Culprit Cafe & Bakery

Lovely spot, great service. But the chef is obnoxious and clearly doesn’t understand the limits of food. The berry and brie stuff beignet pushes brie beyond the temperature range at which brie should be served creating a fowl spoiled milk scent. The pork sandwich also had an off under-​taste and dripped oil with every bite. The croissants and the sandwich were burnt.
However the service there is wonderful and certainly wants you to enjoy the food.

I stopped in Omaha for a few hours and this spot was my top «must see» destination. I even overheard people talking about it at another café!
This is a lovely spot in the city with a great atmosphere. I enjoyed the beignet while it was fresh and hot. At first I thought, «wow that’s a lot of powered sugar!» but it really added to the subtle sweetness of the bread.
There’s a Unilocal photo from 2014 with an Ube Cinnamon Roll. I really wish it was there!

I love culprit. Try the grits… they are amazing. It’s a fave for Sunday’s after church and I also sneak over midweek for lunch.

Excellent pastries and the donuts are to die for. The Boston cream had a pleasantly bready dough and was packed full of cream. It was fresh and delicious and the semi sweet chocolate frosting perfectly topped off the delicate flavors of the donut. I inhaled it. It was not overly sweet but had a balance of flavors. ⁵⁄₅
The pork Bahn Mi was excellent as well. The bread is all made in house, this is a bakery after all. It comes out toasty warm and the vegetables are fresh, not pickled, but the sandwich still has the signature fresh Vietnamese fusion taste one expects. The pork was thick sliced and cooked perfectly.
The location is well thought out. There’s wrapping windows with seating to gaze out at some of Omaha’s gorgeous streets and it sits in a rustic neighborhood. Where old red brick buildings sit in the foreground of towering sky scrapers. The interior is bright and clean with accents of wood and a French industrial décor. There are no TVs and the ambiance is set with downtempo music faintly playing the background. The Culprit is the perfect place for a lunch date, a coffee, to get some work done, to meet old friends or to sit back an take a moment with one of their adult drinks– make it a stiff one.

Culprit is outstanding. This place is set apart from all the rest and resides in a class all on it’s own. It’s THAT good. Best mocha latte I’ve ever had. And the latte art is effortlessly skillful.
On any scale I would rate this 5 stars. But since Culprit stands alone and dares to serve such epicurean delights I owe it to this place to elevate my standards. In short: I’m going to be hyper critical because they can afford it.
Galette is amazing. Not exactly like the French. But hey, we’re in Omaha not France so live with it. They really do a great job with the crust. The crispy potatoes that everyone raves about were very good. The warmth and the texture makes it tempting for noshing. Some of the pieces we had were uneven. I wish that didn’t happen. The trout salad on special was a good mix of salty and greens. I wish there was some sort of nutty flavor that balanced things out some more. The pastry guru has got some mad skills. Mad. You can tell he has a creative side and doesn’t stick with your typical lemon bar dessert. Oh no. For example. The fig frangipane tarts with oat crust were unlike anything I’ve ever had before. Like a paste or custard for adults. You have to like franigpane folks.
Ambiance is not cozy. But it’s modern and sleek and sunny. Not being sarcastic. It’s urban but not unfriendly. You don’t feel connected to your food. And you don’t feel pretentious about your food either. But you do feel situated to simply eat.

Where do I begin? Perhaps by saying: Hey, friend. Do yourself a favor and go to Culprit.
Reasons:
* Their menu is beautiful, well-​curated, and artisanal.
* They’ve got great coffee.
* They introduced me to hazelnut milk, which is the best alternate milk I’ve had (I’ve gone on rants about alternate milk lattes).
* Creative drink menu.
* Lovely ambiance and delightful views of the city.
* Staff is friendly; service is courteous and prompt.
Particulars:
* Chai: Delicious.
* Pesto potatoes: Even though they are RIP now, they were amazing. But do yourself a favor and get the new
* Lemon ricotta potatoes. Ingenious. The crunchiness of the potato, the tang of the lemon, the smoothness of the cheese. What a bite.
* Homemade beignets. They are done right, and they are a TREAT.
I want to go back and experience everything. Hopefully I will. This is a charming spot and an asset to downtown Omaha. You should go! Breakfast, lunch – you can’t go wrong. Delicious food and drinks: this spot is the culprit.

I loved this coffee place when I visited Omaha a few weeks ago. The breakfast sandwich was my choice, and it was fantastic – egg whites, spinach, and bacon. I WATCHED then cut a piece of bacon off the slab; it was thick and all things bacon should be. My boyfriend got a beignet, which he also liked. Good coffee, good food, nice people, convenient corner location.

