ahi tuna. I'm not used to seeing those on an Italian steakhouse menu, but the skewers were delicious. I had the gazpacho, filet, baked potato, and red velvet cheesecake. No complaints! My steak was perfect and tender. The potato was served with two paper pouches of sour cream, and the seasonal vegetable was a carrot, broccoli, cauliflower medley. Hash browns were highly recommended, and tasty, but were just simply fried shredded potato. The ice cream wasn't that exciting, but the blueberry bread pudding was (I recommend bringing 3 people to fully experience a restaurant week menu). Atmosphere is certainly a step up from the darkly paneled Drover, and the renovations are up to date. Very nice but simple interior, which is bright and appealing. Our waitress was a 20 year long happy employee, which says a lot for the restaurant!
(4)
Dianne R.
I have been eating at Gorats before and after the renovation. I love the food- I have asked for more seasoning: salt and pepper. But its always a winner. Drink are reasonable and MMMMMMgood. Its not Morton's or Ruth Chris BUT your not paying those prices either...I will continue to enjoy each time I'm there...
(4)
Robert N.
Old-school, for better or worse. If steak isn't your thing, have a drink in the lounge.
(3)
Michael G.
If i could give a zero i would. This place sucks. Steaks have no flavor, typical with Omaha Steaks. Ordered it rare came out medium well. Sent it back still came in at medium well. Refused to eat it. Same with the sides. They were terrible. I have friends that love 8t...but I can make a better steak at home. Nothing classy here
(1)
Jayson B.
Awesome service, which makes this review sad. Food is embarrassing.. Filet, that wasn't a filet. Rethink your plan Gorat's, food industry won't. Good luck
(1)
Matt M.
Awful about sums it up. There is a Runza, Burger King and Arbys within two blocks of this restaurant and any of them can provide a far superior meal. Avoid at all costs unless you enjoy seafood flavored tbone steaks.
(1)
Yon C.
This place gets a bad rep...err why!! I live pretty much next to this place and was put off going for ages..for no reason! The food is good, the service is good and there are some Groupons now and then. The crowd is slightly older so not the best place to find a student hottie but I liked it! They have a pumpkin bread pudding with cinnamon ice cream, it is really good.
(4)
Mike H.
Went there for the first time and brought a visitor from out of town who had heard Gorat's was a great place for a steak. The experience and food were good. Two of our three filets, all ordered medium rare, were closer to medium well but still tender, and the vegetables on the side were a little overcooked. Friendly staff, and a 3-star price (about $110 for 3 including a bottle of wine).
(3)
Ryssa C.
Three of the four adults went to Gorat's on Pi and S&BJ day because, well, steak. Plus, we really wanted to know if this was the "finest steaks" as the sign indicated. We had no idea what to expect because we are new to Omaha and the exterior gives no real indication as to the quality of the food, service, or, well, anything. The exterior is divey and makes you wonder if you might be entering a time warp. The interior is a mix of classy, casual, and retro nightclub. On Saturday nights there's live big band music and the median age demographic of the bar rises noticeably. However, the band was fantastic and I enjoyed hearing them. We were dining in the front room with the bar across the main entryway and the music could be heard but certainly didn't interfere with our table conversation. The steak. We ordered 3 different steaks: the large filet, the large prime rib, and the club steak. The filet was delicately flavored and seared perfectly to be presented a lovely rare (she loves her steak rare). Amazing flavor, amazing texture, wonderful experience. The prime rib? It's prime rib. Excellent seasoning with a tasty au jus and a nicely creamy horseradish sauce. I like the flavor of the fat and swooned over the one taste I had. All in all a very good prime rib, but it didn't stand out as amazing or horrible but that's okay. Finally the club steak, served with a bleu cheese and butter sauce. This is the least expensive steak on the menu and perhaps one of the best steaks for flavor I've eaten in a while. The steak was well flavored in and of itself. This isn't the most tender, but I also wanted it medium rare to rare and they delivered. The sauce is highly flavored but it worked so very well with the steak. This cut isn't as tender as any other, but the trade off in flavor makes it completely worthwhile and the added bonus is that this is an affordable menu option which also tastes good The sides were good -- standard baked potato with butter and sour cream. The vegetables were a wonderful steamed baby carrots with green beans. I loved them but I'm not lazy eating my vegetables. Even so, they were well spiced and not overcooked, which is important. We liked the experience and plan on returning. We are likely to order the club steak again and hope that our next experience is as great as the first. The dress code is that there really isn't one and that is nice to know. We saw people dressed casually and dressed up. The service was excellent and unobtrusive without stinting us in care or needs.
This steakhouse is recommended to the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders in their annual meeting's visitors' guide. The USDA prime cuts of beef that are served are amazing. Gorat's cooks the steaks perfectly. The medium rare 10 oz filet mignon was buttery and seasoned just so. No need for any sauces at all. The steaks come with boiled baby carrots and a baked potato. The salad that accompanies the meal is a very basic iceberg lettuce with a couple of slices of red onion and tomatoes. The only drawback was a very limited bar - it may have been the result of the busy shareholder weekend, but really, they ran out of cognac to make sidecars (which is listed on their cocktail menu)? And no, they do not make any trendy cocktails like mojitos. It's definitely not competing with the likes of Morton's, but the price is reasonable and the prime beef is awesome! If you're there for the BRK experience, go there and enjoy the steak.
(3)
Kendrick K.
I decided on the 22 oz steak and the mac and cheese special, both were delicious and at a very affordable price. The service was great, and the newly renovated interior made for a memorable evening. Our party of three will be back!
(5)
Marc D.
Love Love Love the chicken fried steak. The hands down best I have had. And I have had it lots of places. Hand made, with the perfect texture for the crust. Flavor is perfect. meat is tender and not overly spiced. everyone must go try it.
(5)
Rachel S.
This was a delightful experience! The food was delicious and service was fantastic! I can't wait to go back! I suggest flat top grilling for your steak and a good Manhattan to pair with your dinner. The desert wasn't the best but overall a winner of a night! The jazz music provided great ambiance too.
(5)
The A D.
Old school family restaurant with decent steak and reasonable prices.
(4)
Emily H.
Seriously the best steak I have ever had. I ordered the 10 oz prime cut filet mignon with a baked potato. The steak melted in my mouth. We were with a huge group and the service was very quick. The waitress seemed a little unfriendly at times but was probably just overwhelmed by the size of the group. I would definitely go back here. We live in Washington state so I think it will be awhile. I will be dreaming of that steak until I return!
(5)
Matt M.
I loved the old school charm of this place. They have wooden paneling, a cleverly disguised former fireplace, and a converted outdoor entrance. The food is nothing special. Broasted chicken is really just fried chicken. The "spaghetti" they give as a side is pretty bland and lifeless. The onion rings are interesting though and make you wonder where the onions they made these from are grown. The staff is great and really experienced. Its about as interesting to see "where Warren eats" as it is to see "where Warrent lives".
(3)
R K.
We asked a few locals for their best steakhouse recommendation and Gorat's was at the top of the many lists. The fact that this is Warren Buffett's favorite place made it even more appealing. We checked it out during a crazy lightning storm. The restaurant was surprisingly empty. There was a singer crooning in the lounge which was cool. The decor is not very warm. Definitely not your typical steakhouse. Sat down and service was very good. We started with some tasty onion rings. Their bread basket was okay. But the reason why we came here was for some good Omaha beef. My 13-yr old son ordered the 22 oz t-bone, hash browns, and cole slaw. That came with soup or salad and only cost $34. Wow!! I had the 10 oz prime filet. Also $34. The hash browns are delicious. Perfectly crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. The veggies were generic baby carrots and green beans. Not very good but who cares. The steak was unbelievably delicious. I've never had a better cut of beef. Ever!! No exaggeration. The steak was perfectly cooked medium rare, melted in your mouth, and had a delicious flavor despite not using any sauce. Here's the kicker. We called for a cab but it never came. It's pouring rain outside so our server said she was going to drop us off at our hotel. Only in the Midwest.
(5)
Jane C.
Started with a salad that should be renamed to "lettuce in a bowl." I ordered the Whiskey Ribeye, which was disappointing. Waitress didn't ask me how I liked it done and it came out too bloody. The meat also had veins running throughout. The sizing was good, but the accompanying potato & sour cream and onion rings were delicious. Dessert was alright. Waitress suggested a fruit thing that wasn't on the menu. Wasn't as much fruit as I had liked so ordered the Red Velvet Cheesecake. This was the highlight of dinner. Side note* I had ordered a Shirley Temple at the beginning and guess they don't do refills :(
(3)
Robert C.
Freaking amazing. I've been around. The fillet is amazing. The desserts. Oh my. The wine list is cheap. DO NOT THE OUTSIDE bother you. It's good on the inside. ;-). Don't pay attention to Warren Buffett recommendations. Filet mignon. And dessert bread putting. Freaking top shelf food.
(5)
David D.
Meh...............many better places in Omaha, especially for a steak.
(2)
Paul R.
As old school as it gets..... If you are old enough to have been around during the Cuban missile crisis and still want to feel young then Gorats is your place. Spot on service although I wish we could have slowed them down a bit. As advertised perfectly aged and cooked steaks. Our waitress did ask us if we wanted steak sauce??!!?? I believe that was a test as steak sauce would have ruined the flavor of the meat. Canned mushroom slices and sour cream in a tube were a bit of a disappointment too. But the blue cheese dressing was off the charts good as were the dinner rolls. We also had a nice Malbec to accompany our steaks... Could someone explain the pasta side dish for me??? All in all a great dinner and will return again on my next visit.
(4)
Calvin Y.
You probably think the obvious appeal for me is that Gorat's Steak House is one of Warren Buffett's favorite steakhouse, right? Except what sold me was the fact that Martha Stewart has eaten here for Mr. Buffett's stake holder meeting. Yes, if it's good enough for my Martha, then I am not going to argue. We stopped by for lunch and the entrees range from $6-9. The Lunch Steak falls on the higher end of the scale at $9, but it comes with soup or salad and one of the following: mashed potatoes, french fries, spaghetti, or mostaccioli. Given how much food they offer for only $6-9, it's a pretty good deal. In terms of taste, the steak was pretty standard and fair (not bad, but not good). What actually impressed me the most about Gorat's is their selection of butter: Regular Butter, Garlic Butter (with bits of garlic), and Pepper Butter along with three types of breads. I must admit it's a little sad when the butter upstages the steak. Overall, I wouldn't mind coming back for dinner. Granted I was not excited about my lunch steak, I don't think its a good representative of their dinner steaks. However if their dinner steaks fails, then I'll be happy enough with just eating butter for dinner.
(3)
Linda H.
Went with a large group. My chicken parm was just so-so. The pasta served with it would have been OK if the amount of sauce had been tripled. However, a friend got the salmon and absolutely raved about it. The service was fine considering our group had about twenty people in it. Prices were about average for the type of meals served.
(2)
Jeff M.
This is not your father's Gorats. Much has changed. New owners. White table cloths and old Omaha steakhouse look and feel is gone. Classic cuts are gone , no chateau brion! Tuna appetizer and calamari appetizer seemed lost on a Gorat's menu. They are trying to blend old with new. Not crowded on a Friday night. Food was a mixed bag. Tbone Steak still Omaha steakhouse worthy, and I think they use Gorats spices still. Very good. Fried Catfish was good, like south Omaha. Broiled walleye was expensive and the piece was tiny, maybe 3 or 4 ounces. With butter sauce. Not good. Buffalo chili was very good. Crab cake appetizers not good. Mostly bread. Cake no crab. Bill with 3 dinners, 2 appetizers, a glass of wine and a cocktail (too much ice in the cocktails) and 2 desserts came to $120. That was fine. Service is very good, friendly and fast. I liked the walk down memory lane and we'll probably do it again. The owner greets each guest which is a nice touch during the meal. I felt like a had one foot in 1977 and one foot in 2013.
(3)
Johnny A.
Good by not impressive. With the renovations, the inside of the restaurant looks very modern, which is not what I expected. The steak itself was ok, but nothing compared to others I had in Omaha. Overall, there's nothing wrong with it, but there are better steak joints in Omaha.
(3)
Anthony C.
In town for the Shareholder Meeting, decided to as Warren does and go by Gorats. In my opinion, his favorite, the chargrilled TBone was fantastic! Don't try the hash browns, but the Mac-n-cheese was just ok... Great looking steak salad(?) for my one cohort and a perfect fillet for the other. On the completely irrelevant side, their bread is probably the best slice of bread I've had in years - go figure. It is by no means a Chicago/Dallas steak house, but quick, polite service round off a very pleasant experience indeed.
(4)
Sam F.
I've read other reviews on this place that other people have written, and they either lack the ability to taste food, want to feel better than Warren Buffet, or are morons. If you want to be "better than Buffet," buy a bespoke suit, don't bash this excellent restaurant. I've been lurking on yelp forever, and was so taken aback by the rating of this place that I had to write my first review. I had the 22oz t-bone and a baked potato, with the clam chowder as a starter and a chocolate lava cake as a dessert. The soup was excellent, creamy, with clearly fresh shucked clams. Not something I expected in Nebraska to be honest. But we're not here to discuss chowder. This steak was not just a meal, but an event I'll recollect long after dementia has claimed my other memories. It I ordered it medium rare, and it was cooked perfectly throughout, not something easily done. Each bite was perfectly seasoned, an ecstasy I've not experienced with any other beef I've had. For the ten minutes it took to greedily devour this masterpiece, I felt like I too was the richest man in the world. It was one if those meals where your problems disappear, the world falls away, and all that matters is you and the great food you're eating. The potato, while well baked, could have come with more sour cream, but I'm sure I could have just asked if I wasn't mandated by some primitive, unbreakable urge to keep shoving steak in my mouth. It was still quite good, with fresh scallions and a nice mild cheddar creating a pleasant complement to such a large piece of meat. Even the vegetables were fresh, and steamed perfectly, an nice, forgiving carrot dueling with a crisp, refreshing green bean. Marvelous. The cake was just the cherry on top. The chocolate "lava" of cakes at many places often tastes burned, or is cooked out of the cake to the point were it's more of a minor eruption compared to the pyroclastic flow I desire. This, was indeed, everything I imagined to be good about this dessert and more. I literally finished it in seconds. This meal was fantastic. As a side note, my cousin was unable to finish his pork chop and our friend was unable to vanquish is beef parmigiana, but lucky for them, I am a gold member of the Clean Plate Club. The pork chop was moist, with an excellent sear on the outside, and the cinnamon apples accompanying were the perfect duet. The parm was well sauced and the crust was crispy and delicious. The mostaccioli was a great pairing. I feel like I had enough food here, aside from the singular religious experience with the steak, to get a good feel for this place, and, for the life of me, I am baffled by the negativity surrounding this place on this site. All the food I tried was excellent, and the t-bone was nothing short of breathtaking. It was the best steak I've ever eaten, and I would recommend this to any one before anything else. I was legitimately shocked and appalled to see the bad reviews about this place on yelp. Please, please, cut through the nonsense, and get yourself a great steak!
(5)
Suzy S.
First time to Gorat's - We tried Gorat's as part of Omaha Restaurant Week and was not disappointed! The pork chop was absolutely delicious and the filet mignon was very good as well. The wait staff was friendly although a bit confused about the preset menu. After dinner, we stayed to listen to the live entertainment which was exceptional. We will definitely be back!
(4)
Heather G.
