Oh Me Oh My
Christina McDermott
The name may sound rather fanciful (and more than a little twee) but don’t let that put you off. Oh Me Oh My is an eatery and performance space from LEAF situated in West Africa House, a jaw droppingly magnificent Grade II-listed Georgian building under the shadow of the Liver Building (apparently Lady Gaga visited when in town and was remarkably impressed).
While it would have been easy to veer into kitsch in a place like this – all high ceilings, marble pillars and majestic balconies – the décor is elegant, with a few signature Leaf touches: cosy sofas, reclaimed wooden furniture and art deco tiles in tasteful shades of pink, blue and yellow.
We decided to test the waters with a Croque Monsieur (£4.95). While it may be a simple cheese and ham toastie to some, a well made Croque Monsieur is a thing of absolute culinary beauty – and this one didn’t disappoint. Biting into it was an oozing, buttery delight, a divine combination of salt, fat, grease and crunch, only enhanced by dipping into the accompanying ramekin of brown sauce. Our favourite element had to be the fat hunks of ham – none of that watery supermarket stuff here. Maybe we were spoiled by our sublime sandwich, but the French onion soup with gruyere croutons (£3.95), while good, needed just a bit more punch to elevate it to the realms of a super soup. Oh Me Oh My also serves an extensive selection of teas, coffees, cakes and booze: we highly recommend the mulled wine, which is just the thing to take off the chill on a misty winter day.
Oh Me Oh My positions itself as a secret space and, from what we encountered when we visited, it was unfortunately doing a rather good job of staying secret. We spent most of the time there as the only patrons – great if you’re a humble homeworker looking for a cosy space to shack up with a laptop, but probably not so great from a business point of view.
Oh Me Oh My isn’t helped by its restricted opening hours, which seem a shame given the lack of decent café spaces in this part of Liverpool. However, we imagine that this unique space will truly shine when it is put to use in its other guise as a performance venue. Whatever happens, Oh Me Oh My is one of the most stunning places to eat in Liverpool and definitely doesn’t deserve to stay secret for long.
