Alphabet: An A-Z Of Delicious Dishes in Angel
A is for Alphabet, the restaurant and bar that has relocated from Soho to Upper Street in Angel. The name doesn't imply Mediterranean cuisine, but the menu is filled with delicious treats that show these guys really know their stuff when it comes to producing sharing plates worth salivating over.
D is for dips, and while we can't go wrong with hummus, the whipped feta is an airy new find for us — the crunchy onions and pitta bread giving some weight to the light cheesiness of it. It's always worth trying a lighter dip and this doesn't disappoint.
The merguez sausages are pink, juicy and tender. The courgette and fennel fritters are a chewy affair and while it's always good to have a veggie option with a bit of substance, these are a bit of a chore to chow down on.
S is for the squid. It's delicious and it comes with a very late kick, just when we're starting to doubt there's any chilli in it at all. Then, zing, it catches us off guard, meaning we get the full flavour without chilli before we feel the heat.
T is for tagine, and as we've had plenty of lamb tagines before, we take a risk on the hake. Our fears are completely unfounded as the slow cooked fish is still firm enough to break off in chunks but proceeds to split apart with a tender ease in our mouths. We resolve to have more fish tagines in future.
At this point, we want everything else on the menu, even though we're at the point of bursting. But what's this, we spot on the menu? Alphabites?
(For the uninitiated, these are letters of the alphabet made from potato, and we imagine we're not alone in having fond memories of coming home from school to devour a plateful).
We can't resist, and when they arrive we're back to being kids again, spelling out our names with the letters. It has nothing to do with the Mediterranean cuisine the restaurant focuses on, but we like that it can play on its own name with a nostalgic dish.
C is for cocktails and there's an extensive cocktail list. We're not drinking, but are very impressed with the non-alcoholic varieties. Normally these just tend to be fruit juice concoctions, too sweet even for this sweet tooth. However, here the use of hibiscus gives one drink a lovely bitter tang and the floating saffron in a grilled lemon mocktail is a subtly flavoured treat.
E is for an excellent dining experience and R is for the return visit that we're already planning to try out all the other dishes on the menu.
Alphabet, 56 Upper Street, N1 0NY. The meal in this review would have cost circa £50 for two excluding drinks.
Last Updated 31 August 2018