This place is awesome! Super cute place on a Farnam St. a quick walk for everyone that lives downtown or midtown. Owner and staff are very friendly and will help you with any questions that you might have. I would frequent this place often when I lived in Omaha and would easily recommend anything on the menu (which I typically never say)! Great place for breakfast and brunch! Coffee is amazing! Give it a try for your next brunch spot!

Had a Marinated Veggie Baguette and Aioli Potatoes.
The inside is very cute, and their sign design work is very unique and reminiscent of classical tattoo designs.
The girl who rang me up was super helpful, and when I asked for no cheese offered vegan cheese options that I was unaware they had.
I love places I can look out the window and people watch while I eat and this place had a perfect view.
The baguette was hard to eat in the fact that i am not a graceful open sandwich-​eater/​when the bread is hard it makes any existing grace be completely eliminated.
But the veggies were savory and sweet and cooked perfectly.
I even liked the vegetables on it that I dont even like that much. That’s how well they made it.
The Aioli potatoes, however, were seasoned by the Gods. I want to lay in a bath tub full of their potatoes and just stay there immersed in their glory until I die.

Really good coffee.
The cappuccino and the french press was excellent. And that’s what makes this place a great café, alone. The French toast was not too sweet and had a maple syrup which was pretty exotic. The egg white sandwich was on the smaller side but was excellent too.
Ambiance is just right. Students frequent this place, but it stays on the quiet side.
Nice!

The food, service, and atmosphere is very good and it’s a nice place to grab lunch. I like to bring clients here because it’s nice and clean and the food is good and it’s a great place to sit and have a nice conversation.
I have had the butternut squash soup, chicken thigh and fontina sandwich, and open face vegetable and hummus sandwich. It was all very good. The coffee is good and the pastries looked good too. I love the potatoes with pesto as a side. You will definitely feel full.
This would be a five star lunch place, but I HATE that they aren’t open early enough for me to grab a coffee and croissant. I think they open at 8 or 9 and it’s a shame because downtown is hurting for a good breakfast place for everyone in the woodmen tower and surrounding businesses.

Update: Culprit has remained a staple in my life and with Block 16 and Kitchen table, has made Farnam St. my favorite brunch dining in the downtown area.
They recently freshened up the menu, which according to Alex, was because it had been the same olé for three years. With innovators like Anjane (their Instagram pro @culpritcafe) and Luke (chef and owner), it was likely only a matter of time before some new items graced the menu board and a few retired. I for one, am sad to see the fried pesto potatoes and open faced veggie go, but there are some pretty spectacular replacements. There is a new potato dish called crispy potatoes which are fried smashed potatoes with the most savory toppings-​marscopone, preserved lemon, and arugula. The crispy smashed skin bits are delectable. The gravlax is your modern spin on lox and bagel, and the Porchetta is really a savoy, rich delight.
One minus is while the prices have remained relatively similar, they no longer offer soup, salad or the pesto potatoes included with lunch entrees. That’s a bummer but I’m so stoked on the new menu I can barely complain. I was about to dock them a star for this change in sides but after taking a few bites of the new menu couldn’t bear to. 5 stars all the way!

I am a returning customer. And at the beginning I assent happy with the experience (2^nd time) because they were very slow, soon to understand that they were simply dealing with high volume. As I waited a good 20 – 40 min from my coffee then food, suddenly the cashier popped up with a complimentary desert and apologize for the wait. Would recommend to add at least 1 more chef on a Sunday. All of the good is really really good, and comes in small amounts which enables customers to get more than one for a fair price.

Great cozy place in a historic building situated downtown. I ordered the coffee (it’s a café, isn’t it?) along with the Frittata breakfast sandwich. The bread was toasted to perfection and was flavorful. The thick cut bacon with its smoky subtleness and the caramelized onion complemented the egg perfectly. Coffee selections include: Americano, Lattes, and Macchiatos as well as hot tea selections and Izze carbonated fruit water; love that stuff! All around, a great meal to start off the day. The rest of the menu sounded good. There are several vegetarian selections available too.
The staff here was friendly and helpful. The menu is reasonably priced. I didn’t buy any this time but you can purchase a loaf of bread to go. I can’t wait to come back again.

Not sure why I hadn’t tried this place out a while ago. We were downtown and wanted to grab a bite to eat and Unilocal didn’t let me down. While the menu is limited, this place appears to take its craft seriously and you can see and taste it in the food. I opted for some breakfast fare and went with the French Toast with a wonderful Café Mocha. The French toast was quite frankly fantastic! My wife went for a pork based sandwich (bah, I can’t remember the name on the menu!), and while the presentation was great, it was not the most ‘eating-​friendly’ sandwich I have ever seen. She had the sandwich taken back and cut in two again by the kitchen to make a bit more manageable. She may not give a 4 star review because of that, but damn, that French Toast! Overall it was a nice place, the staff friendly, and the food tasty!

