upstream brewing company- old market

upstream has gone downstream. i recently ate lunch at the downtown upstream location and have to say their food and service has really become poor. the last two times we have gone their the service has been extremely poor and the food quality is even worse. i remember the days where the servers would greet you with a smile and provide you with top notch service. what i have seen lately is what seems to be a disheveled group of servers wandering around looking confused and not sure what to do. response time for them to greet you when you sit down is terribly slow. then there is no excitement when you are greeted. just seems like they greet you because they have to and not because they want to. i think these people forget they are their to provide customer service. let's not forget without customers to wait on they would have jobs. it's like they expect to be tipped well despite providing sub-par service. the food quality has gone down was well. i ordered a hamburger and it was burnt to a crisp. it actually looked like hockey puck. food can be bad anyplaceat any given time, that's not the true issue here. i can overlook having a burger a little over cooked but the service is the real issue here. if you don't want to be there and wait on customers then don't. servers must remember you are not entitled to a tip. you have to earn it! don't think just because you come to my table, take my order, and bring out my food that is good service. keep the glasses full, check on your tables, and be friendly. just because you work at the upstream doesn't mean you can substitute that for good customer service. there are plenty of other restaurants out there with better food, prices and service. i hope you can get your act together because upstream used to be aplacei enjoyed going to on a regular basis.

if you find yourself in the old market of omaha nebraska, then adding thisplaceto your to do list may not be that bad of an idea. this casual brewery was the highlight of my trip. the rubin sandwich is the way to go here, it's one of the best in omaha. the dining room has a historical , modern chic to it that i found visually appealing. our server was very nice and the price was well within our budget. i would recommend thisplaceto any of my friends or family.

goodplacebut wasn't thoroughly impressed with the food. been to upstream two times now and both times have been average. it is a great atmosphere, however i wasn't overly impressed with the food or beer. i would recommend rock bottom over upstream if you want a bar atmosphere with house brews. however, upstream can definitely appeal to others. it just wasn't my cup of tea.

excellent food. i went to thisplacea few months ago and very much enjoyed it. i had the jumbalya, (or however it is spelled), and honestly it was great. i have had a few others of their dishes over the years including some of their fantastic soups. i would also recommend their scottish ale. highly.

sunday brunch. we tried upstream for sunday morning brunch. they also serve their regular menu, but if you want breakfast items you must order the full brunch buffet, which also comes with unlimited non alcoholic beverages of your choice.
items on the buffet include pastries, fresh fruit, hot and cold salads, eggs, excellent sausage, bacon, steamed veggies, a cajun potato and ham casserole, chicken enchiladas, biscuits and gravy, pecan rolls, waffles, made to order omelets and carved roast beef.
we thought the buffet selections to be good, and the quality was fine. for $17 you can eat and drink as much or little as you wish. children's portions are less. the atmosphere is very relaxed, more so than most places in town that serve a weekend brunch. you don't feel rushed in and out. if you feel like lingering over conversation and coffee that won't be a problem.
omaha as a whole is lacking in weekend brunch options. fortunately the old market isn't. we will add upstream to our regular rotation.


-----13 mar, 2011-----

seems to be getting better. over the years upstream has gone from being a dynamiteplaceto eat and drink to ho-hum. but now they seem to be back on their game.
five of us had dinner on a friday night. theplacewas packed - as usual. our server was friendly and prompt in delivering drinks, appetizers and our dinner.
the food was uniformly good, everyone agreed. my clam chowder was excellent, as was my shrimp and tomatoes over linguine. a bit overpriced, but still very tasty. the others opted for burgers and loved them.
they have about a dozen home brewed beers on tap, including several seasonals that rotate with the calendar. the beers are worth a trip all by themselves.
the upstream may be one of omaha's largest restaurants, with two levels, two outdoor seating areas, two bars, and a wonderful atmosphere. the building was originally built as a firehouse. their atmosphere just can't be beat.
the menu is fairly typical for a brewpub. lots of options and price points, including flatbread pizzas, salads, sandwiches, seafood, pasta, beef, and daily specials.
food: b+
beer: a+
atmosphere: a+
service: a
value: b


-----15 jun, 2010-----

upstream falling. i feel the need to update my earlier glowing review of the upstream. theplacestill looks fab. and the outdoor dining area is among the best in omaha. the beers are still decent (though you can get better ones elsewhere). but the food, sadly, really has turned mediocre. edible to be sure, but not inspiring in the least.. another reviewer commented as to how they need to freshen up their menu. that is certainly true, but more importantly, they need to hire a better chef. service was okay on our monday evening patio visit. bottom line, this is still a snazzyplaceto visit. just don't expect a great meal.


