Tast Catala

Manchester City FC’s manager Pep Guardiola and two of the club’s directors have teamed up with the Fazenda restaurant group and multi-gonged chef Paco Pérez for this new Catalan venture – an elegant space spread over three floors, with casual grazing and a bar downstairs, a first-floor dining room and a second floor with private facilities.

Pérez, who has seven restaurants and five Michelin stars to his name, has drafted in head chef Miquel Villacrosa from Berlin’s Restaurant Cinco to head up the kitchen at this hot new city-centre destination, and diners are in for plenty of surprises.

As well as serving traditional Catalan classics, the menu offers ‘tastets’ – sharing plates, bigger than tapas but smaller than main dishes. We loved the ‘duck’in donuts’, playful white chocolate rings stuffed with rich foie gras and dusted with powdered raspberry, but there’s much more to cheer about: crisp-skinned chicken wings paired with piquant picada sauce; octopus, cooked sous-vide for tenderness and served with potatoes, romesco sauce and an oloroso foam; a robust baked rice dish dotted with squid, salty cod and huge red prawns.  To drink, the wine list offers plenty of choice by the glass, alongside cavas, cocktails and Catalonian gins. Our verdict? Tast is a thrilling addition to King Street’s gastronomic scene.

Promising to bring the best of Barcelona to Manchester, Tast is a Spanish bar and restaurant in the centre of Manchester serving Catalonian twists on tapas dishes. Décor is modern and minimalistic, and the site is set over three spacious floors. Each floor boasts a slightly different atmosphere: the ground floor houses its buzzy bar and terrace, the first floor is where you'll find the main restaurant, while the top floor houses a beautiful private dining room. The restaurant has got a couple of big names behind it too. The kitchen is led by chef Paco Perez, who's won multiple Michelin stars throughout his career, while the restaurant is backed by Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.

The food at Tast aims to be as authentic as possible, while only using the highest quality ingredients. The restaurant and bar both offer up a broad range of ‘tastets’, a Catalan word meaning ‘tasting plates’, and is intended to offer a Catalonian spin on tapas. Examples of these small and tasty dishes include roasted red pepper croquetas, octopus with potatoes, mojo rojo and mojo verde, and duck egg with fried squid, potato soufflé and tartar sauce.

Larger dishes, meanwhile, include a selection of Catalan-style rice and charcoal options, from lobster rice and coral mayo, to creamy mussel rice with mussel mayo. All of the rice dishes are finished off in a charcoal oven, to create the traditional caramelised glaze at the bottom of the dish.

Tast boasts a large selection of Catalonian wines - in fact, it's one of the largest collections of Catalonian wines in Manchester - which are ideal to accompany your authentic meal. There is also a range of international options if you prefer, plus plenty of cocktails and beers if you’re just stopping by the bar for a drink and a nibble.