THE big problem we found at Old Town's newest place to eat is that it's rather on the small side.

But although we couldn't get a lunchtime table at Los Gatos in Wood Street on its second day of opening last month, it didn't really matter.

For they were quite happy to serve us tapas at the bar . . . and we were quite happy to sit there, share a decent bottle of house white (a very reasonable £8.75) and pick at the tasty little dishes which appeared at regular intervals.

And, after all, the bar is where the whole idea originated. The story goes that Spanish tapas evolved from the slices of bread which were used to cover sherry glasses to keep the flies off. Although why you'd want to eat the bread the flies had landed on whatever tasty titbits were on top isn't explained!

What happens now is that you get a menu of small dishes which you can order to come at once or, in the traditional way, one or two after the other.

For anyone who enjoys starters more than mains and likes to nibble on lots of little dishes, it's heaven.

There's no looking at the next table and wishing you'd ordered what they'd got because next time round you can.

In fact, if you pace yourself you could probably sample virtually the whole menu at a sitting. But it would probably be best to cancel that 2pm meeting and devote a whole afternoon to it you can see why the southern Europeans favour long lunches followed by a siesta. Some of the dishes we tried were: olives £1.95, traditional onion and potato omelette tortilla Espanola £2.10, scrambled eggs with green beans and chorizo (my favourite) £2.75, deep fried squid with saffron mayonnaise, two kinds of anchovies £3.45, king prawns in olive oil with garlic and hot pepper £4.25, fine fillets of yellowfin tuna called atun £2.95, and the daily casserole (which was cod) £4.25.

There's nice rustic bread to mop up all the oils and sauces and the surroundings are simple and pleasant.

As well as Spanish beers and wines, there are also half a dozen sherries which can be bought by the glass or bottle.

Service was friendly but a little slapdash. Hopefully that can be put down to teething problems which have been ironed out.

But even if service isn't the swiftest, we'll go back, and relax into the unhurried Spanish way of eating and drinking.

  • Los Gatos (it means The Cats and is a popular bar name in Spain) 23 Wood Street, Swindon. Telephone 01793 488450. Open 9am to 11pm Monday to Saturday and 10.30am to 10.30pm on Sunday.