"Omaha's destination tasting menu — book Au Courant for chef Benjamin Maides' weekly six-course New-European dinner in Benson."
Au Courant Regional Kitchen opened in 2016 on Maple Street in Omaha's Benson neighbourhood, in the former España space. Chef and co-owner Benjamin Maides — Swiss-born, Omaha-raised, and trained at Thomas Keller's Bouchon in Yountville — works directly with area farmers and producers. The result is fine dining with a regional backbone: ambitious cooking in a friendly, approachable room rather than a formal one.
The heart of the menu is a six-course chef's tasting that changes every week with what the farms and the season deliver — the “regional kitchen” in the name is literal. Maides cooks New European dishes that lean on Midwest ingredients, plated with the precision his Bouchon training implies. With the full tasting and a wine pairing, an evening sits in the $$$$ bracket. This is the most serious tasting-menu cooking in the city, kept deliberately unstuffy.
The room matches the cooking's approachable streak: a warm, comfortable Benson storefront rather than a hushed temple, which suits the neighbourhood. Au Courant opens Thursday through Sunday only, so the tasting feels like an event the kitchen has prepared for. Service is informed and relaxed, happy to walk through the week's menu and pairings. It is built for an anniversary, a special dinner or a meal that takes its time — book ahead, since the limited nights fill.
For an anniversary, a special dinner or a tasting-led night out in Omaha, Au Courant is the city's destination. A natural anniversary and impress-clients table in Benson.
Not for a casual walk-in or a quick weeknight bite — Au Courant opens Thursday to Sunday around a multi-course tasting menu and is built for an unhurried, booked-ahead dinner.
Au Courant Regional Kitchen is at 6064 Maple Street in the Benson neighbourhood of Omaha, Nebraska, and opens Thursday through Sunday.
Chef and co-owner Benjamin Maides, who is Swiss-born and Omaha-raised and trained at Thomas Keller's Bouchon in Yountville, California.
A weekly-changing six-course chef's tasting menu of New-European cooking built from regional ingredients sourced from local Nebraska farmers and producers.
Yes. With the six-course tasting and a wine pairing, an evening sits in the top ($$$$) bracket; it is a special-occasion tasting-menu restaurant.
Au Courant opens for dinner Thursday through Sunday and is closed Monday through Wednesday; reservations are recommended as the limited nights fill.
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