Zen Coffee Company

Beautiful coffee shop. Friendly helpful staff. Delicious pastries and coffee

Got a coffee flight and toast flight. So filling!

This is a modern, “Portland like” coffee shop in west downtown Omaha. They have a great selection of drinks, stylish cafe, and friendly staff. If you’re looking for a place to grab a good cup of coffee go to Zen.

One of my favorite coffee shops in the area (although there are many great ones to choose from). I enjoy the variety of options and the fun seasonal drinks. They also just have really great drinks that are unique to them.

What I really appreciate about Zen is the vibe (it truly is Zen) and the corner filled with local artwork to purchase.

The coffee tasted fine, and the baristas seemed pretty rude. They are talking to each other and I was waiting about 30 seconds at the register before they came over. The table cleaner looked like he was very young and came around 3-4 times inside and outside to wash tables while I was here for 15-20 minutes. Ridiculous!

I’d love to give a higher review but we did not love the experience we had this morning. I’ve been seeing the flights all over Instagram so we made a plan to head to the downtown location from Papillion. Packed up all 3 kids and went to Zen downtown. We walked in and the gal at the front desk was not friendly at all. She looked us up and down, my husband said hello to her after she didn’t even greet us, We asked about the flights and she said sorry you have to make a reservation.... that was frustrating to hear. I get if it’s really busy but there was no one else in line and it wasn’t packed or anything. No one else was waiting for drinks either.

Anyway, we went on and ordered some drinks and food for the us and the kids. She seemed so inconvenienced and annoyed. The scones were delicious but everything about our interaction just put us off. We unfortunately won’t be heading back there.

I really like this place. Both locations have been great - I am happy that they moved west for me! But also love the original too. I think the owner is great and cultivating a good community!

UPDATED, 4/2/22:

Ordered 2 iced 16oz cinnamon dolce lattes with Oatmilk. The price was outrageous (almost $15 for 2 drinks) considering the ICED lattes barely had enough ice to make the drink cold and it didn't even taste like cinnamon dolce. Second visit to try and give another chance but it was just as bad. Even more so when the girl taking orders brought out her phone to scroll through social media while we made our choices. Super rude and unprofessional.
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Ordered an iced americano and an iced white mocha with coconut (originally asked for oat but they were out.) Some of the most disgusting coffee I have ever had. The iced americano tasted like water even though it looked normal. The iced white mocha, if you could call it that, tasted like nothing. It didn't have any sweetness, surely didn't taste like a white mocha, any coffee flavor, nor could you taste the milk. The combination cancelled every flavor out. I threw it away as soon as I tasted it. It would have been better if they didn't use cheap Monin syrups.

Omaha has some great coffee shops. Zen has one of the most attractive, welcoming atmospheres. The staff always seems legitimately happy to be there. Great place to chill and sip on some good and unique coffee or tea.

If you're looking for a cozy and welcoming coffee shop to go to in Omaha, this will be one of the best places to go to. The shop was nicely designed, the staff was very nice and helped out a lot with options, and the food and coffee were of top quality. The only negative point I would like to make is that it's very expensive ($6 for a single slice of PB toast with banana slices?). Unless you mind just staying home and making this kind of food for far cheaper, this can be a great place to stop by to start your day.