Rick’s Cafe Boatyard

Great deck on the river.
I did not eat dinner here, but I had some great drinks and apps. Hope it comes back as strong as it was.
Had the tempura fried calamari. Wow! 5.0+ I usually don’t enjoy calamari as it is rubbery and soggy. I was talked into trying it this time and was amazed. Not only how good it was, but how bad it obviously is at other places. Not sure if all the places I have tried it did not have fresh product or didn’t know how to prepare it but I was happily surprised.
Isn’t everything better on a warm evening overlooking water?

great location, could be so much more. but rather dissappointed. Drinks were just ok. wine list plain bad. made fun of us for ordering espresso martini, «your not from around here are you». nice.
couldnt wait to down our drinks and get out.

When first walking into the restaurant is was extremely hot inside. They have fans but it was really warm inside. Our server was very nice and knowledgeable, but when we were served our wine, the wine glasses were dirty and had water spots on them. The wine was not room temp, it was warm.
The food was quite good. Had the Tempura Fried Jumbo Shrimp which was very good. A friend had the Smoked Salmon Salad and that was very good also.
Overall the feel of the place seemed very outdated and old. Dirty glasses and flatware was not good.

It was enjoyable and we will go back. The waiter was very friendly and the food was really good. We enjoyed the huge deck.

If they allowed negative star ratings… I would do so.
We made reservations and went here with our family/​friends to celebrate our daughter’s graduation and it also happened to be Mother’s Day.
Upon arrival, we had reserved outside dining, and it took them 20 minutes to decide where they were actually going to seat our group (9) despite the fact that we had made reservations. We arrived at 4:00 pm, so not a real busy dining hour. They did finally pull some tables together and sat us outside on the «patio» which is what we reserved.
Huge disappointment.
The patio dining consisted of well worn resin tables and chairs. The waitress presented as very overwhelmed and unhappy to be there. She actually took our orders and then came back 15 minutes later to inform us that she had «lost» our order that she had written down. Who does that?
No acknowledgment from anyone that worked at this place regarding Mother’s Day or Graduation Day. Another lacking in decent customer service.
Food was okay, some better than others… but the prices were ridiculously high. I’m all about paying for good quality food, service and atmosphere, but this place had none!
I had heard positive things about this place, but to be honest… I will never know why. I know for this family and others, we will never be returning or recommending as a place to dine. You’d be better off, grabbing something to go from anywhere else and going down to the area for a picnic style dining experience.
Don’t know how this place can stay in business!

Huge disappointment.
We sat outdoors on the patio that looked like it has never ever been maintained. Seat cushions coming apart, residential quality decking that was in need of work, chipped paint and rust everywhere, and the bar looked like it belonged at a redneck lake party. Trash was everywhere, including a tampon applicator on the front sidewalk. Very classy.
So the facility was bad. But they were consistent and delivered bad food to match. I had planned on fish or steak but the prices and atmosphere didn’t match up so I ordered the Italian pizza. Who could screw that up? Well, this place did. I covered it in red peppers to provide some flavor.
This place has so much potential but we will never return.

My reviews are usually detailed and coloful. I’m not doing that this time because I’m not sure I want to relieve the experience moment by moment.
We happened upon this place by accident after not finding the restaurant we were actually heading for, one that I had researched before our trip. This seemed like a pretty good bet because people were filing in and out in droves, the view and the building were beautiful and we were starrrrrving. Long story short, one appetizer, two entrée’s (one of which we sent back), two hours and $ 60.00 later (yep, they wouldn’t take the meal we sent back off the bill AND charged us for the replacement meal!) we were out the door.
DO YOURSELF AND FAVOR — Don’t even bother with it. There is a reason it has a 40 $ likeability rating. From what I understand there are some really wonderful restaurants in Omaha with a professional staff and professional chef’s. This is definitely not one of them. Of all of the reviews I’ve written, this was by far the worst food and the worst service. Don’t let the fact that it is a beautiful building or has a fantastic view of the river or there are a lot of unsuspecting patrons (tourist’s I would imagine) filing in and out fool you.
The menu is fine dining prices, the food is cafeteria quality and ther service is even worse.

Nice view, will be better when the construction on the other side of the river will be done. Once that is done this place will be PACKED!
We were seated as soon as we walked in. Our waiter Jose was great! So friendly and funny! Great recommendations on the menu.
The prices were reasonable, if you know what you want to order. I wanted salmon but the entrée’s were about $ 20-​$ 25 and it would of come with seasoned rice and veggies. So instead I ordered the Caesar salad with grilled Salmon for $ 15. And from seeing what the other table ordered it was the same size. My salad was great! Not too much dressing, plenty of romaine and croutons and tasty parmasean It was really good — ate the whole lot! My friend ordered a sirloin salad and the sirloin was a nice 8 oz while piece not sliced and the salad was placed on the plate to the side not under the sirloin. So it was like a meal not a salad.
We also ordered the calamari. It was really good! Sliced/​filleted pieces not rings. So tender and really really good!
Very casual and not poshy at all!
They do make their own desserts here but we didnt order any.

