We’re in Manchester to kickstart our five weeks of comedy with Ed Gamble filming his Netflix special. Between now and the end of February, it’s him and four other comedians we’ve followed with interest over varying amounts of time, to be watched in varying locations of varying size given their varying levels of fame. As we sat there in the red light of The Lowry, directly under his shadow, close enough to catch the spittle from his trademark shouty style it became abundantly clear that like many in his shoes, his style of stand-up now owes more to Michael McIntrye than his comedy hero Bill Hicks. Ed Gamble has reached the level of fame that he needs to maintain the demeanour of a prime-time celebrity; he is in operation ‘can’t be cancelled’, swimming in the mainstream, the sharp edge now blunt. I laughed maybe four times. And yet, despite this, we are still having ‘poppadoms or bread’ at the wedding. It’s a good line that will make around 3% of the guests smile.

This left us with the issue of where to eat in Manchester on a Tuesday night. Skof is closed, Sophie had been to Climat recently. I’ve done Erst, Yuzu, Adam Reid. Didn’t fancy the menu at Higher Ground. We needed something to slot into the late afternoon, directly after checking in, that would leave us enough time to get to Blinker and catch a cab to The Lowry. We decided on Tast Catala, partially because they could fit us in at 4pm, but mostly because they had prawn rice that Sophie wanted whilst I could take advantage of a three tapas for twenty quid deal they run before dinner service kicks in.

Tast Catala is a Spanish restaurant from multi-starred Paco Perez, with alleged financial involvement from the thinking man’s Sean Dyce, Pep Guardiola. Perez is known for his innovative approach to Catalan cuisine and whilst the menu here is mostly traditional, we don’t turn down the opportunity to order his signature donut of foie gras in a white chocolate casing with raspberry powder. It lacks balance; the foie is too muted, the white chocolate too sweet. It’s not the greatest of starts.

And then there is the tapas. Jamon croquettes could have been hotter but at least had good amounts of ham throughout the béchamel. Tortilla which was a little over-seasoned, heavy on the potato, and isn’t going to threaten Nestor anytime soon. My first time trying butifarra sausage with beans amounts to little more than a dense bland sausage on some mushy garlicky beans.

Sophie gets her prawn rice and really enjoys it. The bomba rice has absorbed all the fishy stock and the meat is generously dispatched. That, a £33 jug of excellent sangria and a charming bespectacled front-of-house with a soft Mancunian accent are the true redeeming points of a lacklustre £85 meal. I gather from friends that Tast Catala was once considered to be a very good, very consistent restaurant. Perhaps they’ve lost their edge. It happens to the best of them.

6/10