Gordito- Tapas at the Colston Hall, Bristol

Gordito is a recent arrival on Bristol's busy dining scene. On the upper-ground level of the Colston Hall, it is officially categorised by its owners as a 'pub' yet has more than a smack of classic tapas bar about it: the hanging hams, the tiled back wall, the carefully-considered and sourced menu. The tagline 'Vino. Queso. Jamón' is reassuringly terse.

It was very quiet the night we visited: business will doubtless be closely tied to what events are on any given day, which may produce its own tensions; one fear might be that concert-goers turn up trying to shoehorn in a quick bite before the curtain rises, and fail to make the most of the menu. This isn't food to be wolfed down in 30 minutes because the babysitter was late and the car park was full and you can't wait til after the show, your blood pressure rocketing as you wait for the next dish to arrive. It would be an utter waste to just scarf down a plate of Bellotta, wouldn't it? No, this is food- and a space- for leisurely picking at, for raising a glass and taking it easy. Granted, the terrace doesn't enjoy the most glamorous views of this remarkable city (for La Sagrada Familla, think Trenchard Street car park) but when the food is this good, why worry?
 
If you are going to sit down in one place for this type of food, rather than wander between bars picking as you go, then part of the charm is dishes arriving as and when they are ready. It brings that relaxed, unstructured rhythm to the evening which was precisely what we were after.

The printed menu is brief but focusses on the best of the Spain (and Italy, but that didn't distract us from the task in hand...) and is supplemented by 'Specials' boards. An appetiser of anchovy breadsticks was a good accompaniment to chilled bottles of Alhambra Reserva 1925 as the fritto misto arrived. Prawns, whitebait, calamares and anchovy, a light batter and a couple of squeezes of lemon. Excellent.

Croquetas came in cylindrical form (hurrah!) and were exemplary- thin, crisp shells giving way to oozing bechamel studded with nuggets of salty jamón.

From the specials board, a salad of cherry tomatoes, watercress and rocket with as another very good dish, the chargrilled artichoke hearts lending smoky sweetness while the chorizo rumbled with paprika heat.

Next was salmon, deftly cooked to leave the middle nicely undercooked while charring the outside and presenting the skin as crispy. Grilled baby leeks, sweet peppers and capers sealed the deal.

Of course, you should never pas up the chance to eat genuinely great jamón. There are other charcuterie options at Gordito (Italian salamis, Lardo de Bosse, lesser varieties of jamón) but one ham rules supreme. Ibérico Bellotta- acorn-fed pigs having their meat cured for a few years- results in a depth of flavour and texture that is a rare treat. Buying a good-sized leg for home could set you back close to £600; clearly a tapa isn't going to come cheap, but the best is worth paying for. The fat, almost the yellow of clotted cream,  is beginning to liquefy at room temperature; this is not something to be bolted when you're in a hurry and need refuelling. This is food to luxuriate over: just press the slivers of ham against the roof of your mouth and just letting the fat melt, and tell me that's not a moment to savour. At £13 a plate you'd hope so too, but these are the moments which make a meal live long in the memory. Our (Spanish) waiter told us that this is now an imported delicacy in Japan, where its time-intensive production process gives it great cachet and it is much sought-after.

Magical stuff.

A plate of Spanish ewe's cheese with pickled onions and pressed figs to provide tartness and sweetness against the dry, nutty Manchego had the finishing line in sight.

A bowl of pico de gallo ('Rooster's Beak', a salsa of onion, garlic, tomatoes and coriander) with fragile toasted flatbread, and a barely-toasted sourdough with olive oil and aioli were the coup de grace; just time for a chupito of Oloroso sherry and the roundabout return to the hotel was in order, just to walk some of this off.

Service was impeccable throughout and deserves a mention- an Italian chef and a Spanish waiter combining to give us a wonderful evening. Bristol has a strong reputation for excellent tapas restaurants and Gordito is a quality addition. It would be easy to play safe in a venue such as the Colston Hall, which after all is not primarily a restaurant destination, but credit must go to Bath Ales for this imaginative venture, and long may it prosper.

After all, you'd have to have a heart of stone not to like a restaurant named 'Little Fatty'.