Champagne with meals? Some wine buffs’ eyebrows might twitch in irritation. For a lot of, Champagne pairs with canapés, or nothing. But the Champenois, and a few critics (together with me), always focus on Champagne and meals, and inevitably the place such beasts might be discovered collectively within the wild.
Sommeliers inform me a ‘post-Covid euphoria’ has extra diners ingesting Champagne. However nice Champagne and nice cooking don’t at all times share the identical tackle. Nice bottles make an awesome Champagne listing solely when the meals is superior, too. Then magic matches can occur.
I managed a wine store almost 30 years in the past, and on the day its lease got here to an finish, a chilly Christmas Eve, we locked the doorways and the employees had fish and chips with a magnum of Dom Ruinart Rosé 1985. It was excellent as a result of the standard of each was excessive they usually hit it off like nice foods and drinks pairings should.
The well-known New York restaurateur Danny Meyer wished to alter the established order for his Union Sq. Cafe and Gramercy Tavern friends, not rehash outdated formulae. He stated: ‘Whoever wrote the rule you could’t have smoked pulled pork with a glass of Champagne?’ It labored for him as a result of the Champagne was excellent, and the pulled pork out of this world.
Champagne may be very versatile: its contemporary, dry kinds with mild floral and savoury flavours match an enormous vary of dishes. Solely the spiciest warmth, and possibly chocolate desserts, can spell discord within the Champagne-cuisine love affair.
Seafood is a assure of on the spot elopement with Champagne, as are good cheeses, particularly if the Champagne may be very dry, for instance in brut nature or additional brut kinds. Grower Champagne is normally drier than the essential choices of the grande marque homes, however increased up their ranges the status cuvées are sometimes additional brut, with a food-friendly minerality.
This listing of eating places with superlative wine lists will not be definitive; solely a scarcity of web page house means some deserving good locations didn’t make the reduce.
England
Authentique Epicerie & Bar, London NW5
A wine bar so French it may have been parachuted in from Paris. There’s sturdy cooking in addition to charcuterie and cheese plates. And you then realise there’s a wine listing so long as your arm consisting of prime French wines, together with what should be London’s greatest Champagne listing exterior Mayfair and W1.
Core by Clare Smyth, London W11
Three Michelin stars
With its three Michelin stars, you’d count on this institution to have a powerful Champagne listing. However its power is within the vary of classic bottles, a lot better than its NV providing. It is sensible – the complexity of flavours cooked up right here calls for the identical of Champagne.
Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, London W1K
Three Michelin stars
No expense is spared to match the high-class meals with wine and Champagne, but when that is bling, it’s the French, discreet type. The listing begins quietly with the superb Louis Roederer Assortment 242 and André Jacquart Expertise Blanc de Blancs, the primary of six names by the glass. You possibly can then ponder a dozen Krug wines in magnum, alongside
with massive codecs from a number of main homes. Maybe the Clos du Mesnil 1979, at £15,000 a bottle? There are six pages of prime homes, and three for rockstar single estates.
Disguise, London W1J
Credit score: Joakim Blockstrom
One Michelin star
The Champagne listing right here is fabulous sufficient and an awesome match for the delicate flavour precision of Ollie Dabbous’ menu. However this wealthy vein is supplemented by London’s biggest superb wine store, Hedonism, supplying you with entry to Britain’s longest Champagne listing. In the meantime, I like the trundling trolley of usually swapped Champagnes by the glass, which can preserve you occupied.
Le Comptoir Robuchon, London W1J
Merely an excellent Champagne listing to match fairly refined meals. The listing is split into ‘homes’ and ‘artisans’, and is eye-bogglingly in depth. Bollinger is a ‘home’ function, and Eric Rodez an ‘artisan’ counterpart.
Les 110 de Taillevent, London W1G
Credit score: Marie de Chessé
There are 110 wines by the glass right here, in addition to a full bottle listing. So possibly it’s disappointing that solely 5 Champagnes can be found by the glass, however the listing by the bottle is big and it name-checks some prime names – each homes and growers alike. The meals right here is wise and the service achieved and nice. And for central London, the Champagne costs are – virtually – variety.
Noble Rot, London WC1N and W1D
Noble Rot, Soho
A favorite wine geek hang-out in London, with 4 Champagnes by the glass and greater than 30 bins of well-chosen homes and growers in bottle at each websites. The meals is a reduce above most wine bar fare.
The Treatment, London W1T
A small institution serving small plates in an awesome ambiance, with a totally grower-focused listing that’s effectively chosen and pretty priced. At all times enjoyable, with the cool issue excessive.
Home of Tides, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Credit score: Peter Atkinson / Alamy Inventory Picture
One Michelin star
Pol Roger by the glass and a superbly diversified listing of prime homes, boutique home Champagnes (Delamotte, Jacquesson, Veuve Fourny) and good grower Champagnes. Half the listing is beneath £100 a bottle.
Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Nice Milton, Oxford
Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons. Credit score: Mint Pictures / Alamy Inventory Picture
Two Michelin stars
This Champagne listing is distinctive for providing virtually the whole vary of Veuve Clicquot classic, classic rosé and Grande Dame by the glass, all from the very nice 2012. These are adopted by 12 wines from nice homes, each NV and classic, and the identical once more from prestigious small household domaines.