The second of two steakhouses I hit in Omaha, and sadly, we're 0 for 2 in the scale of whelm (that's over/underwhelm, folks, and I have indeed been underwhelmed). Omaha Steaks? Omaha cows? Midwest beef? Is this a myth or has our quest to eat at all of Warren Buffett's "favorite" steakhouses steered us wrong? Dare I say - does the world's greatest investor and all around super-man have terrible taste in food? Yeah, I think I just went there. If Piccolo and Gorat's are Mr. Buffet's two favorite steakhouses, then I declare that, yes, he is human and yes, he has imperfections. Don't let him give you a restaurant recommendation, for instance. SO, on a quest to find this Omaha Beef situation, we ventured to Gorat's which, as a restaurant name, I have a personal affinity for. Sadly, no bonus points for that. First off, the restaurant owner (at least i think he was the owner - else he is a PHENOMENALLY nice and sort-of-odd patron) was wonderful. We sat as a large (18) group and he came over to chat with us, see where we're from, introduce us to his daughter, etc. Maybe Omaha is a small town or maybe Warren Buffet just likes to patron restaurants where his employees have a vested interest (in which case, that's amazing), but we quickly learned that this man was the husband of a woman we met earlier that day while touring the Buffett ventures. Small world here, folks. To his credit, he was so warm and wonderful, and the interior of his restaurant in the back-room area was very clean and classy. I think the waitress was either having a testy day, or our group of 18 was a bit difficult to coordinate, because she alternated between sharing fun Buffett facts (he orders the T-bone, rare, he sits against the back wall, etc.), snapping at us for not paying attention when she was handing out drinks, and forgetting parts of our order. In hindsight, the T-bone thing may have been an up-sell attempt because that is way way way too large a steak for any of us on the trip to have eaten alone. Regardless, she alternated between friendly and snappy, but to her credit, a party of 18 with separate checks must be a nightmare, and we really appreciated her doing that for us. About the food: Well, first off, it's pretty cheap, but then, Boston steakhouses are my baseline and they're ridiculously expensive. The menu covers all tastes, though most went for a steak with sides. The steak, when ordered rare, indeed came our rare (I love when that happens). The steak itself wasn't bad. It was a nice, rare piece of meat. The sides, however, were underwhelming across the board, and looked like over-oiled, over-fried, over-set, limp piles. They certainly did not add any aesthetics to the plate, and could have used some re-vamping when the new owner was "cleaning house", as it were. Dinner salads came out in the same size bowls but were varying degrees of heaping. One salad was half the size of the other, and I didn't understand the portion methodology. The breadbasket was full of some sort of heavy rolls, which were fantastic when they came out piping hot, but became dry and dense when they were allowed to cool to room temperature. Eat these as soon as they come out to the table if you can! Overall, not a bad experience given the difficulty it probably is to wait on 18 people at one time, but it certainly wasn't the best steakhouse I've visited in the last year.
(2)
Brad W.
We went to check out Gorat's Steak House tonight. We were excited to see what the new owner did with the place. It would be great to have another great dinner option in our neighborhood so I was really looking forward to it. The new owners really did a nice job cleaning up the exterior. They trimmed back all the plantings around the building and sign. You can actually see all the sign and windows now. When we walked in, it smelled like fresh paint. The place looked decent. New wall paint, new trim, nice new hardwood floors. They kept a few of the old details such as the funky ceilings. Good so far... ... But that's where it ended. We were basically thrown at a table. Menu's piled up in one corner, no mention of anything from the hostess. I think by the time we sat down, she was already up by the door. Or server came over and yelled at us in a very loud voice, "Can I get you something to drink?" Settle down lady, we are not 80 like the people you are use to. I asked what they had on tap and she struggled to get out 4 selections. I am not sure how many beers they actually had, but I am sure it was more than 4. We ordered an appetizer, a Spinach and Artichoke dip, when she brought it out, she also brought app plates too. She set a plate in front of each one of us. The tables are covered in a "retro", I mean dated looking glass top. When she set each plate down, it literally got the attention of every table around us because it was so loud. The dip was decent, not thing to brag about, not going to win any awards. We ordered entree's, well at least 3 out or 4 of us. My wife didn't get an entree because nothing on the menu looked good. She thought about getting a turkey sandwich, but choose to go with a soup and a salad. 2 of us got the "Famous" T-Bone and the last person got a pasta dish. The Entree's came with a soup or salad. Two people got the salad which was very small, a few pieces of iceberg lettuce and a few small carrot shavings and a nasty looking pepperoncini pepper. I got the Creamy Potato soup, which was by far the highlight of the night! It was flavorful, good consistency, plenty of potatoes, and nicely garnished with fresh Bacon and Cheese. Here comes the T-Bone, the "Famous" T-Bone! If its famous, its because of how Horrible it is! Before even taking a bite, it didn't look very appetizing, but I have had great thing that looked terrible. This wasn't one of them. I took my first bite and it tasted like fish! Took another bite, also tasted like fish!! Turned to the other person eating a T-Bone and told him and he agreed! Not only did it taste horrible, it was really tough. I had to stop eating a couple bites it was so bad. It was like eating a piece of shoe leather. It would be nice if this place updated their website and facebook page with a current menu, but that doesn't matter, I would still say don't go there. Moral of the story, I can honestly, without a doubt, say that this is the worst steak I have ever had in my life! I usually will give places a second chance and try something different, but I don't think this place will get one from me.
(1)
Joseph C.
Delicious and very filling meal. Must try the original onion rings. Could not finish the juicy 16 oz prime rib with au jus. Recommend it to everyone who wants a relatively affordable and upscale meal!
(5)
Scot M.
Was there last night for dinner. Definitely not their A game. Spinach dip came out a cold clump of cream cheese, with veggies scatter on top and ZERO seasoning. My whiskey steak was a disappointment - I ordered M/W and got lighter side of medium. Wife ordered prime rib medium, what came out was... Let's just say she asked me not to cause a seen. It looked like it was sliced off the cheap side, and not cooked. Veins all thru the meat. Obviously a Cheap cut of meat. Don't get me wrong, I've been there several times since the ownership change for lunch and was never, ever disappointed, but last night has turned me off. IMHO, I can get a better dining experience closer to home in west O
(1)
Carol K.
Some one said, your in the steak capital of the world, you got to eat steak, so were else but Gorat's, after all it's Warren's favorite spot. We are here visiting family, they wanted to take us out and suggested this place, so we met them for dinner. It was a huge dinning facility, but we went all the way to the back room for our table, the front of the house was kept empty. We ordered our drinks and we got a couple of the fried onion ring towers, thin slices lightly battered, good to start with. Then a little dinner salad, our steak and potato with side of pasta, what an odd combination, but we soon learned that this was tradition. Have to admit the steak was tender and cooked just perfect. A pretty good meal for a pretty good price! Service was good, dinning room clean and fresh.
(4)
Chris D.
Visited the newly owned Gorat's Steak House last night and am so glad I did. The new menu has some refreshing and much needed changes. I started off with an Old Fashioned for a drink. Although tasty...it was not made correctly. Instead of the orange and cherry being muddled in the bottom, they were served on a plastic pick as a garnishment. The second one I had was served with no fruit at all. They probably need to work on the drink mixology a bit! I ordered a 10 ounce whiskey ribeye...perfect size for me and the price was $13! This came with a side of a potato choice and fresh green beans, a much needed change from the canned green beans as the previous owners served! The steak was very tender, tasty and cooked perfectly as ordered. I chose the baked potato soup instead of a salad. The soup was delicious...served with bacon and scallions garnished on top. The biggest problem was that the soup came about 30 seconds after my entree arrived. Would have liked to enjoy the soup without worrying that my steak was getting cold. Probably just timing that the new servers need to coordinate. My dining partner ordered the basil angel hair pasta. It was also tasty although a little bland, however I think that it tasted as promised on the menu. The bread sticks that accompanied it were very hard...not really edible. All in all I was very satisfied with our meal, and the bill came to only $40! It's nice to have options on the menu for those of us looking for a meal with portions that are not too much to eat....therefore paying a little less. There are many options on the menu for larger steaks...prime rib, filets etc. There are also sandwich options, salads and pastas...many that sounded very good! Other than a few hiccups with drinks and service, this new ownership shows much promise! Actually looking forward to going back and trying a different menu item! Wishing luck to the new and improved Gorats!!
(3)
Trey M.
They remodeled. Looks great! Service, fast, and above average. Food was average. Prices were above average. I'm glad I tried this place again, after the remodel. The thing is this. I know cheaper places, that offer higher quality food. So, while the food in ALL aspects was acceptable, nothing really "Wowed" me. Ordered: Prime Rib House Wine Potatoes
(3)
Joseph C.
We; my daughter her husband and my wife went to Groths steak house Friday Nov 29th. Our visit two weeks earlier found the food and service barely OK. We decided to try again. My Chicken fried steak was actually laying in a bed of grease. I used a napkin to soak it up. The gravy on the side was bland and cold. The mashed potatoes were a mass of starch. My wife had prime rib she left most of it as it was even to tough to cut. My daughter had the jumbo fried shrimp, yes the were big but they were all breading and had a wet like texture to them She left the on the plate. I asked her why she did not eat any; wanting to be nice she said she was not hungry. I reached over and took a shrimp. One bite was all I needed to know why she did not eat any. They were a disgrace to serve as JAumbo Shrimp.My son in law had a sandwich and said it was ok. Needless to say we won't return JAC Omaha, Ne
(1)
Scott S.
After completing my first-ever pilgrimage to Woodstock for Capitalists, I decided that it was necessary to see what Gorat's was all about. The good: Onion rings for appetizer. Huge portion, very tasty, and less expensive than a smaller portion that you'd get at the Red Robin burger chain. Hash browns for side order. Nice crispiness on both sides, without being overcooked in the middle. After-dinner drinks - tried the Godfather - Scotch & Amaretto on ice - never had that before, but I just might add that to my list now. Service was excellent. The acceptable: The steak. Nothing wrong with it, but just not what I was expecting when I went to a restaurant that calls itself a steak house. Had the 20 ounce T-bone, medium rare. And it did arrive medium rare. Tasted fine, but really nothing special. I guess I should have known that a restaurant that brags that they serve Omaha Steaks (USDA Choice) will put a steak in front of me that will taste no better than an Omaha Steak that I could have bought and cooked myself at a fraction of the price. Reading older stories from a few years ago about Gorat's on the web indicate that they used to cut and age their own beef; that was probably when their sign out in front was justified ("Finest Steaks in the World"). Now, not so much. Overall: An acceptable meal, and the pricing won't require you to take out a home equity loan to pay for it. Glad I went to see where Warren Buffett goes 3 or 4 times a month, but for me, I probably won't go out of my way to return.
(3)
Han N.
Went here because of the much respected Warren Buffet. The old school ambiance certainly has its charm. I had the omaha sirloin steak with crispy hash browns and sauteed mushrooms for appetizer. The medium cooked steak was perfect. It was not the best steak I've ever had but the tenderness of the meat was enough to please my appetite. The sauteed mushrooms was not soft or soaked in greasy oil like I used to have in many steak houses. The only slightly negative comment i have for this place is you will be among many AARP recipients. Not really a surprise when you think about it.
(4)
Stephen C.
I was in Omaha for the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting and, yes, I had to check out all of Warren Buffett's favorite places. I hoped that Gorat's would be awesome, but my expectations were set pretty low given that (a) this was Omaha, not quite the mecca of fine cooking; (b) I've had some damn good steaks in my time; and (c) Buffett isn't quite known to be a foodie (the man has eaten the same burger, cherry coke, and chocolate diet for the past 80 years) and he has simple tastes. Given my low expectations, the experience was enjoyable, but if I had come in expecting a memorable steak, I would have been disappointed. Here's a breakdown of the food: Bread basket -- They literally give you a selection of sliced supermarket bread and some cold pads of butter... Onion rings -- A large basket of onion rings. Flakey breaded crust just how I like it. The best thing I had. T-bone steak -- Warren Buffett's favorite item. Juicy and tender, but a bit under-seasoned. Far from the best steak ever, but decent for the price. Prime rib -- A thick cut of meat. Juicy, but cooked unevenly and way under-seasoned. Side of au jus was bland as well. Sides -- Each steak comes with a side salad, choice of pasta or green beans, and choice of potato. Green beans were from a can. Hash browns and baked potato were both a bit undercooked. Apple pie -- Standard apple pie. Likely store-bought and warmed up. Cherry Coke -- Warren Buffett's elixir of choice. Overall, the food was filling, ambiance was old-school, service was friendly, prices are a bargain relative to major cities. However, if you're not a Buffett buff, not really worth the trouble.
(3)
Rachael L.
I went for lunch with a couple co-workers, somehow I've never been before. I love the "old school" charm this place has, and it was very affordable, but those are the best qualities. Something about these large, old dining room restaruants make my heart all fuzzy because it reminds me of my grandfather (he loved this place!) The waitstaff is very friendly as well. The food choices are pretty simple for lunch, and taste just like you'd expect them to. There are no surprises here. Stay away from the canned vegetables, stick with steak and potatoes and you won't be disappointed, they do know how to cook a steak here.
(3)
Danniell K.
Do not do it!! Over cooked steak, canned greened beans as the seasonal vegetable. Orders wrong, overall horrible, overpriced and terrible atmosphere.
(1)
Andrea T.
We went for lunch over the weekend and the food and service was good. We both had the steak sandwich and it was delicious!
(4)
Ron B.
I've been going here for many years. I remember when the kids took over from the original owners, and the food went downhill for a while, then came back up. For years, the filet mignon dinners were again wonderful. What's happened? I've been there recently, and stuff has gotten so bad that I have no plans to try the place again for a year or so. Has the economic downturn made them cheap out out their meat purchases? I'm really sorry to see that one of my longtime favorite spots is now best avoided.
(1)
George W.
Run away! Run away! If you are looking for a place with no style or class, that charges the same prices as a place that is current and trendy, with average food at high prices, then Gorats is YOUR PLACE! Rush in now. You'll sit in a "period piece" dining room, complete with glass over the tablecloths (is it the 50's....no! It's the 60's!) I read some of the other reviews. One raved about the menu. You get your choice of two sides. The sides: Baked potato French fries Hash Browns Rice Pilaf Mashed potatos What a variety! What an incredible menu! The Brussel Sprout vegetable medley thankfully, wasn't on the menu. There is no presentation on the plate to speak of. You get a big plate, where the food seems to be swimming in a sea of white china. Seasoning? We don't need no stinkin' seasoning! It took a while to get the waitstaff's attention, to clear our check. What was good: My steak was tender, cooked properly, and came out hot. There was PLENTY of parking (I wonder why......nah, can't be that the other 1 star reviews are RIGHT...nah!) We were seated quickly. Yep, that's pretty much it. It's really too bad. They could do this right - the interior is vintage, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, if I want to pay $27 for an 8 ounce fillet, I can go somewhere that has some atmosphere, better presentation, and better service. I'd suggest making the food really great as a starting point. You can't charge big prices and stay in business like this. There are too many really good restaurants in Omaha that serve better steaks for less. The owner was making the rounds. He seemed to be enjoying himself. I wish his patrons enjoyed themselves.
(1)
Christa Lei S.
This place is alright. To be fair, I shouldn't really be rating food tha tI'm not a huge fan of. They ran out of the prime rib rare-medium, so I was kind of upset because apparently that's the best thing on the menu. Sigh. So I got a huge cut of sirloin steak. It wasn't bad, but you know when steak is good when you don't have to eat it with sauce. ...I had to slather this thing in a pool of A1. They give you big steaks, but you could find the same thing at Piccolo Pete's for cheaper. They're nice though. It's definitely an old fashioned Italian steakhouse.
