88 Upper Street
N1 0NP
Tel: 020 7288 0954
Date of Last Visit: Oh, I don’t know. A few months ago. I’m sorry.
The Damage: £20 each?
I have been remiss in writing up Sangria. It’s been ages (well, a few months) since I’ve been, but it was just so very decent and nice that I did not want to neglect it. Particularly when a nice May bank holiday weekend gives me some time to catch up on things. (Did you know that the Brits only get eight public holidays while Americans get 10? I’ll leave the UK-government-mandated-minimum of 20 vacation days aside. But I gotta be honest, I like 10 public holidays spread throughout the year a lot better than 8 days squished up in April and December.) But back to Sangria…
The Context: One night after work, Feathers and I had gone to my Thai ladies at the Thai Massage place on the Essex Road. Feathers had never been. I think she’s a convert. They are just so very sweet. I don’t remember if we had had a rough day or anything–isn’t it funny when you do have a rough day? It seems like the worst thing ever, but then a few days later, you totally forget about it. I think we just wanted massages. Yes, our needs are simple.
So we were wandering, limp and aimless, around Islington after our head-and-shoulder kneading, and we thought that some sustenance would be nice. But not a lot. So tapas it was.
The Islington Tapas place on the Essex Road was closing down for the night, but that was okay because Sangria was still packing them in.
The Entrance: It is dark. Very very dark. I can’t see. Add in the massage and well, I’m ready to go to bed.
The Food: Well, our plan to eat lightly didn’t last very long. Before we knew it, we had six dishes in front of us. I don’t remember any of them except one (BAD food blogger! Bad!)–the bean dish (broad beans to the English, Lima beans to the Americans). I believe it was a special. I loved the texture and the mix of flavors…there was some sort of smoked pork mixed up with the beans, and it just worked really really well together.
The Verdict: I keep thinking about Sangria…and I keep thinking that I will go back there and eat some more beans. But I haven’t. Soon, I promise.
