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The lively La Tasca chain caters for parties, children's events and family gatherings in addition to anytime dining. These restaurants capture well the warm and vibrant spirit of Spain, and are best known for their tapas and traditional paellas.

Their star player is tapas, which can be had solo or in tandem with a meal. The calamares andaluza, deep-fried squid rings, served with roasted garlic mayonnaise and lemon, is great for sharing, while the chorizo frito al vino, spicy Spanish sausage flavoured with paprika, garlic and herbs, sautéed in red wine, offers a real treat. Chicken lovers order alitas de pollo, marinated chicken wings, or have skewers of chicken breast and pepper, marinated in paprika.

Valenciana is an interesting paella that combines seafood with chicken, and if you have a taste for trivia, you may be surprised to learn that 'la paella' actually refers to the utensil in which the dish is cooked.

Other than liqueurs and beer, there are wines from Spanish vineyards and sparkling cava. All of these, especially the dry rosé wines combine well with tapas. And you would be really getting into the spirit of things if you rounded off with the crema Catalana, traditional Spanish-style vanilla custard, topped with caramelised sugar.

La Tasca Spanish Tapas Restaurants and Bars today have over sixty outlets across the UK, so it is odds on there is a branch fairly close to your home.

It's bright, it's vivacious and it epitomises Italy perfectly, bringing you a lovely and continental setting, right here in the UK. Chic and modern elements fuse seamlessly with traditional charm and classic brasserie feel, and what you get is an ambience that resonates with a vibrant and contemporary buzz. The food is simply some of the best you can have outside Italy, and the fresh and superb quality ingredients along with the Neapolitan wood stone oven, makes sure that every dish is turned out authentically.

The fritto misto with fried squid, king prawn, asparagus and roasted garlic mayonnaise is a great way to begin, and crispy duck with honey roasted apples and Valpolicella red wine sauce makes a delicious main course. Pasta options are plentiful with favourites such as spaghetti carbonara and tagliatelle alla Bolognese; dessert includes the refreshing baked vanilla cheesecake with citrus blueberries.

Predominantly Italian, the wine list at Piccolino offers a number of choices alongside spirits and liqueurs.

The Handmade Burger Co specialises in gourmet, handmade burgers, it offers a bewildering array of beef, chicken, lamb and vegetarian options. The menu consists of a total of 40 adult burgers and 4 junior burgers, each handmade on the premises daily, using the freshest produce and tastiest ingredients, and topped off with one of their speciality relishes. The company especially takes pride in its beef burgers, which are made with traditionally reared, grass fed, 100% fully traceable prime beef.

And what gourmet beef burger is complete without a portion of fresh cut chips, one of the tastiest guilty pleasures on offer in the Midlands. Not for you? Well why don't you try one of their many other sides dishes, including the handmade coleslaw and the rather delicious flame grilled vegetables. No wonder that it suits a wide market, young or old, vegetarian or full blown meat eater, as they cover all the bases.

A smart restaurant in the increasingly thriving North East offering good Italian food and interesting choices of pizza and pasta. The antipasto misto makes an excellent starter, rousing the tastebuds without killing the appetite. The rack of lamb cooked in rosemary, garlic and white wine sauce may seem fairly commonplace but I do find that as often as not the Italian version has a piquancy not always carried by others. The dessert is no contest, once I see chocolate rum truffle with crème Anglaise everything else can go home.

Quality house wine at £9.95 and a wine list of mainly Italian origin look after that department very well, particularly as I love the wines grown on the volcanic soils of Italy and they have a Lacryma Christi Caputo on the list. The price of a meal very much depends on whether you are opting for pizza or pasta, in which case it might well be quite a bit less than the figure given, or for more ambitious fare.

A Review from The Evening Chronicle in Newcastle:

If tasty Italian cuisine is your style, coupled with a lively atmosphere, you will love Spago. A friend and I decided to sample what was on offer on a busy Friday night. We hadn't booked but a table was quickly found for us by the window where we could people watch to our heart's content. And a busy Friday night in Osborne Road certainly throws up plenty of people-watching opportunities as people stagger past, in various stages of cheerfulness!

