El Coto, 17 Hallgarth St, Durham

2:24pm Friday 8th August 2008

ONE of the most recent additions to the culinary delights Durham has to offer is a Spanish tapas bar.

El Coto is situated in a venue which, in previous lives, has sold Italian food as Ricardo's and more traditional fayre as And Albert.

It is part of a chain with other branches in Newcastle and Darlington and owned by the same people who run El Torrero, near the High Level Bridge that crosses the River Tyne.

We were given a warm welcome by a man I am guessing was of Hispanic origin, although I did not ask to see his passport.

He showed us a table beneath the stairs, which was a cosy little area and there were just two other covers when we arrived just before 7pm on a Monday evening.

As time went on though, it started to fill up a bit more and word is clearly getting round that there is a new kid on the block in terms of Durham's eateries.

There are areas for couples and smaller groups to hide away from the crowds but also plenty of room for large parties like the one that arrived shortly after us.

Teachers, we reckoned. The great thing about tapas is you can mix and mach with your dining partners and try a bit of this and that.

It also makes eating a very social occasion because as well as offering each other a try of something, you are commenting on the food as you go.

A friendly young waitress took orders for drinks and came back with a pint of San Miguel, a real Spanish beer (£3.10), and a pineapple juice. (£1.60) Pouring over the wide and diverse menu can be agonising while you tactically decided what you fancy the most and what you just want a little taster of.

The cold tapas menu offers about 20 dishes including a wide range of breads and a salads that can accompany up 40 hot options.

To add a little authenticity to this taste of the Iberian Peninsula, we ordered a jug of sangria (£11.95), which was thirstquenching but also had a potent kick.

It did not take too long for our dishes to arrive, maybe 15 minutes, and when they did they came thick and fast.

We shared the pork tenderloin in creamy blue cheese and mushroom sauce, chips in spicy hot tomato sauce, chunks of chorizo fried in olive oil and white wine sweet and spicy peppers stuffed with black pudding, lamb meatballs and marinated skewered chicken breast.

Overall, these were cooked perfectly and really tasty.

The only complaint came from my guest who felt the homemade rustic lamb stew was overcooked.

One word of advice is not to order too many meat dishes, as we clearly did, because they are very rich and filling.

The thing was, though, they are all so tempting. But the beauty of tapas is that if you have room for more, you can always go back to the menu.

This is the way meals are enjoyed in Spain and means you can order another jug of sangria and make the experience last all evening.

Dishes cost about £4 each and, as the restaurant is open from noon, a couple of plates could work well as a light lunch if you are not up for a full evening meal.

I left no room for pudding but my guest managed the raspberry white chocolate cheesecake, which was deemed delicious.

The service, from real Spanish staff, is swift and polite and nothing seemed to be a bother.

The quality of the food is excellent and there is so much choice there is bound to something for everyone.

El Coto is a welcome addition to the scene, sure to be popular with the city's student population, families, in fact anyone looking for a leisurely way to enjoy good food in a pleasant atmosphere.

Eating Out