With its rich, dark wood bar and wooden floor boards, exposed slate strata wall, piles of Seville oranges jostling for space above the wine rack and huge canvas depicting Osborne’s iconic black bull hung on the wall, new Spanish tapas restaurant Sabor certainly looks the part.

“I wanted a more modern feel, while my father wanted something more traditional, so we found something in between,” explains general manager Matt Nassiri, before pointing to the glass-fronted wood stove on the wall.

“That was actually left over from the café.”

The café in question, Caffe Fresco, closed almost three months ago. A joint venture by Matt and his father – who runs the Italian restaurant Caruso just down the road – the much-loved café traded for four years before location issues prompted a regeneration of the space.

“When we originally opened Caffe Fresco there was nothing else like it in the area – somewhere that sold real, proper coffee,” Nassiri says.

“However, places like Costa open in the centre of town because of passing trade and we didn’t really have that here.

"You might get 500 people walking past and maybe 10% of them would come in. We ticked over, but it’s nice to be able to try something new.”

That something newis Sabor. Boasting nearly 50 different tapas dishes prepared by a Spanish chef and served by Spanish waiting staff, the restaurant aims to offer something original and in-demand for the area.

“Tapas seems to be such an up-andcoming thing. I think there are four or five restaurants in Brighton but nothing around here, Shoreham or Worthing,” says Nassiri.

“At the moment people have to go all the way into the centre of Brighton to eat that kind of food, which is a nightmare. I wanted to create a proper meeting place – somewhere you can come with your friends, have some food and a laugh.

“People are coming in quite late too. Yesterday we had diners arriving at 8.30pm. It’s the Spanish way of life.”

With individual dishes starting at £2.45 and peaking at £7.95, Sabor looks to provide tasty, traditional and affordable fare.

“One of the best has to be the paella (£7.95), which is filled with mussels, prawns, squid and chicken,” says Spanish waiter Jesus Esteban Medina Cruz, when asked to recommend his favourite dishes.

“Another has to be the patatas bravas (£3.75), which you would have with a cold beer in Spain. The seleccion de Embutidos (£7.50) is popular too – it’s Serrano ham, chorizo and salchichón, which is a spicy Spanish sausage that’s a lot softer than chorizo.”

“We do regular specials too – the cordero asado is incredible. It’s a lamb tapas dish but it’s enough for one person. It’s been such a big hit that everyone has been recommending it,” says Nassiri.

“It’s made in a traditional way – we start the dish with peppers, onions and garlic, add some fried tomatoes, some rioja, a few spices and some bay leaves. Then we cook it for four hours,” continues Cruz.

“When it’s done, you don’t even have to bite into it to make the meat fall off the bone – all it needs is a look!”

Offering a selection of Spanish wines alongside such mouth-watering cuisine (including crianza, a barrel-aged wine), Cruz recommends the Muga Blanco (£18.95) – an aromatic tipple of smoky orange and white peach flavours – and Finca Resalso (£16.95) – which promises a chocolate and expresso taste – as two of Sabor’s most popular.

“They’ve both been getting some great feedback. We also do sangria, which is very popular too. All our wines range from £14.95 to £29.95 – it’s a small selection, but a good one, as we have a Spanish merchant who brings us wine every week,” he explains.

The restaurant also boasts an impressive range of Spanish liqueurs, from the fruity aniseed flavours of Zoco Pacharan and Anis del Mono to Lico 43, a warming brandy-like spirit.

“You will never taste this anywhere else nearby,” says Cruz.

“It’s called 43 because it’s made with 43 different herbs and spices. You can never quite explain the taste.”

* Open weekdays, 9am until late (kitchen closes at 10pm), food served from midday. Saturdays, 9am until late (kitchen closes at 11pm), Sundays 12pm until late (kitchen closes at 10pm). Call 01273 416007