With a plate of three juicy grilled sardines in front of me and temperatures soaring outside, for a moment I thought I was back on holiday in Menorca when I visited the Spanish restaurant 'Costa del Sol' in Whyteleafe recently.

My friend Sally and I went there on a busy Saturday night. As we walked in the ambience was happy and lively, with lots of diners either seated for their meal or enjoying a pre-meal drink at the bar.

The restaurant is owned by Joe and Nelia Inacio. Joe was out doing one of his famous 'Paella Parties' in Caterham-on-the- Hill. Nelia said that since starting the Paella Parties the demand for paella in the restaurant has soared as more and more people hear about their wonderful speciality. We selected from the A La Carte menu but there is also a Tapas Menu available.

The Grilled Sardines was one of the hot starters on the A La Carte menu and Sally chose one of the cold starters, the Tres Colores - Avocado, Mozzarella and Tomato which Sally said was refreshing with a lovely light dressing. The A La Carte menu features a good choice of meat dishes and also fish dishes that include crab, lobster, skate and sea bass.

For our mains, Sally chose the Paella Valenciana, the classic paella which has both chicken and shellfish although there are seafood only and vegetarian options available as well.

I love paella too but I thought I would choose a chicken dish and had the Pollo al Ajillo - sliced chicken in wine and garlic sauce. The chicken melted in my mouth and the sauce was beautiful and ever so slightly spicy. It came with fresh carrots, brocolli and potatoes, all perfectly cooked.

Our starters and mains had all looked amazing, especially Sally's colourful paella. Our friendly waiter Francesco served us promptly, despite the restaurant being so busy.

To accompany our meal we chose the Vina Sol Torres, a lovely crisp, fruity white wine.

It soon became apparent that many of the other diners were celebrating a special occasion, with a birthday party nearby and a couple celebrating their wedding anniversary on the table next to us.

Sally thoroughly enjoyed her paella but could not finish it as it was so filling.

We chose very light, homemade desserts, a créme brûlée and a meringue with cream and liqueur topping, gorgeous. So get along there soon and have a Spanish mini-break at Costa del Sol!