“SO where are we eating for Valentine’s Day then?”

Bear in mind that by the time my partner cornered me - it was February 13.

I mumbled an excuse, surreptitiously grabbed my phone, locked the bedroom door and got dialling every restaurant I could possibly think of. Frankly at that point a last-minute cancellation anywhere short of MacDonald’s would have done just fine.

Who says the romance is dead after six years?

Of course everywhere in town was booked up and by the amused - and in one case reproachful- tone with which every request for a table the following evening was met, I’m guessing they probably had been for a fortnight. I didn’t stand a chance.

So with my most remorseful expression, ready to start the waterworks at the drop of a hat, I had to confess that I had forgotten to make a reservation (the one year I actually offered to plan Valentine’s Day).

Frankly he shouldn’t have trusted me with such a responsibility. With my track record at organising anything, he should have known better, but that’s a story for another day.

So on February 18 – I can only guess that I wasn’t alone in planning a belated Valentine’s Day dinner since reservations were hard to come by even in the days that ensued - I was able to get a table at the suitably romantic and appetising, El Toro.

Needless to say, I had a lot riding on this.

I need not have worried. The universe conspired in my favour that night. That or our lovely waitress developed mysterious telepathic powers, guessed at my predicament and put on the works in a show of female solidarity.

Either way El Toro allowed us to turn back the clock for an intimate (we had the restaurant to ourselves - frankly I couldn’t have planned it better) and scrumptious dinner.

The varied menu was a pleasant surprise and soon we found ourselves debating the right cold to hot tapas ratio. Slightly carried away we ordered for a small army: queso manchego (£4.90), tostadas de boquerones (£4.30), calamares a la romana (£4.65), morcilla con huevos y espinacas (£5.45), fabada asturiana (£4.95), gambas al pil-pil (£5.20).

We were soon presented with six well-stacked terracotta dishes, more than could realistically be fitted on our table. But somehow our expert waitress managed.

Flavourful and just spicy enough, each dish was a delight, particularly the morcilla con huevos y espinacas or black pudding with spinach covered with a deliciously soft fried egg. Tender to perfection, the calamari with its crisp batter simply melted in the mouth and was certainly moreish.

Call me superstitious but when our waitress threw in an extra tapas of white bait (for free) it was hard not to see it as a sign. A sign of what I’m not exactly sure but a good omen at any rate. I was right. The fried bait dipped in alioli turned out to be our favourite dish. My partner was on cloud nine. You can’t exactly go wrong with deep-fried fish slathered in garlic mayonnaise with a Scot, I suppose.

The kitchen’s ability to anticipate our needs was uncanny.

When time came to peruse the dessert menu I could barely sit straight, weighed down by mounds of fried seafood, cheese and bean stew, but I was not about to put an abrupt end to our belated Valentine’s Day meal by skipping dessert.

We opted for a crema catalana with raspberry coulis (£4.45) – to share, of course. Sweet yet remarkably light it was heavenly and the perfect way to end a bafflingly smooth and effortless (on my part) evening, considering.

I wouldn’t go as far as saying that El Toro saved my relationship but the whole Valentine’s Day reservation debacle was firmly behind us by the time we left the restaurant.

For that I am eternally grateful.

El Toro, 6 Devizes Road, SN1 4BJ, 01793 485066, eltoroswindon.co.uk