Elche Restaurante de Tapas

Elche Restaurante de Tapas may sound somewhat exotic a place for Leytonstone, but that's because it's a Spanish restaurant named after the Lady of Elche, an ancient Iberian sculpture.

As colourful on the inside as it is on the outside, this charismatic place serves a generous range of good value hot and cold tapas, many of them vegetarian. Specials include crab claws in bread crumbs, and house salad.

The best night to go is Friday night when flamboyant flamenco is performed from 8.45pm. Apparently, to really appreciate this ancient Spanish art you must be in an intimate setting with good friends, food and wine. Sounds good to us.