There are some drinks that just belong to winter, and hot chocolate is definitely one of them.
When the temperature drops in London, there is something very satisfying about escaping the cold, finding somewhere cosy and warming your hands around a proper cup of chocolate. And London does hot chocolate particularly well.
You can find everything from thick Italian-style drinking chocolate that feels almost like melted chocolate, to customisable cups where you choose the cocoa percentage yourself. Then there are the more playful versions: chocolate covered in shavings, drinks topped with enormous toasted marshmallows, Mexican-inspired cups served with churros and even spicy versions with chilli and salt.
So if you're looking for somewhere better than a standard café hot chocolate this winter, these are 9 hot chocolate spots in London worth putting on your list.
1. Knoops For a Hot Chocolate You Can Customise
If you don't know exactly how you like your hot chocolate, Knoops is a great place to experiment.
The whole idea behind Knoops is that hot chocolate doesn't have to be one fixed recipe. You choose the chocolate percentage, milk and additional flavours, allowing you to make your drink darker, creamier, sweeter or more intense depending on your preference.
Its London locations include Covent Garden, Kensington, Knightsbridge, Chelsea, Notting Hill and Richmond, making it one of the easiest specialist hot-chocolate stops to fit into a day around the city.
The percentage system is what makes the experience fun. Go for something milkier if you want a sweeter, gentler drink, or move towards the darker percentages if you want something more intense.
Knoops has also been recognised for its range of chocolate percentages, with current testing from BBC Good Food highlighting its variety from white chocolate through to very dark options.
Best for: People who like choosing exactly how their chocolate tastes.
Try it when: You want to turn hot chocolate into a little tasting experience.
2. Dark Sugars For a Properly Chocolatey Cup
If your idea of hot chocolate involves more chocolate, Dark Sugars should be on your list.
The Brick Lane chocolatier has become one of East London's best-known chocolate stops, and its hot chocolate is particularly recognisable for the generous chocolate shavings added to the drink.
Dark Sugars' own story describes its Pitch Black Hot Chocolate as an intensely thick chocolate experience, while its broader identity is closely connected to cocoa from West Africa and Ghana.
You can visit the original shop at 141 Brick Lane, while Dark Sugars also has its Cocoa House in Greenwich.
This is the sort of drink that makes sense after wandering around Brick Lane on a cold afternoon. Grab your chocolate, explore the independent shops and street art, and let the drink do its job.
If you prefer a strong chocolate flavour rather than a light, milky cocoa, Dark Sugars is a particularly good choice.
Best for: Serious chocolate lovers.
Try it when: You're already exploring Brick Lane or Greenwich.
3. Italian Bear Chocolate For Thick Italian-Style Drinking Chocolate
Some hot chocolates are drinks.
Italian Bear's version is closer to a dessert.
The Soho-based chocolatier is known for an extremely thick Italian-style hot chocolate, or cioccolata calda, with a consistency far richer than the standard café version. Its Soho location is at 41 Broadwick Street, with another London branch at 29 Rathbone Place in Fitzrovia.
The experience is deliberately indulgent. This isn't the place to expect a thin cup of cocoa that you finish in five minutes.
Italian Bear has become particularly well known for its dramatic chocolate-heavy presentation, including its triple-chocolate options. Current London food guides continue to highlight it as one of the city's standout hot-chocolate destinations.
If you're visiting Soho during winter, this is a particularly good stop after shopping around Carnaby, wandering through Chinatown or exploring the West End.
Best for: The richest, most indulgent experience.
Try it when: You want hot chocolate that feels like dessert.
4. Chin Chin Labs For the Famous Torched Marshmallow
This is probably one of the most recognisable hot chocolates on the list.
Chin Chin Labs in Camden Market is famous for its Killer Hot Chocolate, a rich liquid chocolate drink topped with blow-torched marshmallow fluff. Camden Market currently lists the Camden Lock Place branch at 49–50 Camden Lock Place, open seven days a week.
And yes, the marshmallow really is part of the experience.
The topping is torched so that the outside develops that toasted flavour while the inside stays soft and gooey. It turns an already indulgent hot chocolate into something that feels almost theatrical.
