December 4, 2002

A First Review of Omaha's new ' Rick's Cafe Boatyard'

any of us have been waiting in anticipation for the official opening of Omaha's newest and only riverfront restaurant. Although Rick Albrecht, owner of Rick's Cafe Boatyard, had to suffer through several construction delays, he was finally able to declare a grand opening on November 23rd. Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey joined him in the official ribbon cutting ceremony and the restaurant was opened for business. 

We gave them a week for the dust to settle before we converged on them. We then invited twenty other river boaters to join us for our inaugural visit to Rick's this past Saturday night. Even an established business would probably have quite a time with this group but they held up fairly well under the circumstances. Drink orders were a little slow in coming but to be fair, we did have a large number of river rats with us and the restaurant was quite busy. 

Our servers did a fair job at trying to keep up with us but not all meals came at the same time which was a little frustrating. There was also some confusion over appetizers and a few people were initially given the wrong meals but eventually we all settled down to sample our orders. 

Nothing bad could be said about the food. Everything was excellent and well presented. The majority of us opted to try one of the many seafood dishes featured at the restaurant, although my husband did go for the 12 oz. Ribeye. He claims the steak was the best he has ever had and was cooked to perfection. Quite a compliment considering all the fine steak house's we have in this area. I decided to try the Jumbo Shrimp Scampi. At $17.95, it was almost more than I could eat and was absolutely fantastic. 

As far as prices go, the seafood items seem to be priced fairly. The U.S.D.A. Prime Steaks are priced a little high - $24.95 for the Ribeye, but then again, if they're really that good, maybe price isn't a factor. The rest of our group all said their meals were equally good. 

Rick's does offer many other menu items such as Wood Fired Pizza's, priced from $8.95 to $10.95. They also have a large variety of sandwiches, salads, appetizers and desserts, all of which are between $3.45 and $12.95. 

What makes this restaurant so unique though is probably the atmosphere. You can view the river from just about any seat in the house plus there is live jazz music being played every night in the bar area. 

Future plans include 35 boat slips that will be built in the canal next to the restaurant. There is also a large gazebo bar that is partially built outside. The bar will feature overhead heat lamps for those chilly evenings on the river. An outdoor stage just to the south will feature live music during the summer months.

OmahaRiverFront.com highly recommends a visit to this new establishment on the river's edge. Road construction is still under way which makes driving there a little confusing the first time. You must enter by going east on either Douglas or Capital Streets to 10th Street. From there, you'll see the sign that directs you to the riverfront. I would also recommend calling for reservations. You can reach them by calling (402)345-4545.

Bon Appetite!