Special envoy to Manchester
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In the northwest area of central Manchester, the River Irwell divides two of the places that mark Pep’s life in this industrial city in the north of England. aside, in Chapel StreetGuardiola and his family reside in a luxury apartment complex called City Suites (in which he lived David Silva and right now Gabriel Jesús does it), with spectacular views of the cathedral and the rest of the city center. Across the river, just half a mile (800 meters) from Pep’s residence, is Tast, on busy King Street (street where the best fashion firms and entertainment venues have set up shop), the Catalan cuisine restaurant opened by the City coach together with Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain, CEO and sports director of the English club, in July 2018.
Tast has become one of Manchester’s favorite restaurants in just four years. Not even the pandemic, which kept all the hospitality industry closed in English lands in two periods (March-June 2020 and December 2020-March 2021) has been able to bring down the most emotional project of Guardiola in Manchester. With a staff of fifteen people and capacity for more than a hundred clients, it has three different areas. Bar and outdoor terrace on the ground floor. Dining room on the first floor, and two reserved rooms on the second floor, the most private area of the restaurant. For taste During these four years, celebrities and personalities have passed, not only from football and sports, but from all areas, including royalty, but there is not a single photograph in the restaurant of their respective visits, nor is there a review or mention in your website.
Discretion has the same value as the quality of the food, and they make it known to ABC those responsible for managing the day-to-day running of the restaurant: “We don’t even have television screens to watch football. People come here to eat, to enjoy Catalan cuisine and the anonymity of our clientele is always maintained». It is a plus offered by this hotel business set up by Guardiola, Soriano and Txiki, who in addition to being owners are regular customers, as are a good part of the City footballers and the members of the coaching staff. Arteta on his day, Lillo in these times.
with the five stars Michelin Paco Perez As a chef (also owner of other famous restaurants such as Miramar, on the wonderful coast of Cadaqués), Tast offers its guests a selection of the most characteristic dishes of Catalan cuisine. Of course, the tumaca bread together with the classic charcuterie board with sausage, fuet and longaniza is one of the most chosen. He also seduces the Catalan cheese board that includes, among others, goat cheese and blau de The Garrotxa, an inland Catalan area, or petit nevat, another goat cheese from Barcelona. Rice ‘a la llauna’ cooked in a charcoal oven and with the unmistakable socarrat is another of Tast’s hallmarks. But there is more: the sausage with white beans, one of Guardiola’s favorite dishes (along with the duck egg with soufflé potatoes, Andalusian-style squid and tartar sauce, another house specialty that nods to Spanish cuisine); and, for sweet lovers, the xuxo stuffed with pastry cream, a typical Girona dessert.
The pairing It also has a Catalan accent. Damm Star Beer; vermouth El Bandarra, from the Penedés area; and a wide selection of wines from Empordá, Terra Alta, Tarragona or the Penedés: “We are a restaurant with one of the widest offers of Catalan wines in England,” says Sandra, the manager.
But not only Catalan food and drink feeds taste. Also
There is room for Spanish restaurants: bravas, padrón peppers, turbot, leg of suckling lamb, Iberian ham from Guijuelo, grilled octopus… and a surprise for fans of rival teams who come to Manchester to cheer on their teams . It already happened with Atlético’s visit three weeks ago and it happens again these days with the Real Madrid fans. Tast pays tribute to its presence in this city with a small tasting menu that includes some of the most consumed products in Madrid or typical of the capital, such as stew croquettes, squid sandwich or scrambled eggs with ham and potatoes.
It is not a very extensive menu, but it is very complete and personalized in which, for an average price of 45-50 pounds, the cutlery transports its guests from the center of Manchester to Catalonia, thanks: «It is a project in which he has put a lot of love and passion, and we are all very happy with how things are going. And this is how our clientele transmits them to Pep when she has the opportunity to meet him here », explains Sandra. This is Tast, Pep Guardiola’s commitment to Catalan cuisine in downtown Manchester.
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