Chin Chin is also known for its liquid-nitrogen ice cream, so you can easily turn this into a bigger dessert stop while exploring Camden Market.
The combination of the thick chocolate and toasted marshmallow is exactly why this one continues to appear in current London hot-chocolate guides.
Best for: A fun and photogenic hot chocolate.
Try it when: You're exploring Camden Market on a cold day.
5. Melt Chocolates For a Luxury Chocolate Experience in Notting Hill
Melt Chocolates is a good choice if you want to combine your hot chocolate with a proper chocolate-shop experience.
Its Notting Hill shop is at 59 Ledbury Road, with another location at 6 Clarendon Road in Holland Park. Both are current London locations.
Melt is known for handmade chocolates and an open-kitchen approach where you can see chocolatiers working with the chocolate.
Its hot chocolate is particularly rich and chocolate-forward, with current London food coverage describing versions made with milk or dark chocolate.
There's also a reason this is more than simply another café drink: Melt currently runs a dedicated hot-chocolate workshop in Notting Hill, exploring different traditions of drinking chocolate, including an Aztec-inspired preparation and the Italian Bicerin.
So if you're particularly interested in chocolate, this is one to consider for more than just a quick takeaway.
Best for: Chocolate enthusiasts.
Try it when: You're exploring Notting Hill and want to make an afternoon of it.
6. William Curley For the Chocolatier Experience
William Curley is a slightly different recommendation because the attraction is as much about the chocolatier as it is about the drink.
The current William Curley Soho boutique is at 33 Smiths Court, where the brand sells chocolates, cakes, confections and patisserie.
William Curley also currently has a dedicated hot-chocolate range, including Aztec, Mayan, Gianduja and House Dark products.
That makes this a particularly interesting stop if you're the sort of person who enjoys trying different chocolate styles rather than simply looking for the sweetest drink possible.
The Soho boutique is also conveniently located for a West End day out, so you can combine it with Piccadilly, Chinatown, Carnaby or Covent Garden.
Just keep in mind that the current online hot-chocolate range doesn't necessarily mean every flavour is permanently available as a prepared drink in the boutique, so it's worth checking what is being served when you visit.
Best for: Serious chocolate fans and people who appreciate specialist chocolatiers.
Try it when: You're already spending time around Soho and Piccadilly.
7. Aguamiel For Mexican-Inspired Hot Chocolate and Churros
Sometimes the best hot chocolate pairing is something you can dip into it.
At Aguamiel in Covent Garden, that's exactly the idea.
The churrería at 24 Wellington Street specialises in freshly made churros and Mexican-inspired drinks, including its hot chocolate, or “hot xocolate”.
Current London food coverage highlights the drink for its gentle spices and describes a combination involving cinnamon, piloncillo, star anise and clove, with the option of adding a churro for dunking.
And honestly, the churro pairing is half the fun.
Instead of simply sitting down with a cup of hot chocolate, you get something warm, sweet and crunchy to dip into it.
It's also in a very convenient part of London. You can visit Aguamiel while exploring Covent Garden Market, Seven Dials, the West End or the nearby theatres.
Best for: Anyone who thinks hot chocolate needs a proper dessert partner.
Try it when: You're around Covent Garden.
8. Andrea's Hot Chocolate For Something Completely Different
This is one of the more unusual entries on the list.
Andrea's Hot Chocolate is a small market-style operation associated with Columbia Road in East London, particularly the Sunday flower-market crowd.
What makes it interesting is the preparation.
The chocolate is whisked by hand using a traditional molinillo, a wooden whisk used to create the drink's characteristic froth. Current coverage describes the drink as being made with cacao sourced from Oaxaca, Mexico, with the option to add chilli and salt.
That chilli-and-salt combination makes this a completely different experience from the standard sweet hot chocolate.
It also fits beautifully into a Sunday around East London. Visit Columbia Road Flower Market, explore the surrounding streets and independent shops, then stop for a cup.
It's not a huge chain or a polished central London café.
And that's exactly why it is worth knowing about.
Best for: Adventurous hot-chocolate drinkers.
Try it when: You're visiting Columbia Road Flower Market on Sunday.
