Famed Belgian chocolatier Neuhaus celebrates 150 years of chocolate making with the opening of a chocolate cafe – the first of its kind in the capital.

The Venue
Part shop, part cafe, this venue is great whether you want to relax with a drink or grab some posh chocolate with the rest of your designer shopping – its location right off Sloane Square certainly doesn’t hurt. The shop in front is pure heaven – mounds of chocolate sit prettily in beautiful arrangements under glass cases like sparkling gems at a jewellers, and boxes of pre-packaged treats are arranged along the wall. The dominant colour everywhere is dark brown, unsurprisingly, with splashes of deep orange and other bright colours thrown in amongst the decor and the chocolates.

In the rear of the shop is the cafe, with a chocolate bar (which is a drinks bar, not a giant bar of chocolate unfortunately) on one side and seating on the other. A long, leather banquette lines the wall, accompanied by tables and chairs in (what else?) chocolate brown.

The Atmosphere
Its Chelsea location will pretty much tell you everything you need to know about the clientele – expect ladies who lunch naughtily passing up the tiny salads and tea sandwiches for pralines and truffles of the non-mushroom kind. It’s a bit hard to find as well, ensuring that wandering tourists won’t stumble in unexpectedly unless they really know where to look.

The Food
A chocoholic’s version of heaven would be an understatement. Belgian chocolatier Neuhaus is known across the world for its creations, and as the company has recently celebrated its 150th anniversary it’s clear that its hard-earned reputation is well deserved. Although the prices are quite expensive, the quality is second to none – box of chocolates might cost five times as much as a box of Quality Streets, but it tastes five times as good.

If your waistline or your wallet can only afford to sample a few of the chocolates, make sure you try a Manon Noir, a round, dark chocolate shell filled with luxurious dark chocolate mousse, or a Caprice, a long, dark chocolate triangle filled with crunchy nougatine and vanilla cream – although it sounds very sweet, the bitterness in the dark chocolate is nicely balanced with the sugary cream. If you’re not a chocolate fan and you still find your way into the shop, non-chocolate options include colourful jellied fruit slices covered in crystallised sugar and little square blocks of marzipan. Also try the Manon Sucre Vanille, a dollop of sugary-sweet vanilla buttercream in a yellow wrapper.

The Drink
Unsurprisingly, the drinks available are of the chocolate variety. The Neuhaus Chocolate Cafe raises the bar on the hot chocolate stakes by making it lusciously thick (as in the Hot Chocolate Lava) and adding rum and hazelnut liqueur (for the Chocolate Caribe).

The Last Word
When a bar of Cadbury’s from the local Tescos won’t do justice to your chocolate cravings, the Neuhaus Chocolate Cafe is stylishly cool and deliciously decadent.

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