Craft cocktails, Beatles vinyl, black cats, good music and a remarkably international crowd – Gato Negro is one of Valencia’s more intriguing places for a drink. Gato Negro started the way many things in Valencia do. A few drinks later, opening a craft cocktail bar in the city centre seemed like a very good idea. Fortunately, they went ahead with it. This is a true cocktail bar. There is no beer nor wine nor gin and tonics…just great cocktails! Tucked away at C/Ciscar 26, bajo izq., Gato Negro is the sort of bar that feels slightly hidden until you know where to look. Once inside, however, you quickly discover that there is a lot more to it than an interesting cocktail menu. There is the music. There is the art. There are black cats everywhere. And there is a remarkably international crowd. The bar is in the hands of two cosmopolitan couples, who together bring a distinctly international flavour to the operation.”

🌍 FROM NEW YORK TO VALENCIA

One of the things that immediately gives Gato Negro its character is the mixture of people who walk through the door.

The clientele is genuinely international, with visitors and residents from places including Los Angeles and New York, Latin America, France, Holland and Ukraine, alongside tourists discovering Valencia from all over the world.

It gives the bar a cosmopolitan atmosphere without making it feel like a tourist bar.

English, Spanish and other languages drift across the room while people sit at the bar, share small plates and work their way through the cocktail list.

It feels rather appropriate for a city like Valencia – increasingly international, but still relaxed enough to enjoy a drink without turning it into an occasion.

🎶 ALL YOU NEED IS… A RECORD PLAYER

The people behind Gato Negro are serious Beatles fans, and their love of music is woven into the character of the bar.

Instead of relying entirely on digital playlists, they have built up a collection of vinyl that includes every Beatles album, alongside records by The Rolling Stones, Elton John and Styx.

And these aren’t simply decorative records lined up on a shelf.

They actually play them on a record player by the bar.

So you might be enjoying a mezcal cocktail while The Beatles are spinning beside you, followed at some point by The Rolling Stones, Elton John or Styx.

There is something wonderfully old-school about it.

You can see the album.

You can hear the vinyl.

You can watch the record turning.

And it gives the music a physical presence that is increasingly rare in bars.

The Beatles influence even finds its way into the cocktail names, with Sgt. Pepper, Strawberry Field and Yoko Ono all appearing on the menu.

🐈‍⬛ THE CAT THAT’S ALWAYS WATCHING

The name Gato Negro isn’t just clever branding either.

Look around the interior and you’ll notice that the paintings all feature a black cat.

It appears again and again throughout the space, becoming almost a visual mascot for the bar.

The effect is quirky without being gimmicky.

The black cat is mysterious, slightly mischievous and always watching – rather appropriate for a place where one drink can so easily become three.

🍸 SERIOUS COCKTAILS WITHOUT THE SERIOUS FACE

Behind all the personality, Gato Negro takes its drinks seriously.

The team makes things themselves, from ice to cordials, with no shortcuts.

The signature menu features ten cocktails, currently priced at €14.

Una Vez En México combines mezcal, sotol, corn, hibiscus, Sichuan and chilli peppers and orange for a smoky and genuinely spicy drink.

Meet Me Halfway brings together gin, lychee, nettle, umeshu and aloe ice for something smoother and softer.

Yves combines rye whiskey and bourbon with cherry, apricot, vermouth and Campari for a bold, bitter Boulevardier-style cocktail.

And Sgt. Pepper mixes Islay whisky and Scotch with chilli, elderflower, honey and citrus.

Then things become even more adventurous.

🌏 VALENCIA MEETS THE WORLD

Yoko Ono combines rum, apricot, pineapple and Japanese yuzu.

Miyazaki takes gin into Japanese-inspired highball territory with kaffir lime, peach, plum, jasmine, citrus and bubbles.

And People Are Strange combines mezcal with ginger, Lapsang Souchong, artichoke, amaro, citrus and bubbles.

Perhaps the most unexpected creation is Jojo Rabbit – tequila, sake, carrot, cinnamon, almond, aperitif wine and citrus, inspired by Japanese carrot cake and finished with mascarpone.

Then there’s Mr. Clooney, Gato Negro’s take on the espresso martini: vodka, speciality coffee and mascarpone vanilla foam, with a distinctly tiramisù-like character.

The names may make you smile.

The cocktails are serious business.

🍽️ SMALL PLATES FOR A LONG NIGHT

The drinks can be accompanied by a selection of small plates and snacks, including Asian cucumber salad, spicy tuna bites, edamame with Bloody Mary sauce, Japanese crackers and nuts, olives with roasted garlic and herbs, and mochi.

