Lobster roll and Franciacorta

When it comes to pairing wine with a lobster roll I reckon it’s as important to think about the roll as the lobster. I.e. that despite including a luxury ingredient it’s basically a sandwich, a snack, a fun meal.

One you might even have a beer with if you were somewhere where lobsters are cheap which is certainly not the case in London or at Jeremy King’s new restaurant The Park on Queensway but as you can see it is a perfect specimen.

As I was having my leaving party* the same day I decided to stick to just the one glass of wine but rather than the white burgundy you might have expected I chose a glass of light, elegant Franciacorta Corteaura. Sparkling wine often hits the same spot as a beer - or at least lager - with food, oddly. 

You can buy it from a merchant called Outpour for £20.95 or £22.50 or £20.50 for 6 from Lea & Sandeman which indicates The Park, which is charging £15.95 a glass, is making a more than generous margin. Still someone has to pay for all that expensive blonde wood and the flatteringly lit loos. (Spend time down there. It's better than therapy.)

Don't get me wrong. I adored the restaurant which is wonderfully luxurious in a low key way. No-one does understated glamour quite like Jeremy King. It has one of those menus where there’s something for everyone. And the ice creams are divine. Just choose what you order carefully if you don't want to break the bank. Lobster roll compulsory.

For other lobster pairings see here

*In case you missed it I’ve left the Guardian after 14 years to leave more time for travelling and other projects including my website and Substack!

I paid for my meal in case you were wondering ...

Langoustine and chickpea velouté with ‘fine’ rosé

I went to a really interesting tasting and lunch in London last week to celebrate the new Fine Rosé Day - an attempt to get the world to take rosé more seriously as a gastronomic wine.

The menu was devised by - none better - the team at the newly two Michelin-starred Trivet, each course paired with two contrasting wines, and contained some really interesting matches.

The standout one for me was a dish of poached langoustine with chickpea velouté - an unlikely but hugely clever combination, with both elements cleverly playing on the strengths of the two accompanying wines

One was the 2023 Feudi di San Gregorio San Greg rosato whose delicate red berry fruit chimed in beautifully with the langoustine (and accompanying dill); the other the more mature, savoury Ultimum from Torpez in St Tropez which was sensationally good with the slightly nutty chickpea velouté.

I can only find the Ultimum in Germany, Sweden and Switzerland at the moment but you can buy the San Greg currently from allaboutwine.co.uk for £19.39 which is a good price as it’s over £22 elsewhere. But do try the chickpea pairing with other savoury rosés.

Dumplings and grand cru Chablis

You might think dumplings were humble fare, not best suited to show off a great wine but as last week’s tasting lunch at Bob Bob Ricard proved, that’s not necessarily the case.

They laid on two from their largely Russian-inspired dinner menu - some lobster, crab and shrimp pelmeni which were served with a langoustine bisque and truffle, potato and mushroom vareniki (above) which came with a forest mushroom velouté.

Both were spectacularly good with a mature 2016 grand cru Chablis ‘Les Clos’ from Domaine Christian Moreau which sells for £100 on the list.

Of course it wasn’t the dumplings themselves that were the key to the match but the umami-rich fillings and soups in which they were served - shellfish on the one hand and mushrooms and truffles on the other.

And although the wine itself was expensive, at £10 for the mushroom dumplings and £14 for the loster ones, the dumplings are quite affordable.

Since wine is a feature of the restaurant it’s good to see a menu that’s designed to show it off.

I ate at the restaurant as a guest of Bob Bob Ricard who obligingly supplied the very professional photos given that mine were a bit rubbish and wouldn't have encouraged you to try the combination out at all.

Lobster and Condrieu

There were so many outstanding wines at Yapp Brothers 50th anniversary lunch that it’s tough to pick out just one but I’m going to go for this pairing of lobster with Condrieu.

I’ve mentioned that lobster works with viognier before but perhaps not given it enough prominence - or maybe never had it work quite so successfully.

Adam Handling at Frog has an unusual way of cooking lobster admittedly. It was poached (overnight I seem to hazily recall) in Wagyu beef fat which gave it a more deep savoury meaty (obviously) flavour than would normally be the case but if it had been simply grilled it would also have been a sensational match with the headily perfumed Condrieu. Which was a 2017 Coteau du Vernon, the top wine of Condrieu legend Georges Vernay which was served in magnum*: a suitably extravagant wine for such a luxury food. (Yapp also suggests quenelles by which I’m assuming the classic dish quenelles de brochet, sauce nantua - pike quenelles with crayfish sauce),

Not an everyday pairing, certainly, but a sensational special occasion one.

For my other favourite wine and lobster pairings click the link.

*standard bottles are still available from Yapp for £99 if you feel like splashing out!

I attended the lunch as a guest of Yapp Brothers.