(3)
Jocelyn L.
"Warren Buffet needs to pick a new fave restaurant. I was the youngest (and only ethnic) person there. What a bizarre place. Steak was disappointingly bad and the sauteed mushrooms were CANNED mushrooms! What da $%^&? LAME-O" GROSS
(1)
Jennifer H.
I give it points for kitsch. The lounge is hilariously awesome. We eat here nearly every time we visit Omaha. We keep coming back because it's very much a family tradition and, honestly, we've never had a bad experience. When I was eating meat my steak was always cooked right. It might not be of the quality you might find at a super-high-end steakhouse like Murray's in Minneapolis, but that's just not what they're going for at Gorat's. The crab legs are gigantic and tender. I dream of them.
(4)
Ben K.
Pros: Old school style, Warren Buffett frequents here Cons: Subpar food, a somewhat depressing vibe I loved Gorat's growing up. It was always a treat when my parents took my sisters and I here. Coming back to it a bit older and no longer an Omaha resident, I'm somewhat disappointed by what I see. I like the place because it's old school. This was what all Omaha steakhouses were like back about 30 some years ago. As more and more of the original Italian steakhouses in the city bite the dust (Mister C's, Ross, Cascio's), soon Omaha will only have chains or uber fancy places as their options. For that, the restaurant gets a good rating for it's nostalgic charm and somewhat gaudy environment. Now comes where the ratings slide. The steaks and food in general are nothing to write home about. I'm not sure if this is recent or it's always been this way and now that I'm older I'm starting to notice. My steak was fine, not terribly juice and somewhat hard to cut, but it tasted well enough. The fries were kind of soggy and lacking of flavor, kind of like fries you cook at home. The salad is iceberg lettuce drenched in Italian dressing. The spaghetti tasted like Chef Boyarde. As for the crowd, besides spotting Warren Buffett, it is the most depressing group I've ever seen. I always worry someone is going to die, and I say this with all seriousness. I feel like I'm at a nursing home everytime I eat here. Gorat's is an Omaha relic, a standby of a dying trend (the local Italian steakhouse) that is good for a trip down memory lane.
(3)
Deandra A.
We made reservations for a Saturday night, called, moved our reservation up. The woman on the phone said it was fine. We got there and waited 40 minutes, asked about when we would be seated, and were told there were still 10 tables ahead of us. Probably putting our wait at OVER and hour past our reservation time. There were no apologies about this. Also, there were almost no people under silver hairs, which makes me curious why there is not a spectrum of ages, maybe the food is out of date. The chairs and dining room looked like it came from the early 80's. We went to Spezia instead since we wanted to be fed that night. It was delicious, had nice ambiance, and the staff was very friendly. I will never give Gorat's another chance.
(1)
John K.
I went here for a late lunch with my wife and I thought I was going to hate it.It was filled with geriatric types and looked like a diner or coffee shop.I was tempted to leave.Boy would that have been a mistake!The service was friendly ,efficient and the food was reasonably priced and good.I had some kind of lake fish,my wife a steak sandwich.I had a couple of local beers and my wife a generous pour of wine.I think we had dessert and coffee.I'll admit it ,we loved the place.It was also funny watching them set up for dinner and place proper table linens on the tables as well as candles.I t can't be for Warren Buffet, I don't think he 'd care.
(3)
Sarah G.
I believe this is my first one-star review... and I'm honestly trying to remain objective here but the bottled beer I had was probably the best part of my meal. Really, I wanted to like Gorats. I wanted to love it. I wanted to go there and be blown away and put all the naysayers in their place. But lo and behold I too am now a naysayer. It's unfortunate because I want Gorat's to be awesome... but remaining unbiased, here are my thoughts. Gorat's has been described as a 'traditional, homey, family' steakhouse - along with a number of other adjetives. But I'm pretty sure I could cook a more enjoyable steak on my grill at home with worn-out burners. I feel bad saying this, but it's all true. I didn't feel like spending $25 on a steak meal, so I ordered the steak sandwich. Which, hilariously we couldn't find on the menu. Between three people looking for about 10 minutes... apparently I forgot how to read. It's in ALL CAPS on the right hand side of the menu, FYI. (Which I found out after I asked our waitress.) This became the running joke of the night. We ordered a round of drinks and escargot. Drinks came, escargot didn't. Then the meals came, escargot didn't. I ordered my sandwich medium rare, because unfortunately even though we're in Omaha most places are notorious for overcooking. Gorat's leans to the other side. I had to send the sandwich back to be recooked because it came out rare... cold in the middle rare. Then, when I got it back, it was medium well. Oh well. Then we reminded our server again about the escargot. Which, at this point I suprisingly still wanted because my sandwich was being re-cooked. The sandwiches came back, escargot didn't. We finished eating, then the escargot made an appearance. But it wasn't an enjoyable experience to say the least. Kind of like being forced to watch a bad movie... But for some reason, we were determined to finish them. And despite the fact that they were swimming in butter... they didn't have any flavor. They were unfortunately gritty and blackened. I've never had blackened escargot before and hopefully never will again. At the end of the meal, I noticed the weird cave-like trayed ceiling behind us with the 3' diameter round diffuser. That was just weird. I left feeling sad. I wanted to love you Gorat's, really I did...
(1)
Anthony G.
Came here purely due to its association with Warren Buffett. Word is his favorite meal is a T-Bone rare, double order of hash browns with a cherry coke at Gorat's. Wanting to follow in his footsteps I ordered the same (as I bet a lot of visitors). I'd say this is a notch better than Denny's, but certainly falls in the land of mediocrity. Do come to pay homage to Warren, but if you're looking for an excellent steak, go elsewhere.
(3)
John J.
Was in the area for the Berkshire shareholder meeting. On Buffett's recommendation, we decided to give Gorat's a try. The shrimp and scallops appetizer and prime rib were exceedingly disappointing if for no other reason than because we were in Omaha, home of beef. The appetizer was buried in cheese and the prime rib was under-seasoned and somewhat tough to cut. Not the most expensive place, but diners would be served well to spend a few extra dollars elsewhere. The only saving grace was the waitress who was courteous and friendly.
(2)
Dawn A.
First, I am shocked by all the negative posts (MANY) that the new owners aren't doing something about the dissatifaction... I must agree and here's why. This is the only restaurant I have ever commented online about, it was that disappointing! I was anticipating a "nice steak restaurant" and left disappointed. The food and drinks were ok, at best and the prices way too high for the quality of food they serve. The service was good though. First, we ordered flavored martinis. I was turned off that they came in a regular drink glass, not a martini glass (so they were 3/4 of the way empty). The waitress apologized stating they had a special in the bar so they were out of martini glasses (ok, then wash them or have an adequate supply). The bread on the table was extremely dry and unappealing (almost felt stale that it had been out too long). The appetizer, spinach dip, came. The flavor was alright but it was barely warm and the cheese wasn't melted because of that. I tried to overlook that, until.... the salad came. Sorry, I am not impressed with cheap, dry, bagged salad (iceburg lettuce) served with a plastic packet of salad dressing on my plate. I felt that was very tacky. To top it off, the baked potato came with dinner and yet another "packet" on my plate of sour cream. Tacky! Not the presentation I would expect from a nice steakhouse. My steak, petite filet, was good and seasoned well. My fiance's T-bone steak - eh, it was ok. Nothing spectacular. We also both ordered asparagus and I had (literally) 5 very tiny pieces of asparagus on my plate (my plate looked bare) and my fiance's plate had 11 pieces - no consistency there. A few tweaks and I would give it a little better rating (fresh lettuce or spring mix, NO packets of sour cream or salad dressing, appetizers served hot, nicer and more consistent and ample serving of vegetables, fresh bread, and drinks served in the appropriate glasses). We could have spent less and had better quality and tasting food at Outback. Sorry, but I doubt we will be back unless I see reviews that things have changed.
(2)
Rebecca H.
We had reservations here on a Thursday night, but when we arrived we definitely didn't need them as the place wasn't busy at all. The other patrons in the restaurant could be lumped into two groups: the geriatric crowd and the yuppie crowd. The decor and ambiance of this place cannot be described as anything but nursing home chic. The service here was excellent, and out waitress was very attentive without being overbearing at all. We both ordered the filet mignon, cooked medium rare. The steak was the outstanding part of the meal and was truly delectable. You get your standard salad with your meal, which is basically iceberg mix from a bag served on an old school glass flower shaped plate. Despite the "italian" dressing actually being oil and vinegar dressing I found it to be very tasty. You also get your standard baked potato or fries as a side. What I found to be a bit odd was the pasta that is also served with your meal. It's just basic noodles and tomato sauce served with parmesan cheese, but I liked having something different with my food. Being from the south I was disappointed in the lack of sweet tea as a beverage option, but then again, few places in Omaha have good tea. Overall, I really enjoyed my experience here and would definitely choose this place over a chain steak house restaurant in the future.
(4)
Ken L.
Can't believe this place is WB's favorite place. The steak was so-so and not flavorful and juicy. My friend had the prime rib, which she thought wasn't up to par either. I did have the escargot app, which was not bad but not super. Been to better steakhouses in my day.
(3)
Corey H.
Gorats is fun for me because I only venture out to Omaha once a year for the Berkshire share holder meeting. My group and all the other people that flock their this one weekend a year (about 35,000 people) all want to eat at Warren Buffett's favorite resturant. The place is VERY dated. Being that im from San Diego, its kinda a pleasant suprise to go into a place where there are mirrors all over the place accompanied with wood panneling. I feel like I walked into a 1970's mob house. So as far as the setting goes, its for sure old school and needs to be redone if they want to keep up with the times. At the same time though, Gorats has been and icon there for many generations, why re-invent the wheel? To add, the chairs are cheap metal, the table look like the tables at Denny's, the placemats and napkins are paper, the plates are walmart brand (or Nebraska Furnature mart for the other Berkshire share holders out there), the hasbrowns are like dennys, the salad is the stuff that comes in a bag at the grocery store, and any vegtables are out of a can..... or at least thats how it seems. Quality of the steak.... THE IMPORTANT PART.... Omaha is the beef capital! I love big and great steakhouses but when you come to Omaha, you want to taste just the beef and the freshness, not any seasoning. And thats what you get here at Gorats. Its a good cut of meat... end of story. Now, how they cook it can depend on which side of the bed the chef making minimum wage woke up on this morning. All in all, its fun to have an old school vibe and to support small business like Gorats rather than The Palm or Morton's. Its good beef just don't expect the flavor to be IN YOUR FACE beacuse its not. Don't expect the best service or the worst.... cause the waiters are very pleasant. Its fun to dine where Warren eats, so enjoy it.... When in Rome.... Oh, and the have a really good bar but the wine selection is poor.
(3)
Alex M.
Newly redecorated restaurant would make Warren Buffett proud. Clean, bright and a fun atmosphere. We heard that it had improved but didn't quite know what to expect. Some items - like the delicious, crispy hashbrowns are a throwback to the old menu. Other items - like the steak - are a great improvement over what was previously served. Prices are a bit higher but that is to be expected. We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner and look forward to returning. You won't go wrong by experiencing this old - "new" Omaha tradaition.
(5)
Max S.
Gorats is NOT Mortons or the Palm -so if you go there don't expect that kind of a steakhouse. Gorots is more of a down-home family restaurant. The steaks are great, especially the Omaha sirloin - ask the waiter to have it rubbed with garlic. The sides are also good. The fries and the hash browns are the best. Also, the onion rings are amazing. In short, good prices and great food at this Omaha landmark.
(4)
David F.
OK, so I went b/c it's Warren Buffet's hangout. But honestly, most locals advised it would be just "OK" and they were right. If I was over at my grandparents one afternoon and they wanted to take me to their "favorite steakhouse" in Omaha this would be the place. It's like walking back into the 70's for decor and the food is average but I believe you do get what you pay for. For the price, it meets expectations. Servers are pleasant and helpful.
(2)
Maggie Z.
With all due respect to Mr. Warren Buffett, this place costs about 20% more than Piccolo Pete's and is about 43% less tasty.
(2)
Dylan M.
This is famous since in one of Warren Buffet's favorite places but to be quite honest the food is not great. It was a fun place, with a cool bar, and friendly service. However, the food is just OK and more akin to a diner than a steak house. It is definitely worth going to for the experience but if you are looking for a good steak place this is not it.
(2)
Dave B.
Local have always told me to have the steak sandwich. For some reason I didn't. I had a rib-eye. It was very average. The room is a kill. You just know the people there don't realize what a hoot it is. The average age of my fellow diners had to be over 100. I was relieved to get out without doing CPR. Before my food arrived I heard that unmistakable high voice behind me and sure enough Warren was seated at the next table. His attraction to the place can't have anything to do with food. Must have had a role in his childhood. You can do so much better, I don't know where to start.
(2)
David K.
took an out-of-towner here who had heard that this is where Warren Buffet dined. I wasn't sure how he'd like it, but you should have seen the look on his face as we entered -- it was like a scene from a movie: white-haired couples on the edge of death dancing to an equally fragile lounge singer that may or may not have had an actual gig there, walpaper made to look like drapery, and the supper club standard of spagetti served with your steak. The steak was pretty good, but it's Omaha -- there are plenty of places you can get a decent steak. You might want to try Omaha Prime. If you're looking for something kitschy, then this may actually be for you.
(3)
Collin S.
I started coming to Gorats in 1998. At the time it was an amazing flashback to the 60's and 50's classic steakhouses. It was like being in a Sinatra rat pack movie. I sat at the gold accented bar and had a dry martini in a real martini glass for $3.50! The steak has always been good rare well aged beef. Unfortunately, I think in part due to Buffetts now infrequent dining, the prices have increased by 40% along with a steady decline in side servings, upkeep and staff friendliness. It sad to say there are now better choices for same price or less in Omaha. If they do not improve I think they well head the way of Mr. C's.
(2)
Will S.
Definitely one of Omaha's best steakhouse experiences. I hadn't been here since the remodel/new ownership change a couple years back. While I'm sure there are a few other differences, the main interior changes I noticed were new faux wood floors and a bunch of modern cow paintings on the wall. I dug both. Gorat's was absolutely hopping a mid-April Saturday night. Of course you had your fair share of blue hairs, but I was surprised to see a lot of younger people there as well -- from 20- and 30-somethings, middle aged folks and even a table of high schoolers dining pre-prom. The bar area was quite nice as well, as there were a few booths and a live band playing corny old jazz standards. It was seriously like a perfect steakhouse atmosphere. It'd even be worth stopping by for a drink before heading elsewhere just to enjoy the ambiance. On to the steak: I had a New York strip cooked medium rare. More perfection. As is proper tradition, there was even some forgettable veggie sides to go along with the meat. I'm so glad Gorat's survived the ownership change. Heck, it's a lot more thriving now that it was a decade ago. I hope it's around forever.
(5)
Mustafa K.
We decided to see what is all the fuss about Gorat's being WB's favorite steakhouse in Omaha. We are from out of town, so I read most of the reviews about this place to have an idea what to expect. I love steaks any kind and I appreciate mid-rare cooked. I end up ordering T-bone, spinach dip, coleslaw, sweet potato fries. T-Bone - Mehhh... I had much much better steaks before. It was a journey from rare to well-done. It was not cooked even. Spinach Dip - just ok. No awards for this, and I wish I would take a photo of the celery and carrot placed on the plate as decoration. They were old and darken :) nice touch(really?) Coleslaw - how can I explain this properly, so you can also feel how bad it was? First of all, this was not made in the house for sure. My first bite, I almost came to a point that I need to rush to the restroom. How could they serve something long passed its due date? I just asked my friend as well and telling her just to taste not a lot. She had the same experience. I did not make a scene or complain about it because if you have balls to bring this s@#t to the table, we have nothing to talk my friend. Overall, I believe Omaha has more to offer and I will continue searching for best Omaha steak. I won't be coming back even they pay me to eat.
