Do we remember when I lived in Spain? If you do, big s/o because that means you’re an OG reader and I appreciate you. For those of you who don’t, I wouldn’t worry about it – even my memory of that year is becoming sketchy. Anyways, you might remember my being vegetarian committed me to a fairly restricted menu whenever it came to going out. Because of that, I feel like I know when the basics are done right. When ‘El Gato Negro’ was recommended, my pretentious ,’I diD a yEaR aBrOaD iN sPaiN’ food critic was awoken. I can confirm, this place did not disappoint, (not least because I am a pescatarian now, and I could indulge in a far greater spread of the menu).

We went for a Sunday lunch. Not only because I cba with cooking on a Sunday, but also because El Gato Negro has an offer which runs all day on Sundays. You get 3 tapas dishes for £18. With this in mind, we went to town when ordering and got a tonne load of food. We also got the best seats with a view of the open kitchen at the Chef’s Table. It was so sick watching the chefs working their magic and creating the increds food we were about to be served.

We ordered the:
Padrón peppers, (of course)
Salt cod croquettes
Veggie paella arancini balls, (decidedly Italian but they were delish so we’ll let it slide)
Traditional tortilla, (I know some people would have liked it runnier in the middle, but for me, it was cooked perfectly!).
Crispy fried baby squid
Patatas bravas, (the proper kind. Well seasoned potato wedges with a fragrant tomato salsa – not just chips with ketchup).
Spiced aubergine with onion confit, (whilst it was okay, I probably wouldn’t order this again).

You might be thinking, ‘that’s not divisible by 3’. Well, and it was news to us when we ordered, the offer extends to the dessert menu too! We ordered the almond tart and the turrón creme Catalan.

Our Spanish feast was washed down with a cocktail each, (I will say the cocktails are small for the price!), and it came to approx. £44 per person.

I’d highly recommend El Gato Negro, I think it could be a great place for a special occasion dinner as well as a regular regular Sunday lunch. As mentioned, the 3 for £18 offer runs from Monday-Friday from 12-4pm and all day Sunday, (it’s 6 dishes per person max.). Sorry Londoners, this is a Northern institution with restaurants in Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool. Find them here.