Fino - Tottenham Court Road

Sleeker and more urbane than most city tapas joints, Fino has quickly stamped its mark on the London restaurant scene with a fine range of accurately executed morsels backed up by a decent choice of sherries and a wine list that does justice to Spain but offers quaffable stuff from elsewhere.

You need to go to Rathbone Street to find the entrance, then proceed down to the airy basement which has been lavishly dressed with blond wood, splashes of colour and furnishings from Paris. A mezzanine bar overlooks the restaurant.

The menu is long and varied: you can opt for one of the tasting selections or mix-and-match at will, grazing and sharing as you go. Dishes tend to come in waves, but there are classic tortillas flavoured with spinach or chorizo, croquetas of ham and prawns, crispy fried shrimps and more besides. If you fancy something bigger, the choice extends to rump of lamb with prune sauce, clams with sherry and ham, or crisp pork belly. Finish with a shot of Catalan foam, Santiago tart or some Spanish cheese.

Barrafina in Frith Street, Soho, provides a cheaper, more casual alternative to Fino - but note that it doesn't take bookings.