Josephine's is one of those bars that I driven past many times in my life but never stepped inside…read moreof. I corrected that recently when I dropped by on a Friday night. The place is interesting and its not entirely clear where the entrance is. Once you find it alongside 22nd St, you go into an entryway and then down a few stairs, passed a trophy case and into the basement bar. It definitely has the feel of being someone's basement because it is. Above the bar sits a house. The place is old and you can tell once you enter it but it's still kind of cool with its dim setting, christmas lights, creepy doll heads and pool table. The wallpaper across from the bar was like an 1890's Parisian style. The tap beer selection was limited to two options from what I could tell. One was Budweiser or something similar and the other was Boulevard Wheat. They also had a full bar so I imagine the bartender, Frank, can make just about whatever you wanted. Speaking about Frank, he's one of the friendliest bartenders I've ever encountered. I learned that he's been there 40 years. I suspect this place used to be a lot busier but on this evening, we were the only one's for a while. Maybe the closure of Malara's across the street hurt their business as I'm sure the prevalance of new bars downtown and midtown. I really hope this place can return to its former glory because its such a unique place in Omaha. In some ways it reminds of Homy Inn. Definitely pay it a visit and have a chat with Frank.

It's all true. Josephine's is the place I would go if I were trying to hide out, but still for some…read morereason needed to get out to the bar for a whiskey sour. I liked the quiet atmosphere of the place, until someone plugged money in the old jukebox and it sprang to life, filling the tiny space with noise. Josephine's reminds me of the Homey, but without the crowd (so don't tell anyone...) I will return.

I love this place. And it's not because I worship raccoons…read more This has been a staple in Omaha for years. I remember coming here as a kid with my mom and grandma. The food is great! I highly recommend the fried chicken, that's what they're known for. And the raccoon show, of course. If you're a crazy raccoon/wild animal lover like me, then this place is for you. It's also filled with super cute raccoon décor and art. The other food is delicious as well. It's family-run, and everyone is so nice.

Obviously a huge selling point in this place was how leftover food was fed to the raccoons outside,…read morewhich was extremely cute, but the food itself was very well-made if we are assessing it from the perspective of fried food. Tenders, chicken, gizzards, and livers were all seasoned very well and sizzling hot when served. Even with my experience having fried chicken in many places, I thought this establishment made theirs very well. My only major criticism, other than the fact that the food options were too oriented on fried food, was that the potato wedges that came with the dinners, albeit huge, burned my hard palate because it was way too hot, so a fair advice for every guest is to please break the potato wedges open so that they can cool down, before eating them. I had to use ketchup, which was cold, to cool down the potato wedges. And of course, one should totally enjoy watching the raccoons eat while consuming the delicious food! It was very pleasant to watch.

I really like stopping in this place during the summer. On Sundays, they have live music that…read morestarts at 4 PM on their patio. Fairly priced drinks and food! The staff is always friendly as well as the patrons. Decent amount of shade on the patio on hot days is helpful!

Such a fun place. It's quickly becoming a family haunt for birthday parties. The watermelon is so…read moregood and we tried some new items last night. The voodoo hot sandwich was so good! Love the variety or food and drinks and all the folks and regulars are so friendly.

Nice little neighborhood bar in Benson. Get the Bloody Mary, it's really, really good!read more

This bar has the best bartenders in town! Every time I go there they make me feel so special! The…read moreowner Rob is so friendly and so is the entire staff! I live out in Millard but because everyone is so welcoming I prefer to drive to Benson when I go out! The people that go there are truly the best! This is by far the best place I have been to in Omaha and highly recommend everyone to come check it out!!

Very poor management! Not clean! Food made my friends and I sick! Glasses not clean. Bar extremely…read moredirty. I saw a mouse on the floor and flies buzzing around the bar and in my friend's drink. Gross! Yuck! Absolutely disgusting! I also saw very very bad reviews including police busts for assaults and drugs. They fired the nice security guard named Syck. He was a big guy and so friendly, he made me want to come back, but not now. Not with all the problems. Too dangerous for our health and afraid of the drugs and fighting. My friends and I may end up getting hurt or worse shot and killed. It's not worth it. The food is gross too!

This place sucked. Service was awful. Drinks was awful. Needs to be shut down and remodeled.read more

I love this place! We stopped in on a St. Patricks day bar crawl and they staff was already waiting…read moreand ready for us! 40+ packed in the Nifty and we had a ball! Love that they had Hoegarrden on tap, and other imported beers. We had fun playing darts and enjoying patio. The vibes were great and if i lived closed I'd be here a lot more often.

My friends & I have been coming here for Friday night karaoke for the last couple months. Very much…read morea dive bar, but that's totally fine with me (especially the cheap drinks part). Karaoke is very laid back & judgement-free. Everyone's just there to hang out & have fun. Some of the regulars are very talented singers, but even I, with my terrible off key singing, feel completely comfortable (perhaps too comfortable) putting a song in the rotation. Majority of the songs people choose are 90s or 2000s alternative. Bartenders are lovely to talk to & great at remembering names. It's very small & gets crowded easily, had a couple instances of someone who's had a bit too much bumping into everything & everyone. Not a very comfortable spot to be when it's packed, but most of the time it's chill & low key.

The drinks were fine, but the atmosphere was disappointing. The crowd and some interactions with…read morethe local people gave off a very unwelcoming vibe toward people of different backgrounds. GO TO LOCAL STORE FOR YOUR OWN ALCOHOL!!!!!!! Until that changes, I can't recommend this bar.

We were in the area for the night and wandered in for a drink. Everyone was so nice. The bartender…read moregave us great drinks and the local patrons gave us advice on where to eat. When we returned from dinner we hung out with the bartender, Emily, and another couple. It was such a great night and we are thankful for hospitality!

Great vibe, great music, love the cozy patio tucked away, green tea= a good time had by allread more

Tough joint rude Friday night bar tender!She has her favorites if your not one expect too be tossed…read moreWe Haven't been back nor any of us desire too be treated rude again i have the five friends who stayed by pool table! Who had too beg for drinks obviously we weren't friends with Friday night bar bouncer called loosely a bar tender!! She leaves their attendance goes up twenty five percent!! She must have blackmail pictures of owners Try Harold's friendly or Grant street!! Jen is great during day although we don't go period anymore!! Sad we all live within a mile!