If you want a quiet, candlelit, romantic dinner, Spago isn't really for you. But if you love the buzz of a busy Italian, where waiters compete with the constant lively chatter to shout orders and laughter fills the air, then this restaurant will be just what you are looking for.

While the waiters are rushed off their feet, they still find time to fit in some personal attention and we found that hardly had the wine touched our lips, when a friendly Italian appeared miraculously by our side to refill our glasses.

The choice at Spago ranges from your usual Italian fare - potato skins, pastas and pizzas with any topping imaginable to a selection of meat dishes in various tasty sauces. We opted for the exotic sounding bucce di patate (potato skins with garlic or barbecue sauce, £3.25) and insalata caprese (tomato, mozzarella and basil with virgin olive oil, £3.60) for starters.

The dishes were generous and filling but, fuelled by a constant stream of red wine, we decided we could still manage a hearty main course, choosing pollo Spago (chicken breast cooked in garlic, rosemary and white wine, £10.25) and a pizza calzone (£5.95), a folded pizza with mozzarella, ham, mushrooms and tomato.

The dishes arrived swiftly and were consumed in record speed. At £10.25 for a main chicken dish, prices are a little bit more than your average town Italian, and you will have to decide for yourself whether it's worth it or not. We certainly enjoyed our food but, with happy-hour prices in town to compete with, Spago has to work hard to keep up the high standards and fight off the competition.

Located next to the Osborne Hotel, in a building that formerly housed the Apollo, Spago certainly has location on its side, with Osborne Road becoming more and more popular not just with the students but with locals, too, who flock there for the pubs and restaurants.

And Spago certainly looks good on the outside, and in, with Art Deco style rich red walls, Italian furnishings and eye-catching paintings. It's glamorous and sophisticated, and yet friendly and cosy, maintaining the atmosphere of a family-fun, friendly eatery where the regulars are welcomed like old friends. The bill for the two of us, including copious amounts of red wine, came to a reasonable £26.10.

Evening Chronicle - Feb 13 2002

Your first instinct when entering the Big Mussel may well be confusion at the off kilter décor - do not be fooled! Once you get beyond the porch you find yourself in a functional restaurant you will itch to return to.

Obviously the main selling point is the mussels which are sold by the Kilo, in a decent variety of styles. If you go beyond the mussels, you will find a fine selection of seafood. Non fish dishes are available, and of good quality, but to choose one of these would be to miss the great offerings available.

The menu changes frequently and the meals are simple enough to let the good ingredients shine through. The portions are on the large size, so don't over do the side orders! They offer a range of quality beers which complement the mussels superbly.

Various discounts are available for lunches and early dinners, and unlike many such offers, there is a variety of options. It is a sensibly priced and well realised seafood restaurant the like of which is hard to find elsewhere.

Reviewed by Alan Dawes

One of the most respected restaurant names in Newcastle is Marco Polo, acquired by new owners towards the end of 2005, and now once again a brand leader for Italian cuisine in this thriving and vibrant part of the UK economy. The changes generally seem to be welcomed by the Geordie world, who for many years have regarded Marco Polo as a small but highly robust piece of Italy in their midst.

Gone is what one refreshingly candid fan described as the 'spit and sawdust' feel, to be replaced by that much abused phrase, an air of sophistication, with ample use made of strong colours, notably red, dark wood, and trendy lighting The overall effect is certainly more of the times in which we live, and the food is as good as ever, so who's going to be fussy about the décor?

Perhaps one of the charms about Italian cooking is its predictability. Not that everything is always the same, but there is a delightful consistency that is only broken by something completely different. The famed antipasti, a selection of Italian meats, cheese and vegetables is a sort of tone setter that reassures, and fires up the tastebuds. There can be few more Italian dishes than a Caesar salad, though sad to see anchovies are not included. Quite essential in my view, but then I felt the same about Bombay duck before it disappeared from the menus of most self respecting Indian restaurants.