9. Maya's Bakehouse For the Giant Toasted Marshmallow
Maya's Bakehouse in Tulse Hill is the kind of neighbourhood bakery that has developed a following for its bakes — but its hot chocolate deserves attention too.
The bakery at 37 Tulse Hill, SW2 2TJ is known for its signature hot chocolate topped with a large marshmallow that is blow-torched before being served. Current London food coverage specifically highlights the XXL toasted marshmallow as the reason to order it.
The chocolate itself is made with 72% Pump Street chocolate, while the marshmallow gives the drink its dramatic finishing touch.
This is another one where the topping isn't simply there for decoration.
You get that contrast between the warm chocolate, soft marshmallow and toasted exterior, making it feel much more like a dessert than an ordinary hot drink.
Maya's is also a good reminder that some of London's best food finds aren't necessarily in the centre of the city.
Best for: Marshmallow lovers.
Try it when: You're exploring South London and want something different from the usual central-London stops.
Which Hot Chocolate Should You Try?
The answer really depends on what kind of hot chocolate you like.
If you want to customise it:
Knoops
Choose your chocolate percentage, milk and extras.
If you want maximum chocolate:
Dark Sugars
This is the one for an intense chocolate hit and those famous shavings.
If you want the thickest, most indulgent drink:
Italian Bear Chocolate
Expect something much closer to Italian drinking chocolate than a normal café cocoa.
If you want something Instagram-worthy:
Chin Chin Labs
The blow-torched marshmallow makes it hard to miss.
If you want a luxury chocolate-shop experience:
Melt Chocolates
Perfect for combining a hot chocolate stop with some serious chocolate browsing.
If you want something more unusual:
Andrea's Hot Chocolate
The molinillo preparation and optional chilli-and-salt combination make it stand out.
If you want hot chocolate and churros:
Aguamiel
This is an easy choice.
If marshmallow is your priority:
Maya's Bakehouse
That enormous toasted marshmallow is the main event.
How to Plan a London Hot Chocolate Crawl
You don't need to visit all nine in one day.
In fact, please don't.
Some of these drinks are seriously rich.
Instead, pick a couple that are close to one another.
West London
Start around Notting Hill with Melt, then explore Portobello Road before heading towards Kensington or central London.
Central London
Italian Bear in Soho and William Curley are both useful options for a chocolate-focused afternoon around the West End.
You could also head towards Covent Garden afterwards for Aguamiel.
East London
Combine Andrea's Hot Chocolate with Columbia Road Flower Market on a Sunday, then continue towards Brick Lane for Dark Sugars.
North London
Spend the afternoon around Camden Market and finish with Chin Chin Labs.
This is probably one of the easiest combinations if you want your hot chocolate experience to feel like part of a proper London day out.
What Makes a Great Hot Chocolate?
There isn't one correct version.
That's probably the best thing about London's hot-chocolate scene.
Some people want something sweet, creamy and comforting. Others want a dark chocolate drink with very little sweetness. Some want their cup almost thick enough to eat with a spoon.
The important thing is the chocolate itself.
Specialist chocolate shops tend to use actual chocolate, flakes, buttons or couverture rather than simply mixing a generic powder with hot milk. The result can be richer, thicker and much more complex.
The cocoa percentage also makes a noticeable difference. Generally, a higher cocoa percentage produces a more intense and less sweet chocolate flavour, while milkier chocolates tend to be softer and sweeter.
Then there are the extras.
Marshmallows.
Sea salt.
Chilli.
Spices.
Chocolate shavings.
Churros.
At that point, you're not just ordering a drink anymore.
You're ordering a winter dessert.
Final Thoughts
London's hot-chocolate scene is much more interesting than simply finding a café that serves a mug of cocoa.
There are specialist chocolate houses, Italian-style drinking chocolate, West African-inspired cocoa experiences, Mexican-influenced drinks, hand-whisked hot chocolate and enormous toasted marshmallows.
And that's why winter is such a good time to explore them.
You could make a day of it in Camden, wander around Brick Lane with a cup of Dark Sugars, pair hot chocolate with churros in Covent Garden or head south to Tulse Hill for Maya's marshmallow-topped creation.
Whatever your preference, these nine spots give you plenty of reasons to make hot chocolate part of your next cold London day.
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