It is food designed for sharing and grazing – ideal for an evening that isn’t particularly interested in sticking to a timetable.

⭐ FOUR BIG NAMES – AND COUNTING

Gato Negro’s ambitions become particularly clear through its guest-shift programme.

The bar has already brought Drink Kong from Rome, Apotheke and Cooktl by La Salita behind its counter.

Drink Kong brought an international perspective from Rome, while Cooktl connected Gato Negro with the cocktail programme of Valencia’s Michelin-starred La Salita.

Apotheke, meanwhile, demonstrated just how strong Valencia’s own cocktail scene can be – and how close the talent can be to home. The two bars are only around 40 metres apart on Calle Ciscar.

But Gato Negro is about to raise the bar again.

🥇 SIPS IS COMING TO VALENCIA

On 16 October, Gato Negro will welcome Sips from Barcelona, with two members of the Sips team working behind the Gato Negro bar for one night.

And this isn’t just another guest shift.

Sips is currently No. 3 on The World’s 50 Best Bars and was named the best bar in the world in 2023.

For Gato Negro, it represents the fourth collaboration at this level, following Drink Kong, Apotheke and Cooktl by La Salita.

For Valencia cocktail enthusiasts, it is a pretty exciting prospect.

Two members of one of the world’s most celebrated cocktail teams taking over a relatively intimate bar on Calle Ciscar for one night?

Book the evening into your diary.

🐈‍⬛ A LITTLE BAR WITH A BIG WORLD VIEW

Put all the ingredients together and Gato Negro starts to make sense.

The cocktails are international.

The food has international influences.

The clientele comes from around the world.

The music collection travels from Liverpool to London, America and beyond.

The walls are populated by the same mysterious black cat.

And behind the bar, an ambitious guest programme is bringing some seriously big names into Valencia.

Yet there is nothing particularly corporate or formulaic about the place.

Quite the opposite.

It feels personal.

The vinyl collection is personal.

The paintings are personal.

The cocktail names are playful.

And the team’s attitude is refreshingly relaxed.

Gato Negro’s own description says it perfectly:

“No shortcuts, just properly made cocktails in a relaxed, hidden setting.”

Some people even say it is one of the best cocktail bars in Valencia.

Although, as Gato Negro itself admits, they’ve usually had more than one drink by then.

🌙 ONE DRINK?

That may be the biggest danger of Gato Negro.

You arrive intending to have one.

Then you see the cocktail menu.

You hear The Beatles playing on vinyl.

You notice another black-cat painting.

You order something smoky.

Perhaps you share some food.

Someone beside you is talking about where they have come from – New York, Los Angeles, Latin America, France, Holland, Ukraine or somewhere else entirely.

Then another cocktail sounds like a very good idea.

The music changes.

The record turns.

The evening continues.

And eventually you realise that the supposedly questionable decision to open a cocktail bar wasn’t such a questionable decision after all.

Because Gato Negro isn’t trying to be the loudest bar in Valencia.

It is doing something more interesting.

It is making cocktails properly, keeping the atmosphere relaxed, putting great music on the turntable, welcoming people from around the world, inviting some of the biggest names in the cocktail world behind its bar – and helping put Calle Ciscar on Valencia’s cocktail map.

And on 16 October, that map gets another major international pin.

Sips is coming to town.

And if Gato Negro’s history is anything to go by, it’s probably worth getting there early. Sips is No.3 regarding The World’s 50 Best Bars and was the best bar in the world in 2023. It’s the fourth bar of that level they’ve brought over — Drink Kong (Rome), Apotheke and  Cooktl by La Salita came before!

Report by ‘24/7 Valencia’ team

Article copyright ‘24/7 Valencia’

🐈‍⬛ GATO NEGRO

📍 C/Ciscar 26, bajo izq., Valencia

https://gatonegrovlc.com/

https://www.instagram.com/gatonegro.vlc/

Cocktails Wednesday & Thursday 19:00h-00:00h Friday & Saturday 19:00h-01:30h Sunday & Monday 19:00h-00:00h

🍸 Signature cocktails: €14

🍽️ Small plates & snacks

🎶 Beatles, Rolling Stones, Elton John & Styx on vinyl

🎨 Black-cat artwork throughout the interior

🌍 International clientele

⭐ Guest shifts: Drink Kong · Apotheke · Cooktl by La Salita · Sips

📅 16 October – Sips guest shift!

24/7 Valencia verdict: A seriously crafted cocktail bar with a Beatles soundtrack, a black-cat soul and global ambitions – the sort of Valencia discovery where “just one drink” is probably best regarded as an opening statement.