(2)
David C.
Man I can't believe I'm actually having to write this. This used to be one of my favorite places to go as they had the most amazing pasta sauce I've ever had. I know, I know it's a steakhouse and that's what they're known for. But I have traveled the world and I've never run across a pasta sauce that was anything close to the sauce that they used to have. Sadly when the new owners purchased this restaurant they decided to junk the amazing sauce for one that is extremely ordinary and pedestrian. I asked the waitress what happened to the amazing old sauce and she said they decided to get rid of it so they could have a vegetarian sauce. Now if you're a steakhouse and you are catering to vegetarians I'm sorry but that's about the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I used to go here very frequently but now none of my friends are interested. Let's face it it's Omaha you can get a great steak at a number of places but it was the pasta sauce that truly made Gorats unique. I told one of the owners that I would come in on a regular basis if they would bring back the old sauce and he was very flippant, saying that no one else had complained. I personally know several people who feel the same way who called to share the same feelings only to be brushed off by the new owners. I think what happened was one of the chefs talked the owners into changing the pasta sauce or the recipe is from one of the owners. That's why they are absolutely stubborn and refusing to change it no matter how many people request they do so. Everyone I have spoken to who used to go there made the same suggestion and was told that they were the only person that called to say that. When you have at least a dozen people who have all been told they're the only person, to me that seems like owners who just simply don't want to change. The bottom line is I won't be returning back unless they bring back the old pasta sauce. If they do I will probably be eating here every week.
(1)
Nancy M.
For years I have wanted to go to Gorats, and finally went on Friday night. What a disappointing experience. When the poorly dressed hostess walked us through the restaurant to a totally empty and cold side room, that should have been my sign to leave. But, they sat us in a main dining room instead so we stayed. I ordered the $33 bison ribeye. It came with a salad (iceberg!), greenbeans and sweet potato fries. The bison was overdone and over seasoned, I would have complained but did not see the waitress again until she brought our check. My husband had the walleye, it was a decent size but very bland. So, for $60 we had a very disappointing dinner and poor service. I think now of all the other great restaurants I could have tried for the same money....I feel cheated. Never again.
(2)
Scott H.
I have eaten at this restaurant for years. I had not eaten there for the last year, as my work took me out of the city. I was really looking forward to going back. When I got there for lunch, I found the same friendly wait staff, the same clean restaurant, and the same reliable menu. However, the quality of my food from start to finish was very low. I have always thought of coming to this restaurant as a special occasion. I walked out of the restaurant wishing that I had gone to Cascio's.
(2)
Ryan t.
Although you would not expect it in Omaha, certain restaurants have a reputation that far exceeds the actual quality of the experience. Followers of Omaha billionaire Warren Buffet know this place as his favorite place to eat in Omaha. After eating here, you will reach at least one (and possibly all) of the following conclusions: -Despite his obvious financial success, Warren has incredibly poor taste in food. - Warren must receive some special service where Gorat's orders food from another restaurant and serves it as their own when he dines here. -He's screwing the owner. Otherwise, it's hard to determine exactly how this could be anyone's favorite place to eat. For a while, I though it was just that my expectations were too high based on Warren's recommendation, but my meals have been repeatedly of poor quality.
(2)
Derek E.
I really wanted to like it more, but with the exception of the prime rib and the hash browns, everything else pretty much sucked. There are just far better options out there for me to waste my time here again. gastronomicfightclub.com…
(2)
Ray L.
Food:4 Serivce:3 Atmosphere: Classic Interesting:5 -- Warren Buffet's favorite? It was not bad. C'mon guys, you only paid like $20 bucks for a steak! But yea, I am sure you can find another place that has better services or even better quality in the meat (a little bit I guess). But again, this place was not bad. They have all these antique furniture indoor, which makes it interesting. I think this is a place that people may wana try once, if not twice.
(3)
Scott D.
Definitely the classic spot in town. I recommend a filet with a cherry coke (regular) and a side of hash browns with cheese just like Warren does it. Where else can you sit down for a dinner and see Warren and Gates sit down in the room next to you? Get your reservation as early as you can because this place gets unbelievably crowded the weekend of the shareholders meeting. A little too crowded but it's tradition.
(4)
Lyle W.
I only write reviews after several visits so I don't catch someone on an off night. Gorat's used to be a very good steakhouse, but sadly, no longer meets expectations. The waitress was really pushing the drinks. The salad was the usual, nothing great but plentiful. The main course followed shortly. I'm diabetic and can't tolerate white bread so in spite of the elderly waitresses continued prompting to try the bread and flavored butters, I declined. My wife did try them and said they were 'ok'. Our steaks arrived along with the sides. I ordered the green beans (can't tolerate pasta) and was disappointed to get about three tablespoons of ordinary canned green beans. I ordered hash browns and they had a cold center and were very greasy. My steak came medium rare as ordered but was only lukewarm. My wife's filet came as ordered but was also just warm. It wasn't that busy for our steaks to be sitting around cooling off. We had to ask the waitress for steak knives. Rather odd for a steakhouse. We were told that we didn't need reservations if we arrived around five, which we did. There was about 30 couples in the whole place. An hour later there was maybe 35 couples. We had a gift certificate we used. The certificate states that it can't be redeemed for cash. That seems reasonable, however, our change was remitted as another gift certificate! After we left, I realized I'd been shortchanged 5 dollars. In order to get the value of the gift certificate, we'll be forced to return. Probably soon, as I fear this is a failing business with this type of practice. Now we know why Warren Buffett is frequenting Piccolo Pete's now. Fifteen years ago I took guests from Califn. there, and they found Gorat's to excel anything steakhouse they had been to in LA. Sadly, Gorat's no longer meets that standard.
(2)
Joan S.
I grew up in Omaha, but somehow never ate at Gorat's until recently. I took my wife to dinner there a couple of years ago, and we had a wonderful experience. The steaks were perfect and the prices were quite low. We went back again a year later - I can't recall whether it was 2008 or 2009 - and were disappointed. Service was slow, the side dishes were overcooked and/or canned vegetables, though the steaks were still OK. The last place where I had consistently good steaks in Omaha was Cascio's on South 10th, which was always my parents' favorite. I hope Gorat's is better than when I came, but you might also want to check out Cascio's or Piccolo Pete's.
(3)
Ray Y.
I had the lunch steak, and it's pretty good. This is a fairly casual sort of place, with people digging into the food with gusto. The rooms were a trifle on the dim side, and I wasn't seated in a room with a window, so I rate this one as few-frills, good-food dining.
(3)
John R.
Just got back to my hotel after eating here. My coworker told me that he heard this place was one of Warren Buffet's favorite places. I guess I won't be a billionaire because there is no way I would rate it that high - or go back. Seemed more like a local favorite. The menu has variety so there seems to be something for everyone. We ordered a shrimp cocktail, but the waitress never brought it. I had the prime rib and my coworker had the fillet. Both were dry. My prime rib didn't have any flavor and I tried to save it by pouring more au jus on it but no help. All in all, I can say I ate there, but I wouldn't go back.
(1)
Scott C.
I think 2.5 stars is a little harsh for Gorats. I actually like the steak. Just because Warren likes this place does not mean it should be evaluated as a fine dining steak house. He has simple taste and is all about value, so I did not think of this place as a top notch steak house. Did I think the canned green beans left a little to be desired--yes. Are hash browns not as elegant as white truffle mash potatoes--surely not. That said, the place is down home friendly and the steak was pretty good. Of the four steak houses that I tried in Omaha, Gorats is the only one that got it right--seared on the outside and pink all the way through with tons of juice in the meat. Perfect. They use 7 day aged choice beef as I am told, so again, this is not going to have the same fatty richness as the dry aged prime beef. That is OK, though, for $20 bucks, you can get a tender juicy place served by really friendly people and feel that bong with Warren. For me, that was plenty. I also learned that this place uses every piece of meat they source, Scraps are used for the pasta sauce and the dry bits that are cut off after the aging process are fed to dogs in the area. The best part, the excess fat is rendered and used to deep fry the French fries. Amazing. You have to feel good about a place that will take an environmentally unsound food like beef and make it as sustainable as you can. Four stars.
(4)
Karen B.
We went there a few years ago for my birthday because it came highly recommended. We made a 7:00 reservation and got there a little early and checked in with the hostess. We sat in the lobby and waited and soon it was 7:30. My husband went to check with the hostess and was told that there were 5 tables ahead of us despite our reservation. We sat and waited again and 8:00, then 8:30 came as we watched table after table being seated, there were a few people who were seated almost immediately upon arrival. My husband went to the hostess severl times and was told each time that there were 5 tables ahead of us and she got snippy and rude to us and told us that coming back up and bothering her was not going to get us seated any sooner....needless to say, we left. I wouldn't go there again if they paid me to come eat at their restaurant. I have also told anyone who asks about it not to go there and will never recommend it to anyone.
(1)
Michael H.
Horrible! Very disappointing. Cold, bland food like their customer base. Truly thought it would be better. Try Piccolo Pete's Restaurant, 2202 S 20th St, for great, inexpensive steak meal with salad, mostacholi, and hashbrowns.
(1)
C B.
Like the other reviewers, last time I ate at the restaurant, I was disappointed. But recently I was reintroduced to the "real" way to eat here: The steak sandwich take out. Call 'em up, order up how ever many steak sandwiches you need (I believe it's a sirloin, on toasted rotellas bread), tell them how you want it, and what dressing you want on your salad, and when you can be there to pick it up. The price: $8.50. Best deal around. Also don't forget to order the onion rings, which are pretty solid too. I've always had good luck with the steak sandwich, it's cheap and good.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
Abraham A.
WB favorite steakhouse was good. My wife really enjoyed her filet mignon with mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables and a wedge sales while my girls (5-7) split the chicken Alfredo and loved it because it had asparagus in it. I had the 10oz Whiskey Ribeye with the sautéed mushrooms and baked potato. It came with a soup or salad, I went with the baked potato soup and it was amazing! My steak was cooked more med well than med rare but was good, the whiskey sauce was great, sautéed mushrooms were a bit salty for my taste but overall not bad. Our server was great, the place was clean and my family enjoyed it.
(3)Nhi T.
So this is Warren Buffet's favorite steak restaurant? I may disagree with your taste buds here on this one Mr. Buffet. So I went here with my family because well if you live in Nebraska, you have to try the restaurant that raves about being the best place to get a steak. Once we arrived, we waited like 10 minutes to get seated.. Where were all the employees? Then we got seated in the corner next to the kitchen. I should have taken a picture, but there were several other seat options and that's where they put us.... Alright already off to a bad start. Then we got the most atrocious waitress who forgot about us. We actually had another waitress refill our drinks. KUDOS to her. Okay so my dad and brother ordered the Whiskey Ribeye and I ordered the 10 oz club steak with bleu cheese butter. My mother ordered good ol' Chicken Alfredo. We started with some bread and butter. It was just ordinary bread and butter. My dad was raving about the butter, but really... it's butter. At least it was softened butter. On to the salad.. delicious Italian dressing with the salad. So after the salad, we waited an entire hour before getting served our food. SLOW service. Got my steak and it was cooked a little more well-done rather than medium, but I didn't mind. The steak was not as amazing as I would have hoped for. I definitely have had better at other Steakhouses. Sad moment in my life...especially since I was talking this restaurant up to my family... yikes! I also got seasoned vegetables and a side of mashed potatoes with brown gravy. The seasoned vegetables were seasoned a bit on the sour side, but they were okay. The mashed potatoes tasted like they were made from the easy do it yourself mashed potatoes box at the grocery store. Maybe I expected too much of this place, but it definitely was not a favorite of mine. I will probably never go back again.
(3)joe m.
OK IT HAS BEEN 2 YEARS AND STILL HORRIBLE Tried eating at the bar this time...Very slow service.It took 40 minutes to get our food which was not warm.I noticed the cook spent most of his time BS ing in the bar with friends. Chicken pacacta( $14) states on the menu it comes with a creamy lemon sauce.It came out dry with no sauce and a pile of dried rice ECK......Had to ask for bread and butter.what we got was a few pieces of DRIED OUT slices which fell apart when trying to butter then to soften them,nasty. The chicken parmesan ($14)came out Burnt and not warm HHMmnn. A tiny bowl of tasteless pasta. Both meals had NO FLAVOR what so ever.Not worth the money.We cant beleive this place is still open HORRIBLE;;;; Slow service,cold food and they can not follow what ever you order,. .ex medium rare will come out well done to burnt well done will come out rare shrimp so under cook and hard. drinks 20 minutes per order $250 for a table of 6 GO ELSE WHERE.
(2)Jenn L.
We really wanted to like this place. The atmosphere is great, love the live music, but the service and food were very lackluster. I unfortunately cannot recommend it other than the appetizers and the seasonal veggies which happily happened to be brussels sprouts. It was very slow and rushed at the same time. Sadly disappointed.
(3)Mark C.
First time at Gorat's during Omaha's Restaurant Week and got the price fixe menu. The price fixe meal is three courses for $30 dollars a person. First Course - Choice of either 1. Gazpacho: refreshing traditional chilled vegetable soup 2. Bruschetta: fresh chopped tomatoes | basil |onion | parmesan cheese | balsamic vinaigrette | olive oil dressing | toasted crostini 3. Thai chicken skewers: marinated and grilled strips of tender chicken | sweet chili sauce We choose the the bruschetta on crostini - tasty. Could have used another piece or two pf bread, but good. Second Course - Choice of either 1. Filet mignon: 6 oz cut, the most tender cut of angus beef | seasonal vegetable | choice of one side | house salad or soup 2. Whiskey rib eye: 10 oz angus cut | glazed in whiskey marinade | fried onions | seasonal vegetable | choice of one side | house salad or soup 3. Kurtoba double-cut pork chop: 12 oz char-grilled | fire roasted apple compote | pan jus | seasonal vegetable | choice of one side | house salad or soup Wife got the filet and I got the whiskey rib eye. Both steaks were well trimmed with minimum fat, exceptionally tender and very delicious. I especially enjoyed the whiskey marinade on mine. Sides were the corn casserole (tasty) and green beans (good). The salads that preceded the entrée were pretty much just greens - acceptable, but nothing special. Third Course - Choice of either 1. Spumoni: traditional italian ice cream 2. Blueberry bread pudding: fresh made, served with vanilla ice cream 3. Red velvet cheesecake: a creamy twist on a classic favorite | oreo crust We both got the blueberry bread pudding and found it to be very good as well. Only drawback is our waitress who was going off shift brought our "warm" dessert out while we were still finishing our entrée. Minor - but it did cool off a bit before we could get to it. The décor is Gorat's is kind of 70's looking. We did enjoy the artwork of animals hung on the wall and the Remington Statue in the front lobby, but you are not going for this décor, pretty much the food and it was good. We also tried several glasses of their house Merlot which is Salmon Creek which we found to be smooth and easy to drink. A good first experience. Oh, and be sure and make reservations.
(4)Missy A.
"Meh" sums up my feelings for Gorat's. We went basically to see what all the hoopla was about. And was left wondering why there was such a fuss about it. The steaks weren't bad... But they were definitely not the best in Omaha, by far. The Whiskey sauce was pretty tasty. But the rib-eye itself was just meh. We had a tuna starter, and it wasn't that great. Pretty dry & not very flavorful. The bathrooms were severely outdated. They were dingy, gross & falling apart. In the men's restroom, the faucet handle was sitting on the counter. In the women's, one of the doors wouldn't lock & they looked dirty. I've seen much better gas station bathrooms. I wouldn't recommend this steak house to anyone. There are far better options in Omaha.
