Review: Beer, Wine and Food Pairing at Zero Degrees, London

By Tom Gatehouse
@tragatehouse
wayofthechef.co.uk

I was heading for a wedding on the weekend. My first, in fact, as an adult. I’d been to a few family affairs as a nipper, but I’m thankfully still at an age where most of my friends are still too young, free and stupid to tie the knot, affording me a little more time before my body and brain start to feel old. This was to be my first nuptial adventure as man, and I was to be the best. Man.

Daunting? Fabulously. Time stood still when the groom-to-be asked me a year ago in a little pub in Soho, and I remember barely being able to taste the celebratory tequila as my mind swirled and span. Upcoming speeches, suit options, endless responsibilities – I was probably more terrified than the groom as the big day approached.

Best remedy for nerves? Being unconscious must be up there, but a three course tasting menu, paired with wine and beer, at the fantastic Zero Degrees in Blackheath with the groom certainly did the trick.

I am a big advocate of the guys at Zero Degrees, having visited their site in Blackheath a number of times over the years, with the independently owned company also found in Bristol, Cardiff and Reading. A pizza and mussels restaurant, with one of London’s oldest microbreweries on site; theirs is a hungry man’s haven, and now they were pairing food with alcohol. The groom didn’t need much persuading.

ZD is a huge, three floored affair, with outside seating thrown in. Always lively and full, yet with extraordinary space and privacy for every guest; I’ve found that the best perch is right by the microbrewery itself, which is spread across the back of the restaurant past the open kitchen. Starters sit at around the £6 mark, with pizzas coming in at around £12 and mussels a little higher at £15 plus.

After a typically all-action welcome from the flamboyant manager, we set about our task of appreciating the pairings of their head brewer, Simon, across the three courses and six different dishes.

Cajun king prawns in Zero Degrees beer batter was the first of two starters, with the second being the Cigera – fried pastry rolls with feta, ricotta and spring onions.

Every dish has been paired with both a beer and a wine, and it’s up to the diner to choose which path to take. We put ourselves in the hands of the manager, who recommended the beer for the prawns and the wine for the Cigera.

The wheat beer, clean and citrusy, elevated the subtle taste and crunch of the prawns along with the accompanying chilli soy sauce. A good pairing can be tasted straight away, and there was no hesitation here. The same can be said of the pairing of the pinot grigio and the cigera, with the fruity white wine eating at the cheese and playing with the sweet chilli dip.

It was at this point that the groom, with flecks of ricotta seen in his overflowing beard, leaned over and said to me that he already preferred Zero Degrees to the last place I took him to. That was on his stag do, and he was dead right, as he wasn’t meant to have enjoyed the little restaurant in Hounslow where he attempted, and was mercilessly beaten by, a seven pound burger (that’s weight not price) in front of all his friends!

Our mains soon arrived, with the best of ZD shown off with great aplomb through both pizza and mussels.

The carne asada pizza, with wood fired rump steak, red onions, fresh chillies, smoked cheese, tomatoes, avocado and salsa, was a mighty beast, paired with either a pale ale or a glass of tempranillo garnacha. Unusually, the manager recommended the ale, and Simon the brewer once again came up trumps. The hoppy, bold flavours of the pale ale faced the pizza head on, creating a vibrant medley of Latin American and grapefruit acidity.

The groom was handed the mussels, which came as a kilo and swimming in a classic Thai green curry sauce. The wine was chosen to dance with the mussels, the Il Banchetto Blanco to be exact, and its subtle, light flavour with hint of pear never once stood on the toes of the sauce, which was made from lemongrass, ginger, green curry and coconut milk. The accompanying fries were savagely fought over throughout.

It was during the main course that it happened. We had arrived that evening at the same time as a gay couple, who sat themselves to our right. It was soon after our starters had arrived that they began to stare, and stare intently. I figured they were annoyed at the speed with which we had received our food. They remained in my peripheral vision from then on until I flagged down the groom during our mains and whispered to him the situation just out of his view.

My friend is a large man and at the time sported an unruly head of hair and matching Viking beard which he had been growing out ever since getting engaged. So, after being made aware, he turned to look at them, turned back to me, held his hands up apologetically and simply said:

“Ah sorry, big gay bear…”

A magical moment of unabashed presumption, and one that I recanted fondly during my speech, sweaty and with microphone, a few days later.

Our evening at Zero Degrees came to a triumphant end with dessert. Caramelised fig and mascarpone pizza with balsamic syrup, pistachios, maple syrup and vanilla ice cream. A blunderbuss of a pudding, with either the delicious pale ale making a comeback, or a glass of prosecco to steal the show.

The groom was graced by classic tiramisu, accompanied by either a black lager or a glass of the Wandering Bear rose. And after sharing both dishes, neither of us could pick a winner.

Zero Degrees had done it again. Another superb meal and a triumph of an impromptu tasting menu, the likes of which are rarely seen or even attempted in such a restaurant.

Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand and raise your glasses for Simon the head brewer. May his marriage of mussels and beer, pizza and wine and everything in between live a long and happy life.

Zero Degrees, Blackheath
Address: 29-31 Montpelier Vale, Lewisham, London SE3 0TJ
Website: www.zerodegrees.co.uk
Twitter: @ZerodegreesBeer
Phone: 020 8852 5619