Places To Eat In Lincoln, Nebraska

Looking for places to eat in Lincoln, Nebraska? We’ve listed some of our favorite Lincoln restaurants, including a brewery and ice cream shop!

Places To Eat In Lincoln

Lincoln was the first stop on our Midwest road trip. We were able to see a lot in a few days and were able to find a few great places to eat. Here are 5 our our favorite Lincoln restaurants…

Yia Yia’s Pizza and Beer

Considered to have the best pizza in Lincoln, Yia Yia’s has a large variety of pizza toppings. It’s a fun place to hang out and if you’re a beer drinker, know that they also have over 400 bottled beers. If you’ve been following us for awhile, though, you probably know that we’re not really into beer. We stuck to just sampling pizza. 😉

Place your order at the counter and then take a seat and wait for your name to be called. You can build your own pizza or pick from their “Around The World” specialty pizzas. Try pizzas like The Francais with walnut, blue cheese, mozzarala, and olive oil or The Milano with chicken, capers, onion, spinach, black pepper, mozzarella, parmesan, lemon juice, oil and herbs.

They have so many options! We kept it simple with our order, however, and got a slice of pepperoni. Every order of pizza also comes with their freshly baked bread. So yeah, if you’re looking for unique pizza places in Lincoln, we recommend Yia Yia’s.

LeadBelly

The LeadBelly is one of the top restaurants in Lincoln and is known for its unique appetizers and signature burgers. They serve American cuisine with a twist in a casual and laid back atmosphere. It’s in the heart of the Historic Haymarket District, just west of the main Downtown Lincoln area.

During our visit we ordered the Guacamole & Chips as an appetizer and the Calabrese Steak Parmesan as our main dish. We loved that the guacamole also came with salsa and aged white cheddar. The combination was really good! And the steak was tender, seasoned well, and cheesy. We did think the pasta sauce could have had a bit more flavor though.

We thought the ambiance of the LeadBelly was one of the best things about our time there. We saw families, couples, and business colleagues laughing and enjoying their meals. The staff was very friendly and attentive and our waitress even gave us a few suggestions for places to visit for the next time we visit Lincoln.

Graduate Hotel Lincoln Restaurant

We think another one of the best restaurants in Lincoln is actually inside the Graduate Hotel Lincoln. During our stay at the hotel, we spent some time in their tiki bar and ordered yummy cocktails and a delicious mac and cheese! The bar has a really fun atmosphere and a military theme. Besides, who doesn’t love a good tiki bar?

Blue Blood Brewing Company

Just because we don’t like beer, it doesn’t mean we won’t recommend a brewery lol! Blue Blood Brewing was started by some of Lincoln’s finest! Three friends from the Lincoln Police Department who love craft beer and the Lincoln community got together in December 2011 and created what is now a beloved institution.

What’s REALLY cool about this brewery is that it sits over a 5,000 square foot maze of sandstone cave tunnels known as Robber’s Cave. It’s said that at some point the notorious outlaw Jesse James hid in these caves after a heist in Minnesota. Blue Blood Brewing offers tours of the caves three days a week.

Blue Blood Brewing also has a great restaurant! While we were there we had the Pint of Candied Bacon for an appetizer and the Chicken Ranch Tacos for our main dish. Dear God that bacon was delicious! And those tacos were good too! We’d never had ranch on tacos before but it worked really well.

UNL Dairy Store

If you’re craving dessert after all that food and searching for the best ice cream in Lincoln, head over to the UNL Dairy Store. This ice cream shop on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus has been serving handmade ice cream since 1917!  They use university cows, everything is done locally, and they only hire UNL students.

UNL Dairy Store produces over a hundred flavors of ice cream, but they also serve cheeses and meats. They even offer free tours (with 2 week advance notice) to learn about their on-site dairy plant and how they make their ice creams and cheeses. After the tour you also get a discounted “tour cone.”

Pro Tip: Also check out these Fun Things To Do In Lincoln.

Final Thoughts On Places To Eat In Lincoln

It might not be a huge city, but there are plenty of great Lincoln restaurants. We heard the brewery scene is going to keep getting bigger too as the city grows and expands. So while you’re visiting Lincoln, you won’t ever have to worry about going hungry or thirsty lol!

Have you been to Lincoln, Nebraska? What other restaurants do you recommend for our next visit? We’d love to read your comments below! 🙂

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**A big thank you to the Lincoln CVB for arranging our complimentary meal and tour at Blue Blood Brewing. As always, all opinions are our own.**