Liverpool House

THEY FLOCK TO Notre Dame West from around the world to eat at Joe Beef and from across Canada to visit Le Vin Papillon, but at Liverpool House the clientele is decidedly more local.

This is by design, as Liverpool House is meant to be a neighbourhood spot—the one where locals can dine without doing battle with tourists for last-minute reservations. That’s not to say it is unknown: it was here, after all, where Barack Obama broke bread with Justin Trudeau over glasses of Norman Hardie chardonnay and lobster spaghetti. The main draw is the oyster bar, where the selection is superb. Chef Ariel Schor draws from top-drawer seasonal ingredients, as local as possible and some from as close as the neighbouring Joe Beef vegetable garden.

But to put things in culinary perspective, if you expect Dover sole at Joe Beef, at Liverpool you should be content with halibut. Expect croquettes, rabbit with a scattering of cornichons for kicks, cod in a textoook lobster bisque, maybe a banana split and mildly modernized classics of similar style. In summer months, the covered terrace in the back provides diners with an al fresco experience similar to the one at Joe Beef, with lower prices and shorter waits. The latest addition: an outdoor wood-burning oven built by co-owner/chef Fred Morin himself.

Tuesday to Saturday
5:00 PM until late