While wine may be your first choice to pair with your food when dining out, you might want to shake things up from time to time. When you’re eating at restaurants in Dubai, consider cocktails to go with your meal.
Cocktails offer a refreshing and whimsical alternative that complements a variety of flavours. Whether you’re enjoying a light seafood dish, a rich steak, or a delicate dessert, there’s always a beverage that can bring out the best in your meal.
Aside from being fun and flavourful, cocktails also add an element of surprise to your dining experience. Many restaurants now offer expertly crafted cocktails designed to harmonise with their menus, which elevates both the food and the drink.
So next time you’re dining out, experiment a little and try pairing your meal with a perfectly matched cocktail.
Pairing Cocktails With Food Perfectly
Enjoying the perfect cocktail with your appetiser, main, and dessert sometimes needs a bit of experimentation. You can skip this costly and time-consuming part and indulge in the perfect meal when you dine out by following these tips:
1. Choose a cocktail that enhances the dish’s flavour.
As you look at the menu and narrow down your choices, think about the dish’s flavour profile and what beverage can complement or contrast it to enhance it.
There are five basic flavours: salty, sweet, bitter, sour, and umami. You need to know how to mix and match them to come up with the perfect pairing.
Here’s a simple guide to help you with this:
- Savoury, salty foods are best paired with cocktails with a citrus base since the zesty acidity cuts through the salt, which refreshes your palate. Slightly sweet cocktails are also excellent options because they can counterbalance the dish’s salt content while enhancing the overall flavour profile.
- Sweet dishes work well with cocktails with a bit of acidity and spice. These flavours counterbalance the sweetness, which prevents the food from becoming too cloying.
- Sour dishes are perfect with cocktails with a hint of sweetness and floral notes. Concoctions with honey or agave syrup complement sour profiles beautifully.
- Foods that highlight the bitter taste profile pair well with slightly sweet and citrus-forward cocktails. Their sweetness and tanginess soften the bitterness to give you a smooth aftertaste.
- Foods with umami elements are best paired with bitter cocktails since these beverages can balance the flavours. They also cut through the richness of umami-packed dishes.
When you keep this simple guide in mind, you can avoid ordering the wrong cocktails that make your meal less pleasant.
2. Stick with the cuisine.
Another easy way to get your cocktail and food pairing right is to choose a beverage that’s part of the cuisine. This means ordering saketini, a drink with sake as base, to go with sushi or tonkatsu when you’re eating at a Japanese restaurant.
If you’re dining at a French restaurant, order a French rose cocktail that highlights brandy, or Tonique Provençal, a gin, tonic, and herb concoction served at LPM Restaurant & Bar. These drinks go well with roasted chicken, grilled veal chop, and other traditional dishes from France.
To enjoy Mediterranean food, opt for a Santorini sunrise, which has ouzo and fresh orange juice, or a Pablo, which contains gin and orange. These tangy cocktails complement the fresh, savoury dishes this cuisine is known for.
3. Focus on one of the dish’s key ingredients.
Choosing one of the main ingredients in the dish and ordering a drink that also has it is a great way to guarantee a perfect pairing. This simple tip ensures a cohesive flavour connection between your food and beverage.
For instance, if you’re having a Niçoise or Caprese salad or carpaccio with citrus dressing, you won’t go wrong with a margarita or herbal gin cocktail. These concoctions have sour ingredients that complement the dressing of the dishes.
If you’re having apple pie for dessert, opt for an appletini to enhance the dish’s flavour. A citrusy margarita works well with a lemon tart.
This tip allows you to create a balanced and enjoyable pairing that elevates your dining experience.
4. Go for classic pairings.
Some classic cocktails and food combinations won’t disappoint you. As such, stick to these classic combinations when you dine out to have a delightful meal.
Examples of these are:
- Bourbon-based cocktails complement grilled meats such as steaks and pork chops. These drinks enhance the meat’s smoky and savoury taste.
- Light, herby cocktails go with grilled and roasted chicken. Meanwhile, creamy concoctions can elevate cream-based chicken dishes, such as chicken ala king and Tuscan chicken.
- Beverages with light vodka and gin and tonic pair well with light seafood dishes. They add an interesting aftertaste without overpowering the food’s flavours.
- Citrusy and fizzy mixes work perfectly with fried foods. These concoctions cancel the greasy and salty taste of the dish and cleanse the palate between bites.
- Strong cocktails complement the savoury flavours of meat appetisers and finger foods, such as chicken satay and mini sliders. On the other hand, light cocktails are recommended for mini quiches and spring rolls since they can tone down the dish’s richness.
- Cream- or milk-based cocktails are perfect with chocolate, creamy, and caramel desserts. Fruity concoctions enhance the flavours of fruit-based sweet dishes.
5. Stay away from foods with extremely bold flavours.
Dishes with strong, overpowering flavours are often difficult to pair with cocktails. For instance, extremely spicy foods and alcohol are not a good combination because they can result in unpleasant flavours and possibly digestive discomfort.
Combining bitter foods with bitter cocktails can give you an unpalatable aftertaste experience. Meanwhile, drinking a sweet concoction while indulging in a sugary dessert can lead to a cloying, unpalatable, one-dimensional taste.
If you’re unsure about how spicy, bitter, or sweet a dish is, ask the server. Many restaurants offer different degrees or intensities of flavours, so find out if you can order toned-down versions of hot or bitter menu items to go with your drink.
Whether you’re ordering a single cocktail or several for the entire meal, check and note their alcohol content. Although these beverages may not seem strong because they’re mixed with fruit juice, cream, and other ingredients, drink responsibly to enjoy the dining experience fully.
