Get to Know… El Coto
We find out all about popular Newcastle tapas restaurant El Coto ahead of its 20th anniversary
El Coto, tucked away on Leazes Park Road, is one of the city’s best loved restaurants, a destination for fine tapas and excellent paellas and for a warm and welcoming atmosphere.
It's a veritable dining institution and as its 20th birthday approaches, we caught up with co-owner Johanne Bean for a chat about the restaurant’s history and how it has lasted so long.
Twenty years is a long time in the rapidly changing restaurant scene and many restaurants don’t get to stay around that long, let alone to become veritable fixtures. But El Coto definitely bucks that trend and is generally regarded as a ‘must-visit’ among foodies and casual diners alike. Co-owner Johanne Bean has a pretty good idea as to why the restaurant has lasted so long.
“I think it’s because of the charm of our building, our food being affordable value for money and being consistent – our chefs have been with us for 18 and 16 years respectively," she says.
El Coto first opened its doors on 21st April 2004 with Johanne, Granada native Toni Almiron and Toni's wife Claire Ewell at the helm and its name - which translates to "hunting ground" - reflected its earlier culinary focus on grilled game and meat before its focus switched to tapas. Johanne and Toni go way back, having worked together for 25 years at now-closed Spanish restaurant La Tasca - Johanne as head chef and Toni as manager - but in 2001, Toni left to set up El Torero (El Coto’s sister restaurant).
The pair were reunited when they opened El Coto and together with Claire have run several other businesses in Newcastle and the wider North East region including Dacantus, The Continental, Sugar Loaf Cafe and two other branches of El Coto. Now, however, the focus is on El Coto and El Torero, which is found on the Side and offers a similar selection of tapas and paella dishes.
One of the most notable things about El Coto is its Leazes Park Road location. It occupies an atmospheric and distinctive old building, with the remains of an old barn at the back of the restaurant (it was previously a well-known local restaurant called Barn Again). Of course, like all the best buildings, there are rumours of ghosts.
“We did have some ghost investigators stay overnight in the restaurant and downstairs cellar,” Johanne explains, “We're featured in the book Haunted Newcastle - they found evidence of rapid temperature drops in parts of the building and felt a presence. Over the years, I have definitely felt something or someone there. We even gave him a name – Mikey!”
El Coto’s food is based on the cuisine of Andalusia, the beautiful rural region of Southern Spain, and focuses on tapas - small plates of hot and cold dishes - and paellas from the eastern Mediterranean coast, perhaps Spain’s most popular gift to world cuisine.
The food at El Coto has a reputation for authenticity and many of the products – including their cheese and jamon – are sourced from Spain. Some of the dishes are familiar to English diners – Queso Manchego, Jamon Serrano, Calamares and Gambas – while there are also some more unusual tapas options such as Arroz de Matanza (rice cooked with chicken, pork and chorizo) and Ropa Vieja (a Moorish casserole of beef, chickpeas and aubergines). Johanne has a good grasp on the kind of dishes guests love the most and what she'd recommend to someone visiting El Coto for the first time:
“The tapas and paellas are always a favourite with our customers, as are the lamb meatballs, but I do think the chicken with dates is a stand-out dish."
Its Leazes Park locale, just a short walk from St James' Park, has also seen it become a popular place to head on matchdays and its lively bar attracts a regular clientele of Toon Army fans who pop in for some food and wine before and after home fixtures.
Johanne and her co-owners are clearly proud of what they’ve achieved at El Coto, and the fact that the restaurant has made it to such a milestone anniversary. They’ll be trumpeting the date in the restaurant and will be featuring a special tapas of the week to celebrate.
Outstanding neighbourhood restaurants are always to be celebrated, especially when the food is this reliably good, and El Coto deserves its fine reputation. Here’s to another twenty years and more of tasty tapas and perfect paellas!
El Coto is at 21 Leazes Park Road, NE1 4PF, and opens at midday every day, closing at 9.3pm (10pm on Friday and Saturday)
