Today was a strange day in London. I had a few hours before I had to get to the airport and one hot chocolate I absolutely wanted to try. I rushed over, ran pretty much but when I got there a very tall and thin young lady informed me that I couldn’t just come in to have a hot chocolate, that I had to make a reservation. So in the little time I had left I had a quick think about where around Oxford Circus I could go to get a good hot chocolate, or at least a hot chocolate I hadn’t had before and I remembered: choccywoccydoodah.
Once upon a time, what seems like years ago, I really wanted to go here. We arrived, with stroller but a) it was way too busy and b) it is pretty difficult if not impossible to visit with a stroller because the café is upstairs, above the wonderland chocolate shop below. When I say wonderland, I mean wonderland. It is amazing what they have been able to create with chocolate and it is all showcased below. I visited just before Halloween and they had really gone with it. It was a chocolate haunted house with cobwebs connecting various masterpieces, most made out of chocolate. Of course this is a concept born in innovative Brighton and I’m sad I missed their mothership when I was there last. Next time.
I arrived just as some dark clouds were rolling in. I checked my phone: 0% chance of rain. But the sky was strange and turned from a dreary grey to a pink/purple colour. If you ask anyone who was in London that day, they will probably remember exactly what day I am talking about. It didn’t rain, but it was very, lets say, Haloweeny. So just like that everyone rushed indoors and I was lucky to get the best table in the house, right in the corner by the window.
There are a few options for hot chocolates. This is paradise for a sweet tooth and a lot of fun. Their menu proudly states that they use pure molten chocolate stirred into warm milk (molten chocolate is not a term that I am familiar with when it comes to hot chocolates, but gosh it does sound decadent doesn’t it). You can choose from milk (34%), dark (60%) or white chocolate (29% cocoa butter). I ordered the pure molten chocolate topped with whipped cream and served with marshmallows and a chocolate straw.
They also have salted caramel, mocha, spicy ginger, minty chocolate. Or you can really go all out with their decadent drinking chocolate, a mug of molten chocolate topped with a caramel stroopwafel (?) which is then topped with a scoop of ice cream, whipped cream, marshmallows, drizzled chocolate, 2 chocolate straws (I’m guessing they think this should be shared?) and a top up of chocolate buttons. Next time, maybe.
One of the best things about Choccywoccydoodah (yes that is really the name of this place) is that it is right in the heart of London, just off of fantastic Carnaby street, a pedestrian street full of interesting shops, street art, great food and a fun atmosphere.
Verdict: This place will put you in a good mood, regardless of how your day has been, and pump you full of enough sugar to make the rest of your day pretty great too. The staff are amongst the friendliest and more charming I have ever encountered in a chocolate shop; just as sweet as their surroundings (cue violins). Choccywoccydoodah, 30-32 Fouberts Place, London, UK @choccywoccyshop
