In the beginning were tasty snacks, and then the Spanish thought up tapas, though nobody seems quite sure about when or why, except that tapa is Spanish for lid, so a hunk of bread placed over a glass to keep out the livestock . . . . . . well, I'm sure you get the rest. I'm equally sure this is not uppermost in your mind as you walk through the welcoming doors of this relatively recently opened family run and friendly tapas bar, Casa Ruiz, in the heart of rural Bridgnorth, where Spain does seem quite a long away off until you look at Casa Ruiz's menu.

The structure of a tapas meal is so simple that even the meerkats would approve - order 2 or 3 dishes to start, see how you like them, then however much you do, scan the menu for a further selection. And so on. And on. The biggest mistake you could make is to miss the fantastic opportunity to savour so many wonderful Iberian flavours, as well as having a thoroughly good meal in the process. The other is to expect too much in the way of sweet finishes. They are included, sure, but tapas tend to concentrate on the savoury side of life.

The tapas form of eating is convivial and flavour haunted, ideal for parties, and Casa Ruiz has a very attractively priced all food-inclusive party menu, during which it is not unknown for Alfonso to get a touch carried away, sending out an enthusiastically generous array of dishes that really gets the party swinging. We commend this excellent addition to the eating houses of Bridgnorth, a worthy champion of Spanish tapas.