Hotel Chocolat

Hotel Chocolat is a British chocolate shop and cocoa cafe on Monmouth Street, one of the seven roads radiating from the Seven Dials junction on the western edge of Covent Garden. The company is headquartered in Royston, Hertfordshire, and is unusual among high street chocolatiers in owning its own cocoa farm, the Rabot Estate in Saint Lucia, which gives the brand a direct link to the source of its cocoa and underpins its ethics and sustainability programme.

The range is built on higher cocoa content and careful presentation: high-cacao dark chocolate, selectors, batons, truffles, macarons, liqueur chocolates, fruity chocolates and vegan options, alongside chocolate boxes and seasonal gift collections. The Velvetiser, the brand's own hot chocolate machine, anchors the drinking chocolate side of the business, and the in-store cafe serves hot chocolate, summer coolers and chocolate ices, with allergen information published for the cafe menu. Click and Collect lets online orders be picked up from the shop, and the free VIP.ME membership earns discounts on cafe drinks and ices.

Chocolate shop at Seven Dials

As a chocolate shop at Seven Dials, the Monmouth Street branch benefits from a browsable stretch of independent and branded shops that is calmer than the market halls, which suits a slower look at the range or a hot chocolate to take away while exploring the side streets. The brand also references its School of Chocolate alongside the Saint Lucia estate, and most of what is sold is made in Britain.

What to expect on a visit

Expect a well-stocked gift shop with a small cafe counter, open from 10am to 8pm on weekdays, from 9am on Saturday and 11am to 7pm on Sunday. For a cafe built entirely around drinking chocolate by percentage, Knoops on New Row is a short walk south, and the directory lists the other dessert shops in Covent Garden.