Midsummer Home, Cambridge
Two Michelin stars
Lengthy established and pushed by chef and founder Daniel Clifford, Midsummer Home was dubbed ‘a historic and iconic mecca of meals’ by Tom Kerridge. I marvel at how its high-pitched dishes stream from the kitchen at such a relaxed tempo. The Champagne listing has an expensive cameo of well-chosen and mature prime wines – a group of surprises and delights. Nice classic Champagne, with its delicate and savoury notes, is commonly a unbelievable meals match. Among the many classic choices listed here are Krug 1982, Dom Pérignon Oenothèque 1964 and Bollinger RD 2002, and many at much less stratospheric costs, too.
Moor Corridor, Aughton, Lancashire
Two Michelin stars
Impressed meals displaying excessive ability, alongside an exemplary listing of status Champagnes – prime homes and growers – with well-informed cherry-picking in proof. It’s gorgeous to see Billecart-Salmon Louis Salmon Blanc de Blancs 2008, Bollinger RD 2002, Drappier Grande Sendrée, Gosset Grand Blanc de Meunier and Marie-Courtin Efflorescence 2015 all in the identical place!
Paul Ainsworth at No6, Padstow, Cornwall
One Michelin star
An excellent Cornish-leaning menu, with Champagnes Pierre Péters and Krug Grande Cuvée among the many by-the-glass choices, and a supporting solid of bottles from good home and single-estate names.
The Previous Bridge, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
John Hoskins MW is the proprietor of this famously welcoming resort and good restaurant. The Champagne listing, though quick, gives possibly the most effective worth within the nation – two Billecart-Salmons and a Charles Heidsieck Brut NV, all effectively beneath £100 a bottle.
The Oyster Membership, Birmingham, West Midlands
Other than the oysters, served in quite a lot of methods, I like to recommend the turbot on the bone to pair with any of the well-chosen Champagnes. The listing options some massive names and some others recognized extra by lovers, however good all the identical. There are half-bottles, magnums and even a jeroboam on supply, too.
Scotland
Andrew Fairlie, Gleneagles Lodge, Auchterarder
Two Michelin stars
That is unabashed luxurious eating, however flavour and invention (and even the meals costs) favour precision, not extra. The Champagne listing is an homage to Krug, together with vintages of Clos du Mesnil and Clos d’Ambonnay at costs near a deposit on a home 15 years in the past. However there are small domaines, too, together with 10 wines from Selosse, 4 of them lieu-dit bottlings.
The Kitchin, Leith, Edinburgh
One Michelin star
There’s Philipponnat, Leclerc-Briant and Drappier’s attractive Rosé de Saignée by the glass, and the Philipponnat love affair goes on with 15 separate wines on supply from this home. The listing doodles its manner by small domaines and prime homes, and crescendos with mature vintages of Dom Pérignon, together with Oenothèque and Plénitude 2 bottles. Louis Roederer’s Cristal is in there, too. Nice matches for a menu that includes stylish fish and meat dishes and its well-known vegetarian à la carte decisions.
The Three Chimneys, Isle of Skye
Pristine, contemporary meals from each sea and land, cooked with Nordic touches and matched effectively with a Champagne listing that features Charles Heidsieck, Larmandier-Bernier, Laherte Frères, Salon, and considered one of Champagne’s prime single-vineyard wines: La Rue des Noyers from celebrity Benoît Déhu.
Wales
Ynyshir, Eglwys Fach
Two Michelin stars
One among Britain’s most inventive menus: a 20-dish tasting extravaganza that takes in elements of Japan, France and the most effective Welsh produce (such because the lamb rib dish). There are rooms or tipis to remain in, and a casual tapas tent for easier meals. The Champagnes on supply are few, however all is forgiven when the excellent choices embody Pol Roger 2008, Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill 2012 and Louis Roederer Cristal 2002.
Eire
Aimsir, Celbridge, Kildare
Jordan Bailey and Majken Bech-Bailey. Credit score: Reuters / Alamy Inventory Picture
Two Michelin stars
One among a number of eating places inside the Cliff at Lyons resort. Owned by younger Anglo-Danish couple Jordan Bailey and Majken Bech-Bailey, the meals type is hyper-inventive, based mostly on Eire’s greatest elements, with a give attention to sustainability. The Champagne listing is solely elite single estates, whose practices are natural and sustainable, and attempt to specific the character of their vineyards. It’s a roll name of Champagne’s coolest names: Bérêche & Fils, Chevreux-Bournazel, Dhondt-Grellet, Marguet, Roses de Jeanne and Ulysse Collin, to call a number of.
Patrick Guilbaud, Dublin
Two Michelin stars
Amour de Deutz 2011 by the glass catches the attention. The Champagnes are largely elite single estates (Dhondt-Grellet, Egly-Ouriet, Frédéric Savart, and so forth), however there’s Bollinger, Jacquesson, Krug and Louis Roederer Cristal, too. Pierre Péters’ Les Chétillons 2007 with the blue lobster tail is the pairing to go for.
Tips about ingesting Champagne in eating places
Don’t drink it too chilly If a Champagne is served a lot beneath 12°C then the aromas can lose out to the meals.
Give classic Champagne time within the glass This enables it to open up and meet the flavours of the meals. Some Champagnes may even be decanted, which might usually be a revelation; shedding the crispness from the mousse can actually complement meals.
Select ‘by the glass’ to experiment with meals pairings A superb wine listing ought to have sufficient decisions by the glass, permitting for plenty of pairing choices. These days, wine preservation techniques can assist to maintain fizz contemporary, and bar managers inform me it’s a no brainer; this manner they will promote extra Champagne, too.
