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    The Nifty

    4.1 (17 reviews)
    InexpensiveDive Bars, American
    Fri 12:00 pm - 2:00 am (Next day)
    Sat 12:00 pm - 2:00 am (Next day)

    The Nifty Photos

    Business Info

    THE NIFTY ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Classy
    Good for groups
    Outdoor seating
    Happy hour specials

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    Behind the bar
    Will S.

    The Nifty is a nice, little neighborhood bar on the east end of Benson. You'll find day drinking regulars draining pitches of domestic beer by themselves or chatting with each other outside under in the covered smoking patio which is heated in the winter. On the inside, the Nifty is floor-to-ceiling beige wood paneling, giving a warm alternative to the gray busy streets and used car lots that surround the building. The TVs show sports, unless it's 4:30, then it's Jeopardy time. The drinks at the Nifty range from bottom of the barrel spirits to streamlined favorites to IPAs and top shelf Scotch. The bartender told us they rarely sell any of the top shelf stuff, but they like to stock it anyway (the Nifty shares the same owner as swank Old Market spot Havana Garage). The Nifty can maybe hold 30 people comfortably, but could squeeze in 50 or more on a busy night. The Nifty also hosts the occasional special event and concert. Get there for nice change of pace from Benson's Maple Street drag.

    a variety of beer taps
    Jonathan N.

    The Nifty Bar is totally a dive. Decent selection of beers and booze. I like how they follow the classic bar rule that if your pour, pint or pitcher, blows the keg, they give you that portion and then they pour you the one you ordered. Whatever happened to that? No food there but cool for a nightcap or drive-by beer.

    The Nifty
    Mike D.

    So we drove down a sketchy, one way, what appeared to be some kind of drainage ditch judging by the sloped sides, through a random used car dealership's parking lot up to this place. But don't worry; there was plenty of parking. Except in the "No Parking" zone, that was already taken by someone else....... Anyways, we walked in and everybody turned to look at us, as we kind of expected to happen. One of the obvious regulars did decide to ask "What we were doing here" and "Who we were". We told them we were here to drink beer and apparently that was a good enough answer for them. They have a shuffle board table in here....you know you're in a good old dive when there's shuffleboard. There is a pool table towards the back and the whole place has been redone in wood paneling, it looks very nice. Good selection of beers on tap, I was surprised, and they decided to be a part of of the 2015 Omaha Beer Week as well. The bartender looked confused when I asked him about the special and suddenly everyone else at the bar was curious about it as well. Overall Andy was a great bartender and there was a cool mix of old regulars who have been coming here for 30 years and new regulars who decide they are going to drink multiple Captain and Cokes at 1pm until who knows how late.....

    two cars parked in a parking lot
    Scott M.

    While visiting Omaha my buddy and I picked this place because the online reviews we read here and elsewhere talked about the rowdy crowd and mentioned that customers are constantly getting their cars towed. Admittedly we did have trouble figuring out how to get to their parking lot, but once we did it wasn't too hard at all to park legally. It was still daytime (mid afternoon) and the crowd inside seemed pretty mellow. We grabbed our beers and settled in to play Silver Strike. A little kid (about 6 years old) repeatedly asked us when we'd be done because he wanted to "play" (as in randomly push buttons and spin the trackball). People were eating, so the kitchen must be open on more than just Thursdays now. We didn't really have the experiences the other reviewers had, the regulars were all well-behaved and kept to themselves. But maybe they just hadn't had enough to drink yet.

    a view of the water from a deck

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    5 months ago

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    8 years ago

    Very nice bartenders affordable drinks love the friendly crowd it brings never any douches. Will be back soon!

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    19 years ago

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    9 years ago

    Love the small bar feel and welcoming staff. Dog friendly is a huge plus! Will return again soon for sure.

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    11 years ago

    I came here after the Beer Fest in 2015x it was a dive, but loved it. It was redone and had a game in there; plus the music was Awesome!!

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    Review Highlights - The Nifty

    I kind of liked the vibe and while the location is a little further east of the rest of the Benson bars, it's worth the drive.

    Mentioned in 3 reviews

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    The Elbow Room

    The Elbow Room

    3.6
    (18 reviews)
    2.8 mi
    $

    The Elbow Room is a solid choice for a night out, if you're wanting a more chill/divey experience…read more(which are my fave). They're never super busy when I've been. I even was there on St. Patrick's Day and it never got too full. The ambiance is a little dim, which I think is what they're going for, and they have pool, darts, and shuffleboard. The staff is always kind and helpful when I've been there, which adds to the welcoming, chill atmosphere. They sometimes will have crockpots out with food you can snack on. On St. Paddy's Day, it was a corned beef stew that definitely hit the spot. If you're not there on a game day or holiday when they have the crock pots out, they don't serve food for purchase (aside from some tasty bagged chips), so be sure to eat before or after you come, or you can order delivery from a few nearby places. And lastly, they are very affordable. If you're drinking cheap beer, like I do (which they have many options of), expect to spend less than $10 here for the whole night. For the low cost, chill vibes, and good drinks - you should definitely check out The Elbow Room!

