• EL GATO NEGRO MANCHESTER TO OPEN IN FEBRUARY With TOP Team On Board

EL GATO NEGRO MANCHESTER TO OPEN IN FEBRUARY With TOP Team On Board

22 October 2015 by Neil Sowerby

THERE was always a search for culinary perfection at El Gato Negro when it lived up on the Pennine moors in Ripponden. Chef/proprietor Simon Shaw honed his skills in fine dining establishments, notably as exec head chef at Harvey Nichols in Leeds and London,  and fresh new take on tapas offered no lowering of standards.

The same approach is there in El Gato’s prolonged transfer to new premises at King Street in city centre Manchester. Due originally to open this autumn, it is now scheduled for February 2016, nine months after work began on this three-floor Victorian gem, a former fashion store.

Simon explains: “Before hoardings went up we were looking to an autumn opening but it’s been delicate work and we want to respect the integrity of the historic building, which will ultimately make ours a truly unique dining experience.

“It’s important to me that we create the very best experience for El Gato Negro’s new home in the heart of Manchester and if that means taking a few extra weeks to get it right, we’ll honour that.”

Another sign of ambition for the site comes with the simultaneous announcement that Phil Bennett (left in main picture) is joining as general manager from the Savoy Hotel’s Simpson’s-in-the-Strand, one of London’s most celebrated restaurants, where he headed up operations from November 2013 to April 2015. He has appointed Garry Foy (ex-Panacea and Elixir) as his beverage manager.

El Gato Negro, now a partnership between Simon Shaw and Mills Hill Developments Ltd, is renowned for seasonally-inspired dishes reflecting a mix of modern and traditional Spanish flavours and techniques with influences from closer to home. 

It opened in a pub in Ripponden a decade ago, closing its doors last New Year. It garnered critical acclaim, recognition from Hardens, Michelin, The Times and The Good Food Guide and eventually a Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand.

Hispanophile Simon is also known for promoting his style of modern Spanish cooking to a wider audience; as consultant chef to blue chip companies, cooking for celebrities at private functions and leading sell-out cookery masterclasses. 



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