London Guide: Hot Chocolate
During the colder months, one of my favourite things to do is sit in a nice cafe and drink a Hot Chocolate. It is such a comfort and reminds me of my childhood where I would slurp a hot chocolate whilst the adults sipped on mugs of tea. This was an attempt to appear grown up and I’m pretty sure it always worked.
This blog post could have been a huge list of all the places to that serve this
Rabot 1745
Burough Market
Rabot 1745 is a cafe/ restaurant owned by Hotel Chocolate. Based right on the edge of Borough market, it’s the perfect place to have a little rest from the hustle and bustle.
Their hot chocolates are made with real chocolate (no powders or syrups in sight) and this means you can choose the level of cocoa that suits you. You can even go for 100% dark chocolate. You can then add additional flavours such as chilli, mint, vanilla and salted caramel.
I opted for a hazelnut 50% milky drinking chocolate and it was perfect for me. The ceramic mugs they come in remind me of the cocoa pod, which is such a thoughtful touch. Ten points whoever thought of using those.
An upside to drinking here? There is almost always chocolates available to sample.
Ruby Violet
Kings Cross
Ruby Violet is an ice cream parlour, but don’t let that put you off in the colder months. Their hot chocolates are unlike any I’ve tried before. You have two options, small & intense or long & frothy. I had the latter because I am all about that froth, the more the better.
The thick liquid chocolate is served in a small gold cup with the frothy milk on the side. It may look like a stingy serve, but this hot chocolate is intense. This is one you’ll want to sip on whilst reading a good book.
Mamasons Dirty Icecream
Camden
Mamasons may seem like just another ‘instagramable’ cafe, but they have a great range of hot drinks. What really grabbed my attention was the Ube Coco, which is Ube (a Filipino purple sweet potato) & white chocolate, topped with ube whipped cream, melted marshmallow and an ube crumb. It’s not super chocolatey, but it does give you that warm fuzzy feeling inside. Plus, if you’re not usually a fan of hot chocolates (how you made it to this post we’ll never know) this might be the one for you.
Said
Soho
Said is for the chocolate romantics. With their original shop in Italy, their London branch brings all the hustle and bustle of Italian culture with it. The hot chocolates come in three sizes and can be made with Milk, Dark or Gianduia (hazelnut). Obviously, I went for the Gianduia. You can then add a ‘triple chocolate cup’ which essentially covers your cup in white, milk and dark chocolate for £1.80. I’ll admit I feel it’s a bit overpriced but in the name of research, I went for it.
Expect to mainly spoon feed yourself this hot chocolate and still get it all over your hands. It’s messy, yet extremely fun.
Don’t wear white.
Rococo
Seven Dials
Rococo specialise in chocolates. Everything from truffles to wafers, they have it. So it’s no surprise they serve up delicious liquid chocolate to take away at their seven dials store. You’ll find the hot pot of chocolate right next to the front door, alongside a variety of spices to make the drink your own.
I took a small portion with peppermint. The mint flavour was very subtle, but it did brighten up the rich drink. I’d recommend stopping in whilst your doing your Christmas shopping as a little winter warmer to keep you going.
Chin Chin
Soho
I am fully aware that the best Hot Chocolate topping has yet to be mentioned. Marshmallows come in many different shapes and sizes, but no matter what, they are always delicious on a Hot Chocolate. That’s where Chin Chin comes in. A cafe, specialising in desserts, Chin Chin’s hot chocolates are insane. You can just get your bog standard one – who would do that? – or you can get one topped with an ice cream scoop of marshmallow which is then toasted with a big a** blow torch. It’s sticky, requires a spoon and is perfect for those with a sweet tooth.
Pop in after dinner at your favourite Soho retaurant.
I hope this guide has helped you find your ultimate Hot Chocolate and if you’d like to see a London Guide to your favourite drink/ nibble drop me a message below in the comments.