Restaurants in Bellevue

Chefs spin classic American dishes with a touch of gourmet flare. The "Americana fusion" technique, which yields such comforting cuisine as smoked-chicken-enhanced gouda mac 'n' cheese, helped Zin Room earn a spot on the Omaha World-Herald's list of Top 8 Restaurants in 2011, as well as ongoing usage in love songs written by foodies.

Located inside the luxurious Hotel Deco, the restaurant features sleek lights and chandeliers that softly illuminate diners' artistically arranged plates and rough-hewn pillars that support two floors of seating. Behind the stocked bar, bartenders mix drinks and use the wine wall's sliding ladder to allude to former lives as librarians.

Palm fronds spill over Baja Surf Grill’s two-tiered dining room, lending the 150-seat eatery a lush, tropical aura. Arched porticoes and columns recall Spanish colonial revival architecture, which designers update with pastel pink and green hues and tropical throw pillows. The ambience reinforces the menu, which highlights the Baja fish taco, a creation pioneered by Japanese fishermen in Baja after their idea for the Munich meat muffin failed to catch on. Chefs pay additional homage to Japan’s culinary influence on the region with southwestern-style sushi peppered with ingredients such as fire-roasted corn and chipotle mayo.

Baja Grill plucks inspiration from the intersecting customs of California and Mexico to craft innovative dishes such as smoked pork carnitas and poblano peppers stuffed with tender shrimp and crab. The Californian influences are particularly evident in the restaurant’s focus on fresh seafood—aside from the aforementioned peppers, the menu features blackened shrimp enchiladas and, curiously, spicy jalapeño crab rangoon. The kitchen throws another delicious curveball with its selection of flatbread pizzas, which provide 12 inches of shade from the desert sun and harbor such uncommon toppings as buffalo sauce, cilantro-lime aioli, and salsa.

At Wing Champion, seasoned wing chefs fry or char-grill batches of hot wings and slather them in more than 14 flavors, such as country sweet, bourbon, and mango habanera. The cooks supplement wing-filled moments with a menu of breaded catfish fillets, char-grilled burgers, salads, and lyre-accompanied odes to their favorite flightless bird. For breakfast, they top tables with rich biscuits and gravy, waffles and wings, and fried eggs with fried chicken.

Chef and owner of Café L Luis Palacio is fussy about food, much to the delight of his diners. Before he adds any new dish to the café menu, it must pass the test with his family and friends―any dish found lacking is tweaked until the flavors are perfect. This fussiness extends to his choice of ingredients as well. His smoked pork chops originate from free-range pigs fed a diet free of steroids, antibiotics, and grape soda. Then, local barbecue-master Ray Green smokes the meat to a state of succulent goodness. Luis puts similar care into his specialty sandwiches, 12-inch pizzas, and dinner entrees, which change each month.

The NoDo restaurant and bar's food menu consists entirely of pizza, and more than 20 gourmet specialties are made from fresh, never-frozen ingredients, and served up either by the slice ($4–$5) or by the "round" ($15–$21). The vegetarian margherita ($4 a slice, $15 for a 14", $19 for 18") stands alongside concoctions such as the truffle-oiled apple walnut ($4, $15, $19); the Bayou blast ($4.49, $16, $20), which pairs shrimp and andouille sausage with red onions; and the twice-baked pizza ($4, $15, $19), with sliced spuds, cheddar cheese, and crumbled bacon. All of Goodnights' pies are available either on regular crust or a custom canvas baked with basil, parmesan, and romano cheese.