Amid so many stories of bars, restaurants and cafes closing their doors due to the economic challenges of recent times, it’s nice to have something to cheer about in Manchester’sDining scene.
For acclaimed tapas restaurant El Gato Negro is celebrating its tenth anniversary in the city’sKing StreetThis month, and as chef patron Simon Shaw knows only too well, that’s quite a milestone in the hospitality industry right now.
Catch up with Simon as he heads behind the pass this month to create a new special menu to celebrate those 10 years, I ask what he believes the success of the venue has been.
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Simon says: “Given everything going on out there right now, and still being so busy, it feels like the tenth anniversary is a big thing to celebrate.”
For me, that’s down to consistency. I look around this kitchen and the least anyone has been here is 7 years – and I’m very proud of that.
It is a notoriously difficult industry, where people burn out, but we take care of our staff. It’s busy all the time and we’re always having a laugh, so ten years, it means a lot.
It has also been eight years in the Michelin Guide for Simon, having just retained their Bib Gourmand status for another year – the longest-holding recipient in the city centre. Before that, he had held the same honor for four years at the original Ripponden site of El Gato.
Simon says: “To have eight years in the Michelin Guide for a restaurant of this size, I think that’s incredible. And that’s all due to our head chef Milan Sojka.”
There were just 70 covers in that original Ripponden site of El Gato – and so when Simon moved to Manchester, and the multi-levelled King Street building, it was a big step up.
He laughs: “That’s what I was most nervous about. The best day ever at Ripponden was 200 people – westartedin Manchester with that amount. The guys here regularly do 600, 700 covers on a Saturday night.
Thinking back to ten years ago, how does he remember the takeover of their historic spot on King Street?
He laughs: “I remember there was no roof on it! Phil, my business partner, bought the building – he won it on best bid in the end.”
We took the beams down, and oh it was a real mess. I’m not going to lie, the first Saturday I was saying to myself ‘how am I going to replicate what we did at Ripponden here’. We were thrown straight in, you don’t get a warm up, but to be fair it’s gone like this ever since.
El Gato remains one of Manchester’s most popular restaurants – the sort of place you know is going to be full and buzzing with revellers when you head along – while the famed roof terrace is the place to be as soon as we get sunny skies in the city. But Simon appreciates that it only stays that way due to the consistency and value of what they offer.
He says: “If it was a pie, it’s a little bit of everything here. We’re not high end, we’ve hit that middle ground and we’re good value for a great product in my eyes.”
When you hit a milestone like 10 years, you’ve almost got to go in, just look at what’s been great, and then think how do we attract a younger audience and keep that momentum going?
Since opening ten years ago, they have become a cornerstone of King Street’s revival, with a mix of hospitality and high-end boutiques along the famous city centre thoroughfare. Simon says: “Feeling that we’ve played a role in the renaissance of the street is incredibly special.”
Although there has already been a high-profile casualty of the hospitality crisis this year with the closure of near neighbour and fellow Spanish restaurant, Tast, co-owned by Manchester City owner Pep Guardiola.
Simon said he was “devastated” to hear the news of their closure. He said: “I was devastated for them, they were great people with a great product, I was really sad to hear that they’d gone.”
I think we’ve got such a vibrant restaurant scene in Manchester but things move, styles move.
Simon and his team celebrated their tenth anniversary with a party last month, and the introduction of a new special menu for the rest of March paying homage to some of the highlights of his journey with Spanish food – which began after a trip to San Sebastian 25 years ago.
Those influences are woven throughout El Gato Negro’s menus and will be showcased in a special 10-course tasting menu created to celebrate the restaurant’s milestone birthday. The menu will feature some of El Gato Negro’s most loved dishes, including a selection ofsignature croquetas,Bravas Potatoes,andBlack Ink Ricewith avocado puree and fried baby squid.
Looking ahead, Simon says: “I’m excited to see El Gato Negro continue to play a part in the city’s thriving food scene, which I genuinely believe is the strongest outside London. I want to keep welcoming future generations through our doors and enjoy continued success, with Milan leading the kitchen.”