Grilled ox tongue with radishes and Mr Thirsty vin de soif

As soon as I heard Will Lander of The Quality Chop House and Portland had opened a new restaurant, Clipstone, I couldn’t wait to check it out - and I wasn’t disappointed.

Mind you it should be good. Will is the son of restaurant critic Nick Lander and wine writer Jancis Robinson and with a pedigree like that if he can’t get the food and drink right, who can?

Mr Thirsty Vin de Soif

Two of the dishes I had were top notch including this plate of grilled ox tongue with radishes and crème fraiche which was fantastic with one of the wines we had on tap, the appropriately named Mr Thirsty vin de soif which they were selling for a very reasonable £5 a glass.

It comes from Fabien Jouves of Mas del Périé in Cahors, a man who obviously likes to stir things up. (He also has a wine called You Fuck my Wine!) This one is a blend of malbec and merlot with a little tannat and cabernet franc. It’s made without sulphur and unfined and unfiltered - so it is a proper card-carrying natural wine but deliciously vibrant and juicy.

I also tried the fresh, citrussy Bernardo Farina Verdejo 2015 from Castilla y Leon which sells for an even more reasonable £3.50 and went brilliantly with a ‘crudo’ of char, peach and ‘cultured cream which, judging from Instagram, looks like becoming Clipstone’s signature dish, this summer at least. (Char is a fish for those of you who haven't come across it before).

I wasn’t quite so keen on the scallop flatbread with walnut pesto and lemon zest - the base was a bit dense and the scallop got lost among such punchy flavourings - but early days. Two runaway winners out of three isn’t half bad and it’s a really cool little place. Go!

Clipstone is at 5, Clipstone Street London W1W 6BB. 0207 637 0871. The wines come from O W Loeb.

Prawn tagliolini and Poggio San Polo Rosso di Montalcino

If there’s one thing you might think you could be sure of it would be that you should drink white wine with a seafood pasta dish like this. But, you know what? It was this silkily delicious red that went swimmingly.

I bought a couple of bottles of the 2014 vintage after I’d visited San Polo in Montalcino earlier this year - thinking a fresh-tasting Italian sangiovese would be just what I’d feel like drinking in summer. Friends had invited me round to sample their newly acquired skill of making fresh pasta so we had it with a great plate of homemade tagliolini with prawns (shrimp) and chilli which, despite the chilli, was quite a delicate dish.

They weren't inclined to think a red would work - and it wasn’t the sort of red that normally appeals to them but, of course, it leapt into life with the food and they absolutely loved it.

I’m not saying a fresh-tasting Italian white like a vermentino wouldn’t have worked too but it’s a predictable match and sometimes it’s fun to push the envelope. (And impress your friends ;-)

If you want to try the combination yourself you can get from slurp.co.uk for £16.99 a bottle and from Richard Granger for £18.72.

Fillet of beef with 2009 Pio Cesare Barolo

Beef and red wine is a blindingly obvious match but it gets more interesting once you think about the cut and the way that it's cooked.

Last week my fellow judges on the 2016 Louis Roederer awards and I had a slap-up lunch at Chez Bruce following a lengthy but unusually amicable judging session. I say unusually as these discussions can sometimes get testy when people disagree about who should be on the shortlist but while vigorous views were expressed we didn’t (fortunately) fall out over them. (You can find the shortlist here)

The main course was a beautifully cooked rare fillet of beef with Lyonnaise fondant potato, carrots, girolles, and what were described as ‘thyme meat juices’ - basically a very light jus. From past experience of matching fillet with lighter reds like pinot noir I was expecting it to work with the 2009 Pio Cesare Barolo with which it had been paired and it totally did showing off the gorgeous fruit and silky texture of the wine to perfection.

I know many Barolo fans like to keep their wines longer than this - and it obviously would age - but it struck me as a lovely moment to drink it, particularly in high summer when you want fruit flavours rather than autumnal notes to the fore.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, yes we did have a glass (or two) of champagne to start with. 1997 Cristal in magnum which was both voluptuous and still astonishingly fresh. And some very delicious warm, crumbly cheese sablés to nibble with it. I'd happily wade through several thousand words for that. Come to think of it, we did . . .

For more wine and steak pairing tips see 5 things you need to know about matching steak with wine

And for more food matches with Barolo The best food pairings with Barolo and Barbaresco.

Gin and tonic with peppered smoked mackerel

Gin isn’t just an aperitif, it’s also a surprisingly good match for food as I’ve already suggested in this post. Last week I discovered yet another way to enjoy it - with peppered smoked mackerel.

It was an impromptu picnic on the hottest day of the year with temperatures (uncharacteristically for Bristol) well up into the 30s. Having slogged away clearing the kitchen for a major refit this week we took two large G & Ts down into the garden below, then realising what a brilliant idea that was, had another, this time with an impromptu fridge picnic of smoked peppered mackerel with a few tomatoes, a squirt of mayo and some crunchy Spanish olive oil crackers called regañas. (No it wasn’t particularly elegant but like most things eaten outdoors tasted sooo good)

Gins are sometimes flavoured with peppercorns these days so I think that was why it worked so well. I’m now on a mission to find other interesting gin pairings.

Six pairings for gin that might surprise you

Photo © Richard Griffin @fotolia.com