ENGLAND - MANCHESTER - CANTO

Miguel Renoir Spanish Guides
Dec 2, 2019
2 min read

Updated: Dec 29, 2025

CANTO

We came to Canto, a recent creation of Simon Shaw, of El Gato Negro Tapas fame, on an unusually sunny Sunday Lunchtime In Manchester, for a meal before going to the football at Old Trafford later that day.

You will find this younger sibling of Simon's in the heart of Manchester's latest to be redeveloped neighbourhood, Ancoats, on Cutting Room Square. It is quite a stunning, ample space with blue Portuguese tiles that reminded me of a recent visit to Braga.

They use the finest seasonal ingredients, sourced locally and from Europe, to create small dishes great for sharing.

Head Chef Carlos Gomes is from Porto, adding a Portuguese twist to the Spanish flavours. Carlos previously worked at Porto's acclaimed Japanese restaurant Góshò, London's Japanese restaurant Koya & in 2013 joined acclaimed London Spanish Restaurant Barrafina in Soho, where he became Head Chef in 2016, as they retained their One Michelin star.

A group of six of us sat down for lunch and tried the following dishes. (We had roughly two dishes of each.)

Catalan bread with olive oil, garlic and fresh tomato

18 months cureIbéricoco ham shouldeIbéricoco cured meat selection (copita, salchichón, paio porco preto)

Selection of Mediterranean cheeses with quince jelly

Jamón croquetas

Mushroom croquetas with black garlic mayo

Grilled chicken wings with spicy chilli oil

Spicy chicken skewers on flatbread

Crispy fried baby squid with aioli

Octopus lagareiro (octopus, new potatoes, garlic & baby onions)

Cod pil pil with caramelised peppers & red onion

Chargrilled pork skewers, harissa spiced hummus & chimichurri

Grilled chorizo, roasted potatoes & piquillo peppepuréeée

Caramelised cauliflower with a spiced cannelloni bean stew

Chargrilled sweet potato, white beapuréeee, mint & orange honey with toasted pumpkin seeds

Roasted potatoes with brava sauce and aioli

Braised pig's cheekIbéricoco ham mash, green kale and chestnuts

Almond tart & mascarpone mousse

Pastel de nata (handmade custard tart) each

We had two bottles of the excellent Lembranzas Albariño Rias Baixas 2018 (£38)

And two bottles of a very good pinot noir from Romania - Calusari Pinot Noir 2018 (£28)

Service was friendly and accommodating, and the atmosphere was fantastic, with great vibes.

The bill came to £65 per head for quite a substantial amount of food and four bottles of wine. (We probably ordered too much, but that is usually the case!)

We met at Edinburgh Castle, which is directly opposite Canto, for a drink before the meal, and it also seemed to be an excellent venue.