La Tasca, 70 Regents Street, Cheltenham, GL50 1HW

Tel: 01242 220 775

Food served Monday to Saturday noon to 11pm, Sunday noon to 10.30pm

BEING a builder by trade, my husband is a big eater. After a day lifting bricks or digging holes, a salad simply won’t suffice - steak and chips or a big beefy lasagne are more likely to hit the spot.

So when he suggested a pre-theatre meal in Cheltenham’s La Tasca - a Spanish tapas restaurant and bar - I suspected he had no idea what tapas actually were.

“Errr...you do know the portions aren’t exactly huge?” I asked, waiting for him to head for McDonald’s instead. “And you have to share. You might not find much you like on the menu.”

“It’ll be fine,” he insisted as we took our seats, and it turns out he’s not as daft as I thought.

You see, it was a Tuesday and it was about 6pm. And every week from Sunday to Tuesday, between the hours of 5pm and 9pm, La Tasca has a special deal - eat as much tapas as you like for a tenner.

And we did.

I hadn’t realised La Tasca was a chain, with more than 70 restaurants in the UK, but don’t let that put you off.

The decor is traditionally Spanish, but not in that tacky donkey-in-a-sombrero way. Think terracotta and hand-painted tiles, subtle Spanish guitar music in the background and ornate wood carvings and you’ll be nearer the mark.

The ‘tapas for a tenner’ menu is more limited than the regular one, but there are still 13 dishes to choose from and plenty that we wanted to try.

Pan de Barra (bread with dipping oils) comes first while you read the menu. You can also add a bottle of Monterio red, white or rose wine for another £10, and we decided it would be rude not to.

Our waiter helpfully recommended we began by ordering two or three tapas each, adding to them later if we wanted more. He didn’t know who he was dealing with.

We ended up ordering seven dishes to share - Croquetas de Pollo (chicken croquettes with roasted garlic mayonnaise), Chorizo Frito al Vino (Spanish sausage sauteed in red wine), Pescado Blanco Frito (deep fried white fish), Patatas Bravas (fried potato in a tomato sauce), Berenjenas Gratinadas (baked aubergine with a cheese topping), Tortilla Espanola (Spanish-style omelette) and Ensalada Verde (green salad) - not only to satisfy my husband’s appetite but also my own curiosity.

With the exception of possibly the aubergine gratin, everything appeared to be fresh and cooked to order. The fish was especially good - light and crispy with a moreish garlicky dip - and the chorizo was a big hit on the other side of the table, where that particular dish spent most of the time.

And surprisingly, once we’d polished off that little lot, we didn’t want any more. A little, as I always find with tapas, goes a long way.

In fact, my husband even asked the waiter to recommend a “light” dessert and ended up with Tarta de Queso con Capas de Limon (lemon tart, £4.25), while I indulged in the Crema Catalana (creme caramel, £3.95).

Well . . . there’s always room for pudding.