(2)A W.
Went there for our anniversary. Nice private dining area. Service was good. Food was average. Steak was undercooked- despite request for medium it came medium rare. I've never had to use salt on my steaks, but this time I had to. Shrimp was not fresh and tasted fishy (not worth the $3 price per shrimp). Hashbrowns were too salty. Sides were average. Flatbread appetizer was soggy. Better off eating at Mahogany steakhouse for the price. Cook must have worked at a hospital previously because everything was bland.
(3)Michelle P.
Our food was very delicious and our waitress, Rita, was very attentive and great about explaining all of the options. Main course came with soup/salad plus veggie (which could be swapped out if you preferred) plus an additional side. Somehow we all saved room for dessert (to share). Started with the homemade onion rings. While nothing unique, they were delicious and even the one-year old liked them. Everyone ordered some version of steak, because duh, and everyone enjoyed their options. The vibe is very casual but you get quality food. The building is also very unassuming so you may pass it up if you were just driving by, but it is worth a stop and a visit to central Omaha!
(4)Shaunda F.
WOW these reviews are really good or really bad?! I love this place. My first visit was before the remodel. I seriously did not want to go back after my first meal there, but my mother in-law had been eating there for the last 62yrs and its her favorite. I love her so off I'd go. Then all of a sudden one visit they were closed. And yes with growth there is change. Good and bad. In my opinion the quality of the food 10X's better. Great bar. Always busy, yes they can be a little under staffed. But I have never had horrible service or bad food. Its priced well, its yummy. Come on folks- this is not a 4 star place and its not trying to be. Great food, great prices. And the owners sat down at our table and talked about the old days and listened to moms stories. I'll be there each time I'm in Omaha.....
(5)Grey B.
For a heralded steak house I thought it would be better. Went in this evening and had a two star meal. I am only giving it two stars cause the staff was wonderful, but I eat food not service. Ordered the 10oz whiskey rib eye. First steak was overcooked. The staff took care of that immediately. Second steak comes out cooked properly at medium rare. The baked potatoes had seen better days as did the vegetables. Don't see what the buzz is about. I would dare say most of the chain steak places do a better job. And really an iceberg lettuce salad?
(2)Meesh G.
I trust warren buffetts judgement on anything except this place. It was embarrassingly bad. The salad is out a mixed greens bag from the local hivee at 52nd and dodge. The shrimp appetizer was fine. The buffalo steak was more rare than seeing a hot girl at 10th and Howard. The "vegetables" we're simply steamed carrots that might have been tasty the last time the huskers had a good football team. Sweet potato fries were fine. Hash browns had a bad taste. Honestly I can just picture management walking through the frozen aisle at hincky dinky and just plucking all of their ingredients and laughing at how much they over charge people. I have a really bad stomach ache- anyone know a good Walgreens on pacific??? Runza down the street would have been a better value.
(1)Sonia C.
I came here because it's Warren Buffett's favorite steakhouse. I ordered the t-bone and hashbrowns because it's Warren Buffett's favorite meal. ...No offense, but I'm sure Warren has had better steak but probably needed to endorse an Omaha restaurant for his legion of fans that flock to the city every year for the shareholder's meeting. The steak was quite tough. It was hard to saw through the piece of meat. It wasn't well-seasoned and I needed salt and A1 to get it down. The hashbrowns were great though it's one of those things that are kind of hard to mess up. The creme brulee had such a thick shell that we needed to stab at it repeatedly before it cracked. It's inexpensive though, so you get what you pay for. Worth the initial experience, but probably not worth a repeat visit.
(2)Marcy C.
I was in town for work and wanted to try some Omaha steak. After asking around the locals recommended Gorats. I was a little reluctant but I'm glad I came. I ordered the filet mignon which was just the perfect size for me. My coworkers ordered the whiskey ribeye, club sirloin steak, and chicken fried steak. I got a Cesar salad and was surprised to see it had avocado on top. Never seen that on a Cesar but no complaints here. I love avocado. Everyone enjoyed a great dinner. Beware the salads are huge! It's a bit on the retro side but it was kinda fun.
(4)Royal B.
Cleanliness 4 Service 4 Food 4 Likelihood 5 1-5 (5 Best!) 4.3 I have not had the pleasure of dining at Gorat's since its face lift. WOW! INCREDIBLE! A great local steak house we all can be proud of, have great service at and that is comfortable and modern. GREAT JOB GENE! Easter Brunch was a hit! We were seated right away and on time. Our server was hopping busy and didn't seem to miss a beat with any of her tables; refills were plenty, used dishes were removed and we were well taken care of. Restroom was VERY clean, well stocked and updated. Nice job. It is nice to see the 45 bus stations gone and walls torn down to reveal the way the dinning room was over 45 years ago. Instead of remodel, it was a "de-model" a great modern look. The food was hot, fresh, and VERY tasty. I was very impressed. For buffet food, they had it going on. Best buffet I have eaten at in recent years.
(4)Colleen L.
We went here for restaurant week, and were not disappointed! Curiously the new owner or chef has added some "different" items to the menu, which included asian chicken skewers and ahi tuna. I'm not used to seeing those on an Italian steakhouse menu, but the skewers were delicious. I had the gazpacho, filet, baked potato, and red velvet cheesecake. No complaints! My steak was perfect and tender. The potato was served with two paper pouches of sour cream, and the seasonal vegetable was a carrot, broccoli, cauliflower medley. Hash browns were highly recommended, and tasty, but were just simply fried shredded potato. The ice cream wasn't that exciting, but the blueberry bread pudding was (I recommend bringing 3 people to fully experience a restaurant week menu). Atmosphere is certainly a step up from the darkly paneled Drover, and the renovations are up to date. Very nice but simple interior, which is bright and appealing. Our waitress was a 20 year long happy employee, which says a lot for the restaurant!
(4)Dianne R.
I have been eating at Gorats before and after the renovation. I love the food- I have asked for more seasoning: salt and pepper. But its always a winner. Drink are reasonable and MMMMMMgood. Its not Morton's or Ruth Chris BUT your not paying those prices either...I will continue to enjoy each time I'm there...
(4)Robert N.
Old-school, for better or worse. If steak isn't your thing, have a drink in the lounge.
(3)Michael G.
If i could give a zero i would. This place sucks. Steaks have no flavor, typical with Omaha Steaks. Ordered it rare came out medium well. Sent it back still came in at medium well. Refused to eat it. Same with the sides. They were terrible. I have friends that love 8t...but I can make a better steak at home. Nothing classy here
(1)Jayson B.
Awesome service, which makes this review sad. Food is embarrassing.. Filet, that wasn't a filet. Rethink your plan Gorat's, food industry won't. Good luck
(1)Matt M.
Awful about sums it up. There is a Runza, Burger King and Arbys within two blocks of this restaurant and any of them can provide a far superior meal. Avoid at all costs unless you enjoy seafood flavored tbone steaks.
(1)Yon C.
This place gets a bad rep...err why!! I live pretty much next to this place and was put off going for ages..for no reason! The food is good, the service is good and there are some Groupons now and then. The crowd is slightly older so not the best place to find a student hottie but I liked it! They have a pumpkin bread pudding with cinnamon ice cream, it is really good.
(4)Mike H.
Went there for the first time and brought a visitor from out of town who had heard Gorat's was a great place for a steak. The experience and food were good. Two of our three filets, all ordered medium rare, were closer to medium well but still tender, and the vegetables on the side were a little overcooked. Friendly staff, and a 3-star price (about $110 for 3 including a bottle of wine).
(3)Ryssa C.
Three of the four adults went to Gorat's on Pi and S&BJ day because, well, steak. Plus, we really wanted to know if this was the "finest steaks" as the sign indicated. We had no idea what to expect because we are new to Omaha and the exterior gives no real indication as to the quality of the food, service, or, well, anything. The exterior is divey and makes you wonder if you might be entering a time warp. The interior is a mix of classy, casual, and retro nightclub. On Saturday nights there's live big band music and the median age demographic of the bar rises noticeably. However, the band was fantastic and I enjoyed hearing them. We were dining in the front room with the bar across the main entryway and the music could be heard but certainly didn't interfere with our table conversation. The steak. We ordered 3 different steaks: the large filet, the large prime rib, and the club steak. The filet was delicately flavored and seared perfectly to be presented a lovely rare (she loves her steak rare). Amazing flavor, amazing texture, wonderful experience. The prime rib? It's prime rib. Excellent seasoning with a tasty au jus and a nicely creamy horseradish sauce. I like the flavor of the fat and swooned over the one taste I had. All in all a very good prime rib, but it didn't stand out as amazing or horrible but that's okay. Finally the club steak, served with a bleu cheese and butter sauce. This is the least expensive steak on the menu and perhaps one of the best steaks for flavor I've eaten in a while. The steak was well flavored in and of itself. This isn't the most tender, but I also wanted it medium rare to rare and they delivered. The sauce is highly flavored but it worked so very well with the steak. This cut isn't as tender as any other, but the trade off in flavor makes it completely worthwhile and the added bonus is that this is an affordable menu option which also tastes good The sides were good -- standard baked potato with butter and sour cream. The vegetables were a wonderful steamed baby carrots with green beans. I loved them but I'm not lazy eating my vegetables. Even so, they were well spiced and not overcooked, which is important. We liked the experience and plan on returning. We are likely to order the club steak again and hope that our next experience is as great as the first. The dress code is that there really isn't one and that is nice to know. We saw people dressed casually and dressed up. The service was excellent and unobtrusive without stinting us in care or needs.
(5)Chris T.
Gorat's has really gone down hill since my last visit there about eight years ago. I took my family (8 of us), there to celebrate my youngest son turning 31. The place wasn't very busy. One of the rooms was completely empty (it was a Wednesday night) while our room was occupied by our party and three other small tables. Another group was in a third room. It took an hour to be served our entrées (on non-busy night).Three of the four steaks ordered were not properly cooked. Not wanting to have to wait any longer two of us did not complain. The other who did was given a cooked steak to take home (how lame is that?). All in all it put a damper on the evening. One would expect only the exceptional from a place Warren supposedly thinks is so great.
(1)HIROKO K.
This steakhouse is recommended to the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders in their annual meeting's visitors' guide. The USDA prime cuts of beef that are served are amazing. Gorat's cooks the steaks perfectly. The medium rare 10 oz filet mignon was buttery and seasoned just so. No need for any sauces at all. The steaks come with boiled baby carrots and a baked potato. The salad that accompanies the meal is a very basic iceberg lettuce with a couple of slices of red onion and tomatoes. The only drawback was a very limited bar - it may have been the result of the busy shareholder weekend, but really, they ran out of cognac to make sidecars (which is listed on their cocktail menu)? And no, they do not make any trendy cocktails like mojitos. It's definitely not competing with the likes of Morton's, but the price is reasonable and the prime beef is awesome! If you're there for the BRK experience, go there and enjoy the steak.
(3)Kendrick K.
I decided on the 22 oz steak and the mac and cheese special, both were delicious and at a very affordable price. The service was great, and the newly renovated interior made for a memorable evening. Our party of three will be back!
(5)Marc D.
Love Love Love the chicken fried steak. The hands down best I have had. And I have had it lots of places. Hand made, with the perfect texture for the crust. Flavor is perfect. meat is tender and not overly spiced. everyone must go try it.
(5)Rachel S.
This was a delightful experience! The food was delicious and service was fantastic! I can't wait to go back! I suggest flat top grilling for your steak and a good Manhattan to pair with your dinner. The desert wasn't the best but overall a winner of a night! The jazz music provided great ambiance too.
(5)The A D.
Old school family restaurant with decent steak and reasonable prices.
(4)Emily H.
Seriously the best steak I have ever had. I ordered the 10 oz prime cut filet mignon with a baked potato. The steak melted in my mouth. We were with a huge group and the service was very quick. The waitress seemed a little unfriendly at times but was probably just overwhelmed by the size of the group. I would definitely go back here. We live in Washington state so I think it will be awhile. I will be dreaming of that steak until I return!
(5)Matt M.
I loved the old school charm of this place. They have wooden paneling, a cleverly disguised former fireplace, and a converted outdoor entrance. The food is nothing special. Broasted chicken is really just fried chicken. The "spaghetti" they give as a side is pretty bland and lifeless. The onion rings are interesting though and make you wonder where the onions they made these from are grown. The staff is great and really experienced. Its about as interesting to see "where Warren eats" as it is to see "where Warrent lives".
(3)R K.
We asked a few locals for their best steakhouse recommendation and Gorat's was at the top of the many lists. The fact that this is Warren Buffett's favorite place made it even more appealing. We checked it out during a crazy lightning storm. The restaurant was surprisingly empty. There was a singer crooning in the lounge which was cool. The decor is not very warm. Definitely not your typical steakhouse. Sat down and service was very good. We started with some tasty onion rings. Their bread basket was okay. But the reason why we came here was for some good Omaha beef. My 13-yr old son ordered the 22 oz t-bone, hash browns, and cole slaw. That came with soup or salad and only cost $34. Wow!! I had the 10 oz prime filet. Also $34. The hash browns are delicious. Perfectly crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. The veggies were generic baby carrots and green beans. Not very good but who cares. The steak was unbelievably delicious. I've never had a better cut of beef. Ever!! No exaggeration. The steak was perfectly cooked medium rare, melted in your mouth, and had a delicious flavor despite not using any sauce. Here's the kicker. We called for a cab but it never came. It's pouring rain outside so our server said she was going to drop us off at our hotel. Only in the Midwest.
(5)Jane C.
Started with a salad that should be renamed to "lettuce in a bowl." I ordered the Whiskey Ribeye, which was disappointing. Waitress didn't ask me how I liked it done and it came out too bloody. The meat also had veins running throughout. The sizing was good, but the accompanying potato & sour cream and onion rings were delicious. Dessert was alright. Waitress suggested a fruit thing that wasn't on the menu. Wasn't as much fruit as I had liked so ordered the Red Velvet Cheesecake. This was the highlight of dinner. Side note* I had ordered a Shirley Temple at the beginning and guess they don't do refills :(
(3)Robert C.
Freaking amazing. I've been around. The fillet is amazing. The desserts. Oh my. The wine list is cheap. DO NOT THE OUTSIDE bother you. It's good on the inside. ;-). Don't pay attention to Warren Buffett recommendations. Filet mignon. And dessert bread putting. Freaking top shelf food.
(5)David D.
Meh...............many better places in Omaha, especially for a steak.
(2)Paul R.
As old school as it gets..... If you are old enough to have been around during the Cuban missile crisis and still want to feel young then Gorats is your place. Spot on service although I wish we could have slowed them down a bit. As advertised perfectly aged and cooked steaks. Our waitress did ask us if we wanted steak sauce??!!?? I believe that was a test as steak sauce would have ruined the flavor of the meat. Canned mushroom slices and sour cream in a tube were a bit of a disappointment too. But the blue cheese dressing was off the charts good as were the dinner rolls. We also had a nice Malbec to accompany our steaks... Could someone explain the pasta side dish for me??? All in all a great dinner and will return again on my next visit.
(4)Calvin Y.
