Menus change. Dishes come and go. At restaurant Latinos in Valkenburg, the Langosta, fresh lobster from our own homarium, has been on the menu for more than twenty years. That is only possible when it works every evening, from homarium to plate, with the same attention as at the start.
What is a homarium?
A homarium is a chilled tank of salt water where live lobsters stay calm until the kitchen cooks them. Restaurant Latinos in Valkenburg keeps its own homarium in house. The lobster leaves the water at the moment a guest orders it.
Cold water keeps the meat firm and the flavour clean. That is the whole idea. We clean the homarium every week and check the salt level of the water. New lobster comes in day-fresh, as needed.
Which restaurant in Valkenburg serves fresh lobster?
Restaurant Latinos at Grotestraat Centrum 8 in Valkenburg serves fresh lobster from its own homarium. The Langosta has been on the menu for more than twenty years. Italian and Spanish have stood side by side here for more than 25 years, and the lobster fits that idea: a good product, cooked with calm and shared at the table.
How do we prepare the lobster?
We prepare the lobster in the oven, whole or half, with herb butter and a touch of samphire: saline and crisp, a natural partner for shellfish. Lobster meat is fine and a little sweet. It is a delicate product, so we keep the preparation simple.
We also have a Zarzuëla, our authentic Spanish fish soup. You can order half a lobster with it as an extra. The current menu is here: menu.
What oysters does Latinos serve?
Restaurant Latinos in Valkenburg serves oysters by the piece, with red wine vinegar and red onion. You can start with a single oyster, or order a plateau for the whole table. Cold and saline: for us the right start before the lobster that follows.
If you'd rather start another way, choose ceviche with passion fruit tiger's milk, or tuna tartare with acevichado sauce. So you build the evening toward the main course: lobster.
Which wine goes with lobster?
With lobster we recommend a fresh white wine: dry, with tension and a saline undertone that carries the taste of the sea. Everything on the wine list comes to the table by the bottle, so share the bottle the way you share the dishes.
With oysters, choose white as well, young and taut. Browse the wine list ahead of time, or let us advise you at the table.
Herb butter to our own recipe
We make the herb butter to our own recipe. That recipe stays ours. Some guests have come back for it for twenty years. As long as that holds, the lobster stays on the menu.
Come taste it in Valkenburg
Taste the lobster for yourself: book online via the site or call +31 43 601 26 20. You can find us in the middle of Valkenburg. Visit Zuid-Limburg has more about the town and the region. And read our other stories from the kitchen. Buon appetito, ¡buen provecho!