Casa Bodega

And on a wet and windy autumn evening - the sort that makes it difficult to leave the confines of your warm house - this is a fine reward for braving the weather.

This deceptively large restaurant is arranged on split levels with many nooks and crannies.

An intimate atmosphere is created by careful table spacing and a thoughtful layout, where parties and couples can each enjoy the evening without being forced to listen to their neighbours' conversations.

It's a friendly and lively restaurant which manages to successfully capture a Mediterranean ambience.

Chunky rustic wooden tables blend well with terracotta floor tiles, coffee-coloured walls, orange drapes and wrought iron fittings. Typical Spanish scenes of villas, side streets and tavernas are adorned on the walls and pretty iron candle holders on each table complete the look.

My husband and I were seated up a level towards the roaring fire, the perfect antidote to the howling wind outside.

As you would expect, Casa Bodega's menu specialises in many traditional Spanish dishes such as paella, various meats plus fresh seafood including lobster, crab, mussels, oysters, scallops and squid as well as rustic ingredients like lentils, beans and aubergine.

Starters range from a simple goats' cheese tart or tapas for two to the softest pan-seared scallops served in an attractive arrangement their own shells.

The crab and lime fishcakes encased in a light crispy batter worked well with the moist centre of delicate crab, spring onion and potato mix, while the sesame aioli provided a surprising contrast.

A glass of refreshing Pinot Grigio was the perfect accompaniment.

My husband tried the paella washed down with a glass of San Miguel.

It arrived in true authentic style in a steaming hot paella dish, complete with side finger bowl to douse down after dissecting the shellfish. Huge hunks of pork, chicken and spicy chorizo sausage among the sticky saffron rice mingled with the delicate flavours and juicy but ever so slightly chewy prawns and mussels to create a hearty meal.

This was also true of the saddle of lamb, which worked well on a base of cannelloni beans with red peppers and capers in a light gravy.

The side dishes of dauphinoise potato and huge bowl of mixed vegetables were almost not needed, but still provided a diverse assortment of flavours.

Puddings ranged from naughty hip-expanding dishes such as dark chocolate and mocha mousses to caramelised apple tart-tatin but we were so full we settled for an ice-cream and a mango sorbet.

Casa Bodega specialises in producing fresh, hearty fare borrowing from a combination of Spanish, Italian and French backgrounds and is the perfect getaway if you prefer to imagine yourself in warmer climes.

Casa Bodega, Mainstone, Romsey. Tel: 01794 519515.