For those who don’t know much about Armenia, it is a small country in the mountainous Caucasus region between Asia and Europe. The first Armenian state, Urartu, was founded in 860 BC. It is also known as one of the earliest Christian civilizations.
The peculiarity of this country is that most Armenians don’t live there. They live all over the world, spreading Armenian culture and cuisine. Seventy-five percent of Armenians live outside of the country. We all know the Kardashians, but do you know they are of Armenian ancestry?
Fortunately, some of the Armenians settled in Omaha, and now we have an Armenian community here too.
If you are looking for local Armenian cuisine, vegetarian dishes, or shish kebabs, check out Omaha Kebabs at 120th and Blondo.
The restaurant offers many amenities: they take reservations, offer delivery, takeout, and catering, accept credit cards, have private lot parking, free Wi-Fi, provide reusable tableware, and are wheelchair accessible.
Walking into the restaurant, the first thing I notice is the unusual walls with imitation windows that create an Armenian church-style interior.
It is a small, cozy room, and we are greeted by a friendly and welcoming waitress.
We see the kitchen and the owner, Arthur, working on food with his assistants, and can smell the delicious kebabs from our seats. You can peek around the corner and see how the kebabs are made by the expert and precise arm movements of the chef over the grill.
The menu is simple. A variety of $9 dips for starters: cucumber, eggplant, and hummus with pita bread, beet salad, and falafel. A unique side is taboule, a dish originating from Lebanon and Syria, hinting at the Middle East’s influence on Armenia’s cuisine. It is a simple Mediterranean salad of very finely chopped vegetables.
They also offer several more traditional salads: Greek salad, small house salad, and Caesar salad for $12.95.
Their main menu is for meat lovers, offering chicken, pork, beef, or lamb chops (the most expensive, $22.95). Kebabs are defined as a dish with pieces of meat, fish, or vegetables roasted and/or grilled on a skewer or spit. Also, for an additional price of $11.95, they have extra skewers of all of these meat varieties.
The meat was juicy, tender, incredibly well-seasoned, and perfectly cooked as requested, (rare, medium rare, medium well, well done, you name it) with herb accents. To say it was just good would not give it enough credit. It was exceptional.
If you are not crazy about kebabs, they also offer falafel burgers for $14.95 and gyros for $13.95.
The service is unobtrusive, quick, and gentle, creating an unusual homey atmosphere as if I were visiting my grandma. The waiter materializes when we have a hard time deciding and gives us excellent recommendations.
There weren’t many people inside when we visited. But many came to pick up orders, and they interacted with the waitress as if they were old friends, suggesting that this restaurant had become a community hub.
The desserts are ones commonly found in restaurants. However, the highlight is baklava: a delicious treat made up of layers of crispy phyllo dough, honey, and nuts, costing $7.95. There are three countries fighting to claim the origin of this dessert, Iran, Lebanon, and Turkey.
The drinks are also quite traditional, with one exception. They have Armenian-style coffee, an espresso with a solid bittersweet taste, for $4.75. Experienced customers say that the quality of the meat is outstanding, no matter what type it is, chicken, lamb, or pork, the time of the year, or the day of the week.
Even though it has many amenities, some issues come up. It has no covered or heated outdoor seating and no private dining. One dish-related downside is that the sides are always the same, rice and greens.
The other issue I noticed was that they close early, at 8 pm every day, even on Fridays and Saturdays. So, if you’re a late eater, like me, you will be disappointed. They are also closed on Sundays, which further limits dining times.
All in all, the whole meal is very balanced and satisfying. Service is exceptional, and prices are very affordable. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone and rate it 5 out of 5 stars in the budget-friendly restaurant category.