Malara’s

Date night with the wife
Ive been to malaras 3 times and this time was probably the best visit of all. Nice and quit, busy but not crazy. Creighton basketball fans eating dinner before the late 8pm game.
Server was fast and personal. Making sure to ask my wife what she wanted first and than acknowledging me second. One very professional server. Very personal and at home with her customers. These customers seemed to be regulars.
I know if i lived close enough i too would be a regular. The food here is amazing. Ive heard of great memories of Ms. malara and how she would make raviolis and the neighborhood would stop by to purchase them from her. A long history of perfect Italian cusine.
The calamari came out with marinated green olives we ordered for appetizers. The olives are not pitted so be careful when biting down. Service continued to be right on time with entrees right behind. My wife ordered the chicken Alfredo, she always does when we can stop in. The sauce is very rich in flavor and pleases the taste buds. I ordered the beef stuffed raviolis with Italian sausage. Just give me the red sauce so i can drink that for dinner. The sauce is amazing. The end.
Raviolis were puffy and stuffed well with seasoned meat. Everything went well together and i was very pleased with everything we had. Dessert consisted on just cannolis. Vanilla, chocolate and ricotta. Not one bite left. Thank you.
I love Italian food.

Fried ravioli — enough said.
This place is amazing — a hidden gem of Omaha for several years.

Pretty good! I’ll probably be back, it’s not very close to home so it won’t be somewhere I go often but I wouldn’t mind making the trip every now and then. I got the fettuccine Alfredo, which I thought lacked flavor, I added some salt and pepper along with some of the cheese from the table and it tasted ok after that. My friend tried the pasta and meatball and I sampled hers and it was very good, for an appetizer we had the cheese stick and those were fantastic! Out waitress said they are the top seller and I think I know why. The salad that came with out meal was very good too, I only had a few bites before I was done with it because I didn’t want to eat too much, the bread we were served was also good nice and warm and fresh. Service was very friendly, and fast. The menu said the dish would take 30 min to ensure quality, but it only took 15 – 20 min.

Absolutely delicious food. We had the meatballs and brascioli. Both were amazing. Also tried the toasted ravioli and mozz sticks. I’d recommend everything! The portion sizes are insane. We ordered full sized orders and had enough food for two meals after the fact. Can’t wait to go back!

Bring your appetite and be prepared to run a marathon after. The bowls of pasta are HUGE! I believe the pasta and all sauces are made in house. Be prepared to take some of it home.
Now we all know a gigantic portion of pasta is useless if it doesn’t taste good. This is NOT the case. I found I wanted to keep eating the chicken fettuccine alfredo even after I had reached the point of critical mass. It was rich, creamy and buttery. I wanted to slather it all over my body and dance in the noodles. I have been there twice. The first time was for a work function, there were 8 of us. The service there was outstanding! They took the time to make sure the glasses were full and were understanding when we had to break the checks out differently because work won’t pay for alcohol. The second time was for take out. They bundled it all up and it traveled well. I didn’t care for the house made Italian dressing. It tasted odd to me. Your mileage may vary.
Don’t let the location throw you. A super pasta place in the middle of a residential neighborhood.
Pro-​Tip: They have split hours during the week. and are not open for lunch on Sat, only 5−9pm for dinners.

Malara’s is Italian Comfort Food! The restaurant is a family run place with an old school set up, tucked back in a mid-​town neighborhood. All of their pastas are homemade and delish. I love the beef fried ravioli appetizer and the angel hair pasta and meatballs. I always leave with leftovers, the portions are large. I find it to be a nice escape from the hustle and bustle of other places, it’s a cozy and comforting place and the food is YUM. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is that when it’s busy, it can be a long wait. Having knowledge of this, I never go if I’m in any sort of hurry. I appreciate the time put in to the homemade meals. totally worth the wait.

Outrageously rude and uncaring staff. My husband and I have always dined at another local Italian place, but we thought we’d give Malara’s a try even though it is in a rough area. A block away from the restaurant my husband saw a young woman laying near the curb crying and screaming as two men approached her and one was removing her shoes. My husband jumped out of the vehicle to stop the men and help the woman. We offered to take her to get help, but she refused, and continued to sit near the street crying. Our children ran down my husband’s cell battery playing games on the way, and I left my phone at home, so we could not call for help for this young lady. We parked at Malara’s and went inside. We asked the bartender (the bar is the first thing you come to upon walking in) if we could use the telephone to call the police to help a young lady who had been attacked. The bartender refused, saying, «We do not let people use the phone here anymore because it is in the back and we could be robbed.» I pointed to the girl outside, as the man who took her shoes began to return to her, and asked if she, or SOMEONE from the Malara’s staff could make a brief call to 911 so this vulnerable lady could get help. The bartender again refused, as did the manager my husband spoke with afterward. FINALLY, we asked a guy on the street smoking a cigarette if he would please call 911, and he did. I have no idea what the food is like at this place because we refused to eat there after the ridiculous, apathetic actions of the staff. The girl being attacked was someone’s daughter… smh. As we drove away, the bartender was still out in the street… a spectator watching as police arrived. I am not one to put a review anywhere if I haven’t given a business at least a chance to make things right first. We left two messages for the owner to return our calls, and never heard a thing. We know many people in Omaha, and I will tell you what we told them: Do NOT give this place your business.

