The SBH Review: Clio is the hottest restaurant in Omaha. Can it handle the heat?

If you live in Omaha, use social media and have even a passing interest in food, you’ve most likely already seen photos of Clio, the latest in a series of new concepts opened by Flagship Restaurant Group in downtown Omaha. 

I wracked my brain for recent times that a restaurant has exploded in the style Clio has on social media, and could think of only two examples: When Omaha got its first Crumbl cookies, I couldn’t escape posts about it, so I reviewed it. I remember a similar flurry of photos of the Salted Edge bread board that took over my social media, and it turned out to absolutely be worth the hype once I got to try one.

Buzz is an interesting beast. 

On the one hand, Clio, which serves a menu of high-end Mediterranean in an Instagram-ready dining room on the corner of 12th and Howard, is incredibly popular. I don’t remember the last time in Omaha I had to make a dinner reservation almost three weeks in advance. I can’t tell you how many friends asked me about it in those weeks when I was waiting to get in.

On the other hand, that high demand made the experience during two recent visits undeniably uneven. Wait times are long, for both your table (even with a reservation, we learned) and sometimes your dinner. The dining room is always vibrant, and in the packed house it can be hard to get staff attention. 

Some dishes and most of the cocktails we tried were hits. Others were just so-so. Immense popularity, it seems, comes with a price.

I’d heard a lot about the selection of spreads, so that’s where we began both visits, one on our own and one with two friends who were also Clio first timers. 

The dips, which can be ordered alone or as a quartet, include a small scoop each of labneh, a tangy, strained greek yogurt; classic chickpea and tahini hummus; muhammara,  a dip made of walnuts, red bell peppers and other ingredients; and baba ganoush, the Mediterranean eggplant dip. All are texturally lovely, and I think what pushes the dips over the top is the garnishes: bright za’atar seasoning tops the yogurt, along with zesty chives. Spicy pickled chili, dill and roasted tomato crown the baba ganoush. Zingy piquillo peppers and juicy pomegranate seeds finish the muhammara. 

The hype is real here. If you go to Clio, you have to order this.

Tony Gentile, corporate executive chef and one of the owners at Flagship Restaurant Group, told me later that the warm wheat pita bread is made with flour from Omaha-based Miller Dohrmann farm. The kitchen uses it to create a starter that’s fermented in house for two days, then baked. The result: A crisp, nutty bread with more heft and texture than the usual pita. 

The cardamom espresso martini is also great, with the hint of spice and warmth that cardamom brings. The dirty negroni is an interesting one, made with tomato gin, campari, sweet vermouth and a Castelvetrano olive garnish. The wine list focuses on little seen varieties from the Middle East and Eastern Europe that diners may be trying for the first time. I found the by-the-glass list to be particularly affordable.

I think where Clio shines most — with one exception — is its small shared plates menu. 

The Greek salad looks simple on paper, just tomatoes, cucumber, olive, feta, red onion and basil, but a bright oregano vinaigrette brings each element of the salad alive and awakens the taste buds. 

The crispy potatoes are delicious. Aleppo chili brings heat, a lemon aioli brightness and a heavy handed dose of shaved pecorino is the savory finishing touch. My friend commented he wouldn’t return to Clio without an order of potatoes, and I concur. 

The falafel is large enough for a meal, particularly if your table orders dips and other side dishes. It’s heavily seasoned, with a tender interior and super crispy breaded finish. 

I also liked the Turkish beef dumplings, another small plate. Known as manti, these are Turkey’s answer to ravioli. At Clio, they’re filled with seasoned beef and served with a harissa spiked tomato sauce and tangy garlic yogurt.
The one dud we encountered on the small plates list was, disappointingly, the saganaki, Greek fried cheese. It has to be consumed instantly, otherwise it hardens quickly into a greasy brick. With so many other good options, this one can be skipped. 

Service can be scattered. One evening, we had a reservation and arrived a bit early to have a drink at the bar. It became clear that the busy staff had forgotten about us. We checked in about 15 minutes after the time of our reservation, and the previous guests at our table were still there. We got seated about 20 minutes after our original reservation slot. 

The evening we visited with our friends, we counted six different staff members that visited our table. It points to a dining room so busy the plan is to divide and conquer.

Gentile said a big part of the success at Clio is the menu, which is different for Omaha diners, He said the style of food and of the room has made it popular during happy hour, and it also sits at a price point that’s appealing for most diners. 

“Collectively, if you add all that up, it hits a large demographic. I think that’s really what has made it,” he said. 

Internally, he said, the restaurant is still working on several of its processes, including an effort to cut down on food waste.

Of the main plates, the lamb is a showstopper. It’s served braised in a traditional clay tagine and topped with a silky pomegranate-based sauce; a pine nut dukkah, which is a Middle Eastern condiment; and dill. The meat is rich and layered with flavor without being gamy. 

We tried several other entrees, including the half chicken, which comes with a variety of dips and condiments, and saffron rice, which was undercooked on our plate.

Better were the beef kefta, heavily seasoned and topped with a bright orange pepper puree. The salmon, my friend thought, was fine, though less notable than the other choices we made.
Upscale Mediterranean, it turns out, is a very good idea for Omaha diners, in a town where Greek food is mostly much more old-school, outside of gyros and falafel. What makes dining at Clio fun is its popularity, but at least right now, that popularity also makes it rough to secure a seat.

Clio is hot and hip. But here’s my question: Can it age into a good restaurant? Time will tell. In the meantime, it continues to draw big crowds back to the Old Market. For this longtime downtown resident, that’s the kind of buzz I can always get behind. 

“(The neighborhood) has always been really special to us,” Gentile said. “If we continue to have the opportunity to be in the Old Market, we want to be part of that story.” 

Clio 

Address: 1202 Howard St.

Phone: 402-671-0098

Hours: Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m,. Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday noon to 9 p.m.