El Gato Negro is a Simon Shaw restaurant. The award-winning tapas menu combines modern and traditional flavours and techniques, offering seasonally-influenced small plates using quality Spanish and locally-sourced ingredients.
Canto serves up fast-paced, exciting Mediterranean tapas – paired with great service – in a relaxed, friendly environment.
Black Cat Club – Manchester’s newest spot for interactive Darts & Shuffle , Live Sports with call for service buttons and food that stands out.
© Copyright 2012-2024 Mills Hill Developments Limited, trading as El Gato Negro Tapas. All rights reserved.
Company no. 08811180. Registered in England, registered office address 52 King Street, Manchester, M2 4LY
EL GATO NEGRO MANCHESTER SECURES KING STREET SITE
Press releasePRESS RELEASE
2nd March 2015
Following news of plans for a summer launch, El Gato Negro Manchester has announced it will open doors at an address on historic King Street.
The former retail space [located at 52 King Street] will see El Gato Negro Manchester take residence across three floors with a stunning conversion sympathetic to the building’s heritage and location. The restaurant’s much anticipated offer 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 pace of authentic tapas.
The King Street site was secured after talks with a number of potential venues in the city centre and planning is now underway to transform the space.
The brainchild of Simon Shaw, El Gato Negro has won countless awards during its nine years in business including recognition from Hardens, Michelin, and The Good Food Guide. Last year the restaurant was awarded a prestigious Michelin Guide 2015 Bib Gourmand for the second year running.
Speaking on the announcement, El Gato Negro Founder and Chef Patron Simon Shaw said: “Bringing El Gato Negro to Manchester is a timely opportunity to showcase a broader selection of the dishes and wines I’m so passionate about. There’s a massive resurgence in the new British wave of Spanish restaurants and we want to go further with the dining experience we pioneered almost 10 years ago.
“The redevelopment of King Street, one of Manchester’s most iconic addresses, presents us with the unique opportunity not only to bring El Gato Negro to Manchester but to play a significant role in shaping the heart of the city.
“52 King Street is the perfect destination for us. It’s a fantastic building – inviting and airy with great ceiling heights that are so very typical of a traditional tapas bar – it feels like it was made for El Gato Negro.”
El Gato Negro combines the best ingredients, Spanish and locally sourced, with modern techniques rooted in tradition to create bold and distinctive dishes. An extensive range of Spanish wines completes the offer.
El Gato Negro Manchester is a partnership between Simon Shaw and Mills Hill Developments Ltd and will open in late Summer 2015.
Ends
For further information on the launch please contact Miranda or Julie at Rule 5 on: firstname@rule-5.co.uk or 0161 686 5727 / 686 5726.
www.elgatonegrotapas.com
Notes to Editors
Simon Shaw – Chef Patron / Creative Director
Simon is a highly experienced restaurateur with over 35 years of experience, most notably as Executive Head Chef at Harvey Nichols, before opening his own highly successful restaurant El Gato Negro Tapas in 2005, after ten successful years in London.
Originally from Yorkshire, Simon trained in patisserie and rapidly worked his way through the ranks at some the county’s finest restaurants – from 6 Royal Parade in Harrogate, Pool Court in Wharfedale, Leodis in Leeds, to the Golden Cock in Farnley Tyas – before being headhunted to lead the restaurant in Harvey Nichols’ new store in Leeds as Head Chef.
After a stellar stint in Leeds he was then seconded to their restaurants in London; first heading up the kitchens at Prism, the company’s prestigious City of London restaurant, before moving to the flagship Knightsbridge store as Executive Head Chef. While working in London, Simon visited the Basque country and Catalonia, and immediately fell in love with the diversity and excitement of modern Spanish cuisine.
Determined to bring this then under-appreciated cuisine to a wider audience, in 2005 Simon returned north to open El Gato Negro in the Pennine village of Ripponden. His restaurant’s reputation grew by the year, picking up awards and accolades galore: winning best local Spanish restaurant in the country on Gordon Ramsay’s F Word; annual listings in the Good Food Guide; being called the ‘best tapas in the north’ by Hardens; feted by critics such as the Observer’s Jay Rayner; ranked the number one tapas bar in the country by The Times; and finally awarded the prestigious Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand in both 2014 and 2015.
During his time in Ripponden Simon also promoted his style of modern Spanish cooking to a wider audience; as consultant chef to blue chip companies, cooking for celebrities at private functions, making media appearances and leading sell-out cookery masterclasses. He is truly driven by a passion for his craft.
