They gave us the warmest welcome on a cold, rain-lashed night for which courtesy I have always felt tremendously well-disposed to La Tasca and its staff. The occasion was the opening party for Trevor Osborne's brilliantly conceived Oxford Castle development, to which everyone I know appeared to have been invited and, surprisingly, even a few people I didn't know.

Having shuffled through the rain from one establishment to another, wondering where the focus of the party might be, we eventually concluded that there wasn't one. (This was before we found the main marquee, overlooking the area earmarked for the glorious firework display, along a path we had previously dismissed as being unworthy of consideration since it appeared to lead only to the loos.) The highlight of our travels proved to be La Tasca. Urged to come inside by a charming young doorman, whom we later discovered to be a student at Oxford Brookes University, we accepted his invitation, placed our brollies inside the front door and stepped from sopping Oxford into sunny Spain or, at any rate, a corporate designer's version of sunny Spain which looked real enough to pass muster for me. My colleague Yuri Anderegg's pictures illustrate clearly enough the sympathetic atmosphere that has been created here. Our appreciation of the Iberian feel of the place was only enhanced by the glasses of sangria placed in our hands on arrival, and the generous portions of paella dispensed soon after from a huge cooking pot.

Since that first, most favourable, impression Rosemarie and I have returned four or five times, generally at the end of an evening at the theatre. It is a most convenient 'stopping off' point on the way home and keeps hours last orders around 11pm suitable for all but the very longest shows.

d=3,3,1Its tapas-style menu, moreover, is perfect for a group in which some people are hungrier than others. Given that you can order as many or as few dishes as you wish, a meal can suit those such as I who prefer to eat their main meal of the day late, as well as those who just require 'topping up' what used to be called 'supper' before that useful term was pirated and misapplied by the middle classes.

Our most recent visit, at the end of last month, followed Birmingham Royal Ballet's performance of The Sleeping Beauty at the New Theatre. With us in our party of five, besides Rosemarie's mother Olive, was The Oxford Times's dance critic David Bellan (by the by, an expert chef) and his artist wife Suzanne. Both, as it happens, had also been among the happy throng at the sangria and paella opening bash and shared our liking for the place.

That we would be as late as 10.30pm (Beauty is one of the longest works in the repertoire) was explained when I made the booking. This was no problem, I was told we could have a full dinner, including pudding. In the event, this only proved possible after a little harrumphing and laying down of the law by me. When we tried to order puds, our waiter David, from Valencia told us the kitchen was closed. I firmly mentioned the assurance I had been given on the phone and full marks to La Tasca it was suddenly open again and able to supply the shared portions of flan with toffee sauce (£2.95), honey and pine-nut cheesecake (£3.35) and a gloriously rich dark chocolate truffle with ice cream (£3.25).

I held off, contenting myself with a good strong coffee (£1.40) and a glass of fiery Spanish brandy of a variety Fundador once found in every Morrell's pub (the brewery boss liked it).

The menu lists 36 choices of tapas dishes, hot and cold, so we had earlier had plenty to choose from. The result of our selecting a couple of likely looking dishes each plus a couple of the 'acompanamientos' (a super assortment of olives, and bread with sun-dried tomatoes and olives) was a wonderful array of flavours, colours and textures.

To my taste the star items (and I'll dispense with the Spanish names) were pieces of chicken breast cooked in white wine and garlic (£3.45), the pan-fried mushrooms with grilled cheese topping (£3.10), the deep-fried squid, tuna, whitebait and king-prawns with garlic mayonnaise (£4.15) and the fresh anchovies ("not the salty type!" explains the menu, accurately at £2.95).

Others were as enthusiastic about the classic tortilla with potato and onions (£2.55), the fried mushrooms with garlic (£2.95), the grilled pork loin with paprika and garlic on toasted bread (£3.45), the battered deep-fried king prawns with garlic mayonnaise (£3.85), the chicken breast and red pepper grilled on a skewer (£3.50) and the spicy meatballs with vegetable and tomato sauce (£3.55).

There was more than enough food for us all, as waiter David had predicted there would be. With excellent bottles of red Rioja (Siglo Saco Crianza, 2002) and Monistrol 2003 (a blend of Chardonnay, Macabeo and Penedes, £12.15), mineral water and a small Oloroso sherry, the total bill for the five of us was just over £90. Pretty good value, we all thought.