A Big, Old-School Pasta Night in Omaha’s Old Market

A moose on the wall, farm-truck salad bars and belt-driven ceiling fans are not the usual supporting cast for an Italian dinner. In Omaha’s historic Old Market, though, they help set the tone for a restaurant where the meal is generous, the room is full of things to look at, and dinner can easily stretch into an unhurried evening.

This is casual Italian dining on a downtown scale: a large, lively room with booths, tables, bar seating and, when weather cooperates, outdoor tables facing the activity of the neighborhood. Families, groups and hungry pasta fans all have room to settle in.

The central appeal is a pasta meal that does more than arrive as one fixed plate. Diners can choose among a broad collection of sauces and combinations, then return for additional plain pasta at no extra charge. It is a simple, welcome arrangement for a table where one person is quietly satisfied after a normal serving and another is still working through a serious appetite.

Sauce choices run well beyond a standard red sauce and Alfredo. Cajun sauces, Cajun Alfredo, pesto, spicy preparations and red clam sauce give the menu plenty of directions to take. The Cajun options can bring flavor without necessarily bringing a punishing level of heat, which may suit diners who want some zip but not a dare.

The build-your-own approach adds another layer of fun. Different sauces, seasonings, vegetables and proteins can be combined into a personalized bowl, making it easy for a group to order in several directions rather than all circling the same familiar dish.

Among the more distinctive combinations, Spicy Italian, red clam sauce, livers and mushrooms can all find their way into the same custom pasta order. That is a very particular kind of Old Market dinner: a little old-school, a little eccentric, and not especially worried about following current restaurant fashion.

There are also more conventional choices for diners who want to keep the decision-making simple. Lasagna, mushroom bake, Lobster Sensation, Clam Strips and beer-cheese macaroni have all appeared among the restaurant’s offerings. The lasagna’s fresh red sauce has a sweet edge, while the mushroom bake goes in the creamy-white-sauce direction.

Dinner begins with free garlic bread, a small gesture that immediately tells you this is not a place trying to rush anyone through a meal. It is followed by the salad bar included with many entrées, and the salad bar is substantial enough to hold its own as more than a token side.

A well-stocked selection of toppings gives diners plenty to build with before the pasta arrives. For some people, especially at lunchtime or after a day on their feet downtown, a full salad plate and a few pieces of garlic bread may be nearly enough. Then the pasta arrives anyway.

The sequence also works nicely for families. Children can get started with bread and salad while adults consider sauces, and no one has to wait for a single shared platter to determine the pace of the table.

The dining room’s old-fashioned personality is a major reason to look up from the plate. The decorative choices are deliberately busy and pleasantly odd: the wall-mounted moose, the truck-themed salad bar setup and the ceiling fans driven by belts give the space a collected-over-time look.

It is a refreshing contrast to the interchangeable polished-wood-and-industrial-lighting formula. The room has visual clutter in the best sense. A good detail can catch your eye halfway through dinner, then another one appears on the walk back from the salad bar.

Enclosed booths provide a more tucked-away option within the larger restaurant. They are useful for a family conversation, a lingering lunch or anyone who prefers a bit of separation from the broader hum of the room.

The restaurant has the space and flexibility for family dinners, casual lunches and larger organized meals. Large booths and roomy tables make it practical for a group to spread out without treating a shared pasta dinner as a balancing act.

Parties of around 20 have been accommodated, with private dining-room seating available for some larger gatherings. That gives the place a useful role in the Old Market for reunion dinners, convention groups and extended families trying to get everyone around one table.

Kids’ meals and Italian sodas keep the menu approachable for younger diners. Italian cream sodas come in several flavors, including cinnamon, which is a cheerful alternative to the usual soft-drink routine. A low-cost ice cream sundae offers an uncomplicated finish after all the pasta, bread and salad.

Balloon entertainment may also appear during family visits. It is the sort of extra that fits a restaurant comfortable with being lively, a little playful and distinctly unconcerned with sleek sophistication.

Outdoor seating brings a different version of the restaurant. The patio faces downtown activity, making it a pleasant spot for watching the Old Market move by between bites of pasta and sips of an Italian soda.

On busy days, the patio can be a quieter alternative to the main dining room. It also has the space for a large family group, including the sort of crew arriving hungry after a stop at the zoo or an afternoon spent around downtown.

Patio seating is weather-dependent, so the indoor dining room remains the reliable main stage. Indoors, the atmosphere can range from calm and conversational to energetic and loud, depending on the crowd and where you are seated.

The Old Market location is well suited to making dinner one stop in a longer downtown outing. Afterward, the historic neighborhood offers an easy place to continue on foot, with its streets and storefronts providing a natural change of scene after a big meal.

Reservations are generally not required, and diners are often seated without much delay, though timing can vary by day and hour. The restaurant’s multiple seating areas help give it some flexibility when the dining room is busy.

Parking is paid downtown. Street spaces, nearby lots and spaces around the restaurant are options, but finding a spot can involve a short search or a walk of about a block from a meter or lot. For a dinner centered on refilled pasta and a full salad bar, that is usually a manageable trade.