I had to come and check this place because of the previous Unilocal reviews. I was not disappointed. It was definitely worth the trip and it wasn’t that hard to find a parking spot. The establishment is very nice and open and you have a nice view around 16^th St. They have a wide assortment of artisan breads baked in-​house and they supply other restaurants such as the Avoli Osteria in Dundee. They offer breakfast and lunch menus. The beignets are heavenly! I was impressed with the Open Face Veggie Sandwich which has red pepper hummus, marinated roast tomato, zucchini, onion and very delicious fried eggplant on top. The lunch menu has a lot of options for carnivores and vegetarians alike. I will try the Banh Mi next time. Highly recommended!

We just missed the complimentary breakfast at the Magnolia Hotel so we walked a couple of blocks and found Culprit Café. It was a perfect spot for morning coffee and some brunch. This place had an open kitchen with some bar seats looking directly into the kitchen which was kinda cool. The place is rather large with a lot of table seating if you don’t want to sit at the bar.
Normal order-​at-​the-​counter, fast-​casual dining option with a diverse menu however I would loosely use the term «fast» with this joint as service was quite slow. But that just means everything is made to order. Regarding the menu, there are great breakfast options in addition to the geographically-​diverse lunch menu. I mean. there were artisan salads and sandwiches on the menu, but then they had tortas and my favorite, Vietnamese Bahn Mi sandwiches and Phở (soup). I feel like I need to come here for a month straight to sample all of the items.
It seemed like everything was artisanal and locally sourced. They clearly care about where their ingredients comes from and how to best showcase their locally purveyed ingredients through a mix of globally-​curated dishes. I know it sounds like a hipster joint, but that’s not a bad thing.

I love Culrpit so much. This little place on the corner of 16^th Street seems so unassuming from the outside, but it’s absolutely worth stopping in, whether you’re in the mood for a meal, a snack, or just a quick cup of coffee.
Their coffee, whether plain brews or fancier drinks like lattes and mochas, are excellently prepared. They tend to be on the stronger, bolder side, but that’s exactly how I like my coffee.
Their bread is also incredibly fresh, with perfect texture and lots of flavor. Chances are, if you’re into the Omaha local food scene, you’ve had Culprit’s bread before, since several local restaurants source from them, but the bread is even better fresh from the bakery, where travel and temperature changes haven’t yet had an impact.
These awesome breads are the perfect starting point for Culprit’s delicious sandwiches. Their Bahn Mi is outsanding, with perfectly seared tofu, a pungent, flavorful sauce, and crisp, tangy picked vegetables. Oh, and no sandwhich at Culprit is really complete without a side of their pesto aioli potatoes. They are *easily* among the best potatoes I’ve ever had, with a great crispy crust, moist centers, and a salty, herby pesto sauce. If you order them, they need to be eaten fresh or the potatoes get soggy, but they’re so good that shouldn’t ever be a problem.
For dessert or snack (or a breakfast of questionable nutritional value), check out their baked goods. Culprit’s scones and muffins are fresh and always changing, and their miniature pies and cakes are always unique and delicious.
If you haven’t tried them yet, you owe it to yourself to stop by.

My road trip had us stop by downtown Omaha for some breakfast. To be honest, coming from LA and not really knowing much of middle America, I was expecting pretty standard diners or basic food like that.
Coming across Culprit Café & Bakery I instantly felt like I was at home. Somewhat hipster-​ish and modern. I wasn’t familiar with the downtown area so most of the parking I encountered was metered.
I ordered the chicken pesto sandwich with pesto potatoes, a macchiato, two plain beignets and the frittata sandwich.
Amazingly good beignets. chicken pesto was good but nothing to write about. Pesto aioli potatoes were very good! I wiped some of that sauce off the potatoes onto my sandwich to make it better! Frittata sandwich was my friends, I had a quick bite and it was like a fancy egg benedict.
They offer lots of unique juices. Didn’t have the chance to sample any but I ordered a macchiato and it was good.
I really liked the whole vibe of the place and the food was very good. Didn’t think a place like this would exist in Omaha haha! Definitely a good place to check out.

Culprit is one of my top five favorite businesses in Omaha. It’s classy, casual and in is helping 16^th Street — a former prime downtown Omaha location — become a citywide destination once again. Oh, and pretty much every single item on the menu is incredible. From the house-​made baked goods to the artisanal coffee drinks, you’re paying very reasonable prices for excellent quality.
Not only that, but there’s an extensive breakfast and lunch menu. My favorite part is the open kitchen where can watch your food being prepped and cooked right in front of you, if you so desire. Who else does that?
If you’re downtown and want a fantastic spot for coffee, breakfast and/​or lunch, Culprit is the place.