This trendy chocolate shop in Covent Garden London took social media by storm a few months ago when they opened up their experimental pop up. The concept isn’t anything new, but it is giving prestige, luxurious and exclusive vibes. A few months on and they have now opened up permanently. We visited recently to put it to the test and this post is going to be a summary of our experience there.
The concept
Handmade. Chocolate. Bars. Simple? The concept is simple enough and you’d imagine if executed right, people will flock. And in reality it isn’t anything new as of course there are many chocolatiers around the world including in London itself who have been doing the very same thing! But I guess the difference here is that they are taking this concept a little bit more mainstream and making it accessible to the people. So, when people see this pop up in their feeds, they are thinking it is revolutionary. Fair play. So, a variety of chocolate flavoured and filled bars are made fresh every day. Primarily using their hands, but some steps may be using a machine (before the sticklers come and point out one step out of twenty is using a machine – sue me!). Go at the right time and you’ll be able to witness the chocolate making procedure!
Read more.
The chocolate and the variety
You’ll see a select number of chocolate bars on display at the front of the shop. I think around 5 flavours? The flavours vary from millionaire shortcake to white chocolate hazelnut and toffee popcorn to Biscoff cheesecake. And from what I gather the flavours are constantly changing (I assume except for the standard few), so they are always innovating and bringing you new flavours. They have also introduced iced chocolate bars (think choc ice?) now, which I imagine would be delicious during the summer months.
The location
It is located in a prime location. Right outside the Leicester Square underground just before you enter Covent Garden. So, they’ll definitely get the foot traffic and I would hope because they are doing something that isn’t done so commonly and in mainstream form, they’ll do well.
Is it halal?
When we visited, the shop was by run one person. She was in the front of shop by herself, making the chocolate, serving the chocolate, and dealing with the customers. She was a hijabi woman, so if we apply good assumptions as we should as Muslims, it can be assumed that they are suitable for the halal diet. For those that want that extra bit of confirmation though, we did ask them and they have confirmed that all of their chocolate bars are in fact halal. 100%.
Our thoughts
We actually wanted to try the Biscoff cheesecake one, but we were strongly recommended their most popular offering: tiptop. It’s got peanut butter, salted caramel, and peanut crunch. It was really good and it kind of had a premium snicker kinda vibe. It was priced at £3.50, which I think isn’t bad for what you’re paying for, but I know there will be many who will frown at that price for a chocolate bar. The nice lady was kind enough to give us a sample of the Biscoff cheesecake one anyway, and even though it was decent, I think I’m glad we went with her recommendation.
I do have a confession to make though: I’m not a big chocolate fan and on top of that, snickers is one of my least favourite chocolate bars. So, even though I did like this chocolate bar, I’m not rushing back to try it again or even try something else. I liked the concept more than the taste itself. But am I qualified to judge being a not so big chocolate fan? Probably not! I do think they are upping the chocolate game though and if you’re a chocolate lover, you may well love this place!
Getting there
Nearest station: Leicester Square
Nearest mosque: Muslim World League Goodge Street (10 minute walk)
Parking: Ossulston Street – free evenings and weekends – plenty of parking spaces on Sundays – about 20-30 min walk from Soho/Chinatown, but it is just outside congestion zone
Google Maps link
