I had a great time! I’ve been there a few times and the guy who checks IDs is always very respectful !! And the staff in the inside is just as amazing! A great price great people and I LOVE the atmosphere! 10/10 would recommend to my friends !! And anyone else looking for a good time !
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Emily
I felt racially profiled at this establishment. Wanted to like because I've heard amazing things about this bar but unfortunately it was the most uncomfortable place I've ever been to. The bouncer was sitting outside drinking and smoking and at first it was not apparent whether he worked there or not. He was also incredibly rude and required only me to demonstrate sobriety. I was with a few other people during his tests but when meeting with my group of 10 other friends who were already inside they were not asked to perform any tests. I understand it being late into a shift and needing to enforce rules however he also did not check my ID, and because I am a POC and no one else I knew was asked to do these things I felt targeted. There are plenty of other businesses to support and I will not be coming back.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Jill Gross
I come to occidental often. this place is great, i love the atmosphere, the artwork is super cool, and the bartenders are really what makes the place. we come almost every tuesday-thursday, it’s always welcoming, the drinks are phenomenal and they treat your dogs like family! check this place out, my favorite bar in the haymarket by far!!!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Haley G
Love occidental! Always great vibes. Abigail and Jalyn are always our bartenders, they always take care of us!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Callie S
I came to Occidental with my friend and my boyfriend to meet up with our friend group on Friday February 2nd around 1:40am, and our experience was very unpleasant. As we approached the door guy, he said nothing to us, I had to ask him if he was checking IDs. He said yes, then proceeded to roughly tell my boyfriend and my friend to walk a line, to prove that they weren’t too intoxicated, he did not ask me to walk the line in the concrete. I have worked in the bar industry at four different bars in Omaha for over four years, and I have never seen any door staff do that, ever. We didn’t argue with him at all, my boyfriend walked the line in the concrete, and he made my friend walk the line twice, because “her foot stepped off the line”. His tone was totally absent of niceties or politeness, and after they walked the line, he checked my ID, and he did not look at either of their IDs, even though they had them in their hands, ready to give to him. We are all in our twenties, and as a bartender in Nebraska myself, I know that he should have checked all of our IDs. We go inside, and I start asking our friends (some of whom were more intoxicated than we were) if they were made to walk the line. None of them were asked to walk the line, and all of their IDs were checked. I approached the bar to order a round of shots, trying to make the best of what was left of the night, (it was about 1:48 at this time), and the bartenders did not greet me at all, they instead quickly told me that last call was in two minutes. I understand being tired at the end of a long night, dealing with drunk people, I do it every weekend, but I didn’t feel welcomed or appreciated as a customer. I ordered my shots and tipped $1 per shot in cash, regardless. I called the door guy at my job in Omaha because I immediately felt and knew that this situation with the door guy at Occidental wasn’t right, or the proper procedure. He advised me to ask for the manager’s email address, and when I did, the bartenders didn’t know the manager’s email. I’m not upset about them not knowing the manager’s email address, I understand that. They took my email address and my friend’s email address, I left our first names on the note, and we have not been reached out to by the manager. I didn’t want to potentially accidentally escalate the situation by speaking to the bartenders who were working that night, so when they asked me what was going on, I told them I would rather email the manager about our experience, and I didn’t tell them anything about the situation. I thanked them and said have a good night. As we were gathering our senses and getting ready to leave, the door guy overheard me telling our friends in the group (who were already inside when we arrived) what happened, he facetiously told me I could come back the next day at 4 to talk to someone. I thanked him and said goodnight to him and we left. I asked my boss, who owns multiple bars in Omaha, if he had ever seen anything like that from a door person, and he said in his thirty years of being in the industry in many different states, he never saw that before. My friend, my boyfriend and I were excited to check out Occidental, as it was our first time there, and our friends had been telling us how great of a spot it was. We felt very uncomfortable with how we had been treated by the door guy, and I got the feeling that if I questioned his attitude or his “field sobriety test”, that he would not have let us in. My boyfriend is white with black hair, I am white with brown hair, and my friend has black hair, she is Chinese; she felt discriminated against and does not want to return to Occidental because of our encounter with the door guy that night, he was very cold to us, more so to her, and I expected a much better experience than what we received. Had I been treated like this by a door guy before, I would have known to just turn around and leave, but I have never been treated so rudely upon arriving at a bar by the door person before.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Hannah Vivier
Love this place!
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Emma Hulsey
An artist's hideaway in the city. Forever grateful for wine Wednesdays, giant Scrabble, and a cozy patio of fire pits. ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Keith Wysocki
A great place for a drink before or after a Husker game. Also a good spot for an afternoon happy hour, especially if you work in downtown Lincoln. Try the Ranch Water!
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 4
Ryan Conrad
It didn't take long to order my drink, which was made with care. Had an indoor/outdoor space. Bartenders know what they're doing.
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 5
Destiny Madlock
Very college oriented. Not a place for a laid back adult experience if that’s what you’re looking for.
Very small, quaint place. Beautifully made. Nice employees.
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 5
Jesse Foster
Nice hidden bar.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
Nolan R.
By far the worst bar in Lincoln. Drinks suck. stupidly overpriced. Horrible service. Glad I'm never going back again
Eric Trauman
Awesome spot! Cool vibes.
Karen Heusinkvelt
Love the vibe in this place. It got packed with some super fun and friendly people. My friend wanted to find an espresso martini and after two bars we were batting zero. Came into Occidental and the bartender, Hannah, said that "we don't have martini glasses but I like to make an espresso martini for myself and I can do it for you." It was one of the best espresso martinis I've ever had. Who needs the proper stemware? Hannah was awesome!
