Tapas bar and Spanish deli Bocaditos opens in Stockton Heath

Bocaditos can be found in Walton Road where the speciality is 'montaditos' which are pieces of bread with a mixture of toppings such as Serrano ham, chorizo, sweet roasted peppers and Spanish cheeses.

There are also a range of small dishes on offer such as tortilla (Spanish omelette), mushrooms in white wine and garlic and baby chorizo in red wine or honey as well as Spanish wines, beers and spirits including Larios Gin.

Most of the food and drink has been imported and the idea is that visitors will feel like they have been spirited away to an intimate bar off the beaten track in Spain.

Owner Maggie Swann said: "People can come in for a glass of wine or a beer after work, maybe with a snack, and that’s a bit of a Spanish thing as they do that.

"It’s like the little bars we have seen on our trips to Spain. There are a lot of places like this where you’ll sit at the bar and that’s why we’ve got the bar stool seating as well as the tables."

Maggie has visited Spain countless times and among her favourite regions are Andalusia and Galicia. Bocaditos is based on the style of tapas bars more commonly found in the south of the country and it is her second venture after running La Casita in Ironbridge.

She decided to move to Warrington to be close to her daughter Natasha and her family.

Appleton resident Natasha, a teacher, has also been helping out and created a Spanish inspired mural for the cafe bar.

She added: "Spain has always been my mum’s passion since I was a little girl. We always had Spanish exchange students, we learnt the language together, we’ve been on lots of trips there and there’s always been this love of little tapas bars.

"We’ve based it on the very small tapas bars in Spain where its intimate and the menu is very simple. My mum’s vision is to provide really good, authentic Spanish produce on a small scale – quite simple and quite sort of rustic."

On top of that there are imported speciality cheeses and meats that can be bought to take away such as morcilla which is Spanish blood sausage.

Maggie, who spent two months transforming the former beauty salon, said: "You can buy what you eat so if you particularly like something you can get more of it to takeaway or at another time. I’ve got a little shop that I want to build up."

And there could be more to come as there is patio that could be used for al fresco dining in the summer as well as a currently unused upstairs area which Maggie has a number of ideas for such as Spanish language classes, functions or a larger shop and deli.

Natasha added: ""There’s a sociable atmosphere here because it’s so intimate and it’s quite different to many other places.

"I think Stockton Heath is so vibrant with a nice mix of ages and it’s not just like that on a Friday and Saturday night. There’s a constant buzz.

"You could quite easily come here early doors, have a drink and a bit of food and then move on to somewhere else."