While it can be exciting to travel far and wide for adventure, sometimes, you don’t have to go very far at all. Spotlighting a vacation in our own backyard, Eric and I selected the vibrant city of Omaha to spend our one year wedding anniversary together!
With weddings, full-time schedules, managing a blog, and the commotion of moving into our first home, we definitely have a lot on our plate right now! It can be hard enough to fit in a date night during the chaos, let alone getting away for a few days. Whenever life gets a little crazy, I think it’s important to take a timeout and reset – and that’s exactly what we were looking forward to. Unfortunately for a couple of travel lovers, a big trip was not in the works for us. While still feeling the excitement of “getting away” but keeping it simple, my husband and I planned a little staycation in Omaha to still feel like we are getting out of the city but with much more ease. And who doesn’t love a good date night? Am I right?
As many of us here in Nebraska enjoy making the journey to Omaha, and do so often, here are some of my recommendations for the ultimate staycation date night based on our most recent adventures in the city!
Where to Stay: Omaha Marriott Downtown
It comes as no surprise that there are many options available when choosing where to stay in Omaha. We love the energy of the Old Market/Capital District and were looking for accommodations in this area for both to celebrate our anniversary and ideal for exploring plethora of bars and restaurants available to us within such a close distance. Nestled in the heart of downtown Omaha on North 10th St, the Omaha Marriott Downtown at Capital District was the perfect choice for our stay.
For those of you unfamiliar, the new and up and coming Capitol District is a brand new Entertainment District in Omaha that has a lot going for it already and explosive potential in the future! With a diverse mix of dining, nightlife and entertainment destinations, this couldn’t be more our scene.
This beautiful hotel has been newly opened since August of 2017 and is home to a rooftop pool, restaurant, fitness center, bar and Starbucks on the main floor. They created a sleek, contemporary, yet cozy and comfortable environment that in turn made you feel like you were in someone’s living room all while appreciating the pieces of local art strategically placed all around.
Right when we got there we were welcomed with warmth and hospitality by the wonderful staff at the Omaha Marriott Downtown. The employees went above and beyond to make sure our stay was an excellent one! The front desk clerks were extremely helpful and pleasant. Our suite was located on the 5th floor and was remarkable! We had some of the best views of the city and it’s easy to overlook how cool Omaha looks from above!
Society 1854:
Mimosas and a Bloody Mary cart for you to indulge in, alongside some stellar brunch food make Society 1854 one of the best brunch spots in downtown Omaha for a fun brunch on both Saturdays and Sundays. Weekends have never tasted so good!
Society 1854 offers American Cuisine that celebrates the best that Nebraska has to offer. When we say our breakfast was amazing, we truly mean it. We were impressed with the high quality and freshness of their food, their menu selection, and the phenomenal service we received. With a twist on heritage dishes, the menu utilizes exceptional product prepared to showcase local farmers’ dedicated work. When selecting entrees, we couldn’t resist the Avocado Toast and it was certainly everything we hoped it would be and more.
No matter what you order off their menu, it’s a guarantee that your taste-buds will be satisfied. Very quick and attentive service, delicious food and a buzzing atmosphere make Society 1894 a must-visit stop for any Omaha foodie. Whether you’re looking for something spicy, savory or sweet, this eclectic menu has something for everyone. What a beautiful environment, with an elegant design and big windows letting in lots of natural light. Their restaurant is the ideal meeting place for travelers, dinner with girlfriends, date nights, business luncheons and of course Saturday or Sunday brunch!
Burdock + Bitters:
After brunch, we explored the hotel and headed down to the hotel bar, Bitters + Bourbon Burdock + Bitters, for craft cocktails. For an establishment that claims they aren’t a “whiskey bar” they sure do make a mean whiskey drink. My husband died and went to whiskey heaven. The name says it all, which happens to include the two main ingredients in an Old-Fashioned.
In classic whiskey bar fashion, you can try samples in flights which we felt was one of the best parts of the experience because of the wide selection to choose from. Their craft cocktail menu is enough to make your mouth water. Besides the whiskey or craft cocktails, wine, beer, and small plates are also available. As such, the food and drink were every bit as delicious as we hoped it would be. The layout of the bar is great and although it was fun during the day, we suspect it’s a great place to spend an evening too! We could have stayed here all day if allowed.
The new Omaha Marriott Downtown has already made a name for itself with not only the business travelers and jetsetters, but with us Nebraskans as well! If you’re traveling to Omaha and are searching for a hotel, I highly recommend the Omaha Marriott Downtown at Capitol District! It checks off all the boxes– location, views, luxury, rooftop pool, delicious food & drinks, Starbucks… you name it. Our stay was short and sweet, but oh so perfect! We can’t wait to come back soon.
What to Eat: Tokyo Sushi
Tokyo Sushi has been a staple in the heart of the downtown Omaha area and definitely a hidden gem. It features a laid-back vibe and all you can eat menu. It’s a popular spot as evidenced by the great crowd when we arrived. My husband and I are huge sushi lovers, so we are always on the hunt for trying new venues for date nights so we were especially excited to try out Tokyo Sushi!
They have a large selection of sushi available, both standard rolls and others that are specialty. We started with sake and edamame. My husband and I love to try new recommendations for rolls and were impressed the wide variety of specialty rolls. All you can eat sushi is great for those who feel like getting out of their comfort zone and trying new things. We ordered the Boston, Shrimp Tempura, and Hoppin’ Jalapeno Rolls. For our fourth roll, the waiter recommended the Super Dynamite which we LOVED!
All were on point and had the perfect blend of fresh, spicy, sweet, and creamy. To top it off the sushi was absolutely delicious and well-priced for the quality and quantity! Although the quality of the fare and the service was incredible, Tokyo Sushi is not necessarily a fine dining establishment but rather a nice, casual place to grab a bite to eat. It had a nice atmosphere, not too laid back and not too upscale…It seemed like a perfect place to take your date!
Overall, our dinner experience was worthy of the highest praise and we were impressed, to say the least…and very full! Stop in here and enjoy.
What To Do: Funny Bone Comedy Club
They say life is better when you’re laughing. I find this to be especially true!
With some of the best sushi food in our system, we were ready to laugh off our dinner at the best comedy club in Omaha. Funny Bone is a magical land filled with laughter and hilarity and perfect for a date night out.
The club is located in Village Pointe and has real charm to it. We can confidently say we had the some of the best seats in the house, although there isn’t a bad seat in the house!
The wait staff took our drink orders and delivered them throughout the show, so you didn’t even have to get up. Our waitress was friendly and brought out our drinks in a timely manner. There was an emcee, an opening acts and then the main performance by the one and only comedian Tony Roberts, who you’ve probably seen on HBO’s “DEF COMEDY JAM”. Each comedian brought their own unique style and sense of humor to the stage. Tony Roberts had us in tears, happy tears that is.
All in all, we had such a great time at Funny Bone! Thank you for the laughs.
While our trip to Omaha was brief this time around, we were lucky enough to pack in some fantastic experiences that we feel gave us a true date night celebration like no other. And as you can see, there are plenty of good reasons to travel to vibrant Omaha. Thank you to all of the local spots that hosted us- we had such a great time!
Stay tuned for more of my upcoming adventures, and if you’ll be traveling to Omaha in the near future, consider all of these destinations I approve and recommended! After all, there are some great little places to uncover right here on your own doorstep.
Shop my anniversary outfits below!
Thank you to the Omaha Marriott Downtown, Tokyo Sushi, and Funny Bone for hosting us for our anniversary date night. While this is a sponsored post, all opinions expressed are 100% my own!
Read some of my other travel guides HERE!
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