I liked the family feel I got from this place. Seemed very Italian and nice décor. The food however was sub par. We got the mozzarella cheese sticks which were very good but they were cold which brought them from five stars to two stars. The entrée I got chicken Alfredo and it also was cold and very under seasoned. And to top it off I got a glass of wine which was six dollars which is normal however the size was like a miniature glass enough for maybe for drinks and gone. All in all I will not be returning.

Prepare yourself, this is the quintessential old-​style venue that creates amazing meals. There are 2 things about my review; the service and the food, short and sweet:
1. Order the spaghetti, legitimate homemade pasta that will forever ruin your future pasta orders at chain restaurants. Pair that with homemade meatballs, and you’ve got a perfect combination of flavors that may lead to a sluggish-​state post meal.
2. Great service. On this visit, my wife forgot her purse and I forgot my wallet. While my 4 yr old and I waited for my wife to return with payment, the waitress entertained my son with a chocolate cannoli, as well as change for the toy and candy dispenser. Great all around.
A must try, never mind the location, its old school and well worth it. Tucked in a neighborhood, and full of as much flavor as it has stories Im sure.

This is not a fine dining restaurant. This is not a place to go if you want something light. However, if you wake up one day and decide to trek the Himalayas, you could probably do it after one meal from here. It’s family style but I ordered a half portion of spinach fettucini with meat sauce– very good but I couldn’t finish half of the half. The fried mozzarella sticks? Not your typical nasty prepackaged little sticks– these were lightly breaded with large pieces of real mozzarella, really good. Service was friendly and efficient, it’s family owned, quaint and clean. Calamari was good too and the homemade Italian sausage was awesome. Prices were also reasonable. Come here, come with friends and come hungry. I have to go take a pasta nap now and plan my trip to Tibet.

Love this place. I would give it 5 stars if it wasn’t for the occasional service glitch. I always order the homemade spaghetti and meatballs. Can’t go wrong. Tried the Brucoli (sp)… which is a meatball that rolled in bread crumbs and bacon. Darn tasty. The food is always tasty but again… the service can be off.
Always find other reviews interesting… down graded for the «out of the bag» rolls (which are Rotellas fresh baked in Omaha) and yes… .delivered in a bag and the tacky décor, etc… I tend to overlook that when it comes to good food. Give it a shot and definitely go with the home made spaghetti. Portions a big and the price is moderate. Enjoy.

Highly recommend it!
The best Italian food and all of Omaha!!!
Grandma’s cooking is to die for.

I’m so sadly disappointed in this place. I had eaten here once before and really enjoyed it. The meal was great. So much so that I couldn’t wait to take my husband there.
Our daughter lives in Italy and I have been trying to find an authentic place for a while. I was happy to have found it based upon my first visit. Our second visit was this past week. We arrived early in the lunch hour, and we’re the 2^nd set of patrons there. After about 7 minutes, we decided to give it a couple more minutes before we walked out, as nobody had come to the table yet. Remember, we were the 2^nd table there.
Our waitress finally came, a short older Asian woman. She took our order. My husband had the half order of lasagna and I the pasta & red sauce. We received our salads that consisted of iceberg lettuce (seriously — why does anyplace still serve that stuff) that was simply swimming in vinaigrette. Our food arrived. My husbands portion was very large, but not having had this before — we assumed large portions. My angel hair was good, however was drowning in sauce. I should have asked for light sauce — my bad. I tasted my husbands lasagne and it was seriously heavy on ricotta and light on meat. The meat that was in it tasted off to me. But I digress. We ate our meal and received our check. We were charged for a full order of lasagne, which thus explains the large portion size. However, he ordered a half order. When we brought this to the waitresses attention, she said, «oh I made a mistake». When my husband asked her to correct the bill, she refused and said, «but you ate it». Well, yes, he did. So I guess we had to pay. For it, even if it wasn’t what we ordered.
That fact right there — the belittling «well, you ate it» is why we will never, ever go to Malara’s again. If that wasn’t enough, I sent an email stating our issue and it has yet to be answered. I tried calling the restaurant, but our waitress answered, which would have gotten us nowhere. So disappointing.

