Grado

Manchester suffers when it comes to Spanish food. Despite the charms of Evuna on Deansgate, there are altogether too many tapas bars serving flaccid patatas bravas and stodgy, tasteless paellas for extortionate prices - so many so, in fact, that we had more or less given up on Spanish altogether.

And then Grado opened. Tucked away on New York Street behind Piccadilly Gardens, Grado is not just a good restaurant - it is easily one of the best restaurants in the city. The fourth venture from Paul Heathcote, Grado is a sleek combination of excellent food, a wine bin featuring over 100 wines (16 of which you can order by the glass) and great service which has had even the city's most hardened critics cooing like well-fed doves since it opened at the end of 2007.

The menu has three distinct sections - the a la carte, the daily roast and the tapas. The a la carte is a wonderful thing, showing the very best of Spanish cuisine infused with a playful feel that lifts the dishes beyond 'very good' to 'tremendous'. The braised rabbit with Rioja, prunes, sage, pine nuts and bomba rice is a triumph of flavours and textures, while the crisp roast pork belly with sage churros and almond milk is unlike anything else you'll find in Manchester. At £17.95 both dishes are on the pricey side, but for skill of execution and sheer individuality they're worth every penny.

The daily roasts range from roast beef on Sundays (served with hot smoked paprika, Rioja style potatoes and seasonal vegetables) to Monday's roast suckling pig (with potatoes and morcilla - Spanish black pudding - roast asparagus and red wine), all spit-roasted in the large open plan kitchen. At £13.50 these are a good option for those baulking at the prices on the a la carte menu without compromising on either taste or originality.

If you're new to Spanish cuisine the tapas dishes are an excellent way of educating yourself. The grilled quail with chilli, honey and jerez vinegar at £6.95 and the morcilla with fried duck egg and Pedro Ximenez vinegar at £5.00 are both outstanding. Be warned, though - the portions are very small, so fight against the feeling that you are over-ordering and ask for a dish or two more than you think you'll need.

Overall, we couldn't be happier to recommend Grado. You won't find these dishes anywhere else in the city. Even if you do - because we fully expect to see the menu influence other restaurants during the next couple of years - they're unlikely to be as good. We'll see you there.