I have never been too impressed by the way successive chefs there have handled that good old classic the Spanish omelette. First time I called, not long after they opened in 2001, it collapsed with exhaustion before it reached my table.

Then in 2004 it was solid enough to be a doorstop.

The other day it was still a bit sturdy but it got my vote. As did everything else we ate.

Our reason for going back was that Spinroc's has had a revamp - instead of being like the inside of a terracotta flowerpot it is now all minimalist red and grey with a slate floor and has been divided into two rooms, one with a bar.

There is a new ownership team - Glen Beachill has been joined by former manager Paul Roebuck, back in the job, and new boy Mark Ritson. Chef Jon Betteridge is still in the kitchen.

It's his doing that Spinroc's (the strange name is the reversed surname of the founder, a Dutchman called Cornips) has slimmed down its menu to around 20 dishes with around half a dozen weekly changing starters.

And Jon has wisely gone for world tapas so patatas bravas and Serrano ham with chorizo rubs shoulders on the menu with piri piri or sesame chicken, curried beef and Greek mezze.

On our Friday the place is busy, bustling and noisy in a very friendly way and we are quickly found a table. The place has two doors and on a cold night we did get the odd draught or two where we were sitting.
'I'm going to do every kind I can think of and come back again'
Chef Jon Betteridge

We reckon we've cracked the way to order tapas. Don't ask for too many because they'll all come at once and get cold.

So we ordered six to start off. The tortilla (£3.25) arrived first then there was a long wait before the rest so we had plenty of time to mull over it! Pork ribs in honey and red wine (£4.50) were meaty, sweet and sticky and we liked the salmon and haddock fishcake (£4.50) which had plenty of fish.

Jon can put any style of fishcake on the menu and know it will sell.
"I'm going to do every kind I can think of and come back to the beginning again," he says.

Likewise, no tapas bar worth its salt can not sell patatas bravas. Here, served with mayonnaise and a spicy tomato salsa (£2.75) and basically chopped up skin-on chips, they were some of the best we've had.

"You can't really go wrong with them," said Jon later but in our experience people do.

We were enjoying ourselves so much, particularly the light, crispy batter on the deep-fried squid (£3.75), that we judged the squid fresh. It ain't. It's frozen.

I make courgette fritters at home but Jon calls them zucchini to make them sound posher and adds cubes of feta along with the mint and spring onion and this worked so well I'll be following suit. Yours for £3.75.
These were in our second batch along with Italian meat balls (£3.85), firm but not too solid in a decent tomato sauce, and char-grilled sesame chicken with a satay dip (£3.95).

"Mmmm that's my favourite," said our jolly waitress and they were ours, too.
Not Jon's though!

With so many places doing tapas these days it's good to go back to one of the early pioneers and, judging by our meal, Spinroc's still serves some of the best.

Our bill for food was £35.05 and a decent bottle of red brought the price up to £46.

Well worth a call.

FOOD FACTS
190b Crookes, Sheffield. Tel: 0114 267 0534.
Open for food Mon-Fr i 5-10pm, Sat-Sun 12-10pm.Open Music. Credit cards. Street parking.
My star ratings (out of five):
Food 4
Atmosphere 4
Service 4
Value 4
Bistro category.