Unfortunately what could have been a 4 ½ star review dropped to 3 stars because of their policy on tipping. Our waitress, Maria, gave herself a 20% tip on the whole bill, including the tax. When I asked if that was their policy I was told «Yes.» Food was good as always, but forcing me to pay a 20% tip on the total bill is pompous and unethical. Having worked as both a bartender and a server, I’m a generous tipper, but I cannot accept being told how much to tip — especially when it goes against established standards. Secondly, she refused to split our bill by couples. Sorry to say it, but I won’t be back.

We eat here fairly often and I always get the Pasta Brascioli. The red sauce is divine. The homemade noodles are beyond belief and I’ve never had anything like the Brascioli anywhere else. And sometimes I get a side of the white sauce just because. The half dinner is big enough to take home & have for lunch the next day.
If there’s time, ask the waitress for the story of the restaurant. It’s fascinating and the waitress (I seldom see a waiter) is usually a member of the family.

With a dearth of good Italian restaurants in our hometown of Lawrence (Kansas), we decided to try Malara’s on a recent trip to Omaha after having read the rave reviews on Unilocal.After our dinner, however, I am left wondering how this place ended up with 4 stars.
The building is huge and the décor a bit tacky, looking as if it has not been redecorated since the 1970’s. We were seated quickly, but ignored for the first ten minutes we were there. I had to grab a wine list from another table because I could not get the server’s attention, had I known whom he or she was.
The dinners come with a salad and although fresh, there was nothing but lettuce and it was drenched in an oil and vinegar dressing. The «bread» were rolls that looked as if they came out of a bag and heated in the oven.
My wife had the spaghetti carbonara ($ 11.95). The spaghetti was pretty good, advertised as being homemade, but the sauce was too oily and there was hardly any bacon in sight. Instead of adding raw egg to the finished dish before tossing the pasta, they added scrambled eggs, something I have never seen done before.
I had the veal parmigiana ($ 16.95), which was not bad, but far from the best I have eaten. The portion size was adequate, the sauce pretty good, although a bit sweet for my taste, and the cheese melted to perfection. As is the case in most Italian (American) restaurants, there was far too much sauce on the pasta, but it tasted OK. When I asked the server if we could get some more bread, I was told that it would cost an «extra 25 cents each», so we SPLURGED! Enough said.
Removing the scrambled egg carbonara and 25 cent bread rolls from the equation, I would have likely given Malara’s 5, maybe 6, bombs out of 10 for the very average food at reasonable prices (value). Lose the scrambled eggs and give folks an extra roll or two … is another 50 cents really worth upsetting customers over?
CombatCritic Gives Malara’s 4 Bombs Out of 10 … More Bombs Are Better!

This is great «old school» Italian food. Homemade pastas, great sauces, wonderful salad dressing, prompt service & the best mozz sticks in Omaha. You just can’t go wrong with this great neighborhood spot!

Two words, cheese sticks.
Made in house and probably life changing compared to all other cheese sticks you’ve ever had. I’m usually not even a huge fan of them in general, but I don’t know how I’ll eat here again without ordering them.
We actually just ordered pick up since we were at the bar across the street. The sausage on their pizza was sliced, so real Italian sausage not that crumbled crap at dominos. Mhmmm goodness.

Can’t go wrong at Malara’s!
Tasty red sauce, the homemade noodles and the unique mozzarella sticks are amazing.
I usually have the chicken filled spinach tortellini with red sauces — so good.
My husband LOVES the spaghetti and meatballs and he doesn’t get just spaghetti and meatballs anywhere else but he loves it.
Malara’s is our go to Italian stop! I’m just sad I didn’t discover it until a year or so ago!
The only downside is they aren’t open very late during the week close at 8.

Cleanliness 4
Service 4
Food 4
Likelihood 5
1 – 5 (5 Best!) 4.3
I love this place. I never have a bad meal or bad service. The servers are not 20 something, they know serving etiquette and don’t miss much!
In my opinion, it is the best piece of lasagna you will find in this region. The sauce is incredible, not sweet like so many others.
I will say that the salads are bit drenched and a bit brown… they have always been like that. I assume they put dressing on them in the color overnight or early in the morning. Not sure.
Restrooms are clean (thank you)
I have never had room/​time for dessert, I need to start with that sometime. It is the salad, and those darn Rotella’s Rolls! LOL
An Omaha favorite I think!