    Some friends were recently in town for the weekend and we were looking for a dive bar. Before…read moregetting married and having kids, most of us spent our mid to late 20's playing darts, shuffleboard and any other bar game on the weekends. So, when we get together these days, we like to find a place that allows us to nostalgically re-live those days. We thought the Elbow Room fit the bill. Turns out, we were partially right. It's our kind of bar generally. Kind of run down and dingy but a place where you can drink cold beer. In theory, you could also play shuffleboard and darts. This particular night the dart board was not operational and the shuffleboard table was marginal at best. They had no sand to add to the table and there are dead spots on the board where the pucks literally just stop. Not optimal. But, we were having fun and learning the nuance of the board was kind of a challenge so we spent quite a bit of our evening playing anyway. When you walk in, you are hit with a fairly strong musty smell of old bar. You get used to it and it's not a big deal. The bartender this night was a good dude and took good care of us. This is definitely a locals bar and it was a pretty chill group on this particular Saturday night. If you want to find a hole in the wall to drink some beer, this fits the bill. If you want to play bar games, you might want to go elsewhere.

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    The Elbow Room
    The Elbow Room
    The Elbow Room

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    The Neighber's

    The Neighber's

    3.8
    (26 reviews)
    2.0 mi
    $

    I don't often do review updates, but I've been here enough and enough has changed so that I…read moreprobably should. I'm going to polish up my original review. Oh, Neighber's. Where to begin with you? First of all, I'm not positive, but I think the place was named after someone's last name, which would explain the spelling. At least, I'm pretty sure I've heard that during one of my drunken nights there. This bar... is unique. Sure, you may go there on a slow night and just sit around by yourself, wondering what you could have done differently in your life, and what it was you did to end up here - but that's any dive. This is my default, go-to bar, for whatever that's worth. Most of the bartenders are pleasant and chatty enough to keep things from being dull. The bar opens early - I wanna say at 6 AM. I think that's specifically for people coming off of graveyards, which is much appreciated after a long night at the office, though most of the people I've seen come in that early are nurses and the like from the hospital. It's also kinda neat to walk into a bar and see a bunch of people in scrubs downing beers. They've done some minor updating - new TVs, tables, chairs, etc., and the place feels a lot cleaner than it used to. Make no mistake, it's still a small neighborhood bar with that divey feel that 4 out of 5 doctors recommend. There's an ATM, though they now take cards as well. You've got your other standard perks: Keno, pool, darts, jukebox, and beer garden. The jukebox is just about always playing here, though I hate the new one because it's a pain in the ass to find the one-credit songs. The dart board is used much, much more than it was years ago, and like most of the other bar darts in Omaha, it's electronic (for any dart shooters reading this). Don't play the claw machine; Whoever runs that thing needs to tighten the claw big-time. The pool tables are easily the main attraction. There are plenty of nights in which the "quarters on the rail" system is abandoned in favor of the chalkboard, due to so many people wanting to play. On most nights, it's super easy to get a game going, and most of the regular shooters are friendly and easy to strike up conversations with. You may be a terrible player or a great shot, but nobody's going to judge you either way. My only gripe is that the tables are not as meticulously maintained as they used to be. They're not bad tables, mind you, they're simply not outstanding any longer. What really makes this bar, though is the diversity. You'll see everything from hard-up alcoholics and dopers to the occasional medical specialist and lawyer. It's not hard to find a good conversation or to even make a friend or two. Due to the location and the diversity, over the years I've seen fights, lots of bare tits, breakups, hookups, drama, forged friendships, and all kinds of stuff here. I've only started to think the place was getting dull once or twice, and right after, some random, weird, crazy thing will happen that keeps me interested. After moving back about a year ago, I can say that there isn't much craziness here any longer (which can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on where you're at in life, and which medications you take). The trade-off is that the weeknights aren't as dead as they used to be, or as slow as many other bars in the area. As a guy that doesn't like being in a completely dead bar, I won't hesitate to swing by around 9 or 10 on a weeknight because there are usually people there, if not the random large crowd. This is definitely a place worth checking out once or twice - especially if you're looking for a regular joint to call home. After a few nights of drinking here, you'll have a few new bar buddies. The reviewers that gave low ratings should really go back and try it again. I doubt they'd believe it was the same bar. In summary, whether you're the shy type, a social butterfly, a pool player, or simply a people watcher, this bar has got a little of something for everyone, and there's definitely a good "neighborhood bar" vibe going on most of the time. On a good night, it's a great mixture of cozy and party, and I generally feel at home here.

    I've been going here since I was underage. Loved this place in the day. Tonight we walked in, there…read morewere three people at the bar. The bartender ignored us as we sat at the bar. When he finally came up to ask us a drink order, I asked is there a reason you were ignoring us? He didn't deny that he was ignoring us. I then said what is your issue with us-He just stared at me. He should not be working in a customer service position. If I was the bar owner-he'd be gone because 1) he's a punk 2) he's costing you customers which =less $$. I'll never be back nor will my friends and MANY family members.

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    Bartender
    Bartender
    The Neighber's
    The Neighber's

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    The Nifty - divebars - Updated August 2026

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