TAPAS Plus is a favourite haunt of mine, and I find any excuse to drag friends, neighbours, family and loved ones to the bar and restaurant in Bournemouth’s town centre.

Part of the draw, I think, is the authentic Spanish atmosphere at both Tapas Plus I and Tapas Plus II, located beside each other in Bourne Avenue.

The latter is a modern bar with a conservatory, where tapas are served while you enjoy, for example, a San Miguel or Cruzcampo beer over a game of table football. The former is a more traditional restaurant where you can also choose from an a la carte menu serving such favourites as house paella and cordero abobado (marinated lamb in wine, peppers, onions, paprika & garlic).

So the food is authentic, too, from various regions of Spain and all prepared freshly.

We always order a few tapas dishes to share between friends, and part of the beauty of this is that there will be something to suit every palate. You also avoid ‘plate envy’ where you wish you’d ordered what arrives for your chum. And there are no furtive pleas of ‘can I just try some of yours?’ (men, in particular hate this).

On a recent visit two of us shared batatas bravas: little cubes of fried potatoes with a spicy topping; and the pimientos rellenos: peppers with squid and prawns in bechamel sauce.

Another favourite is the beautiful discs of smoky, spicy chorizo in a tasty cider sauce, which we ordered alongside the tiger prawns in sherry sauce as well as the mushrooms with chillies, tomato and coriander served with sour cream.

And for us, no tapas would be complete without the soft, gooey fried breaded cheese served with a tangy warm onion marmalade. Muy bueno!

The Dominguez family (father, mother and three sons) and the Spanish staff at Tapas Plus have over the years proved very affable and accommodating hosts, and they can expect to see a lot more of us. Our bill, including a glass of wine, two colas and a coffee came to £34.70.