Stuck on a nondescript junction, this congenial bar-restaurant bravely brings the world to Watford. Chef-owner Mario Tavares makes good use of his previous life as a globe-trotting record producer to concoct an extensive daily menu of wildly varied tapas. Locals love the results, creating a hubbub in the ground-floor bar and upstairs dining area – both featuring simple bare-brick and white-walled interiors with scrubbed-pine furniture. Five or six dishes should satisfy two diners, though deciding between the likes of cuttlefish chorizo stew and Ivory Coast chicken (with a peanut butter and chilli infusion) won’t be easy. The culinary tour could continue with Louisiana gumbo filé or an Ethiopian spiced-cabbage dish of tikil gomen, served on spongy injera bread. Noodle dishes are usually available too, as is Tavares’ most daring innovation: mac & cheese, sushi-style. Drinks also veer from the ordinary, with Prosecco on tap, organic wines and global beers being highlights.