Well, my first review was 5 stars and obviously that has changed. Shame on Ricks for not cooperating with us at all in regards to booking our engagement party there. We have budgeted $ 5000 for our engagement party and this business did not even try to get our business. After countless phone calls and lack of communication from there end we have moved on. They failed to return calls and failed to even show any interest that they wanted our business. Such a downer for a wonderful place for an engagement party. Damn you Ricks… You SUCK! Get a new Sales Manager! I’m sure if you lost our business this easily you have lost a lot more $$$ than our $ 5k. Good Bye and never again!

I visited Omaha over Labor Day weekend, and since it was my first trip there, I went to the only tourist attraction I could find — the pedestrian bridge to Iowa.
Rick’s Café is situated on the riverfront near the bridge, so we hopped in for lunch. We had Rico’s (?) dip for an appetizer, which was a nacho/​guacamole/​salsa explosion of yumminess. It was probably also 1500 calories, but I was on vacation, so who cares. For lunch, I had the blackened chicken alfredo. It was average, but a little bland.
Our server was polite, but the overall experience was slow. We sat on the patio with a couple on one side and a group of ladies on the other. There was maybe 2 – 3 tables with people at them inside… so not a busy afternoon.
For the price and the slowish service, I was not impressed. The food was about the same you would eat at an Applebees or Fridays, but $ 5 – 7 a plate more expensive.
Also, we appeared to be the youngest couple by about 40 years (on Monday afternoon — Labor Day)

Rick’s Café Boatyard is seriously one of the BEST kept SECRETS in Omaha.
It is so refreshing sitting on the covered, wrap around terrace that over looks the Missouri River. One can just sit and chat while watching pedestrians in the distance make their way over the foot bridge.
The Calamari apetizer was delicious. The calamari was breaded and served in strips versus the typical ‘ring.’ The strips were very tender, fresh, and meaty all at the same time– I highly recommend.
Had pretty decent lunchtime drink specials. My marg was pretty delish.
Lunch is decent… had the combo. I thought the food and the cost were appropriately matched. There is an outdoor bar that was unfortunately closed… maybe because it was Sunday.
Service: It did take quite a while to get our food. Luckily we had nice weather and lots of gossip to catch up on.
We didn’t really spend much time indoors. There was a huge party that had the 2^nd floor rented out. The interior just seemed kinda cheesy… I just assumed that how Midwesterners envision a beach motif ;)
Its a short 10 – 15 minute walk from Rick’s down to the pedestrian bridge. There is plenty of parking at the restaurant and is VERY close to downtown, the new Ameritrade stadium, and the Quest Center.
Highly recommend as a place to just leisurely sit and enjoy the tranquility of the river.

To start, I realize this is primarily a seafood restaurant. That being said, most «meat themed» places such as steakhouses and seafood places also have at least one decent vegetarian dish. Rick’s does not. Rick’s has a lot of vegetarian dishes, but unfortunately, none of them are worth the price. The main entrees are the Eggplant Parmesan ($ 14) and Creamy Fettuccine Alfredo ($ 15). Of course, you could also opt for Marghertia or Cheese Pizza ($ 11 each). There’s even a $ 8 Veggie Burger.
Admittedly, I’ve never had the pizzas. Then again, I don’t even consider them a meal option. They are relatively small and greasy in appearance. Also, if I’m paying this much for food, Digorno’s shouldn’t look more appetizing!
I’ve had both the eggplant and fettuccine dishes. What a total waste of money. The Alfredo is some of the worst I’ve ever had. It’s dry, bland, and heartburn inducing. For $ 14, I should at least get some flavor. This is not the case. The eggplant isn’t much better. It’s just greasy and plain. It’s beyond me how they can charge such exorbitant amounts for meals which cost no more than $ 2 each to prepare… especially when they don’t even taste good!
Rick’s tries to satisfy everyone’s dietary preferences, but they miss on all accounts. My friends have had a few of the dishes here, and they all say that it’s simply not worth the price.
To make things worse, the service here is slow. Overall, I would not recommend going here, unless it’s to walk around outside.

Ok, let’s get one thing clear… there is a frickin’ «no guns allowed» sticker on the front door. That should tell you all that you need to know.
Anyway, back to the restaurant. I was in town with a few co-​workers and students and decided to eat here before going over the walking bridge across the river. I have to say that I was a bit scared when I smelled the slight odor of bad seafood when we were inside the dining room. But the view from our seats off the back deck were definitely a pro.
We ordered a variety of menu items, but we all did enjoy the parmesan artichoke crab dip. And I definitely enjoyed my chicken caesar salad. The students ordered a few seafood pasta dishes, which they also seemed to enjoy.
The service was good as it was lunch/​dinner time on a Sunday. The food is a bit pricey, considering the amount of food we got, but overall, we were satisfied with our experience.
If I had the opportunity to go back to Omaha at some point, I wouldn’t mind eating here again, but I would probably try out some other seafood restaurants that maybe were a bit more reasonably priced.

