El Gato Negro Liverpool
Liverpool, Merseyside
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The Black Cat lurks in one corner of the Exchange Flags courtyard by Liverpool City Hall, behind a monument to Nelson and four of his poignantly chained French captives. Inside is an expansive, impressive space, smartly furnished and run by efficient, friendly staff who know all about the extensive tapas menus. The dishes are mostly familiar items from the Castilian and Catalan traditions, rendered with a panache that inspires confidence, but incorporating the odd outlier. We enjoyed the tempura-battered cauliflower with sunflower-seed houmous and minty tabbouleh among more classic options such as jamón croquetas, super-fresh boquerones, gorgeously fruity pan con tomate, and little chorizos in thickly reduced cider sauce. The fried squid were a little overdone inside their crunchy coating, the lemon allioli needing more garlic heft. When it comes to dessert, the Spanish classics are the ones to go for: dense, moist almond tart with honey and ginger cream; baked Basque-style cheesecake with Biscoff sauce. A party of three can eat for £18 up till 4pm, while cocktails and wines (from £6.20 a glass) should keep things swinging.
