In ancient Greek mythology, Clio was the muse of history. A daughter of Zeus, her name translates as “to make famous” or “to celebrate.” People were certainly celebrating when we visited a packed Clio, the new Mediterranean-inspired restaurant that’s generating buzz and fully-booked reservations in the heart of the Old Market. The latest establishment from the Flagship Restaurant Group, Clio promises to whisk you away on an adventure, all the while, of course, staying close to home. While our evening wasn’t as memorable as the one we enjoyed at the recently-opened Memoir—also a Flagship enterprise—it had some highlights worthy of a potential revisit.
Stepping across the threshold is immediately transportive. Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture worked with the Flagship Restaurant Group to make the focus bright whites, colorful tiles, pastel-upholstered booths, and woven hanging tapestries, all of which combine to create an atmosphere that harkens to a Greek island getaway while situating the restaurant as a firmly contemporary take on classical interiors you might visit on Corfu, Santorini, Crete, or Mykonos. Most breathtaking is the large column of climbing vines and flowers in the middle of the dining room that wind upward to create a vibrant canopy. Right now, it makes one feel as if you’re dining al fresco overlooking the Mediterranean ocean, although I couldn’t help but wonder about the cleaning protocol. I could imagine the dust build-up on every curled bud after only a few months.
For starters, my dining companion and I began with a selection of four different dips, or spreads, served with piping hot house-made sourdough pita bread straight from the oven. For us, this proved a dining highlight. The four dips included hummus, muhammara, labneh, and baba ganoush. The hummus was a prefect blend of chickpeas, parsley, roasted garlic, and olive oil. Tangy and bright, this dip had a luscious consistency with the roasted garlic bringing just the right mellowness to the blend. The muhammara, a roasted red pepper and walnut spread that originated from the Levant, was a real treat. Somewhat similar to Spain’s beloved romesco sauce, muhammara is an ideal blend of tart and tangy with an accompanying kick of spice. This interpretation featured walnuts, mint, parsley, pomegranate, piquillo pepper, and Aleppo chili. This lively, vibrant blend was a flavor revelation of competing, complex flavors combining into a harmonic whole.
The yogurt based labneh, in contrast, was cool and tangy while simultaneously creamy and deliciously rich. It was seasoned with Za’atar, an earthy, aromatic spice blend that’s known for its culinary versatility. While Za’atar spice mixes differ depending on region, it typically includes oregano, marjoram, thyme, cumin, sumac, sesame, and coriander and is frequently used to season dips. Punctuated with chives, this take on labneh was velvety and thick, a cut above sour cream that opened our taste buds and paired perfectly with the other dips. The final selection in our “dip flight” was smoky, savory baba ganoush, composed of tahini, roasted tomatoes, yogurt, pomegranate pickled chili, dill, and yogurt. While typically made with charred eggplant, the switch to tomatoes was a welcome innovation. That, paired with the nuttiness of the tahini, made for a memorable creamy spread. Unsurprisingly, we ordered extra pita bread and left not a smear of any of this quartet behind.
For our mezze, or appetizers, we selected merguez sausage stuffed dates and the crispy potatoes. Wrapped with smoked prosciutto and flavored with piquillo-pepper tomato sauce, the dates came with thick wedges of toasted Turkish bread. Merguez is usually made with lamb, underscoring the steep population of sheep in this region relative to cattle. Spicy, sweet, and earthy, this sausage complemented the dates beautifully for a flavor-packed starter. The crispy potatoes, prepared with pecorino cheese, lemon aioli, Za’atar, and Aleppo Chile, weren’t executed quite as well as they could have been. It’s easy to believe that there’s no such thing as “too much cheese,” the pecorino and aioli overwhelmed and combined into a glutinously gooey mixture that didn’t allow the potatoes to dominate as they should have.
Aa we moved on to our main dish or “large plates,” we opted for the harissa trout and the beef kofta kabob. Both sounded tempting, but didn’t quite live up their promised menu descriptions. Harissa is a red chili paste frequently used in North African cooking. Having spent time in Tunisia and treated to dinners at the homes of Tunisian friends, it’s one of our favorite ingredients. This version didn’t quite have the kick as other iterations we’ve enjoyed.
econdly, the choice of trout didn’t pair as well with the harissa as a firmer fish might have done. The skin was so crispy, that the harissa didn’t permeate the trout enough to create the flavoring blend we anticipated. The beef kefta, which featured a piquillo pepper purée and a charred jalapeño blend, was certainly enjoyable, but I wouldn’t return for that dish specifically. The favors just didn’t combine for a memorable dish in the way that made it stand it, and the flavors were surprisingly flat. Next time, we would be more likely to order the shawarma-spiced half chicken and lamb tajine for a second go.
Service throughout the evening was quick, friendly, and efficient. Our server was prompt to refill water, bring us more hot pita bread, and check on drinks. (We opted for Mythos Hellenic lager, which is bright and refreshing and a suitable pairing for everything we ordered.) The manager even stopped by to check on our experience, an increasingly rare event in the restaurant trade, and a very welcoming touch during our visit.
Clio certainly had some high notes—we would return for another sampling of dips and dates, but the kitchen has some refining to do, which as a member of the Flagship Restaurant Group, I’m certain it can accomplish. The muse of history didn’t quite make our visit a historical one, but she is exerting her influence, so Clio is a restaurant to watch.
For more information, visit xoxoclio.com.
This article originally appeared in the October 2024 issue of Omaha Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
