Mouse & De Lotz

So many lovely neighbourhood cafés and delis have opened in Hackney that they scarcely provoke a raised eyebrow any more, still less one raised over a delicate vintage china cup of tea.

Despite their ubiquity, they all have their particular strengths; Mouse & de Lotz's are its very decent prices and its fabulous tea loaf. Already, it's garnered plenty of heartfelt appreciation from the locals for helping to colonise a corner of Dalston that even those with the grittiest urban sensibility would admit could do with a clean-up.

If you're wondering about the name, it's derived from the surnames of cheerful proprietors Nadia Mousawi and Victoria de Lotz.

The renovated storefront and clean Farrow & Ball aesthetic are country kitchen agreeable, with old milk bottles and mouse-eared prints giving it real character.

The coffees (brewed from Square Mile Coffee Roasters' current seasonal espresso blend) are well made and there are several snacks for children, too (clearly labelled on the menu) - Marmite sandwiches, say, or own-made houmous with soldiers.

The only limitation is that most of the food is bread- or flour-based (the own-made yoghurt and a good, crunchy granola, aside), from salt beef bagels to cheese on toast via teacakes, cakes and sarnies.

But a houmous, sun-dried tomato and salad sandwich was tasty and generously filled, while a tiffin (a no-bake chocolate biscuit cake) was satisfyingly gingery.

Despite having only opened a month ago, its cute parcel-tag loyalty cards are already being regularly stamped with the café's signature mouse icon.