Bad food
Bad service
Great atmosphere (as long as you stay outside — the dining room smelled terrible)
We went here last night for dinner — what a disaster. My usual (Oysters Rockefeller) were great as always — this is where the good part ended.
The cedar plank white fish was not even edible — seriously. The mashed potatoes had absolutely no flavor at all. The vegetables were awful. The desert was awful.
To make it even worse there were only a handful of patrons there and the service was just awful. I even had to go find someone in order to pay just so we could get out of there.
I was really hoping that with new management this place would get turned around. It is such a shame to have such a great location and a nice place but have everyone in town think that the food is awful.

I’m powering through some reviews today since I spent the weekend with out of town friends (translation: lots of eating, drinking and having a good time).
The weather was spectacular over the weekend and we were looking for a place to relax. Normally, I’d pick a patio somewhere else in Omaha, but since I was with a couple of friends from out of town (out of country, really), I though the patio situation at Rick’s was in order.
I’ve been here a few times and am always amazed by the mediocre food. What they lack in culinary ability and service (yup, the service sucks a bit too), they make up for during the sunny months with their patio.
A Sunday afternoon, sipping on a bevvy, staring out to the river — watching crazy people in boats, families walking along the waterfront, teenagers taking self-​photos. With the music in the background (I appreciate a live band at moments like this), my friends and I spent an enjoyable few hours at Ricks.
Eventually, however, we were in need of a little nibble so we had to move on to one of my fav patios (I have a few in town) with better food options.

Pros: On a cool night, a good patio to have a drink at
Cons: Terrible food, terrible service, overpriced, overhyped, overdone
Omaha is trying hard to become a better place, but Rick’s Boatyard is not one of their successes in recent moves to make the city a better place. I’m always skeptical of seafood if I’m not near a major body of water, and for some reason it never settled with me well as I looked out the window and saw the muddy Missouri flowing by… but I gave it a shot.
The server was rude and terrible. The food was mediocre. It was too crowded. The place had a weird feeling to it and it all just felt overdone. The price isn’t right either.
The patio does look like a fun place to have a drink on a cool night, but it was too cold the day I went, so we had to pass on that.

The short answer is ‘don’t go’…we’ve tried Rick’s three or four times, hoping against reason that they’d somehow get their act together, but now I’m giving up. They won’t, they can’t…never had it, never will.
Each time, no matter how busy or slow, the service is completely abysmal. They can’t keep drinks filled and don’t even try. Apparently it’s difficult getting napkins and utensils to the table, even after the meal arrives. To say the restaurant smells like dead fish is being kind, maybe it’s the «catch of the day», but I wouldn’t eat it. The food is overpriced for what you get… McDonalds gives you a better value, not to mention quality.
Don’t waste your time or money…

Location: Appealing
Seating outside: Nice
Food: Tolerable to Average
Event Hosting: Mediocre
Service: Despicable
I’m not sure how Rick’s went so wrong, but I’ll never go here again. When I worked downtown sometimes we ended up there for lunch or happy hour and once a group I’m involved in even hosted an event there. But I was disappointed time and time again… never again. Hopefully they get their act together eventually.

I ate at Rick’s for lunch, and did not have a good experience. First, the ambiance was rough. It was very cold inside the restaurant, and none of the lights inside were on. It was cloudy outside, so the whole meal had a dreary tone to it. Turning on the heat and lights would have made a big difference. We were also sandwiched between another large group so the wait staff hit each chair as they squeezed by to take orders, refill glasses, etc.,
The food was not good either. The burger I had was of the premade frozen puck variety, dry, and tasted like it had fake smoke flavoring added. The fries were not good either. Other members of the group I was with were equally unimpressed with their salads and seafood.
The draft beer selection was poor. The service was average. The only time I could see myself coming back here would be to get a seat outside on a nice day and enjoy a drink by the river. If it wasn’t for the location, this place would have been out of business a long time ago.

WOW– I definately would NOT give this place 5 stars. I had dinner here Friday night. I will admit that sitting on the patio in good weather is wonderful. That part was nice, unfortunately, the Santa Lucia festival was also going on and the music was so loud we could barely converse with each other.
As far as the food goes, the only thing I thought was good was the calamari appetizer. It was great, lightly breaded, not too greasy with a mayo sauce that had a kick to it. I had the shrimp scampi for my entrée. It was completely lacking in flavor. The shrimp were large, but not flavorful and the fettucine was completely bland. I had to ask for some parmesan just to spice it up a bit. And the waiter recommeneded it. My husband had the prime rib, it looked slightly off in color.
Our service was poor to say the least. The waiter did not refill our water and did not ask if we wanted more cocktails. I won’t go back.