THE Moll had a touch of the mean reds - that's the January blues to you and me.

This bearcat was one unhappy Toots.

And I had to come up with a way to make life easier - for both of us.

Thinking of somewhere to match her fiery mood, I chose one of Glasgow's latest tapas spots Fino.

No sooner than you can say ole, a table was booked. There was no stopping this hungry matador.

The Buick revved off towards the North Rotunda, where Fino is on the top floor.

We took the lift up and weren't sure if we had got the right place, before the quick ola from the bar staff was a bit of a giveaway.

We were shown to our table and luckily got one of the last booths with a view over Glasgow landmarks the Finnieston crane and the River Clyde.

The restaurant is at a dizzying height - Toots can't say I don't take her to the top places in town.

We squeezed into the booth, perhaps I'd indulged in too much turkey over Christmas, but the seats were a little straight backed - good for the posture I suppose.

Our quick and efficient server said the red dots on the wine menu were next to those available by the glass -so we followed the dots until we came to the house roses, and two glasses were swiftly ordered.

I didn't know where to start with the lists of tapas but Fino, meaning refined in Spanish, had a few speciality dishes and it was recommended we choose three dishes each.

My little bullfighter Moll was eyeing up mini haggis and black pudding burgers and prawns wrapped in filo, while I thought the chicken and pork skewers would be a safe bet - nothing too spicy for old Tec.

With the scran on order, we relaxed with our vino, which was pretty good for the house plonk.

The Moll's prawns arrived first and at last there was a smile on her face. Her mean reds were slowly turning to mean pinks.

The prawns in filo came with a tangy tomato sauce and was ideal for sharing - the evening was getting off to a pretty good start.

Our other dishes began to arrive. My chicken skewers with sautéed potatoes and vegetables were tasty.

However, I struggled with the pork, it just didn't work on the skewer and could have done with being a little more tender and flavoursome.

FOR Toots her second little plate of haggis and black pudding mini burger looked the part.

Served up in a little bun and presented on a wooden board with salad, it was a good twist on a Scottish delicacy.

But it had a lukewarm thumbs up from Toots.

"This lacks a kick or punch," The Moll piped up - but then, with her mood, she had enough of a punch for both of us.

Still slightly peckish we ordered up another couple of dishes to round off the night.

Patatas bravas and fino chorizo - a speciality with the sausages cooked in a sherry sauce.

We were certainly into the swing of ordering up these small plates.

But we could have done with a bit of advice on the last two, as they didn't really gel.

The Moll tucked into the spicy potatoes which were a bit on nippy side for my delicate palate.

The sausages came whole and I reckon anyone would have struggled to get through the dish.

We passed on dessert and enjoyed another two glasses of wine while taking in the view.

There was just the small matter of the bill - and the damage weighed in at around £45.

A nice touch at the end of the meal was a complementary liqueur.

It was warm and delicious and I could easily have gone another, but it was time for us to say buenas noches, amigos.