Once inside we were shown to our table by one of the three waitresses on duty that night, all very smartly dressed in mainly black; although not a starched black uniform, which made for a less formal and more welcoming attire. The whole restaurant had a very light, bright feel to it, although managing to avoid the sterile effect, so often achieved in the attempt to be "modern", whilst still retaining enough Spanish touches to remind you of where you were.

At the table, the usual enquiry for drinks had a pleasant and unexpected surprise, draught cider and draught London pride were available, an alternative to cruzcampo and well; cruzcampo , the usual draught option in so many establishments. Drinks having been arranged it was time to peruse the menu, an impressive list of starters, from which was chosen a Thai chicken Satay with hot chilli and peanut sauce with rice thimble, the other two of us both choosing to have the crab and prawn tian with sun-dried tomato and cucumber dressing, which were all presented in a manner which was very pleasing to the eye. The crab and prawn which I had chosen made a perfect starter, light; with gentle flavours. Noises of "um" as well as plenty of head nodding lead me to believe that my companions were equally impressed with their choices.

The time between starter and main course was well spent with a spot of people watching. The restaurant was pretty well full, with what looked like mostly Brits; although not exclusively, a couple of Spanish families had ventured away from their tapas and from the expressions on the faces were enjoying their English style service. The rest being family tables interspersed with a few romantic tables for two. The waitresses busying themselves between the tables, with a well practised routine of plate collecting and drink replenishing.

Our main course was delivered expertly as part of the routine. I had chosen braised lamb shank in a port and Cumberland sauce served with potatoes and vegetables. It looked rather impressive. Also arriving at our table was home-made steak and Guinness pie served with chips and vegetables and pan fried haddock fillet with gambas pil pil potatoes and vegetables. After the brief moment during which we all glanced at one anothers plates (presumably to ensure we had chosen correctly- although from the excellent presentation it would have been hard to chose a winner) conversation ended, feasting commenced. The lamb was superb, full of flavour and so tender that it fell from the bone, the sauce was obviously a result of many hours of reduction, full of intense flavours, yet not to overpower the lamb. The vegetables cooked to retain a bite. As a salute to the meal the conversation was reduced to pleasant "umm" noises and much head nodding and as a gesture to the "washer up" we decided to reduce their workload by completely clearing every plate we had been given. All three of us placed our cutlery down, leaned back in our chairs giving that contented look that only comes after a fine feast.

I would at this point love to tell you of the fantastic deserts we all consumed, but the truth is none of us could actually find room for one. They did look fantastic though, it appears from the amount of dessert flying around the room, in the expert hands of our trio of waitresses; ours was the only table to decline the sweet treats. Coffee taken, we moved to a table outside to finish our evening.(the rush to adjourn to the outside was due to the fact that myself and my companions are sadly addicted to the evil weed, and quite rightly there is no smoking in the restaurant).

Later in the evening we were joined by Jimmy the chef and owner, in partnership with his wife; Andrea. This I thought; would be a good opportunity to glean a few secret ingredients and recipe tips from the man himself. I should have known better, my own son is a chef and when he cooks for us, the kitchen is a no-go area for everyone else, even he will not impart the secrets of the chef. Jimmy was equally as candid, lots of reduction, fresh herbs and secret blending, these guys could double up as spies, no amount of interrogation could make them talk. But in conversation with Jimmy I was to learn he had cooked for the Sultan of Oman and for Charles and Di. Twenty eight years of chefing around the world including such places as the Sydney opera house, it’s where he learnt his trade, now like so many of us the delights of living in Spain had brought Jimmy and Andrea to settle in Fuente de Piedra, having lived in the village for two years now. The restaurant opened eighteen months ago. Dreams of a chain of restaurants are in his mind. But not at the moment, for now "On the Square" is keeping him busy enough.

So my night on the town, turned out to be a very pleasant night on the square. The food was first rate, beautifully presented and excellently served by, Jacqui, Kate and Trinni our trio of waitresses. So along with the flamingos and the donkeys there is a third very good reason to visit Fuente de Piedra - the On the Square restaurant.