Dalston Superstore

Great vibes all round. Great cocktails, lovely friendly staff. Paris & Sateva's performance so entertaining and enjoyable to watch, they made my friend Andrews birthday really special. Thank you!!

A queer friend and I went for the drag brunch on a Sunday. I had never been to the Dalston Superstore before, but came across the website when searching for sissy events for my friend. The site gave the impression that there would be a drag show of 'drag superstars'. In fact, it referred to it as a cult hit, like a historical, well-known, fabulous, morning-after gay tradition. It sounded wonderful and I couldn't wait to take my friend, who had never been to any queer venues, and he was excited to see his first drag show. I can assure you, this 'show' was not fabulous nor was the person presenting it a 'superstar', hence only 3 stars for Atmosphere. It was a normal-looking cafe. Fair enough, we were going for brunch, afterall. But I was looking for the stage or some set-up for a performance. There wasn't any. What it was, was a man/person in a long plain skirt and plain top, wearing flipflps and Darth Maul make-up (yes) doing a DJ gig from a little platform that I hadn't noticed at first. The sound system was at a deafening volume. I couldn't even understand what he/she/they was saying. I could tell they were trying to be funny, but it wasn't going down too well. There was no explanation that I could hear for their strange attire. But the whole thing was shabby and disappointing. It was not a show. It was someone who seemed a bit jaded, dragging him/herself into work in whatever clothes they picked up off the floor and, in some fit of madness, decided to paint their face with a Star Wars character. I don't intend to be unkind to that person. I'm sure they are nice. They were trying hard to get us involved and be funny. But this 'show' or presentation wasn't working, and then they sort of playfully (or not) gave us a hard time, several times, for not responding with excitement and getting involved or making song requests. It was supposed to be a performance. I didn't realise that we, as people trying to eat our food, had to be involved and prop up the entertainment. If it had been promoted as a live DJ show in a queer venue, that would have been accurate and I wouldn't have been disappointed. Other opinions: 1) Wait staff: excellent. Friendly manager. Very cute, professional waiter boy. 2) Food: Great. Breakfast Waffle was scrumptious, as were Loaded Veggie fries. Mimosas and espresso martinis also good. 3) Venue itself: Colourful and fun decor, with artwork on display. A litte shabby (genuine shabby chic), but I loved that about the place. It had character and reminded me of places I used to go when I was young(er). Bathroom was black and felt a little grubby (though the toilets were clean), but I was ok with that. Again, it reminded me of my youth, and the mini parties I used to have in bathroom stalls. Though I was disappointed by the sign that said no more than one person per stall. Come on! Where's the fun in that? lol. The only thing I didn't like about the bathrooms is that they are unisex. 4) Atmosphere: It was ok. I didn't have a horrible time, but, as noted, the show could be improved. Overall, good concept, good food, friendly staff. 5) Finally, based on others' reviews about being judged as looking 'not gay enough' by the night bouncers and some staff, I just wanted to comment on my own experience. Though it was hard to tell through the face painting, it seemed that the DJ gave me a few dirty (or at least questioning) looks as he/she/they walked past our table when interacting with the audience, like 'what are you doing here, straight lady?' Well, I may look 'straight' these days, but I'm not. I was dressed rather conservatively and looked like any regular middle-aged lady you'd see walking down the street. However, I am not straight, and I am not conservative. I was a wild-arse, partying, dyke punk throughout the 80's. And have been up to kinky shenanigans ever since. So it really isn't fair or accurate to judge people's queerness based on their looks. You just never know. The most straight-laced looking person in the room might be the wildest, most outrageous, most radical person you ever met.

very cool bar but majoritarily white ppl in their 30's (and some random straight ppl) so it might not be what everyone looks for, but it might just be the specific party i went to (also saw swana and poc parties were thrown there regularly). staff very kind, everyone was very cool and friendly :))) drinks very good, affordable for London and 2 floors with different musics. also 18+ which is cool and most of parties are free before 10 or u choose how much u pay

Unfortunately turning into a heaven 2.0 the way the security and the bouncers are so rude with a bitchy unnecessary attitude, treating guests as less than human. I work in customer service and I worked in nightlife and would never treat guests the way they treated me and my friends yesterday. As I have been an attendee of Dalston superstore for years I know this particular bouncer from yesterday is new so I don't understand the meanness, it was giving peaked in secondary school in the most embarrassing way possible, really taking out the friendly in a lgbt+ friendly venue. A shame cause once we entered the service indoors was miles better from the bartenders. As there are so few lgbt+ venues in London I hope Dalston Superstore shapes up and spreads kindness and love in the community, not hate.

Best drag brunch experience ever! Even if it was a holiday and not too energetic, the hosts and staff kept up the great vibes. Plus the food and drinks were fairly priced. Y'all should definitely go!

Other than it having too few toilets (resulting in lengthy queues even if folk double up) this plays host to a pleasantly crowded and utterly random night...

I'm so sorry to do this to you guys but you just let me down. This place is a Jekyll and Hyde venue, posing as a cafe/restaurant by day and a gay bar by...

So I won't lie, I was slightly blurry when I went here on Friday but I don't think that's just because of the alcohol. The place itself is a blur of noise,...