BIRTHDAY celebrations are always a fun excuse to get friends and family together and Pablo’s Bistro in Bradford on Avon was in a great location for the group to meet.

The tapas bar did not disappoint with authentic, tasty dishes that came in generous portion sizes.

We were looking for a friendly, warm welcome and we definitely received this.

The restaurant looks small and quite casual from the outside, however once you step inside the walls are full of Spanish treats for the eyes, with old news paper clippings, art and sculptures.

We were not the only table already seated and joined a select group of people dining in the restaurant.

Our waitress was really friendly and funny, she seemed to be running the show on her own and we all appreciated how hard she worked throughout the night.

Our first decision was drinks. Flicking through the options, an interesting selection of bottles caught our eye on the bar.

They were the size of a wine bottle but contained traditional Spanish cider. With people from Devon and Somerset in our midst, we had to try the cider that was on offer, and grabbed a bottle each.

It was not fizzy like a normal cider and had more of a scrumpy flavour but we enjoyed it nonetheless, especially at £4.50 a bottle.

Between five of us we had 10 pieces of tapas, ranging from Patatas Bravas (£4.25) to pork belly with crackling (£7.95).

My personal favourite included the grilled goats cheese in a honey and pine nut sauce (£7.95) and the steak with blue cheese melted on top (£5.95).

Other popular items were the rabbit, which many of us had never had before.

It was tasty, full of flavour and presented in a tomato sauce.

There was a whole range of vegan tapas options, and vegetable tapas for any vegetarians out there.

However the range of meat and fish dishes was full, with calamari (£4.25) picked by the group as well as deep fried cauliflower (£6.59). We also had bread and olives with our meal.

The tapas was filling but when we saw a sharing plate of Churros (£5 per sharer), deep fried donut straws, we couldn’t resist.

The Churros came with salted caramel sauce, chocolate dipping sauce and strawberries and were crunchy and delicious without being in any way greasy.

As the evening progressed the small seating area filled up, with large groups of friends and families coming out for a Thursday night treat.

I would definitely recommend Pablo’s Bistro and spotted some Spanish nights there that as a group we said would like to go back to.

The dishes came out in a continual stream and we were surprised at how full we were after finishing them all.

A Meal for five adults, with pudding, three alcoholic and four non alcoholic drinks was £113.20.