About Knoops
Knoops is a hot chocolate cafe on New Row, a narrow pedestrian street off St Martin's Lane at the south-western corner of Covent Garden, and it was the brand's first store in London's West End. The company was founded in 2013 by Jens Knoop, a German-born chocolate lover who opened a single shop in Rye, East Sussex, on the belief that drinking chocolate deserved the same craftsmanship and choice that speciality coffee had achieved.
The idea that made it work is Knoopology: rather than picking from a short list of fixed drinks, you choose a chocolate by its percentage, from 28% white through milk chocolates at 34%, 38% oat milk and 43%, to dark at 54% and 65% and extra dark up to 100%, including single-origin bean-to-bar chocolates. You then pick your milk, add flavours such as orange zest, sea salt or chilli, and have it hot or iced. Jens acts as the company's chocolate sommelier, visiting cocoa plantations in Peru, Colombia, Venezuela and Ghana and personally selecting every chocolate on the board. The business stayed a single shop until investor William Gordon-Harris found it in 2019 and joined to drive expansion across the UK and, more recently, into Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the United States.
Hot chocolate cafe in Covent Garden
As a hot chocolate cafe in Covent Garden, the New Row branch is open unusually long hours, from 8am on weekdays and Sunday and 9am on Saturday, through to 10.30pm or later, so it covers breakfast, a mid-afternoon stop and a drink after the theatre. Cacao tea, gift sets, tins of flakes and hot chocolate makers let you recreate the drinks at home.
What to expect on a visit
Expect a short queue at peak times, outdoor seating on the pedestrian street, a dog-friendly welcome and a wheelchair ramp. Vegan options include oat milk, and choosing your percentage is the whole point, so think about how dark you like it before ordering. For chocolate to carry home rather than drink, Hotel Chocolat at Seven Dials is a few minutes north, and the directory lists the other dessert shops in Covent Garden.
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Reviews
Needed a place in the shade for drinks, three adults and a young 👶 Never been to a Knoops before so in I went to discover a very nice chocolate shop-Cafe. Fascinating shop with nice friendly staff. Placed my order for both hot and cold drinks (resisted the lovely looking cakes 🍰) Sat out side in the shade and waited. Five minutes later heard a shout out that my order was ready😀 No table service Collected my drinks😀 Very good coffees ☕️☕️☕️ Left in peace, no hassle 😀 Good strong coffee from a specialty chocolate shop😀 So much choice out there for good coffee. Would use again but not my first choice 😀🏴✅
living up to its name of best hot chocolate in london! not artificially sweet and love that one can customise the % and type of milk. superb!
One of my favourite hot chocolates in the UK. It’s always busy, but the service is quick. There are so many cacao percentage options, so you can choose exactly how strong you want it. Seating is limited, so we usually grab it to go.