THIS year, three of the top 10 restaurants featured in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list compiled by Restaurant magazine, were Spanish.

But you don’t need to book a flight to Spain to enjoy a taste of the country.

Simon Wilkinson, chief executive of La Tasca, a tapas business with restaurants across the country, is on a mission to bring the best Spanish food to the UK.

His management team, which took over in 2012, has succeeded in turning around the the ailing business, which includes the Bournemouth restaurant in the Square.

“Before we took over, 85 per cent of food used to be frozen, now 85 per cent is fresh,” says Simon.

Simon is surrounded by a mouth-watering selection of his favourite tapas including superfood salad with wheat, red quinoa, lentils, avocado and tomatoes, manchego cheese, montadito de gambas, which is like brushetta topped with sautéed Serrano ham and prawns in a white wine sauce, slow-cooked pork cheeks served on a bed of creamy mashed potato and tender slices of octopus with patas bravas.

“There are many reasons why tapas is so popular now,” says Simon. “First is the cost of food, serving on small plates keeps the cost down, combined with the recession and the fact people want more value for money.

“Around 65 to 70 per cent of our customer base is female who like to share and more people travel now and get a taste of tapas on holiday.”

The menu at La Tasca includes 34 gluten-free dishes which will be extended in the autumn to include a gluten-free wrap and more desserts and specialities like sea bream, a sharing dish filled with Mediterranean vegetables.

Simon, who has worked with celebrity chef Raymond Blanc, says his favourite dish though is Paella Valenciana La Tasca with chicken, mussels, king prawns, squid, aubergines, peppers and peas.

“Paella is one of our specialities and this is our signature dish,” Simon explains.

“It is a great sharing dish and it is very versatile as you can experiment with a variety of ingredients.”