Grado

The ever popular Heathcote group  has donned its Spanish cloak and opened up in Manchester's Piccadilly, with an open plan kitchen serving an all-day menu of tapas, the whole ensemble extremely Spanish, bringing back memories of boisterous nights in sunny Spain as you wend your way through Manchester on a wet Monday morning.

But once inside thoughts of soggy streets and grey anoraks recede, and you are whisked away on a culinary journey of tapas, with platters of Berico ham, organic Serrano ham or a mixed platter of ham with chorizo and lom.

Amongst the tapas look for morcilla with fried duck's egg and ximinez vinegar, octopus with lemon oil, capers and smoked paprika, or deep fried baby squid with aioli. Me? Well I go for the salt cod fritter with smoked anchovy mayonnaise, perhaps the grilled quail with chilli honey and jerez vinegar, or clams with sherry and ham even.

It is of course blissfully possible to never progress further than the tapas selection, but this would be to deny ones self of, for instance, the daily roast from the charcoal oven, starting off with roast beef on Sunday, following with suckling pig on Monday, then roast lamb, roast chicken, roast pork, baked roast salmon in cornmeal pastry on Friday, finishing with roast duck on Saturday. What a shame there are not a few more days in the week.

The daily menu starts with clams in sherry, scrambled eggs with wild mushrooms, or morcilla with chickpea and bean casserole. Bomba baked rice with chicken, Jamon, mushrooms and brava sauce is one of those multi purpose dishes that will fit in just about anywhere - on this menu it is poised between the starters and the mains.

The mains are a pretty feisty group of dishes with duck with figs and honey catching the eye, braised rabbit with Rioja, spatchcock chicken roasted over charcoal with chilli, rosemary and fennel salad, or milk roast pork served with spinach, raisins and pine nuts.

It always surprises me that the Spanish do not have more ways with fish, given their extensive coastline, and hake with clams, fino, broad beans and basil only serves to support my case. Let's have some more, senors. And some more too of that delicious olive oil mash, such an improvement on butter.

Which brings us to Grado desserts, starting with crème Catalana, rice pudding with figs and honey, Spanish trifle and warm chocolate pudding with hazelnuts. A pleasant surprise is the versatility of a selection of Spanish cheeses with truffle, honey and quince - daring, adventurous and a wonderful end to a meal.

Cava, that Spanish form of bubbly, is often given a lukewarm press, but given good treatment and a sound pedigree it can make a pleasant replacement for wine on the right sort of days. Try the Mas Macia Gran Reserva at Grado and note the difference, or if you must spend money a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label is yours for just a little over £50. Sixteen wines can be bought by the glass,

For more details of their extensive wine list, menu changes, atmospheric theatre style kitchen and events, a quick click on their Website will reveal all.