El Gato Negro is part of the fabric of King Street. The glow from the huge windows, the pavement tables taking over the cobbles, the stream of plates – croquetas, pulpo, Padrón peppers, pan Catalan – making their way from the kitchen.
It’s been 10 years since chef-patron Simon Shaw first opened the doors here, taking a gamble on a building that, at the time, looked more like a restoration project than a restaurant, a towering, three-floor townhouse that extends fgrom King Street at the front to St James’s Square at the back.
“When we got the keys, it was in a bad way,” Simon says. “I remember standing downstairs, looking up at the roof, and I could see the sky.” There had been a fire at some point too, leaving behind charred beams.
The deal came together quickly after another site fell through, in what is now the Bang & Olufson showroom. There was no real plan B, but for some reason perhaps related to the mysterious workings of the cosmos, they heard of a vacant location around the corner.
“I’m a big believer that everything happens for a reason,” he says now. In hindsight, King Street was categorically the right move.
Before Manchester, there was Ripponden. And before that, Simon spent nearly a decade with Harvey Nichols in Leeds and Knightsbridge. It was there, through themed food hall events, that Simon first encountered the Spanish importers who would shape his career. “When we did the Spanish market, I was particularly taken,” he says. “It was the people.” And, of course, the produce.
The likes of Brindisa were pioneering the acquisition of serious Spanish ingredients in the UK – from fresh chorizo and jamon to tins of sweet, smoky paprika – while London restaurants such as Moro and Barrafina were redefining what Spanish cooking could look like here. But it was Simon’s own travels that cemented it.
More than 80 trips to Barcelona and countless explorations of its tapas bars. “I never, ever get bored,” he says. A late-90s visit to San Sebastián was, in his words, ‘a game changer’.
In 2005, he left London and opened the first El Gato Negro in Ripponden, serving octopus, morcilla and regional Spanish cheeses to a small Yorkshire village. These were niche dishes for a no-nonsense crowd. At least to begin with. Then came a transformational review from Jay Rayner – ‘mega’, Simon says – and a victorious appearance on Gordon Ramsay’s sweary TV food show The F Word. Suddenly, this little hillside tapas bar was on the national map.
When the lease ended, Manchester was the natural next chapter. “I always had a feel for Manchester,” he says. At the time, King Street wasn’t the bustling destination it is now, but Simon could see the bones of it. “Why wouldn’t you want to be here? It’s a beautiful street.”
Over the past decade, El Gato has not only thrived but collected an impressive haul of accolades. In 2017, it was awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand, an honour it has retained ever since. It was the only Manchester restaurant to hold one for years.
The restaurant has also been named Leading Restaurant of the Year at the This is Manchester Awards, won multiple titles at the Manchester Food & Drink Festival Awards, claimed City Restaurant of the Year at the Lancashire Life Food & Drink Awards in 2016, and taken Best Restaurant at the City Life Awards for two consecutive years. More recently, it has featured in the Good Food Guide for 2025 and 2026 and has been listed in Harden’s Guide since 2023.
“You never take any of it for granted,” Simon says.
He’s quick to credit his head chef Milan Sojka a significant chunk of the credit. Together, they’ve been devising and re-devising dishes for their 10th anniversary, marked by a special 10-course tasting menu, taking in new and old dishes from the restaurant’s archives.
Many of the dishes – like the pork belly dish that takes more than two days to prep – will remain on the menu for the next month or so, giving diners the opportunity to taste a slice of the anniversary celebrations.
10 years on King Street. 20 years since Ripponden. More than 80 trips to Barcelona later, Simon’s passion for Spanish food is undimmed. “It’s just such a great way to eat,” he says. “It’s a bit of landmark, and will outlive me, probably, and I hope it does, you know?
“When I eventually ‘go upstairs’ and I’m looking down and seeing it’s still operating, it would give me a lot of joy.”
