Dalston Superstore — Restaurant in London

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...

This location seems unsure whether it is a pub, a nightclub, or a bar/restaurant. Whichever way you look at it, it does all three to a mediocre level and despite being an important location for LGBT+ representation, this review is looking purely at the actual venue and services.

The seating arrangement is uncomfortable, considering the dishes they serve, the tables and space provided is not suitable for four people to comfortably eat. Thankfully the chairs (which seat two people each) can move otherwise it would be impossible to move around. The table area to the front of the venue is slightly better but still patently uncomfortable.

Due to being unsure what their function is, during the weekend drag brunch, the music is so loud that it is nigh impossible to speak to more than one other person without shouting and when trying to socialise and be with friends, this is typically a critical factor. When having a meal I do not want to feel like I am in a nightclub having to lean forward and strain my voice just to hold a conversation. Though the music was good, they need to decide what the priority is; either make the drag queen host a more holistic performance that you watch while you eat, or make it more of a supporting act whereby groups and couples can still enjoy each others company and be distracted by the host on occasion.

Food was poor quality and not worth going for. The chips with cheese that we ordered arrived burnt, clearly they cook the chips and then put cheese on top and grill it and someone left it under the grill too long. The steak and egg hash was... sloppy... way too much rocket and the 'crispy potato' was simply a lie. It was pan-fried egg, cut up steak, and cubes of potato with some pesto added and camouflaged by a mound of rocket.

The drinks were generally good but the bloody Mary was far too thick indicating a cheap tomato passata or way too much sugar added for some reason. It was too rich and, to quote a friend, 'tastes like ketchup'.

The drag queen for the evening was fun but, as mentioned before, not properly utilised. Either make them a more prominent focus or make them more of a host/dj without overpowering the socialising that can take place in a location like this.

I can't recommend this place but I see a lot of potential and understand it's reputation and importance. As LGBT+ places become increasingly less niche, this place will really need to step up it's game to compete and attract more people for...

I came here with a couple of friends, at the door a member of staff stopped us informing us that they were the “vibe checker”. They were immediately condescending in tone whilst asking questions such as “had we been there before” etc. They then asked if we knew what the night was that night, which we didn’t, and they said “well it’s a Latinx event and you would know that if you’d bothered to research”. We were a little shocked by the rudeness of the remark and the expectation that you would have to research before simply going to enjoy yourself on a queer night out (an expectation that would never be assumed of cis-het people in cis-het spaces). They then asked for a bit more information about us, so I said “well we are all queer if that’s what you’re asking” to which they replied “fine I’ll take a leap of faith and let you in”. Queer spaces are far and few between and sacred, there are not many places in this world that we can express ourselves freely so to have what we anticipated to be an open and welcoming evening be transformed by this queer gatekeeping was saddening to say the least. We walked into this space feeling anything but welcomed and deeply uncomfortable. We also noticed there were virtually no Latinx people and nothing about this event that went out of its way to celebrate any part of Latinx culture, so this all felt entirely performative. If you want to create a space for Latinx queer folk to be able to commune together, then you need to actually reach out to the Latinx community etc. In all we found this space to fetishise a preconceived notion of ‘queer aesthetic’ rather than being a supportive and inclusive space for real,...