Boo in Germany - Dallmayr

In the centre of Munich stands the grand delicatessen Dallmayr. I'd liken it to London's Harrods food halls, but it's much more welcoming and accessible, more like Fortnum & Mason perhaps, yet it's grander and less stuffy.

The Munich institution has been in existence since the late 1700's and through it's various incarnations has served the people of the city and beyond with fine food and refreshments. There's a 2* Michelin restaurant, a coffee house and they also pioneered the use of vending machines throughout Bavaria in the 1960's. During my last trip I dined at the Lukullus Bar situated amongst the hub-bub of the shop floor. Service is swift as there are a limited number of tables though we were seated within 10 minutes. Impressive that all tables were full on a Monday lunchtime.


We were on holiday so as a treat we ordered the half lobster with seafood sauce, half a dozen rock oysters and a couple of glasses of prosecco. We were given a selection of bread, rye and sourdough, both excellent, and a small layered bread and cheese sandwich, for want of an accurate description. It was malty and creamy, very moorish and the prefect start.


The oysters were split between us and served 3 per plate with lemon. We were slightly miffed to not have the option of chopped shallots in red wine vinegar as is often served with them but have since learned that this was originally only presented as a palate cleanser to be eaten with bread between molluscs. When considering the swift turnover of tables here the presentation is acceptable (i.e. no bed of ice), there's little time to linger, it seems to be a quick refuel type venue though this does seems slightly at odds with the epicurean ethos of the place.

Anyhow, the oysters were excellent, we had 2 Australian and 1 French each. The French fine de Claire's again stood out in terms of depth of flavour.


To finish our lunch we had the half lobster, served cold, in the shell with seafood sauce presented prettily in an oyster shell. There's little to dislike about the acclaimed crustacean but this particular beast was served slightly too cold for my liking. The sauce was your typical prawn cocktail marie rose concoction, I favoured the simplicity of a squeeze of lemon over the sweet claw and tail meat.

With all that bread we were surprisingly full and head out into the rain for a spot of shopping impressed, as always, with the first class service offered at Dallmayr. Great shellfish and prosecco at a fraction of the prices in London, about €50.

Dallmayr
Dienerstrasse
München
8/10