El Gato Negro Tapas Finally Announces Opening (And Soft Launch) Dates

Manchester’s range of great Spanish restaurants is about to get even better with the opening of acclaimed tapas restaurant, El Gato Negro, next month…

You heard it here on I Love MCR first, last month, when we revealed that El Gato Negro Tapas is set to open 3 storey restaurant & bar with retractable roof on King Street.

El Gato Negro is renowned for seasonally-inspired dishes reflecting a mix of modern and traditional Spanish flavours and techniques with influences from closer to home.

Operating over three floors of a period building at 52 King Street, El Gato Negro will incorporate areas for al fresco all-season eating and drinking, as well as an open finishing kitchen where diners will experience the theatre and thrill of tapas Spanish-style.

At street level, there will be a casual drinking and dining space with a relaxed bar area and charcuterie counter serving a carefully selected range of Spain’s best cheese and cured meats.

The first floor will provide the perfect environment for a more relaxed dining experience. A live charcoal Josper oven will command its own section of the menu, featuring some of chef patron Simon Shaw’s favourite dishes, such as onglet steak with patatas a lo pobre and whole rack of baby pork ribs with Pedro Ximénez glaze.

At the top of the building, a dedicated cocktail bar will provide a relaxed setting with a retractable roof, which opens to reveal the Manchester sky.  Headed up by Garry Foy (formerly of Elixir) the bar will serve a distinctive Spanish-inspired menu including some playful takes on classics. The drinks offering will feature both premium local produce and a select range of Spanish wines and sherry.

“Tapas is more than small plates,” said Simon Shaw. “It’s a mode of dining that is both refined and relaxed, savouring produce and flavours we know and love, as well as unearthing new favourites. With El Gato Negro Manchester, we will explore a menu of new and old Spanish flavours and techniques alongside some of the country’s best wines and a new bar offering in a heritage city venue.

“We’ve taken care to make this a venue that will appeal to those looking to drop by for half an hour over a selection of tapas and a glass of wine or sherry, as much as it will for those taking time to enjoy a bigger occasion.  We’re very much looking forward to opening our doors.”

Since opening in Ripponden in 2005, El Gato has won a number of awards and accolades including best local Spanish restaurant on Gordon Ramsay’s F Word and being listed annually in the Good Food Guide. Hardens called it ‘the best tapas in the north’; the Observer’s Jay Rayner has feted it; The Times ranked it number one tapas bar in the country; and it was awarded the prestigious Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand in both 2014 and 2015.

The soft launch takes place on the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st of February. If you would like to be one of the first to try the new restaurant, you can register your interest by signing up to the newsletter via their website.  Bookings will be taken on a first come first served basis. These days will be reservation only.