Wednesday 7 April 2010

Food - Restaurant Review - El Gato Negro

Delicious, authentic food, but with a salty twist.

Staying away from the food itself for a moment, the reception and table service are excellent, with a warm friendly welcome and attentive table staff. The overall decor of the restaurant is simple and pleasant, and the food presentation is exquisite.

The dishes are served in tapas style with cold dishes being brought first, and hot meat dishes towards the end of the meal (also usually starting with any bread dishes), and I find this style of serving a lot more enjoyable than a more rigid, formal setting, making the whole atmosphere of the place a lot more relaxed.

The food on the whole is very good, with authenticity and a creative flare going into every dish on the menu, using some interesting combinations of flavours which work really well together.

Unfortunately this is somewhat hampered in at least 50% of the dishes by that fact that they are over-salted, something which it seems I have become almost used to in restaurants, but Louise picked up on more acutely.

I find this a great shame as the ingredients used are of excellent quality and don't need to be masked with the excessive seasoning, were their natural flavours allowed to surface more in the dishes, it would have been a superb meal instead of just a very good one.

But still, the positive aspects definitely outweigh the overzealous use of sodium, and the restaurant is worth a visit, just don't eat any crisps the day after.

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