Spanish almonds £2.50

Lamb rosemary £5.95

Brutti Margherita £3.95

Haloumi Stew £5.50

Angry prawns £6.95

Wild Roasted Mushrooms £4.95

Sticky Toffee Pudding £4.95

Drinks

Rioja £4.85 x2

Viura £4.85 x2

Total £54.15

The Moll was adamant, no not that eighties guy banging on about Prince Charming, she was insistent, about where we were going.

“I’ve heard good things about it” she said. It’s called Brutti Compadres”.

“Is it Spanish?” I asked her. She wasn’t sure so I looked it up on La Google.

The website said “Mediterranean style holiday flavours”.

What does that mean? Spanish, Italian, Greek, Maltese? Costa del Sol full English breakfast? What is it?

So I didn’t know what to expect when we parked the Buick in Virginia Street and walked through the courtyard to get to the restaurant.

Firstly, it’s not the Med but in the middle of Merchant City, but it was a pleasant surprise. Nice surroundings and pretty busy, always a good sign.

The website also told us it’s ‘Platos Pequenos’, small plates. Which can sometimes be hitos and missos in Tec’s humble opinion.

You see, I’ve been overcharged and underfed in places asking the price of a fish supper for three peely wally prawns in a saucer.

That sort of behaviour really rips my trilby.

Small plates was right enough here but the portions were certainly big enough and they were definitely not overpriced.

We had six platos pequenos between us, deciding from an extensive menu that had more than the usual tapas.

The Spanish almonds were a delight, like nothing in the nut department I had tasted before.

The wild roasted mushrooms delivered the flavour I had imagined and hoped for when I ordered.

The lamb rosemary came on skewers. Two chunks of lamb that tasted pretty good but was a little too much on the chewy side.

The halloumi stew was the revelation. Cheese stew? That can’t be right. You don’t stew cheese.

But apparently you do and I was glad they did. It was well worth it.

The angry prawns were seriously spicy. I don’t what the chef said to them in the kitchen but they were absolutely raging, fuming hot.

But they were delicious too. And yes there were more than three of them.

The Brutti Margherita was basically a small thin pizza. Nothing fancy but it tasted good. Sometimes it’s the simple things that bring the most pleasure.

The restaurant is nicely lit and creates a relaxed feel. This is a very good tapas restaurant but with a menu that allows you to order a larger main course if you like.

Brutti Compadres means ugly mates, which is maybe why it has tucked itself away in a courtyard in Merchant City.

But with cooking of this standard and served at these prices it certainly doesn’t need to hide its face away.

Brutti Compadre, Pretty good.