Fancy a tapas crawl in London? For those of us who like grazing (which is most of us) it’s a good way to spend the first part of the evening – before deciding where to settle down for another couple of hours with some more patatas bravas and a bottle of Rioja. . .

Where to start? Soho is a good tapas area – could this be the Madrid of London? Well, one might not go that far, but if you make your way to Charlotte Street, W1, you have a choice of Fino (020 7813 8010), at number 33, or Navarro’s (020 7637 7713), at 67. They’re very different in feel: Navarro’s is traditionally Spanish in atmosphere (tiles, posters of Seville and guitar music, albeit canned) while Fino is more modern chic. All the more reason to try both. At Fino, you might want to sample the marinated grilled quail or the crisp fried squid, perhaps with a glass of white or rosado Rioja; at Navarro’s the pimentos de padron, or the traditional moros y cristianos (black bean stew served with rice) look tempting. And the wine list here has attractions like Muga Blanco 2007, or Aurus 1996 from Allende.

From Charlotte Street it’s a hop, skip and a jump to Goodge Street, and Salt Yard (020 7637 0657) at number 54. Again, this has a modern feel, and there are some imaginative dishes on the menu – sautéed chicken livers come with a Pedro Ximénez sauce, made from rich, dark sherry: team them with a white Rioja, for choice. Courgette flowers (something you probably wouldn’t make at home) come stuffed Monte Enebro cheese and a drizzle of honey: again, a rich white Rioja would be delicious here.
 

Then off to Meza (020 7314 4002), at 100 Wardour Street. You won’t get much Spanish atmosphere here but you will get tremendous food. The king prawns are excellent – provided you like garlic, which of course you do – and the deep-fried morcilla with grilled chorizo is to die for. Morcilla is black pudding, but the Spanish version is utterly, utterly different from anything you’ll buy here, with the most delicious subtle spicing. Try it with a juicy young red Rioja.

Another reason for finishing at Meza is that it doesn’t close until 2am (3am from Thursday to Saturday); the others all close earlier. And if you’re going to do a proper Spanish tapas crawl you might as well keep Spanish hours.

If you’re a south Londoner you can do a totally different tapas crawl, but you might need the use of a car, because while there some well established and popular tapas bars here, they’re more spread out than they are in Soho. But if one of you doesn’t mind being on fizzy water for the night, here goes:

If you don’t mind booking in advance (it’s always crowded) you could start at Meson Don Felipe (020 7928 3237), opposite the Young Vic at 53 The Cut. Time it so that the pre-theatre crowd has just left. It’s a fun, often cramped place, with a flamenco guitarist and a buzzy atmosphere. Then off to Rebato’s (020 7735 6388) at 169 South Lambeth Road; this is a long-standing favourite with locals, who relish the Mediterranean prawns and the fish soup Cantabrica.

If you want to go to Tapas Brindisa (020 7357 8880), 18-20 Southwark Street, you’ll just have to take your chance: you can’t book, and if you get a table you can’t have it for more than two hours. So plan accordingly; but it’s worth a visit for jamon carved off the whole ham standing in the corner. And if you fancy taking a ham carving set home to have a go yourself, Brindisa will sell you one from the shop.