Mouse & de Lotz

Dalston's cosiest, loveliest little spot, run by the always charming Nadya and Victoria. The coffee is top drawer, the tiffin divine and there are few better ways of eating out of a hangover than their speck and egg sandwich. A great neighbourhood cafe!

I'm so glad this place is my local – there are several very good cafes in Stokey/Dalston, but none as much of a treat as Mouse and de Lotz. The owners and staff clearly love what they do: the service is friendly, the food is simple and delicious, and their rendering of Square Mile is close to the quality of Espresso Room on Great Ormond Street. Getting anywhere near ER is aspirational in my book, so M&dL is amongst the best in an ever increasing market. My favourite combo has to be bircher muesli with fresh passionfruit and a bowl of excellent flat white (bowls of coffee are common in NZ but almost unheard of in the UK). The experience is completed by the atmosphere – friendly chat whilst I sit at a rough wood table made from a Singer sewing machine table component, the glorious sunshine streaming in through the huge windows.

Love this place! I've been drinking coffee around Dalston and Stokey for many years and it's certainly an eclectic mix of folk, furnishing and fare. But Mouse & De Lotz has got it spot on. It has everything you could possibly want from a local cafe. Fantastic coffee made lovingly with attention to detail, original cakes (not a cupcake in sight thank god!), friendly service, and simple and tasteful decor. A lot of thought has gone into this place and it's kick started a mini community revolution in Shacklewell Green. A superb cafe and well worth a detour no matter where you hail from.

I love going to this place.

Setting of wood floorboards, well chosen mismatched furniture, delicious looking and tasting handmade cake display, the day's papers and fresh pastries delivered in the morning.

There are few places in the locality that match the love and quality that is put into the food. I've seen them making the food a few times and it is a pleasure to see things like their avocado on toast be prepared with chili, seasoning, lemon and olive oil being added to taste. It's done by people who love their food. They also have a small menu, which is always a positive for me as it suggests that the ingredients are fresh and that they know the dishes well. A good feed will cost somewhere in the region of £4-6.

The coffee is some of my favourite in London. They use Square Mile and have some excellent baristas. Prices are the low end of the standard London price – £2.20 for a flat white.

It can get busy at weekends, which can inevitably lead to a longer wait for service, but I'd still rather that than pay through the nose for a burnt coffee and overpriced sandwich at Costabucks. That said, I've never had to wait any unreasonable length of time.

For me, the owners have got all the right things nailed. They have staked out a spot on what used to be a not so welcoming street, and made a hub for a lot of the local community, which undoubtedly feeds into the atmosphere of the place. It's a beauty of a place that has set a real standard for the area.

A wonderful little cafe in an otherwise run-down pocket of East London. It is such a needed venue! It totally raises the bar for the area. The home-made food is consistently good and fairly priced. There's always a little interesting treat to be had. The cakes are particularly awesome. Everything is presented with style.

I was lucky enough to go to one the Mouse & de Lotz supper clubs. The atmosphere was fantastic, very personal, very friendly and delicious food. Live music from friends and a brilliantly talented young singer made it incredibly memorable. For such a small cafe, it has a big heart.

Keep up the good work Mouse & del Lotz-ers! I'll definitely be coming back.

They just haven't worked out what good service means. Simple things; bringing orders within a reasonable time. Bringing coffee orders together, not spread out by five or ten minutes. Smiling and looking pleased to see customers. They started badly, but things are often chaotic when you first open. Sadly they're still awful and they have been around a while now.

It's a tiny place, the two or three staff I have seen when I have been there sometimes outnumber their customers, and even when completely full it surely can't fit more than about twenty or so people. Their menu is simple: cakes, coffees, juices and the like all of which seem fine (if not exceptional) when they eventually turn up. Yet they manage to be slow, inefficient, frustrating and unfriendly – to the point of me cancelling a food order because we simply couldn't wait any longer (said food was a cake, sitting on the counter about three feet away, which nobody had managed to find time to put on a plate and bring over).

Extraordinary, really. You would have thought that a nice interior and incredibly simple menu would mean a charming and well loved local cafe. Instead, despite living seconds away, I have only been three times and regretted it on each occasion.

Such a shame.