Virginia Woolf glowers at me from across the restaurant. Nearby sits F. Scott Fitzgerald. Old boy.

We're in Beeston Library. No, not the library. The Library. It's all very confusing, isn't it?

The Library is one of a handful of delectable little quaff-and-scoff type venues that have opened in Beeston over the past few years. Watch out West Bridgford – the Beestonians are coming! Wollaton Road is fast becoming a walkway of cosy good-grub pubs and tucked-away eateries – before you get to that great tract of wind-blasted land where life stands still, waiting for a new Tesco.

The Library has never been a library. Rather, it is book-themed, with lovely old Penguin covers hanging across its soft mulberry walls, hence the presence of Virginia and F. Scott's greatest hits. Just in case you'd pictured them sharing a bottle of wine.

That said, the wine is tempting. The place is full of attractive student-types, leaning on high wooden tables, enjoying a bevy. It's just over £3 for a small glass. I had a red tempranillo, my friend a Californian zinfandel blush. They were wines to linger with. There was no pressure to eat anything – The Library brands itself a bar/ kitchen. But I recommend you do. The food here is more than mere stomach-lining.

What The Library specialises in is European tapas. "Huh?" you may ask. Basically "tapas" in this case means little platefuls, rather than quinces and Manchego. Although there is a smattering of chorizo.

We made the mistake of regarding the "light bites" as starters and picked two – Atlantic king prawns with tartar sauce and a goats cheese and roasted pepper ciabatta. In fact, they arrived after our "main courses" or "hot stuff" as the menu calls it – a smoked salmon risotto and aromatic chicken, fried with peanuts and rice. Basically, you're served each dish when it's ready – the norm in tapas bars. And you order in numbers, not names. We assume this is for speed but by the time the waitress has explained it (twice, for we are slow), she could probably have taken our order three times over.

In true Blind Date fashion, I thought you might like to know the meals we turned down. There was a spinach and roast tomato tortilla, a vegetable stroganoff, fish and chips, a Mexican chilli, for £4.95 each. You could have a salad (such as warm peppered mackerel, for £4.50) or a shared platter – a selection of cold meats, English cheeses and Scottish smoked salmon for £4.95 which, I'm reliably informed, is delicious.

Anyway, we are presented with plates and forks. The dishes are positioned between us. We dig in.

The risotto is a steaming dish, flecked with salty salmon and spring onions and sprinkled with parmesan. It's food to bask in. The prawns come crusted in a layer of crunchy breadcrumbs with a pot of tartar sauce (it doesn't taste home-made but it is creamy and dances with capers) and salad with a yoghurt dressing. The ciabatta was two slices of olive-sprinkled bread, oozing with sweet pepper and a salty melt of goat's cheese and fine-chopped parsley. It came with rocket and drizzled with balsamic. The chicken was moist, zinging with mint. It was all really good and quite a cheap night out, if you're not in the mood for a mass of stodge. My only complaints were that our plates were whisked away a little early – "I was going to eat that prawn!" I had to holler – and pudding was a slight let-down. We'd ordered a bread-and-butter pudding which came with a Bailey's custard and ice-cream. The bold stand made by each flavour thus far had led us to believe it would follow through in the puds. Alas, the Baileys was rather lost, as was the ice cream, which rapidly sank into the custard without a trace. The pudding had an interesting texture – square disks of bread rather than oozy chunks. Not my cup of char.

But, overall, I'd definitely recommend a trip to The Library. Well, not the library. Although that's probably good too. But The Library... oh, never mind...

The Library Bar and Kitchen,

61 Wollaton Road Beeston, 0115 922 2268

175ml glass of tempranillo red £3.05

175ml glass of Zinfandel blush £3.85

King prawns £3.95

Goats cheese ciabatta £3.50

Smoked salmon risotto £4.95

Aromatic chicken £4.50

Bread and butter pudding £3.95

Total: £27.75

Jennifer Scott