You probably think the obvious appeal for me is that Gorat's Steak House is one of Warren Buffett's favorite steakhouse, right? Except what sold me was the fact that Martha Stewart has eaten here for Mr. Buffett's stake holder meeting. Yes, if it's good enough for my Martha, then I am not going to argue. We stopped by for lunch and the entrees range from $6-9. The Lunch Steak falls on the higher end of the scale at $9, but it comes with soup or salad and one of the following: mashed potatoes, french fries, spaghetti, or mostaccioli. Given how much food they offer for only $6-9, it's a pretty good deal. In terms of taste, the steak was pretty standard and fair (not bad, but not good). What actually impressed me the most about Gorat's is their selection of butter: Regular Butter, Garlic Butter (with bits of garlic), and Pepper Butter along with three types of breads. I must admit it's a little sad when the butter upstages the steak. Overall, I wouldn't mind coming back for dinner. Granted I was not excited about my lunch steak, I don't think its a good representative of their dinner steaks. However if their dinner steaks fails, then I'll be happy enough with just eating butter for dinner.
(3)Linda H.
Went with a large group. My chicken parm was just so-so. The pasta served with it would have been OK if the amount of sauce had been tripled. However, a friend got the salmon and absolutely raved about it. The service was fine considering our group had about twenty people in it. Prices were about average for the type of meals served.
(2)Jeff M.
This is not your father's Gorats. Much has changed. New owners. White table cloths and old Omaha steakhouse look and feel is gone. Classic cuts are gone , no chateau brion! Tuna appetizer and calamari appetizer seemed lost on a Gorat's menu. They are trying to blend old with new. Not crowded on a Friday night. Food was a mixed bag. Tbone Steak still Omaha steakhouse worthy, and I think they use Gorats spices still. Very good. Fried Catfish was good, like south Omaha. Broiled walleye was expensive and the piece was tiny, maybe 3 or 4 ounces. With butter sauce. Not good. Buffalo chili was very good. Crab cake appetizers not good. Mostly bread. Cake no crab. Bill with 3 dinners, 2 appetizers, a glass of wine and a cocktail (too much ice in the cocktails) and 2 desserts came to $120. That was fine. Service is very good, friendly and fast. I liked the walk down memory lane and we'll probably do it again. The owner greets each guest which is a nice touch during the meal. I felt like a had one foot in 1977 and one foot in 2013.
(3)Johnny A.
Good by not impressive. With the renovations, the inside of the restaurant looks very modern, which is not what I expected. The steak itself was ok, but nothing compared to others I had in Omaha. Overall, there's nothing wrong with it, but there are better steak joints in Omaha.
(3)Anthony C.
In town for the Shareholder Meeting, decided to as Warren does and go by Gorats. In my opinion, his favorite, the chargrilled TBone was fantastic! Don't try the hash browns, but the Mac-n-cheese was just ok... Great looking steak salad(?) for my one cohort and a perfect fillet for the other. On the completely irrelevant side, their bread is probably the best slice of bread I've had in years - go figure. It is by no means a Chicago/Dallas steak house, but quick, polite service round off a very pleasant experience indeed.
(4)Sam F.
I've read other reviews on this place that other people have written, and they either lack the ability to taste food, want to feel better than Warren Buffet, or are morons. If you want to be "better than Buffet," buy a bespoke suit, don't bash this excellent restaurant. I've been lurking on yelp forever, and was so taken aback by the rating of this place that I had to write my first review. I had the 22oz t-bone and a baked potato, with the clam chowder as a starter and a chocolate lava cake as a dessert. The soup was excellent, creamy, with clearly fresh shucked clams. Not something I expected in Nebraska to be honest. But we're not here to discuss chowder. This steak was not just a meal, but an event I'll recollect long after dementia has claimed my other memories. It I ordered it medium rare, and it was cooked perfectly throughout, not something easily done. Each bite was perfectly seasoned, an ecstasy I've not experienced with any other beef I've had. For the ten minutes it took to greedily devour this masterpiece, I felt like I too was the richest man in the world. It was one if those meals where your problems disappear, the world falls away, and all that matters is you and the great food you're eating. The potato, while well baked, could have come with more sour cream, but I'm sure I could have just asked if I wasn't mandated by some primitive, unbreakable urge to keep shoving steak in my mouth. It was still quite good, with fresh scallions and a nice mild cheddar creating a pleasant complement to such a large piece of meat. Even the vegetables were fresh, and steamed perfectly, an nice, forgiving carrot dueling with a crisp, refreshing green bean. Marvelous. The cake was just the cherry on top. The chocolate "lava" of cakes at many places often tastes burned, or is cooked out of the cake to the point were it's more of a minor eruption compared to the pyroclastic flow I desire. This, was indeed, everything I imagined to be good about this dessert and more. I literally finished it in seconds. This meal was fantastic. As a side note, my cousin was unable to finish his pork chop and our friend was unable to vanquish is beef parmigiana, but lucky for them, I am a gold member of the Clean Plate Club. The pork chop was moist, with an excellent sear on the outside, and the cinnamon apples accompanying were the perfect duet. The parm was well sauced and the crust was crispy and delicious. The mostaccioli was a great pairing. I feel like I had enough food here, aside from the singular religious experience with the steak, to get a good feel for this place, and, for the life of me, I am baffled by the negativity surrounding this place on this site. All the food I tried was excellent, and the t-bone was nothing short of breathtaking. It was the best steak I've ever eaten, and I would recommend this to any one before anything else. I was legitimately shocked and appalled to see the bad reviews about this place on yelp. Please, please, cut through the nonsense, and get yourself a great steak!
(5)Suzy S.
First time to Gorat's - We tried Gorat's as part of Omaha Restaurant Week and was not disappointed! The pork chop was absolutely delicious and the filet mignon was very good as well. The wait staff was friendly although a bit confused about the preset menu. After dinner, we stayed to listen to the live entertainment which was exceptional. We will definitely be back!
(4)Heather G.
The second of two steakhouses I hit in Omaha, and sadly, we're 0 for 2 in the scale of whelm (that's over/underwhelm, folks, and I have indeed been underwhelmed). Omaha Steaks? Omaha cows? Midwest beef? Is this a myth or has our quest to eat at all of Warren Buffett's "favorite" steakhouses steered us wrong? Dare I say - does the world's greatest investor and all around super-man have terrible taste in food? Yeah, I think I just went there. If Piccolo and Gorat's are Mr. Buffet's two favorite steakhouses, then I declare that, yes, he is human and yes, he has imperfections. Don't let him give you a restaurant recommendation, for instance. SO, on a quest to find this Omaha Beef situation, we ventured to Gorat's which, as a restaurant name, I have a personal affinity for. Sadly, no bonus points for that. First off, the restaurant owner (at least i think he was the owner - else he is a PHENOMENALLY nice and sort-of-odd patron) was wonderful. We sat as a large (18) group and he came over to chat with us, see where we're from, introduce us to his daughter, etc. Maybe Omaha is a small town or maybe Warren Buffet just likes to patron restaurants where his employees have a vested interest (in which case, that's amazing), but we quickly learned that this man was the husband of a woman we met earlier that day while touring the Buffett ventures. Small world here, folks. To his credit, he was so warm and wonderful, and the interior of his restaurant in the back-room area was very clean and classy. I think the waitress was either having a testy day, or our group of 18 was a bit difficult to coordinate, because she alternated between sharing fun Buffett facts (he orders the T-bone, rare, he sits against the back wall, etc.), snapping at us for not paying attention when she was handing out drinks, and forgetting parts of our order. In hindsight, the T-bone thing may have been an up-sell attempt because that is way way way too large a steak for any of us on the trip to have eaten alone. Regardless, she alternated between friendly and snappy, but to her credit, a party of 18 with separate checks must be a nightmare, and we really appreciated her doing that for us. About the food: Well, first off, it's pretty cheap, but then, Boston steakhouses are my baseline and they're ridiculously expensive. The menu covers all tastes, though most went for a steak with sides. The steak, when ordered rare, indeed came our rare (I love when that happens). The steak itself wasn't bad. It was a nice, rare piece of meat. The sides, however, were underwhelming across the board, and looked like over-oiled, over-fried, over-set, limp piles. They certainly did not add any aesthetics to the plate, and could have used some re-vamping when the new owner was "cleaning house", as it were. Dinner salads came out in the same size bowls but were varying degrees of heaping. One salad was half the size of the other, and I didn't understand the portion methodology. The breadbasket was full of some sort of heavy rolls, which were fantastic when they came out piping hot, but became dry and dense when they were allowed to cool to room temperature. Eat these as soon as they come out to the table if you can! Overall, not a bad experience given the difficulty it probably is to wait on 18 people at one time, but it certainly wasn't the best steakhouse I've visited in the last year.
(2)Brad W.
We went to check out Gorat's Steak House tonight. We were excited to see what the new owner did with the place. It would be great to have another great dinner option in our neighborhood so I was really looking forward to it. The new owners really did a nice job cleaning up the exterior. They trimmed back all the plantings around the building and sign. You can actually see all the sign and windows now. When we walked in, it smelled like fresh paint. The place looked decent. New wall paint, new trim, nice new hardwood floors. They kept a few of the old details such as the funky ceilings. Good so far... ... But that's where it ended. We were basically thrown at a table. Menu's piled up in one corner, no mention of anything from the hostess. I think by the time we sat down, she was already up by the door. Or server came over and yelled at us in a very loud voice, "Can I get you something to drink?" Settle down lady, we are not 80 like the people you are use to. I asked what they had on tap and she struggled to get out 4 selections. I am not sure how many beers they actually had, but I am sure it was more than 4. We ordered an appetizer, a Spinach and Artichoke dip, when she brought it out, she also brought app plates too. She set a plate in front of each one of us. The tables are covered in a "retro", I mean dated looking glass top. When she set each plate down, it literally got the attention of every table around us because it was so loud. The dip was decent, not thing to brag about, not going to win any awards. We ordered entree's, well at least 3 out or 4 of us. My wife didn't get an entree because nothing on the menu looked good. She thought about getting a turkey sandwich, but choose to go with a soup and a salad. 2 of us got the "Famous" T-Bone and the last person got a pasta dish. The Entree's came with a soup or salad. Two people got the salad which was very small, a few pieces of iceberg lettuce and a few small carrot shavings and a nasty looking pepperoncini pepper. I got the Creamy Potato soup, which was by far the highlight of the night! It was flavorful, good consistency, plenty of potatoes, and nicely garnished with fresh Bacon and Cheese. Here comes the T-Bone, the "Famous" T-Bone! If its famous, its because of how Horrible it is! Before even taking a bite, it didn't look very appetizing, but I have had great thing that looked terrible. This wasn't one of them. I took my first bite and it tasted like fish! Took another bite, also tasted like fish!! Turned to the other person eating a T-Bone and told him and he agreed! Not only did it taste horrible, it was really tough. I had to stop eating a couple bites it was so bad. It was like eating a piece of shoe leather. It would be nice if this place updated their website and facebook page with a current menu, but that doesn't matter, I would still say don't go there. Moral of the story, I can honestly, without a doubt, say that this is the worst steak I have ever had in my life! I usually will give places a second chance and try something different, but I don't think this place will get one from me.
(1)Joseph C.
Delicious and very filling meal. Must try the original onion rings. Could not finish the juicy 16 oz prime rib with au jus. Recommend it to everyone who wants a relatively affordable and upscale meal!
(5)Scot M.
Was there last night for dinner. Definitely not their A game. Spinach dip came out a cold clump of cream cheese, with veggies scatter on top and ZERO seasoning. My whiskey steak was a disappointment - I ordered M/W and got lighter side of medium. Wife ordered prime rib medium, what came out was... Let's just say she asked me not to cause a seen. It looked like it was sliced off the cheap side, and not cooked. Veins all thru the meat. Obviously a Cheap cut of meat. Don't get me wrong, I've been there several times since the ownership change for lunch and was never, ever disappointed, but last night has turned me off. IMHO, I can get a better dining experience closer to home in west O
(1)Carol K.
Some one said, your in the steak capital of the world, you got to eat steak, so were else but Gorat's, after all it's Warren's favorite spot. We are here visiting family, they wanted to take us out and suggested this place, so we met them for dinner. It was a huge dinning facility, but we went all the way to the back room for our table, the front of the house was kept empty. We ordered our drinks and we got a couple of the fried onion ring towers, thin slices lightly battered, good to start with. Then a little dinner salad, our steak and potato with side of pasta, what an odd combination, but we soon learned that this was tradition. Have to admit the steak was tender and cooked just perfect. A pretty good meal for a pretty good price! Service was good, dinning room clean and fresh.
(4)Chris D.
Visited the newly owned Gorat's Steak House last night and am so glad I did. The new menu has some refreshing and much needed changes. I started off with an Old Fashioned for a drink. Although tasty...it was not made correctly. Instead of the orange and cherry being muddled in the bottom, they were served on a plastic pick as a garnishment. The second one I had was served with no fruit at all. They probably need to work on the drink mixology a bit! I ordered a 10 ounce whiskey ribeye...perfect size for me and the price was $13! This came with a side of a potato choice and fresh green beans, a much needed change from the canned green beans as the previous owners served! The steak was very tender, tasty and cooked perfectly as ordered. I chose the baked potato soup instead of a salad. The soup was delicious...served with bacon and scallions garnished on top. The biggest problem was that the soup came about 30 seconds after my entree arrived. Would have liked to enjoy the soup without worrying that my steak was getting cold. Probably just timing that the new servers need to coordinate. My dining partner ordered the basil angel hair pasta. It was also tasty although a little bland, however I think that it tasted as promised on the menu. The bread sticks that accompanied it were very hard...not really edible. All in all I was very satisfied with our meal, and the bill came to only $40! It's nice to have options on the menu for those of us looking for a meal with portions that are not too much to eat....therefore paying a little less. There are many options on the menu for larger steaks...prime rib, filets etc. There are also sandwich options, salads and pastas...many that sounded very good! Other than a few hiccups with drinks and service, this new ownership shows much promise! Actually looking forward to going back and trying a different menu item! Wishing luck to the new and improved Gorats!!
(3)Trey M.
They remodeled. Looks great! Service, fast, and above average. Food was average. Prices were above average. I'm glad I tried this place again, after the remodel. The thing is this. I know cheaper places, that offer higher quality food. So, while the food in ALL aspects was acceptable, nothing really "Wowed" me. Ordered: Prime Rib House Wine Potatoes
(3)Joseph C.
We; my daughter her husband and my wife went to Groths steak house Friday Nov 29th. Our visit two weeks earlier found the food and service barely OK. We decided to try again. My Chicken fried steak was actually laying in a bed of grease. I used a napkin to soak it up. The gravy on the side was bland and cold. The mashed potatoes were a mass of starch. My wife had prime rib she left most of it as it was even to tough to cut. My daughter had the jumbo fried shrimp, yes the were big but they were all breading and had a wet like texture to them She left the on the plate. I asked her why she did not eat any; wanting to be nice she said she was not hungry. I reached over and took a shrimp. One bite was all I needed to know why she did not eat any. They were a disgrace to serve as JAumbo Shrimp.My son in law had a sandwich and said it was ok. Needless to say we won't return JAC Omaha, Ne
(1)Scott S.
