Gorat's Steak House in Omaha is one of the venerable "old-guard" steakhouses that have been around the area for years. Located on Center St. in Omaha (see map), Gorat's is one of the best steak houses in Omaha.
Started in 1944 by Louis and Nettie Gorat (pronounced go-ROT), Gorat's is fashioned after the old New York City Italian steak houses. It has a large dining area with two main rooms, plus a pretty large bar off to the side. Louis' son, Louis, Jr. - or affectionately known as "Pal" - took over the family business in the 1970's and now "Pal's" son and daughter are running the restaurant. 
Not only is Gorat's famous for their steaks, but they're also famous as being the favorite steak house of billionaire investor Warren Buffett. Buffett frequently lunches at Gorat's and has dinner there a couple times a week.
I was in Omaha recently and I decided to run over to Gorat's and have a steak. I hadn't been to Gorat's for quite some time - the last time was when I was traveling with a sales manager about five years ago and he wanted to have dinner at Gorat's and possibly have a chance sighting of Buffett. Nope, no Buffett sightings that night.
And there were none again the night I recently went. I pulled into the parking lot and it was about half full of cars, none of which were Buffett's brown Lincoln Town Car with the vanity license plates that say "Thrifty". The area around Gorat's has deteriorated over the years and they have a full time security guy watching the cars in the parking lot. Nonetheless, it's still a good place to go day or night.
I went into the nearly empty bar area and sat down at the bar and asked if it was OK to have dinner there. The bartender, a matronly woman in her late 50's, said, "Yes, it's fine. Actually, we just started to allow people to eat in the bar about two months ago."
She went on to tell me that Louis Gorat and "Pal" Gorat never allowed people to eat in the bar - not even appetizers. She said, "I'm the night manager here and I made the decision to let people eat in the bar. I don't think even Mr. Gorat ("Pal's" son) knows we do that and I don't know what he'd say."
Gorat's menu is typical of most Midwestern steak houses. It features steaks and chops, along with chicken dishes and Italian specialties. Gorat's makes their Italian sauces from scratch and they aren't too bad. 
Gorat's is famous for their T-Bone steaks, a large and thick cut of steak. However, that night I went with the filet with a side of mostaccioli with red sauce and hash browns with onions and cheese on top. The bartender said, "Ooo, I just remembered why we didn't serve people in the bar. You make the bartenders hungry when you order food. That would be the exact thing I would order."
After a salad that was nothing special, the waitress brought me my steak. It was cooked a perfect medium rare and it was as tender as all get out. The hash browns came with a slice of American cheese on top and not a lot of onions, so they were disappointing. But in the scheme of things, the steak was the winner on the plate. I ate more of the mostaccioli any way.
The meal was just as wonderful as I remembered Gorat's from my previous visits. Service continues to be outstanding and the experience continues to be just as outstanding.
There may be better places to have a steak in Omaha, but for the money and the history it's tough to beat Gorat's. I mean, come on, if one of the richest guys in the world likes to eat there on a regular basis, it can't be all that bad.
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