Tapas. How good can it really be? We’re so used to bars offering olives, bread and oil, and other bits and bobs with our drinks these days that tapas in its truest sense seems to have been forgotten.

Not at Bravas. Starting life as a supper club, this pequeno eatery is one of Bristol’s best kept secrets. With just a handful of tables that all get booked up weeks in advance, you might need to try your luck at the bar (where you can eat and drink from the same menu as the table service). Wherever you sit, make sure you start with a glass of cava or perhaps a gin and tonic, Spanish style (served in big goblets adorned with strips of orange peel and almonds).

The menu changes frequently, most often after the owners and chefs return from their annual, sabbatical, post-Christmas month in Spain. See? They practice what they preach; that month is spent touring those tiny tapas bars frequented by locals, talking to chefs, and perfecting new dishes. A few staples remain constant: tortilla, lush and delicious; deep-fried aubergines with molasses: no exaggerating, one of the most amazing things I’ve ever eaten; and, of course, patatas bravas. And the rest of the dishes are divine. Order as and when you please; there is no notion of ‘courses’ here.

Desserts impress too, with cheesecake to die for, and tiny but deadly chocolate truffles. Heavens, this place is good. Just keep it a secret, ok?

Images by Lottie Storey