After completing my first-ever pilgrimage to Woodstock for Capitalists, I decided that it was necessary to see what Gorat's was all about. The good: Onion rings for appetizer. Huge portion, very tasty, and less expensive than a smaller portion that you'd get at the Red Robin burger chain. Hash browns for side order. Nice crispiness on both sides, without being overcooked in the middle. After-dinner drinks - tried the Godfather - Scotch & Amaretto on ice - never had that before, but I just might add that to my list now. Service was excellent. The acceptable: The steak. Nothing wrong with it, but just not what I was expecting when I went to a restaurant that calls itself a steak house. Had the 20 ounce T-bone, medium rare. And it did arrive medium rare. Tasted fine, but really nothing special. I guess I should have known that a restaurant that brags that they serve Omaha Steaks (USDA Choice) will put a steak in front of me that will taste no better than an Omaha Steak that I could have bought and cooked myself at a fraction of the price. Reading older stories from a few years ago about Gorat's on the web indicate that they used to cut and age their own beef; that was probably when their sign out in front was justified ("Finest Steaks in the World"). Now, not so much. Overall: An acceptable meal, and the pricing won't require you to take out a home equity loan to pay for it. Glad I went to see where Warren Buffett goes 3 or 4 times a month, but for me, I probably won't go out of my way to return.
(3)Han N.
Went here because of the much respected Warren Buffet. The old school ambiance certainly has its charm. I had the omaha sirloin steak with crispy hash browns and sauteed mushrooms for appetizer. The medium cooked steak was perfect. It was not the best steak I've ever had but the tenderness of the meat was enough to please my appetite. The sauteed mushrooms was not soft or soaked in greasy oil like I used to have in many steak houses. The only slightly negative comment i have for this place is you will be among many AARP recipients. Not really a surprise when you think about it.
(4)Stephen C.
I was in Omaha for the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting and, yes, I had to check out all of Warren Buffett's favorite places. I hoped that Gorat's would be awesome, but my expectations were set pretty low given that (a) this was Omaha, not quite the mecca of fine cooking; (b) I've had some damn good steaks in my time; and (c) Buffett isn't quite known to be a foodie (the man has eaten the same burger, cherry coke, and chocolate diet for the past 80 years) and he has simple tastes. Given my low expectations, the experience was enjoyable, but if I had come in expecting a memorable steak, I would have been disappointed. Here's a breakdown of the food: Bread basket -- They literally give you a selection of sliced supermarket bread and some cold pads of butter... Onion rings -- A large basket of onion rings. Flakey breaded crust just how I like it. The best thing I had. T-bone steak -- Warren Buffett's favorite item. Juicy and tender, but a bit under-seasoned. Far from the best steak ever, but decent for the price. Prime rib -- A thick cut of meat. Juicy, but cooked unevenly and way under-seasoned. Side of au jus was bland as well. Sides -- Each steak comes with a side salad, choice of pasta or green beans, and choice of potato. Green beans were from a can. Hash browns and baked potato were both a bit undercooked. Apple pie -- Standard apple pie. Likely store-bought and warmed up. Cherry Coke -- Warren Buffett's elixir of choice. Overall, the food was filling, ambiance was old-school, service was friendly, prices are a bargain relative to major cities. However, if you're not a Buffett buff, not really worth the trouble.
(3)Rachael L.
I went for lunch with a couple co-workers, somehow I've never been before. I love the "old school" charm this place has, and it was very affordable, but those are the best qualities. Something about these large, old dining room restaruants make my heart all fuzzy because it reminds me of my grandfather (he loved this place!) The waitstaff is very friendly as well. The food choices are pretty simple for lunch, and taste just like you'd expect them to. There are no surprises here. Stay away from the canned vegetables, stick with steak and potatoes and you won't be disappointed, they do know how to cook a steak here.
(3)Danniell K.
Do not do it!! Over cooked steak, canned greened beans as the seasonal vegetable. Orders wrong, overall horrible, overpriced and terrible atmosphere.
(1)Andrea T.
We went for lunch over the weekend and the food and service was good. We both had the steak sandwich and it was delicious!
(4)Ron B.
I've been going here for many years. I remember when the kids took over from the original owners, and the food went downhill for a while, then came back up. For years, the filet mignon dinners were again wonderful. What's happened? I've been there recently, and stuff has gotten so bad that I have no plans to try the place again for a year or so. Has the economic downturn made them cheap out out their meat purchases? I'm really sorry to see that one of my longtime favorite spots is now best avoided.
(1)George W.
Run away! Run away! If you are looking for a place with no style or class, that charges the same prices as a place that is current and trendy, with average food at high prices, then Gorats is YOUR PLACE! Rush in now. You'll sit in a "period piece" dining room, complete with glass over the tablecloths (is it the 50's....no! It's the 60's!) I read some of the other reviews. One raved about the menu. You get your choice of two sides. The sides: Baked potato French fries Hash Browns Rice Pilaf Mashed potatos What a variety! What an incredible menu! The Brussel Sprout vegetable medley thankfully, wasn't on the menu. There is no presentation on the plate to speak of. You get a big plate, where the food seems to be swimming in a sea of white china. Seasoning? We don't need no stinkin' seasoning! It took a while to get the waitstaff's attention, to clear our check. What was good: My steak was tender, cooked properly, and came out hot. There was PLENTY of parking (I wonder why......nah, can't be that the other 1 star reviews are RIGHT...nah!) We were seated quickly. Yep, that's pretty much it. It's really too bad. They could do this right - the interior is vintage, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, if I want to pay $27 for an 8 ounce fillet, I can go somewhere that has some atmosphere, better presentation, and better service. I'd suggest making the food really great as a starting point. You can't charge big prices and stay in business like this. There are too many really good restaurants in Omaha that serve better steaks for less. The owner was making the rounds. He seemed to be enjoying himself. I wish his patrons enjoyed themselves.
(1)Christa Lei S.
This place is alright. To be fair, I shouldn't really be rating food tha tI'm not a huge fan of. They ran out of the prime rib rare-medium, so I was kind of upset because apparently that's the best thing on the menu. Sigh. So I got a huge cut of sirloin steak. It wasn't bad, but you know when steak is good when you don't have to eat it with sauce. ...I had to slather this thing in a pool of A1. They give you big steaks, but you could find the same thing at Piccolo Pete's for cheaper. They're nice though. It's definitely an old fashioned Italian steakhouse.
(3)Jocelyn L.
"Warren Buffet needs to pick a new fave restaurant. I was the youngest (and only ethnic) person there. What a bizarre place. Steak was disappointingly bad and the sauteed mushrooms were CANNED mushrooms! What da $%^&? LAME-O" GROSS
(1)Jennifer H.
I give it points for kitsch. The lounge is hilariously awesome. We eat here nearly every time we visit Omaha. We keep coming back because it's very much a family tradition and, honestly, we've never had a bad experience. When I was eating meat my steak was always cooked right. It might not be of the quality you might find at a super-high-end steakhouse like Murray's in Minneapolis, but that's just not what they're going for at Gorat's. The crab legs are gigantic and tender. I dream of them.
(4)Ben K.
Pros: Old school style, Warren Buffett frequents here Cons: Subpar food, a somewhat depressing vibe I loved Gorat's growing up. It was always a treat when my parents took my sisters and I here. Coming back to it a bit older and no longer an Omaha resident, I'm somewhat disappointed by what I see. I like the place because it's old school. This was what all Omaha steakhouses were like back about 30 some years ago. As more and more of the original Italian steakhouses in the city bite the dust (Mister C's, Ross, Cascio's), soon Omaha will only have chains or uber fancy places as their options. For that, the restaurant gets a good rating for it's nostalgic charm and somewhat gaudy environment. Now comes where the ratings slide. The steaks and food in general are nothing to write home about. I'm not sure if this is recent or it's always been this way and now that I'm older I'm starting to notice. My steak was fine, not terribly juice and somewhat hard to cut, but it tasted well enough. The fries were kind of soggy and lacking of flavor, kind of like fries you cook at home. The salad is iceberg lettuce drenched in Italian dressing. The spaghetti tasted like Chef Boyarde. As for the crowd, besides spotting Warren Buffett, it is the most depressing group I've ever seen. I always worry someone is going to die, and I say this with all seriousness. I feel like I'm at a nursing home everytime I eat here. Gorat's is an Omaha relic, a standby of a dying trend (the local Italian steakhouse) that is good for a trip down memory lane.
(3)Deandra A.
We made reservations for a Saturday night, called, moved our reservation up. The woman on the phone said it was fine. We got there and waited 40 minutes, asked about when we would be seated, and were told there were still 10 tables ahead of us. Probably putting our wait at OVER and hour past our reservation time. There were no apologies about this. Also, there were almost no people under silver hairs, which makes me curious why there is not a spectrum of ages, maybe the food is out of date. The chairs and dining room looked like it came from the early 80's. We went to Spezia instead since we wanted to be fed that night. It was delicious, had nice ambiance, and the staff was very friendly. I will never give Gorat's another chance.
(1)John K.
I went here for a late lunch with my wife and I thought I was going to hate it.It was filled with geriatric types and looked like a diner or coffee shop.I was tempted to leave.Boy would that have been a mistake!The service was friendly ,efficient and the food was reasonably priced and good.I had some kind of lake fish,my wife a steak sandwich.I had a couple of local beers and my wife a generous pour of wine.I think we had dessert and coffee.I'll admit it ,we loved the place.It was also funny watching them set up for dinner and place proper table linens on the tables as well as candles.I t can't be for Warren Buffet, I don't think he 'd care.
(3)Sarah G.
I believe this is my first one-star review... and I'm honestly trying to remain objective here but the bottled beer I had was probably the best part of my meal. Really, I wanted to like Gorats. I wanted to love it. I wanted to go there and be blown away and put all the naysayers in their place. But lo and behold I too am now a naysayer. It's unfortunate because I want Gorat's to be awesome... but remaining unbiased, here are my thoughts. Gorat's has been described as a 'traditional, homey, family' steakhouse - along with a number of other adjetives. But I'm pretty sure I could cook a more enjoyable steak on my grill at home with worn-out burners. I feel bad saying this, but it's all true. I didn't feel like spending $25 on a steak meal, so I ordered the steak sandwich. Which, hilariously we couldn't find on the menu. Between three people looking for about 10 minutes... apparently I forgot how to read. It's in ALL CAPS on the right hand side of the menu, FYI. (Which I found out after I asked our waitress.) This became the running joke of the night. We ordered a round of drinks and escargot. Drinks came, escargot didn't. Then the meals came, escargot didn't. I ordered my sandwich medium rare, because unfortunately even though we're in Omaha most places are notorious for overcooking. Gorat's leans to the other side. I had to send the sandwich back to be recooked because it came out rare... cold in the middle rare. Then, when I got it back, it was medium well. Oh well. Then we reminded our server again about the escargot. Which, at this point I suprisingly still wanted because my sandwich was being re-cooked. The sandwiches came back, escargot didn't. We finished eating, then the escargot made an appearance. But it wasn't an enjoyable experience to say the least. Kind of like being forced to watch a bad movie... But for some reason, we were determined to finish them. And despite the fact that they were swimming in butter... they didn't have any flavor. They were unfortunately gritty and blackened. I've never had blackened escargot before and hopefully never will again. At the end of the meal, I noticed the weird cave-like trayed ceiling behind us with the 3' diameter round diffuser. That was just weird. I left feeling sad. I wanted to love you Gorat's, really I did...
(1)Anthony G.
Came here purely due to its association with Warren Buffett. Word is his favorite meal is a T-Bone rare, double order of hash browns with a cherry coke at Gorat's. Wanting to follow in his footsteps I ordered the same (as I bet a lot of visitors). I'd say this is a notch better than Denny's, but certainly falls in the land of mediocrity. Do come to pay homage to Warren, but if you're looking for an excellent steak, go elsewhere.
(3)John J.
Was in the area for the Berkshire shareholder meeting. On Buffett's recommendation, we decided to give Gorat's a try. The shrimp and scallops appetizer and prime rib were exceedingly disappointing if for no other reason than because we were in Omaha, home of beef. The appetizer was buried in cheese and the prime rib was under-seasoned and somewhat tough to cut. Not the most expensive place, but diners would be served well to spend a few extra dollars elsewhere. The only saving grace was the waitress who was courteous and friendly.
(2)Dawn A.
First, I am shocked by all the negative posts (MANY) that the new owners aren't doing something about the dissatifaction... I must agree and here's why. This is the only restaurant I have ever commented online about, it was that disappointing! I was anticipating a "nice steak restaurant" and left disappointed. The food and drinks were ok, at best and the prices way too high for the quality of food they serve. The service was good though. First, we ordered flavored martinis. I was turned off that they came in a regular drink glass, not a martini glass (so they were 3/4 of the way empty). The waitress apologized stating they had a special in the bar so they were out of martini glasses (ok, then wash them or have an adequate supply). The bread on the table was extremely dry and unappealing (almost felt stale that it had been out too long). The appetizer, spinach dip, came. The flavor was alright but it was barely warm and the cheese wasn't melted because of that. I tried to overlook that, until.... the salad came. Sorry, I am not impressed with cheap, dry, bagged salad (iceburg lettuce) served with a plastic packet of salad dressing on my plate. I felt that was very tacky. To top it off, the baked potato came with dinner and yet another "packet" on my plate of sour cream. Tacky! Not the presentation I would expect from a nice steakhouse. My steak, petite filet, was good and seasoned well. My fiance's T-bone steak - eh, it was ok. Nothing spectacular. We also both ordered asparagus and I had (literally) 5 very tiny pieces of asparagus on my plate (my plate looked bare) and my fiance's plate had 11 pieces - no consistency there. A few tweaks and I would give it a little better rating (fresh lettuce or spring mix, NO packets of sour cream or salad dressing, appetizers served hot, nicer and more consistent and ample serving of vegetables, fresh bread, and drinks served in the appropriate glasses). We could have spent less and had better quality and tasting food at Outback. Sorry, but I doubt we will be back unless I see reviews that things have changed.
(2)Rebecca H.
We had reservations here on a Thursday night, but when we arrived we definitely didn't need them as the place wasn't busy at all. The other patrons in the restaurant could be lumped into two groups: the geriatric crowd and the yuppie crowd. The decor and ambiance of this place cannot be described as anything but nursing home chic. The service here was excellent, and out waitress was very attentive without being overbearing at all. We both ordered the filet mignon, cooked medium rare. The steak was the outstanding part of the meal and was truly delectable. You get your standard salad with your meal, which is basically iceberg mix from a bag served on an old school glass flower shaped plate. Despite the "italian" dressing actually being oil and vinegar dressing I found it to be very tasty. You also get your standard baked potato or fries as a side. What I found to be a bit odd was the pasta that is also served with your meal. It's just basic noodles and tomato sauce served with parmesan cheese, but I liked having something different with my food. Being from the south I was disappointed in the lack of sweet tea as a beverage option, but then again, few places in Omaha have good tea. Overall, I really enjoyed my experience here and would definitely choose this place over a chain steak house restaurant in the future.
(4)Ken L.
Can't believe this place is WB's favorite place. The steak was so-so and not flavorful and juicy. My friend had the prime rib, which she thought wasn't up to par either. I did have the escargot app, which was not bad but not super. Been to better steakhouses in my day.
(3)Corey H.