I had a great time! I’ve been there a few times and the guy who checks IDs is always very respectful !! And the staff in the inside is just as amazing! A great price great people and I LOVE the atmosphere! 10/10 would recommend to my friends !! And anyone else looking for a good time !
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I felt racially profiled at this establishment. Wanted to like because I've heard amazing things about this bar but unfortunately it was the most uncomfortable place I've ever been to. The bouncer was sitting outside drinking and smoking and at first it was not apparent whether he worked there or not. He was also incredibly rude and required only me to demonstrate sobriety. I was with a few other people during his tests but when meeting with my group of 10 other friends who were already inside they were not asked to perform any tests. I understand it being late into a shift and needing to enforce rules however he also did not check my ID, and because I am a POC and no one else I knew was asked to do these things I felt targeted. There are plenty of other businesses to support and I will not be coming back.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
I come to occidental often. this place is great, i love the atmosphere, the artwork is super cool, and the bartenders are really what makes the place. we come almost every tuesday-thursday, it’s always welcoming, the drinks are phenomenal and they treat your dogs like family! check this place out, my favorite bar in the haymarket by far!!!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Love occidental! Always great vibes. Abigail and Jalyn are always our bartenders, they always take care of us!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I came to Occidental with my friend and my boyfriend to meet up with our friend group on Friday February 2nd around 1:40am, and our experience was very unpleasant. As we approached the door guy, he said nothing to us, I had to ask him if he was checking IDs. He said yes, then proceeded to roughly tell my boyfriend and my friend to walk a line, to prove that they weren’t too intoxicated, he did not ask me to walk the line in the concrete. I have worked in the bar industry at four different bars in Omaha for over four years, and I have never seen any door staff do that, ever. We didn’t argue with him at all, my boyfriend walked the line in the concrete, and he made my friend walk the line twice, because “her foot stepped off the line”. His tone was totally absent of niceties or politeness, and after they walked the line, he checked my ID, and he did not look at either of their IDs, even though they had them in their hands, ready to give to him. We are all in our twenties, and as a bartender in Nebraska myself, I know that he should have checked all of our IDs. We go inside, and I start asking our friends (some of whom were more intoxicated than we were) if they were made to walk the line. None of them were asked to walk the line, and all of their IDs were checked. I approached the bar to order a round of shots, trying to make the best of what was left of the night, (it was about 1:48 at this time), and the bartenders did not greet me at all, they instead quickly told me that last call was in two minutes. I understand being tired at the end of a long night, dealing with drunk people, I do it every weekend, but I didn’t feel welcomed or appreciated as a customer. I ordered my shots and tipped $1 per shot in cash, regardless. I called the door guy at my job in Omaha because I immediately felt and knew that this situation with the door guy at Occidental wasn’t right, or the proper procedure. He advised me to ask for the manager’s email address, and when I did, the bartenders didn’t know the manager’s email. I’m not upset about them not knowing the manager’s email address, I understand that. They took my email address and my friend’s email address, I left our first names on the note, and we have not been reached out to by the manager. I didn’t want to potentially accidentally escalate the situation by speaking to the bartenders who were working that night, so when they asked me what was going on, I told them I would rather email the manager about our experience, and I didn’t tell them anything about the situation. I thanked them and said have a good night. As we were gathering our senses and getting ready to leave, the door guy overheard me telling our friends in the group (who were already inside when we arrived) what happened, he facetiously told me I could come back the next day at 4 to talk to someone. I thanked him and said goodnight to him and we left. I asked my boss, who owns multiple bars in Omaha, if he had ever seen anything like that from a door person, and he said in his thirty years of being in the industry in many different states, he never saw that before. My friend, my boyfriend and I were excited to check out Occidental, as it was our first time there, and our friends had been telling us how great of a spot it was. We felt very uncomfortable with how we had been treated by the door guy, and I got the feeling that if I questioned his attitude or his “field sobriety test”, that he would not have let us in. My boyfriend is white with black hair, I am white with brown hair, and my friend has black hair, she is Chinese; she felt discriminated against and does not want to return to Occidental because of our encounter with the door guy that night, he was very cold to us, more so to her, and I expected a much better experience than what we received. Had I been treated like this by a door guy before, I would have known to just turn around and leave, but I have never been treated so rudely upon arriving at a bar by the door person before.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Love this place!
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
An artist's hideaway in the city. Forever grateful for wine Wednesdays, giant Scrabble, and a cozy patio of fire pits. ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
A great place for a drink before or after a Husker game. Also a good spot for an afternoon happy hour, especially if you work in downtown Lincoln. Try the Ranch Water!
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 4
It didn't take long to order my drink, which was made with care. Had an indoor/outdoor space. Bartenders know what they're doing.
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 5
Very college oriented. Not a place for a laid back adult experience if that’s what you’re looking for.
Restaurantji Recommends
Very small, quaint place. Beautifully made. Nice employees.
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 5
Nice hidden bar.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
By far the worst bar in Lincoln. Drinks suck. stupidly overpriced. Horrible service. Glad I'm never going back again
Awesome spot! Cool vibes.
Love the vibe in this place. It got packed with some super fun and friendly people. My friend wanted to find an espresso martini and after two bars we were batting zero. Came into Occidental and the bartender, Hannah, said that "we don't have martini glasses but I like to make an espresso martini for myself and I can do it for you." It was one of the best espresso martinis I've ever had. Who needs the proper stemware? Hannah was awesome!