Tempting Tapas at El Gato Negro

Holly Harris | 24th April 2018

El Gato Negro Tapas for Viva-003

I visited the award winning tapas restaurant El Gato Negro to try the new menu…it did not disappoint!

It may not look like it from the outside, but the building is huge! When we arrived, we were greeted and taken to our table on the second floor, overlooking King Street below.

Our waitress ran us through the menu and informed us that three to four dishes each or six to eight to share was the perfect amount.

With such variety to chose from, we opted for a selection of padron peppers, catalan bread with olive oil, garlic and fresh tomato and bikini (toasted sandwich with jamón serrano, Manchego & truffle butter) to start.

The bread with tomato was definitely the highlight here! With a crisp, yet fluffy base, the bread was oiled perfectly! Topped off with fresh tomato and sprinkled with a helping of salt, it was the ideal combination of flavours.

Copyright – Holly Harris

The food arrived as it was cooked, so we had a constant stream of food to our table; giving us time to taste each dish and try new flavours.

From the main menu, we had a selection from the meat and vegetable choices.

In true ‘tapas style’ we opted for the classic Patatas bravas with spicy tomato fritarda sauce and aioli which were delicious. The tomato topping had an interesting taste to it – with a hint of cinnamon.

Along with this, we had the chargrilled chicken thighs with mojo picón and crispy shallots, mini Catalan chorizo with Aspall cider, jamón Ibérico croquetas and even received an additional dish, compliments from the chef, of chargrilled lamb skewers with spiced chickpea purée and harissa.

Copyright – Holly Harris

The mini Catalan chorizo with aspall cider were a stand out here. The chorizo itself had a slight spice to it, but not too overwhelming. The Aspall sauce had a slight sweet tang to it, and was perfect for dipping our other dishes in.

Not to forget, the cocktails…We decided to go for two more unusual cocktails. El Conde Gris, which was a combination of pisco, Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto, lemon and rose water and the Spiced Daquiri,
Takamaka Bay Spiced Rum, Fair Kumquat Liqueur, lime and pimiento bitters served with a small pepper on the rim.

Copyright – Holly Harris

Of course, we had to get pudding, even if we were full to the brim. The mini doughnuts with hot chocolate sauce were calling our name, so we opted for them!

The dish arrived with a bowl of five cinnamon coated doughnut balls filled with either chocolate or jam, accompanied by pot of rich chocolate sauce. Who wouldn’t love that!?

Copyright – Holly Harris

 

All in all, my visit to El Gato Negro Tapas was a delight! The atmosphere was welcoming and calm and the staff were all lovely and helped as much as they could to inform our tapas knowledge.

I would definitely visit again. With tapas restaurants it is hard to know how much or how little you get with each dish. At El Gato, the dishes from the main menu are pretty large for a tapas restaurant, so I would recommend getting six dishes to share between two.

In 2017 it was the only Manchester restaurant to receive a prestigious Michelin Bib Gourmand, it was also listed in the National Restaurant Awards Top 100 in the UK and was awarded Newcomer of the Year at the Manchester Food & Drink Awards.

 

The restaurant has also just celebrated its two years anniversary, so why not go along and celebrate with them. To book a table, click here.