El Parador

Celebrating its 20th birthday this year & packed out almost every night of the week, El Parador certainly has its fans. This loyalty is due to the generous plates of low-price tapas, including a familiar line-up of boquerones, tortilla & albondigas. These are excellent, but some of the kitchen’s more creative dishes get the thumbs-up too. Monkfish is pan-fried with salty samphire & roasted garlic; fried chicken livers come with grapes, onions & oloroso sherry, while slow-roast belly of pork is flavoured with fennel seeds & garlic. The mainly Spanish & New World wine list rarely creeps above £25 – look out for a couple of lovely white Riojas. Staff are sweet, though not always swift & there’s a quiet garden for summer alfresco eating.