Actractivo, actractivo, actractivo which in English of course reads as 'sexy, sexy, sexy ' Because that's precisely what the La Flamenca in Bath is like a classy Spanish eaterie that, to my mind at least, is one of the best finds of this year.

It claims to be the 'only authentic' Spanish restaurant in the city, and whether that is true or not, I don't know, but it certainly feels Spanish, looks Spanish, tastes Spanish and IS, as far as I am concerned, Espanol Spanish.

And just in case this leads you to wonder if it might in fact resemble one of those cheap and cheerful restaurants we've all eaten in on the Costa Del Sol egg, chips and the Daily Mirror fear not; it's in another universe altogether.

However, at first sight, outside its entrance on North Parade (a one minute easy walk from Bath Spa train station), it does look rather uninspiring. The restaurant is downstairs in the cellars of a five-storey Georgian townhouse and consequently, the stone steps leading down give little indication of what awaits the diner. Indeed, as I descended, I began to think the whole thing might ultimately prove to be nothing more than a cynical venture aimed at fleecing the city's less discerning residents and tourists you know, red checked table cloths, a few candles in bottles and endless piped guitar music. Well, how wrong could I be? (and I rarely am) Answer: blindingly. Frankly it's as close as you're likely to get to that genuine Spanish experience without the whole effort feeling themed or branded or synthetic like some Irish monstrosity.

Consequently, I quickly forgot I was in Bath and certainly after the first jug of sangria (£10.50), it was an illusion I was more than happy to be seduced by. Interestingly, when photographed, the restaurant's dcor does fail to to do it justice, leaving it looking just like the 'Spanglish' clich I described earlier. But trust me, what makes this restaurant so rewarding is its easy charm, its staff and the quality of its cuisine. So, what of the food itself? Well, let's start with all you really need to know. It's very reasonable, very tasty and very moreish.

For our starter, I chose Eggs Flamenca Style with Chorizo, Tomato, Peppers and Peas (£5.50), whilst my other half plumped for the Seafood Stuffed Peppers (£6.90). Mine was superb but my girlfriend's was better, which led to an argument.

As for the main courses, we needed no convincing as far as the Paella Marinera (seafood paella) was concerned (£11.50 per person, minimum two people). And incidentally, as my girlfriend reminded me after I placed the order, 'paella' is pronounced 'pie-eeeee-agh'. This dish takes about half-an-hour to prepare, and so arrived just minutes after we finished our starters. But boy what a great dish. Served on a skillet and decorated with prawns and mussels, it certainly looked colourful enough, although maybe a tad too modest for two hearty appetites. Yet 20 minutes later, and having gorged ourselves messily to the disapproval of other diners, there was still a rock pool or two of rice left untouched. Which is why we bottled out of the dessert and instead heaved our swollen guts back up the stone steps we had so daintily descended but 90 minutes earlier. Swell joint, swell food. Enough said.

Jeremy Smith

Fact File

La Flamenca, 12A North Parade (Vaults), Bath

Tel: 01225 463626

Open: noon to 3pm and from 6.30pm to midnight (last orders 10.30pm)

Starters around £5.00

Main Courses start at about £10.00