For those fortunate enough to live in striking distance of the Hertfordshire town of Berkhamsted, the three-year-old High Street restaurant Eat Fish is probably a regular haunt. Still, the establishment being a mere hop, skip and a jump away by train from my house and an evening of Champagne tasting beckoning, I was easily persuaded to pay a visit.

For the monthly tasting events, Eat Fish has teamed up with small but exquisitely formed French Champagne house Joseph Perrier – with a distant connection to Laurent Perrier and relation of Perrier Jouët.

Joseph Perrier was established in 1825 and is based in Châlons-en-Champagne, with grapes sourced from choice Marne Valley vineyards in Cumières, Hautvilliers and Damary.

Our hosts for the night were Eat Fish general manager Ben and market manager Martin Gamman from Joseph Perrier. While Ben greeted and seated the 30-odd assembled guests and poured glasses of the Cuvée Royal Brut non-vintage Champagne and the waiting staff delivered blisteringly fresh Colchester native oysters served both natural and with chorizo and basil dressing, Martin began his talk, which was designed to help us understand how the flavours in the different Champagnes combine to bring out the best in the food.

Martin described the Brut as their “engine room, bread and butter” Champagne, which itself is a blend of different fermentations of Pinot Mernier produced over three years. We also learned that during World War One, the Krug family Champagnes were housed in Joseph Perrier’s cellars.

Over the delightful and surprising pairing of seared scallops with golden beetroot served with garlic aioli and candied lemon (this needed a squirt of fresh citrus juice to my mind), Martin described the palatably dry Cuvée Royal Brut Rosé with its lilac and raspberry notes.

For the lobster Caesar salad, it was time to bring out the big guns and, for me, the Cuvée Royale Brut Vintage, a blend of 50 per cent Chardonnay, 45 per cent Pinot Noir and five per cent Pinot Meunier, was the high point of the evening. Martin correctly pointed out that this floral-nosed Champagne had a powerful finish that improves as the chill comes off the bottle. Its fuller flavour would particularly sit well with rich tastes such as game and venison.

By the time I sampled my generously portioned main course of melt-in-the-mouth halibut fillet with braised artichoke, saffron potato and thyme cream, everything was enveloped in the warm glow of lovely, tickly Champagne bubbles, but that did not detract from the quality of the meal nor my enjoyment of the Cuvée Royale Brut Blanc de Blancs – a perfect companion to seafood.

I stayed on for the pear bakewell tart coupled with the Cuvée Royale Demi-Sec, though I must confess that at this point my notes had become so illegibly scrawled that all I could recall was something about foie gras.

Of the remaining meal, I managed a sample of the excellent British cheese selection but had to duck out to catch my train leaving the coffee and petit fours untouched.

On reflection, I marvelled at how the staff had managed to cater for our happy band while full service was going on front of house and how Eat Fish richly deserves a reputation for high-class yet affordable cuisine.

The JP Champagne Evening is £70 a head for a five-course meal with individual glasses of fizz. The Eat Fish set menu is £11 for two courses and £15 for three. Details: Eat Fish, 163-165 The High Street, Berkhamsted, Herts (01442 879988)