London’s best chocolate shops

You’ll smell Dark Sugars before you see it. The scent of Ghanaian cocoa beans wafts up Brick Lane, making it nigh on impossible not to pop your head round the door. Mounds of uncut truffle shards are heaped into mango leaf bowls or piled on cherry wood stands, ready to be bought as pick-and-mix boxes or individual items. Flavours are kaleidoscopic, from choc-overdose truffles to more leftfield tastes like cinnamon cider or Irish kiss pipette with a squirt of Baileys on top.

Bustling Italian Bear Chocolate (formerly known as Said) is related to the oldest chocolate factory in Rome (circa 1923) and mamma mia, does it make a mean hot chocolate: super thick and rich in cocoa solids, with molten choc ladled all over the cup. You can see the sweet stuff bubbling away in little cauldrons behind the glass counter. Pralines and truffles are stacked under cloches, on glass stands and in assorted jars, and the counter is dotted with colourful own-label ‘gran cru’ bars and sets of teacups, teaspoons and saucers made out of choccie. For pure indulgence, grab a massive slice of Caprese cake or salted caramel tart with your hot chocolate and sit down to admire the interior, which includes an entire wall decorated with shiny metal chocolate moulds. There’s an offshoot on the corner of Rathbone Place in Fitzrovia.

He penned ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, so it’s probably no surprise that Roald Dahl was a huge fan of Prestat’s beautifully presented chocolate truffles. With posh flavours such as champagne, yuzu saké and Earl Grey on offer (all in elegant, brightly coloured packaging), it’s hard to believe that this snazzy range comes from one of England’s oldest chocolatiers. The brand has been around for more than a century, but the current owners are bang on trend when it comes to promoting the health advantages of chocolate. Prestat’s Ruby bars, truffles and thins, for example, are processed gently to maximise antioxidant content and nutrients. Although the company’s chocs are a staple of high-class delis and fancy food halls, nothing beats a trip to its bijou boutique in St James’s genteel Princes Arcade.

Isabelle Alaya’s Chocolate Boutique & Café has a casual community vibe, not only supplying Peckham residents with their regular fix of fondant and truffles, but also offering up chocolate-making sessions (at the owner’s Chocolate Museum in Brixton), various chocolate and wine-tasting workshops, and even classes in painting with chocolate. Melange’s hand-layered Belgian chocolate slabs (milk, dark and white) have some inspired herbal and spicy flavour combinations: coffee and aniseed, coriander and grapefruit, lavender and lemon, cumin and mint, white pepper and vanilla, plus new hits such as rose and thyme or turmeric and truffle oil. There’s an impressive range of veggie and vegan options too, as well as a line-up of sugar-free, dairy-free and gluten-free chocolate drinks, smoothies and frappés.

Chocolate is the only food that melts at body temperature – hence the name of this trendy outfit founded by Louise Nason in 2006. Colourfully glam packaging is bang on for the corner of Notting Hill where its boutique sits, but there’s real substance too. What’s more, Melt’s kitchen is in the shop itself, so you can watch your treats being made, or chat about flavour combos with the team of chefs and chocolatiers. We like zany flavours such as toast and marmalade, caramelised popcorn and pistachio blonde – and who can resist the Van Gogh blossom wrapping around their vegan Easter eggs? It also sells brownies, mud pies and various prettily presented chocolate blocks for dissolving into cups of hot milk. There’s an offshoot in Holland Park and the owners also have a concession at Selfridges.

Dubbed ‘the Picasso of pastry’ by Vogue, patisserie chef and chocolatier extraordinaire Pierre Hermé opened this chic boutique on Monmouth Street in 2014. Trays of his world-famous multicoloured macarons immediately catch the eye, notably the iconic Isaphan version, named after a variety of damask rose and made with lychee purée, sévarôme rose essence and dried raspberries (aromas that echo the gewürztraminer grape of Hermé’s native Alsace). Chocoholics should home in on the ‘pure origine’ bars, truffles, bonbons and creations such as the 2000 feuille with praline and hazelnuts. There’s also a line-up of luscious desserts, exotic pound cakes and inventive ice creams and sorbets.

We can thank Edward VII for bringing Madame Charbonnel and Mrs Walker together back in 1875, and there’s still a kind of magic about their vintage shop on Bond Street’s elegant Royal Arcade. Cue lashings of Victorian nostalgia in the shape of their drawing room and grand ballroom collections (inspired by noble houses of the period), as well as seasonal treats such as vanilla raspberries or ‘chorus line crackers’ filled with sea salt caramel and praline. Best of all are its speciality truffle boxes, with flavours ranging from Chase vodka and rhubarb, Sipsmith gin and afternoon tea to iconic Pink Marc de Champagne. Otherwise, Charbonnel is rightly known for its 70 percent dark hot chocolate. As well as the Bond Street flagship, there are outlets in Canary Wharf and Broadgate and you can also buy C&W chocolates in Selfridges and Harrods.

Belgian chocolatier Pierre Marcolini has shops from Kuwait to Tokyo, and his London outlet on Maryleboen High Street glows as pristine white as the gloves used by staff to pick out his neatly arranged chocolates. Fancy eclairs with perfect choux pastry, inspired centres and haute-couture toppings get star billing (try the mojito version filled with lime, white rum and minty, custardy cream), but this is far from your average chocolate shop: there’s also a macaron carousel, a tasting area and a sweetie bar. Go when you feel like splashing the cash, or pick just one delicacy and savour the complex flavours – perhaps a merveilleux desire (dark chocolate shell with meringue, a crème fraîche ‘insert’ and vanilla mascarpone), a square of mille-feuille des rois or an insanely glossy chocolate tart. You can also find Marcolini’s wares in Selfridges and Harrods.

William Curley knows his chocolate – the Scottish chocolatier and patissier has won the title of Britain’s Best Chocolatier four times and collected over 30 gold awards for his creations at the Academy Of Chocolate Awards. After working in some of London’s finest hotels under the likes of Marco Pierre White and Raymond Blanc, Curley set up his own shop – first in Richmond, but you’ll now find him and his wife Melissa serving up sweet treats in Soho. Their range varies from the nostalgic (take a trip down memory lane with their take on Jaffa Cakes and Bounty Bars) to both classic British and experimental Japanese flavourings. Whatever form of chocolate you like best, they’ve probably got it, with bars, bites, drinks and macarons all on the menu.

Rococo’s founder Chantal Coady is revered as a pioneer of fine chocolate in the UK, and she’s is still ahead of the game after forty years in business. Look for the top-drawer organic bars made by the Grenada Chocolate Company as well as Rococo’s own artisan versions – the rose flavour is heavenly – and it’s also worth seeking out her ‘library collection’ of bars inspired by Roald Dahl’s books. There are gorgeous hand-painted novelties too, from goldfish and choc crocs (chocolate crocodiles) to hazelnut praline ‘potatoes’ (served with crystallised mint leaves), crates of salted caramel ‘seagull eggs’ and decorative Easter treats. You can also go hands-on by trying one of the personalised chocolate experiences. There are outlets in Chelsea and Marylebone.