Church Hill's OMG Café Restaurant Review

If you want to understand Church Hill’s OMG Café, just read the writing on the wall. Literally.

"FYI—Try the chicken and waffles. SMH—This food is so good. LOL—I’m so stuffed."

We could pretty much let these sayings, stenciled on the wall, speak for themselves in writing a review of the place. But, that wouldn’t allow us to talk about the friendly service and fun times that await at this hidden spot in Church Hill.

Specializing in Southern comforts, OMG Café is not the type of place you’re likely to go while on a diet, but if you like your fish fried and your tea sweet, it might be right up your alley.

The space is small, with only a few wooden tables, a long bar with a few beers on tap and a larger selection of liquors. Three large flat-screens flank the bar, so we will have to keep this place in mind when football season rolls around.

Most of the action happens right out front in an open kitchen, so you’ll undoubtedly get a lot of attention from the staff. After prompt drink delivery, our server gave us a quick rundown of the menu then confidently declared that this would not be our last visit. We did have to wait quite a bit for our food to arrive, but we enjoyed the company, which made the wait a bit easier.

A good number of sandwich options, ranging from a bologna burger to a seafood burger served with a choice of fries or onion rings, tempt those looking for a quick bite, but our eyes landed straight on the entrees.

For those looking to avoid the deep fryer, dishes such as blackened tilapia or curried chicken are available, but we couldn’t resist the smell of fried food wafting through the air.

The fish and shrimp combo ($13.99) was piled high, with two fresh fried fish fillets and five large shrimp. Some people may shy away from this after the ubiquity of fast-food-style mystery fish and tiny shrimp poppers, but this dish could not be further from that norm.

The skin on the flaky white fish was still visible underneath the lightly seasoned breading and held its crunch quite nicely. The large shrimp had a similarly delicate yet crisp breading, but were notably plump and moist.

The combo normally comes with a side of rice and cabbage, but we subbed out the cabbage for collard greens once we saw in fine print that the greens are seasoned with smoked turkey. Though nicely cooked, the rice was a little tame compared to the rest of the meal. The slightly tangy greens fared much better and matched quite well with the tasty fried treats.

OMG Café must have a lot of faith in its chicken and waffles ($9.99) if they are immortalized on the wall, so we couldn’t resist. When the dish appeared and the friendly chef saw our mouths drop, he affectionately shouted, "O. M. G." Okay, now we get the name.

Listed on the menu as being served with four chicken wings, we were expecting the appetizer variety, but full-sized wings jutted out from each corner of the plate and could have been more than a meal on their own. In the middle of this golden-fried goodness sat a full-sized waffle. We opted for the plain waffle, but a cinnamon variety is also available, as well as fruit toppings.

On first sight, it looked like any attempt to finish the entire entrée would be futile, but this dish went down amazingly quick. The tender fried chicken was certainly a highlight. Served incredibly hot, after a long stint in the fryer, the lightly seasoned skin was a perfect crispy golden brown, with moist white meat. If you’ve grown tired of fast food fried chicken, make a point to try this one on for size. The waffle gives the dish a nice sweet contrast, especially when the syrup inevitably invades the crispy chicken skin.

No desserts were listed on the menu and, after this whale of a meal, we weren’t inclined to ask.

Too often, restaurants put a lot of effort into publicity and décor, but they have no clear identity. The beauty of OMG Café is that it knows what it is and does it well. It may not be for everyone, but if you don’t mind a deep-fried indulgence every now and then, OMG Café should make your list of casual eats.