Laxeiro

A Columbia Road old-timer, Laxeiro is at its convivial best on Sunday afternoons. When the flower market is in full swing outside, its small, airy dining room provides welcome respite; space may be tight, but it's nothing to the crush outside. Although the paintwork has moved with the times (it's now a modish grey, rather than cheery yellow), the menu holds less truck with passing fads.

Classic tapas, barbecued meat and seafood, and heaped, two-person portions of paella are the order of the day. Should the latter prove too much, you'll be dispatched home with a box of leftovers. The approach is more rustic than refined, but the flavours sing. Teaming sautéed fennel with slow-roasted hunks of garlic worked wonderfully well, while rough-chopped chillies added fire to a plate of baby squid and chorizo.

The best dish was the simplest of all: succulent strips of Ibérico pork shoulder, cooked on the barbecue, scattered with rock salt and served with a handful of peppery rocket leaves. We finished with a plate of rich, slightly salty manchego and translucent slices of own-made membrillo, before being politely but firmly presented with the bill; if you like to linger over coffee, avoid the Sunday rush.