-----03 jan, 2010-----

bustling brew pub. thisplacehas been packing them in for over a decade for their good brew pub fare and house brewed beers in the heart of the old market district. the food is good...sometimes very good, and the atmosphere handsome and bustling. expect a wait on weekends. they also have a large outdoor seating area that is one of the city's best for people watching.

bestplacein the old market!. we have been going to the upstream since it first opened years ago and it is still one of our favs to go to for every occasion. the food is great, the atmosphere is always nice and the wait staff is attentive. a+++ in my book!

the food was awful. had the pasta penne. took one bite could not eat it was so bad. told the waitress and she said once you have touched it is nothing we could do. for two of us paid 54.00 for food we didn't even eat. will not be going back one would i recommend thisplaceto anyone.any other wonderful options in downtown to choose from.

despite the poor reviews i went here on a sat night. i sat at the bar and had excellent service. i had two different beers and both were very well done (i brew myself so i'm not some bud light drinker who thinks all craft beer is overpriced). they sell growlers for 12 which is downright cheap for quality craft brew. the bartenders are as courteous and timely as could be, and theplacewas packed. i ordered wings. the blue cheese was obviously made in house and was very good. the wing sauce was great and might be spicy to some but i eat sriracha like ketchup. the wings weren't crispy enough for me but i didn't order them extra crispy so that's on me. very saucy wings. overall, this was an excellent experience especially for 9pm on a saturday night.

avoid salmon. first of all let me say i really enjoy the adult beverages at upsteam, and i feel guilty for judging aplaceby its food, but i had the salmon here recently and it was in a work not good! overpriced and bland is no way to go through life. another thing i don't understand about upstream is how the location in west o's food is significantly better than the downtown location. i'd reccomend the bbq chicken pizza, but avoid the salmon at all costs.

for truly exciting beer selection in a cool, historic, high-ceilinged hang-out in downtown omaha, upstream brewing is a greatplaceto beat the heat.

stale waters.... upstream used to be the "it"place- and i loved it. but now it's always the same thing, and honestly the menu hasn't changed much over the years. i go there rarely any more because i just don't find anything exciting about it. i think the best things on their menu are the soups - the tomato-basil and chicken-curry-rice are awesome! burgers - boring. salmon - boring. raspberry chicken - 1980's. the pot roast is divine, but i can't get that everytime i go there. time for a freshening up of upstream. the water is getting stale.

great service, boring food. i've eaten here a few times a year when in town, and the service is always great, but the food is very inconsistent. the fish & chips are pretty good, but burgers and pot roast are tasteless. the pot roast tasted like sliced deli meat with canned gravy on it. i get the impression that the decent beer, the atmosphere and the location make thisplacepopular, not the food.

dull. upstream has a shiny reputation in omaha, but i can't figure out why. upstream was the premier brew pub in town and in my mind has gone from exciting new restaurant to tired old hag. to start, it is a tourist hotspot and with the also languishing spaghetti works it completes the block of old market restaurants that need a serious shake up. when you enter upstream you find that theplaceis huge and loaded with insane amounts of people (i said it had a reputation), but it feels more like an overdone ski resort restaurant than something you'll want to appreciate despite being inside of an old fire house. the menu is full of good, but safe menu items that i'm absolutely sick of eating; while it may have changed in the last 10 years it sure doesn't feel like and it sure doesn't taste like. the food is almost exclusively heavy, savory items preceded by boring out-of-a-box appetizers like mozzarella sticks. service can be pretty good, but sometimes a bit arrogant. once, i mistakenly asked for a beer not produced in house and received an annoyingly condescending answer. the location is right and the building is neat, but we have a restaurant that is a victim of its own success, i suspect. it's bringing in so much business that there's really no desire to keep things fresh or improve service and frankly i just won't go there anymore as i don't its neighbor. why should i settle for something mundane when there's hundreds of other restaurants in town (and downtown) that'll appreciate us much more.

tasty. goodplaceto see if you are visiting. ribeye was really good at a decent price. beer/cheese soup was good too. i recommend the beer sampler as well.

good beer...decent food...terrible service.. i have give the upstream a number of chances, and like drunken father it lets you down time and time again. no matter how good of food or drinks aplacehas, it always come down to the service. being ignored by the hostess, waitress and bartender are not good things...especially when it is not terribly busy. the food is ok...not great, but ok. individual pizzas are enjoyable but not memorable. do yourself a favor and avoid the frustration. order a growler of their home brewed beer to go after you eat your dinner somewhere else.