Download this press release in .doc format
15-03-02_El Gato Negro Manchester secures King Street site
2014 in pictures – a review of the year
News[slideshow 5]
[slide title=”January”]
We saw in the new year with our spectacular gold-themed party…
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[slide title=”January”]
… with a rather special gourmet menu, and a chance to enjoy of some of the best wines from Simon’s personal collection
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[slide title=”February”]
Valentine’s night
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[slide title=”February”]
We helped beat the winter blues with our Paella Wednesday
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[slide title=”March”]
Mother’s Day
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[slide title=”March”]
We updated our function room too
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[slide title=”April”]
New spring menu… Baby gem salad with Cantabrian anchovies, smoked pancetta & shallot dressing
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[slide title=”April”]
New spring menu… Navarrico chickpeas with chilli, garlic and caramelised cauliflower florets
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[slide title=”April”]
New spring menu… Roast rump of lamb, rosemary & garlic alubia blanca beans
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[slide title=”May”]
Our evening of Galician flavours: starting with Galician charcuterie, pimientos de Padrón, and our own house pickles
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[slide title=”May”]
An evening of Galician flavours: Chargrilled Galician-style octopus
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[slide title=”May”]
An evening of Galician flavours: Torta de Santiago with vanilla ice cream
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[slide title=”May”]
An evening of Galician flavours: John, Simon and Jaime
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[slide title=”June”]
We hit the road for the first time this summer, at Todmorden show
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[slide title=”June”]
There’s a visit from Calder Valley Search and Rescue Team as we start our campaign to support them in 2014
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[slide title=”June”]
And summer came early as we embraced International Sherry Week!
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[slide title=”July”]
We started July with our Catalan gourmet evening… a resounding success!
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[slide title=”July”]
Meanwhile excitement built as Ripponden prepared to welcome Le Grand Départ to Yorkshire. We did our bit to help turn the village yellow!
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[slide title=”July”]
The team was primed for a busy day, as we offered an array of different gourmet options as part of the holiday atmosphere
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[slide title=”July”]
After the roadshow the Tour de France peloton flew past in seconds (relive in it 360° here)
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[slide title=”August”]
August saw us hit Beat Street’s UpInYourGrill pop-up events and bring our tapas to Manchester
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[slide title=”August”]
And we introduced our new dessert menu, which proved an immediate hit
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[slide title=”September”]
We were delighted to be awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand again, and featured once more in the Waitrose Good Food Guide
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[slide title=”September”]
And we launched our expanded and much-vaunted new wine list, focusing on an almost-all Spanish selection from artisan producers
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[slide title=”October”]
October gave us the chance to showcase some of these wines, along with some stunning new dishes from our autumn/winter menu
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[slide title=”October”]
Grilled caribinero shrimp with shellfish rice from our Autumn gourmet evening
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[slide title=”October”]
Salted caramel cheesecake from our Autumn gourmet evening
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[slide title=”November”]
A mix of emotions as we announced we’d be leaving Ripponden after almost 10 years, to relocate to new premises in Manchester in 2015. However the reaction was overwhelmingly positive… thank you!
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[slide title=”November”]
Our final gourmet event was the Basque evening with Javier from Grey’s Fine Foods
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[slide title=”November”]
Basque pintxos: Octopus brochette with potato and smoked paprika, Guildas, Croquetas de Bacalao
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[slide title=”November”]
Forget Kim Kardashian… the internet nearly broke when we showed off these Ibérico fat chips with Txuletón Rib of Basque Beef
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[slide title=”November”]
We were delighted to present a cheque for £500 to CVSRT
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[slide title=”December”]
December saw us block-booked for most of the month, as customers rushed to enjoy final dining in Ripponden, and some special dishes
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[slide title=”December”]
While Christmas beckoned and the festive season got into full swing!
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[slide title=”December”]
Our very final evening in Ripponden is New Year’s Eve… and what better way is there to see in 2015 than with friends and customers?
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[slide title=”2015″]
And of course we look forward to revealing much more about our Manchester plans soon… sign up to our newsletter or follow us on Facebook or Twitter for more information!
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[/slideshow]
Opening (and closing) in December 2014
NewsWe can hardly believe it’s been a month since we announced our big news about relocating to Manchester; since then we’ve been busier than ever, and moved by the level of support and interest from you all. We are now into our last two weeks of service here – with our winter opening hours Wednesday-Saturday – and we only have a handful of covers left between now and our final day on Saturday 20th… so if you’d like to enjoy another award-winning dining experience before we close, we’d suggest calling us on 01422 823070 as soon as possible to book your table.
In more than nine successful years in Ripponden we’ve made many friends here, and have delighted in serving so many customers from both near and far. We hope to welcome many of those familiar faces to our new Manchester home when we open in mid 2015. Please stay in contact with us – via our newsletter, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter – for more news on our exciting new venture in the new year! Finally, thank you all so much for your ongoing support.
From all of us here at El Gato Negro, we wish you and those closest to you a splendidly festive time! Hoping you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year: may you be happy, warm, well-fed and watered. If we’re not lucky enough to see you in the run-up to Christmas we hope we’ll see you in 2015 in Manchester.