Gorats is fun for me because I only venture out to Omaha once a year for the Berkshire share holder meeting. My group and all the other people that flock their this one weekend a year (about 35,000 people) all want to eat at Warren Buffett's favorite resturant. The place is VERY dated. Being that im from San Diego, its kinda a pleasant suprise to go into a place where there are mirrors all over the place accompanied with wood panneling. I feel like I walked into a 1970's mob house. So as far as the setting goes, its for sure old school and needs to be redone if they want to keep up with the times. At the same time though, Gorats has been and icon there for many generations, why re-invent the wheel? To add, the chairs are cheap metal, the table look like the tables at Denny's, the placemats and napkins are paper, the plates are walmart brand (or Nebraska Furnature mart for the other Berkshire share holders out there), the hasbrowns are like dennys, the salad is the stuff that comes in a bag at the grocery store, and any vegtables are out of a can..... or at least thats how it seems. Quality of the steak.... THE IMPORTANT PART.... Omaha is the beef capital! I love big and great steakhouses but when you come to Omaha, you want to taste just the beef and the freshness, not any seasoning. And thats what you get here at Gorats. Its a good cut of meat... end of story. Now, how they cook it can depend on which side of the bed the chef making minimum wage woke up on this morning. All in all, its fun to have an old school vibe and to support small business like Gorats rather than The Palm or Morton's. Its good beef just don't expect the flavor to be IN YOUR FACE beacuse its not. Don't expect the best service or the worst.... cause the waiters are very pleasant. Its fun to dine where Warren eats, so enjoy it.... When in Rome.... Oh, and the have a really good bar but the wine selection is poor.
(3)Alex M.
Newly redecorated restaurant would make Warren Buffett proud. Clean, bright and a fun atmosphere. We heard that it had improved but didn't quite know what to expect. Some items - like the delicious, crispy hashbrowns are a throwback to the old menu. Other items - like the steak - are a great improvement over what was previously served. Prices are a bit higher but that is to be expected. We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner and look forward to returning. You won't go wrong by experiencing this old - "new" Omaha tradaition.
(5)Max S.
Gorats is NOT Mortons or the Palm -so if you go there don't expect that kind of a steakhouse. Gorots is more of a down-home family restaurant. The steaks are great, especially the Omaha sirloin - ask the waiter to have it rubbed with garlic. The sides are also good. The fries and the hash browns are the best. Also, the onion rings are amazing. In short, good prices and great food at this Omaha landmark.
(4)David F.
OK, so I went b/c it's Warren Buffet's hangout. But honestly, most locals advised it would be just "OK" and they were right. If I was over at my grandparents one afternoon and they wanted to take me to their "favorite steakhouse" in Omaha this would be the place. It's like walking back into the 70's for decor and the food is average but I believe you do get what you pay for. For the price, it meets expectations. Servers are pleasant and helpful.
(2)Maggie Z.
With all due respect to Mr. Warren Buffett, this place costs about 20% more than Piccolo Pete's and is about 43% less tasty.
(2)Dylan M.
This is famous since in one of Warren Buffet's favorite places but to be quite honest the food is not great. It was a fun place, with a cool bar, and friendly service. However, the food is just OK and more akin to a diner than a steak house. It is definitely worth going to for the experience but if you are looking for a good steak place this is not it.
(2)Dave B.
Local have always told me to have the steak sandwich. For some reason I didn't. I had a rib-eye. It was very average. The room is a kill. You just know the people there don't realize what a hoot it is. The average age of my fellow diners had to be over 100. I was relieved to get out without doing CPR. Before my food arrived I heard that unmistakable high voice behind me and sure enough Warren was seated at the next table. His attraction to the place can't have anything to do with food. Must have had a role in his childhood. You can do so much better, I don't know where to start.
(2)David K.
took an out-of-towner here who had heard that this is where Warren Buffet dined. I wasn't sure how he'd like it, but you should have seen the look on his face as we entered -- it was like a scene from a movie: white-haired couples on the edge of death dancing to an equally fragile lounge singer that may or may not have had an actual gig there, walpaper made to look like drapery, and the supper club standard of spagetti served with your steak. The steak was pretty good, but it's Omaha -- there are plenty of places you can get a decent steak. You might want to try Omaha Prime. If you're looking for something kitschy, then this may actually be for you.
(3)Collin S.
I started coming to Gorats in 1998. At the time it was an amazing flashback to the 60's and 50's classic steakhouses. It was like being in a Sinatra rat pack movie. I sat at the gold accented bar and had a dry martini in a real martini glass for $3.50! The steak has always been good rare well aged beef. Unfortunately, I think in part due to Buffetts now infrequent dining, the prices have increased by 40% along with a steady decline in side servings, upkeep and staff friendliness. It sad to say there are now better choices for same price or less in Omaha. If they do not improve I think they well head the way of Mr. C's.
(2)Will S.
Definitely one of Omaha's best steakhouse experiences. I hadn't been here since the remodel/new ownership change a couple years back. While I'm sure there are a few other differences, the main interior changes I noticed were new faux wood floors and a bunch of modern cow paintings on the wall. I dug both. Gorat's was absolutely hopping a mid-April Saturday night. Of course you had your fair share of blue hairs, but I was surprised to see a lot of younger people there as well -- from 20- and 30-somethings, middle aged folks and even a table of high schoolers dining pre-prom. The bar area was quite nice as well, as there were a few booths and a live band playing corny old jazz standards. It was seriously like a perfect steakhouse atmosphere. It'd even be worth stopping by for a drink before heading elsewhere just to enjoy the ambiance. On to the steak: I had a New York strip cooked medium rare. More perfection. As is proper tradition, there was even some forgettable veggie sides to go along with the meat. I'm so glad Gorat's survived the ownership change. Heck, it's a lot more thriving now that it was a decade ago. I hope it's around forever.
(5)Mustafa K.
We decided to see what is all the fuss about Gorat's being WB's favorite steakhouse in Omaha. We are from out of town, so I read most of the reviews about this place to have an idea what to expect. I love steaks any kind and I appreciate mid-rare cooked. I end up ordering T-bone, spinach dip, coleslaw, sweet potato fries. T-Bone - Mehhh... I had much much better steaks before. It was a journey from rare to well-done. It was not cooked even. Spinach Dip - just ok. No awards for this, and I wish I would take a photo of the celery and carrot placed on the plate as decoration. They were old and darken :) nice touch(really?) Coleslaw - how can I explain this properly, so you can also feel how bad it was? First of all, this was not made in the house for sure. My first bite, I almost came to a point that I need to rush to the restroom. How could they serve something long passed its due date? I just asked my friend as well and telling her just to taste not a lot. She had the same experience. I did not make a scene or complain about it because if you have balls to bring this s@#t to the table, we have nothing to talk my friend. Overall, I believe Omaha has more to offer and I will continue searching for best Omaha steak. I won't be coming back even they pay me to eat.
(2)David C.
Man I can't believe I'm actually having to write this. This used to be one of my favorite places to go as they had the most amazing pasta sauce I've ever had. I know, I know it's a steakhouse and that's what they're known for. But I have traveled the world and I've never run across a pasta sauce that was anything close to the sauce that they used to have. Sadly when the new owners purchased this restaurant they decided to junk the amazing sauce for one that is extremely ordinary and pedestrian. I asked the waitress what happened to the amazing old sauce and she said they decided to get rid of it so they could have a vegetarian sauce. Now if you're a steakhouse and you are catering to vegetarians I'm sorry but that's about the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I used to go here very frequently but now none of my friends are interested. Let's face it it's Omaha you can get a great steak at a number of places but it was the pasta sauce that truly made Gorats unique. I told one of the owners that I would come in on a regular basis if they would bring back the old sauce and he was very flippant, saying that no one else had complained. I personally know several people who feel the same way who called to share the same feelings only to be brushed off by the new owners. I think what happened was one of the chefs talked the owners into changing the pasta sauce or the recipe is from one of the owners. That's why they are absolutely stubborn and refusing to change it no matter how many people request they do so. Everyone I have spoken to who used to go there made the same suggestion and was told that they were the only person that called to say that. When you have at least a dozen people who have all been told they're the only person, to me that seems like owners who just simply don't want to change. The bottom line is I won't be returning back unless they bring back the old pasta sauce. If they do I will probably be eating here every week.
(1)Nancy M.
For years I have wanted to go to Gorats, and finally went on Friday night. What a disappointing experience. When the poorly dressed hostess walked us through the restaurant to a totally empty and cold side room, that should have been my sign to leave. But, they sat us in a main dining room instead so we stayed. I ordered the $33 bison ribeye. It came with a salad (iceberg!), greenbeans and sweet potato fries. The bison was overdone and over seasoned, I would have complained but did not see the waitress again until she brought our check. My husband had the walleye, it was a decent size but very bland. So, for $60 we had a very disappointing dinner and poor service. I think now of all the other great restaurants I could have tried for the same money....I feel cheated. Never again.
(2)Scott H.
I have eaten at this restaurant for years. I had not eaten there for the last year, as my work took me out of the city. I was really looking forward to going back. When I got there for lunch, I found the same friendly wait staff, the same clean restaurant, and the same reliable menu. However, the quality of my food from start to finish was very low. I have always thought of coming to this restaurant as a special occasion. I walked out of the restaurant wishing that I had gone to Cascio's.
(2)Ryan t.
Although you would not expect it in Omaha, certain restaurants have a reputation that far exceeds the actual quality of the experience. Followers of Omaha billionaire Warren Buffet know this place as his favorite place to eat in Omaha. After eating here, you will reach at least one (and possibly all) of the following conclusions: -Despite his obvious financial success, Warren has incredibly poor taste in food. - Warren must receive some special service where Gorat's orders food from another restaurant and serves it as their own when he dines here. -He's screwing the owner. Otherwise, it's hard to determine exactly how this could be anyone's favorite place to eat. For a while, I though it was just that my expectations were too high based on Warren's recommendation, but my meals have been repeatedly of poor quality.
(2)Derek E.
I really wanted to like it more, but with the exception of the prime rib and the hash browns, everything else pretty much sucked. There are just far better options out there for me to waste my time here again. gastronomicfightclub.com…
(2)Ray L.
Food:4 Serivce:3 Atmosphere: Classic Interesting:5 -- Warren Buffet's favorite? It was not bad. C'mon guys, you only paid like $20 bucks for a steak! But yea, I am sure you can find another place that has better services or even better quality in the meat (a little bit I guess). But again, this place was not bad. They have all these antique furniture indoor, which makes it interesting. I think this is a place that people may wana try once, if not twice.
(3)Scott D.
Definitely the classic spot in town. I recommend a filet with a cherry coke (regular) and a side of hash browns with cheese just like Warren does it. Where else can you sit down for a dinner and see Warren and Gates sit down in the room next to you? Get your reservation as early as you can because this place gets unbelievably crowded the weekend of the shareholders meeting. A little too crowded but it's tradition.
(4)Lyle W.
I only write reviews after several visits so I don't catch someone on an off night. Gorat's used to be a very good steakhouse, but sadly, no longer meets expectations. The waitress was really pushing the drinks. The salad was the usual, nothing great but plentiful. The main course followed shortly. I'm diabetic and can't tolerate white bread so in spite of the elderly waitresses continued prompting to try the bread and flavored butters, I declined. My wife did try them and said they were 'ok'. Our steaks arrived along with the sides. I ordered the green beans (can't tolerate pasta) and was disappointed to get about three tablespoons of ordinary canned green beans. I ordered hash browns and they had a cold center and were very greasy. My steak came medium rare as ordered but was only lukewarm. My wife's filet came as ordered but was also just warm. It wasn't that busy for our steaks to be sitting around cooling off. We had to ask the waitress for steak knives. Rather odd for a steakhouse. We were told that we didn't need reservations if we arrived around five, which we did. There was about 30 couples in the whole place. An hour later there was maybe 35 couples. We had a gift certificate we used. The certificate states that it can't be redeemed for cash. That seems reasonable, however, our change was remitted as another gift certificate! After we left, I realized I'd been shortchanged 5 dollars. In order to get the value of the gift certificate, we'll be forced to return. Probably soon, as I fear this is a failing business with this type of practice. Now we know why Warren Buffett is frequenting Piccolo Pete's now. Fifteen years ago I took guests from Califn. there, and they found Gorat's to excel anything steakhouse they had been to in LA. Sadly, Gorat's no longer meets that standard.
(2)Joan S.
I grew up in Omaha, but somehow never ate at Gorat's until recently. I took my wife to dinner there a couple of years ago, and we had a wonderful experience. The steaks were perfect and the prices were quite low. We went back again a year later - I can't recall whether it was 2008 or 2009 - and were disappointed. Service was slow, the side dishes were overcooked and/or canned vegetables, though the steaks were still OK. The last place where I had consistently good steaks in Omaha was Cascio's on South 10th, which was always my parents' favorite. I hope Gorat's is better than when I came, but you might also want to check out Cascio's or Piccolo Pete's.
(3)Ray Y.
I had the lunch steak, and it's pretty good. This is a fairly casual sort of place, with people digging into the food with gusto. The rooms were a trifle on the dim side, and I wasn't seated in a room with a window, so I rate this one as few-frills, good-food dining.
(3)John R.
Just got back to my hotel after eating here. My coworker told me that he heard this place was one of Warren Buffet's favorite places. I guess I won't be a billionaire because there is no way I would rate it that high - or go back. Seemed more like a local favorite. The menu has variety so there seems to be something for everyone. We ordered a shrimp cocktail, but the waitress never brought it. I had the prime rib and my coworker had the fillet. Both were dry. My prime rib didn't have any flavor and I tried to save it by pouring more au jus on it but no help. All in all, I can say I ate there, but I wouldn't go back.
(1)Scott C.
I think 2.5 stars is a little harsh for Gorats. I actually like the steak. Just because Warren likes this place does not mean it should be evaluated as a fine dining steak house. He has simple taste and is all about value, so I did not think of this place as a top notch steak house. Did I think the canned green beans left a little to be desired--yes. Are hash browns not as elegant as white truffle mash potatoes--surely not. That said, the place is down home friendly and the steak was pretty good. Of the four steak houses that I tried in Omaha, Gorats is the only one that got it right--seared on the outside and pink all the way through with tons of juice in the meat. Perfect. They use 7 day aged choice beef as I am told, so again, this is not going to have the same fatty richness as the dry aged prime beef. That is OK, though, for $20 bucks, you can get a tender juicy place served by really friendly people and feel that bong with Warren. For me, that was plenty. I also learned that this place uses every piece of meat they source, Scraps are used for the pasta sauce and the dry bits that are cut off after the aging process are fed to dogs in the area. The best part, the excess fat is rendered and used to deep fry the French fries. Amazing. You have to feel good about a place that will take an environmentally unsound food like beef and make it as sustainable as you can. Four stars.
(4)Karen B.
We went there a few years ago for my birthday because it came highly recommended. We made a 7:00 reservation and got there a little early and checked in with the hostess. We sat in the lobby and waited and soon it was 7:30. My husband went to check with the hostess and was told that there were 5 tables ahead of us despite our reservation. We sat and waited again and 8:00, then 8:30 came as we watched table after table being seated, there were a few people who were seated almost immediately upon arrival. My husband went to the hostess severl times and was told each time that there were 5 tables ahead of us and she got snippy and rude to us and told us that coming back up and bothering her was not going to get us seated any sooner....needless to say, we left. I wouldn't go there again if they paid me to come eat at their restaurant. I have also told anyone who asks about it not to go there and will never recommend it to anyone.
(1)Michael H.
Horrible! Very disappointing. Cold, bland food like their customer base. Truly thought it would be better. Try Piccolo Pete's Restaurant, 2202 S 20th St, for great, inexpensive steak meal with salad, mostacholi, and hashbrowns.
(1)C B.
Like the other reviewers, last time I ate at the restaurant, I was disappointed. But recently I was reintroduced to the "real" way to eat here: The steak sandwich take out. Call 'em up, order up how ever many steak sandwiches you need (I believe it's a sirloin, on toasted rotellas bread), tell them how you want it, and what dressing you want on your salad, and when you can be there to pick it up. The price: $8.50. Best deal around. Also don't forget to order the onion rings, which are pretty solid too. I've always had good luck with the steak sandwich, it's cheap and good.
(4)