Welcome to Espana

The typical price range of individual tapas dishes at Torres is in the£2 to£5 mark, while you'll also find special offer deals (check the lunch offer) at various times of day.

Generally three tapas per person plus an accompaniment or two is enough for a full meal (and it's not a bad idea to choose different options from your dining companion so that you can mix and match a little), and the bread section is as good a place to start as any. There's the Moroccan influence in Harissa - fresh bread basted in chilli paste and roasted peppers - or you might choose the luxurious Montado de Jamon y Queso, toasted bread rubbed with garlic and topped with Serrano ham and cheese.

The main dishes are generally speaking fairly substantial - these are not teensy little taster platters which have to be ordered six at a time - and if you are unsure which or how many to choose just ask the staff: they unfailingly give reliable advice.

Verduras

One dish will suffice to prove that vegetarian dishes are never dull - not if they're Spanish. The magnificent Queso de Cabra al Horno is a generous moist "cake" of grilled goat's cheese smothered in a sweet chilli marmalade ... and could easily be treated as an exotic starter to precede almost any other dish or dishes.

The selection also naturally includes that essential Spanish staple Patatas Bravas - "picquant potatoes" - as well as a nicely-wrought version of the standard "Tortilla Espanola", the traditional Spanish potato and onion omelette. Coca de Tomate seco y Q de cabra, which is sun-dried tomato and goats cheese on a pastry, also makes a nice appetiser.

Pollo

If you don't want to wait a fair time for a (minimum two people) paella, you can get a nice sample of classic Spanish rice cookery with the Paella de Pollo (that's right, chicken paella), which combines "traditional mini paella rice" with chicken and mixed vegetables; or, again reflecting African influence, there's Pinchos Morunos, or spicy marinated chicken kebabs. The Moroccan effect is there again with Alitas con Harissa, "hot and spicy chicken wings", or by contrast you could try Croquetas de Pollo, "authentic" chicken croquettes bread-crumbed and fried until golden.

Charcuteria

This is a section meat eaters may find hard to resist. Selecion de Embutidos - selection of cured meats - is a triumphant tour of all that is wonderful about real Spanish ham, of which Jamon Serrano, "mountain range air-cured ham" is the most famous.

Mariscos

Mussels in a rich tomato sauce, grilled sardines and deep fried squid (with garlic mayonnaise) are just three of the stars of the seafood section, which also includes what sounds like an odd combination but which cries out to be tried - Gambas y Jamon, or king prawns wrapped in (repeat previous fanfare) Serrano ham. If you're a real seafood enthusiast you might also care to try the mixed fried seafood option, which represents excellent value at£4.50.

Ensaladas

As with the verduras, there are no bland or boring Spanish salads: the selection here includes salad with grilled red peppers and onions, and a splendid goats cheese option. These can really accompany any other dish, and if there are two dining you may care to try at least one.

Carne

If there were a musical backdrop to a recitation of this absolutely delightful (to we carnivores) section, it would have to be Bizet's rousing March of the Toreadors from Carmen - this is the section I suspect will keep Glaswegians interested long after the lighter options enjoyed in sunnier weather start to lose their appeal.

By way of illustrating how the whole menu is served - generously - let's start with Chorizo & Butifarra Negra. This is an amazingly satisfying and somewhat lavish portion of chorizo (spicy sausage) and black pudding, which would probably account for two normal options for all but the most ravenous appetites. Highly recommended.

Then there's Cordero en Salsa, a lamb and potato casserole cooked with red wine sauce, which may just have been inspired by Irish emigres to Spain following the Jacobite wars - it certainly has some resonance with the time-honoured traditional Irish stew.

Or try Montada de Lorno, marinated grilled pork loins; Champi Chorizo, pan-fried mushrooms with chorizo; Croquetas de Jamon, cured ham croquettes in breadcrumbs, fried until golden brown; or - a Spanish version of a Mediterranean staple - Albondigas, meat balls in a rich tomato sauce.

Paellas

This is a truly revered dish in Spanish cooking tradition, prepared to a standard very different from the sort of quick, cheap and cheerful rice dishes most of us have tried to create at home.

There are four kinds offered - vegetarian, with chorizo and chicken, with seafood and shellfish, and (possibly the best of the bunch, depending on taste) Paella Valenciana, a chef's speciality dish of saffron-seasoned rice with chicken and seafood.

And to drink ...

If the French love a glass of wine with a meal the Spanish practically insist upon it, and the selection at Torres has been chosen specifically to accompany the cuisine, with wines to suit everyday drinking as much as special occasions.

To give just a couple of examples, there's a fruity Rioja, Don Jacobo Crianza Rioja Tinto from Bodegas Corral (#22.95) or, if you only wish a single glass of wine, there's the medium-ranging white wine Torres Mas Rabell from Penedes, which is£4.25 or£4.95 for, respectively, a 175ml or 250ml glass; or£14.49 per bottle.

If you like rose wine you can choose from Torres de Casta Rosado, at the same prices, or try a bottle of Vendange White Zinfandel from California - that's California, USA, but of course (as anyone who watched Zorro will know) it used to be a Spanish colony!

For an after-dinner treat you may like to savour a Spanish brandy (but don't try sparking up a nice big cigar to go with it - you'll reluctantly be asked to leave); or enjoy any of a number of international liqueur favourites.

Summing up

This is a first class introduction to the glories of Spanish food and drink in an accessible format which offers customers variety and value in a warmly hospitable setting.

While not the only tapas restaurant in Glasgow, it certainly cuts a particularly interesting dash amid the other dining offers on this part of Sauchiehall Street, and could easily have the makings of a "brand".

Restaurant owner Harlequin is reportedly pleased with the early running for its Bearsden Spanish restaurant, Las Ramblas, and this first Glasgow venture aims to take the same style of service to a city centre audience.

Torres is certainly worth a visit, whether lunch or evening, to sample cuisine from a kitchen which obviously cares what its customers think of the food: during our visit we were presented with a baked haddock with spices "special" which was a genuine aromatic treat. The daily "specials" board, meanwhile - which includes some enticing dessert options - is visible through the window from the street, meaning if you're in the area you can easily check out what's new at a glance.

Torres Spanish Restaurant Glasgow, Full Feature

Roy Beers, July, 2008.