99 YEARS OLD AND STILL BEARING AND BEERING UP...

WHENEVER I am invited to sample the delectations at a foodie establishment, I make a point of stressing how ill qualified I am to be a restaurant critic.

The trouble is that when I get to the part where I write, “I had the beef cheeks which had been marinated for three days in red wine enhanced with onions and herbs, then cooked for 24 hours at 52 degrees Celsius, while my companion had...”, I’m forced to pause and realise I did not notice what my companion had because I was too busy gorging on the beef cheeks.

Near the end of last week, however, I was invited to a Spanish feast and this usual excuse was rebuffed. “First,” the young lady inviting me said, “the invitation is just for one, thus obviating the problem of the companion and second, we shall all be eating the same things anyway.”

So I accepted and only then was I told that the meal at Ember Yard restaurant in London’s Berwick Street would be accompanied by beer.

I am not, I must point out, an habitual beer-swiller. I tend to leave that to the sort of people who hang around at public hostelries instead of going home and doing something useful. Assuaging any thirst I may have can await my return to Beachcomber Towers, where I know a tipple of Laurent-Perrier Ultra Brut always awaits if needed. The beer at Ember Yard, however, turned out to be something special.

It may seem somewhat inopportune naming a beer after a Moorish palace, but as I quickly discovered, Alhambra Reserva 1925 is definitely more-ish. It was also very good of them to reserve it when I was only eight years old, so I began sipping it with all due reverence. However, I found it so refreshing on a warm summer’s evening that I’d soon emptied my glass which was replaced by another containing the Alhambra Especial, which I found equally satisfying. Best of all, neither of them left that nasty, bitter beery taste in the mouth which is why I have tended to avoid beer for so long.

The food served with it had been specially, or possibly especially, created by chef Ben Tish to go with the beers. After starting with a charcoal grilled flatbread, made with added ham, potato, honey and thyme, we moved on to deep fried hake in a batter made with Alhambra beer, of course, then some outrageously tender duck breast which had been marinated in brine and coated with a glaze again made from the beer, then some pork belly, then a glazed Gloucester Old Spot pork chop. It was all delicious.

By that time I was onto my third glass of Alhambra beer, so was feeling pretty glazed but still hugely enjoyed the roasted almond cake with Mezquita, poached cherries and spiced ice cream. I felt so well fed I did not query the wisdom of matching the Moorish palace of Alhambra in Granada with the Grand Mosque of Cordoba, known as the Mezquita. But I could not help pointing out what a huge score Mezquita could attain at Scrabble if it were allowed, which it probably isn’t.

All the above items are on the menu at Ember Yard (emberyard.co.uk).