The story
El Gato Negro is a Spanish tapas restaurant at 52 King Street, Manchester, M2 4LY, and it holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand for 2026, the guide's mark for good quality cooking at good value. Chef patron Simon Shaw leads the kitchen, which mixes modern and traditional Spanish flavours.
Simon Shaw opened the Manchester restaurant in February 2016 in a converted townhouse on King Street. The menu uses quality Spanish and locally sourced ingredients and changes with the seasons. Dishes take their cues from both modern and traditional Spanish technique, so the same kitchen can produce a rich, saucy plate and a lighter one.
The charcuterie boards are served with orange-blossom honey and quince jelly, which add sweetness to the cured meats. Chicken thighs come with mojo picón, and smoky grilled lamb skewers arrive with butter bean houmous and harissa yoghurt. Chargrilled octopus with new potatoes, capers and shallots gives the menu a sharper edge.
The restaurant spans three floors. Tapas are served at street level, the open kitchen sits on the middle floor, and there is a top-floor terrace. The Good Food Guide describes the setting as offering a whisper of glamour alongside a reliable kitchen. The wine list is Iberian-led, with white Rioja and Spanish sherries, and the dessert list includes crema catalana and Basque cheesecake with Turrón sauce. Service can be conducted in Spanish on request.
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good quality, good value cooking
The triple-decker delights of the original 'Black Cat' seem almost quaint given chef-patron Simon Shaw's subsequent adventures in Manchester and beyond. But King Street's top-floor terrace, open kitchen on the middle floor and darkling street-level tapas bar offer both a whisper of glamour and a reliable hand in the kitchen; years of in-house experience with solid Spanish ingredients pays off handsomely on the plate. Charcuterie boards are all killer, no filler, with sweet notes provided by orange-blossom honey and quince jelly, while tapas are characterised by rich saucing and plenty of punch – try the chicken thighs with mojo picón, the smoky grilled lamb skewers accompanied by butter bean houmous and harissa yoghurt or hispi cabbage with parsnip purée and Picos Blue vinaigrette. For zing, look to chargrilled octopus with new potatoes, capers and shallots, plus a glass of white Rioja from the Iberian-led wine list. For afters, crema catalana is a classic, likewise Basque cheesecake with Turrón sauce; alternatively, dip into the Euro-accented orange bomb with white chocolate mousse, orange coulis and honeycomb. Note that amiable service can be administered in Spanish, if required.
1 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence
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