35 Upper Street,
London,
N1 0PN
0872 148 1248
The ViewLondon Review
You’d think that Angel would be one of the easiest places in London to have lunch. Awash with restaurants, bars, diners and delis, it certainly does a damn good impression of offering all that the overworked office worker could desire.
But look a little closer and you’ll find there’s a problem. Between the two opposing poles of Upper Street and Chapel Market, the nosh on offer tends towards either the full-on restaurant experience or the wholesale greasy spoon extravaganza, without that much in between bar takeaway sandwich bars. If you want to sit down for a spot of good, cheap nosh (and you don’t fancy pub food), you can find yourself surprisingly stuck.
Enter The Sequel. This unassuming yet capacious little pizza restaurant is rarely busy at lunchtimes – surprisingly, since it also serves a good range of well-priced pasta, traditional breakfasts (though without chips – shame!) and sandwiches.
You can have a bottle of wine with your lunch, should you wish to, and the superthin-based pizzas are delicious (and easily enough for two, should one find oneself a little fiscally challenged towards the end of the month). What the dessert menu lacks in length, it more than makes up for in quality: chocolate fudge cake is served warm and melting, and the ice cream tastes like real Italian gelati.
The Sequel is great for a quick bite in the evenings, too, when its décor and lighting – which can seem a little incongruous when tucking into a full English – come into their own. Service is brisk and efficient, though the proliferation of menus can seem something of a challenge; and if you’re no friend of Mr. O’Teen you’re definitely best at the front as the smoke does drift from one side of this narrow restaurant to the other.
The Sequel won’t win any awards for innovation, but by curbing its ambitions it’s given itself time to become good at what it does. For an unpretentious, affordable bite in chi-chi N1, it’s hard to beat.
The Sequel has been reviewed by 1 users