London's Top Chocolate Shops

From Thai Lemongrass to Coriander and Kaffir Lime, Dark Champagne Truffles to Java Cinnamon, Demarquette offers a unique range of chocolates to sort every palate. Leaning heavily towards the Orient for inspiration, each individual treat is hand-made using the finest ingredients combined with traditional artisan techniques. With four awards under their belt (all of them under the 'Best Filled Chocolate' category of the World Chocolate Awards 2006), a dairy-free range and a 'Pure' collection highlighting the best in single-origin products, this north Kensington emporium is well worth a visit

Ever tried lapsang souchong flavoured chocolate? How about Sichuan pepper or red wine and tobacco? If not, you probably haven't yet visited this innovative, highly revered, choc shop. Trained in Belgium (the home of chocolate), ex-pastry chef Gerard Coleman has elevated this simple, small-scale London shop to almost iconic status. While some of the flavours might seem a tad unusual, you just have to trust Coleman's expertise and judgement and dive right in. All of the chocolates are made entirely of natural ingredients (one of which is large quantities of sugar) and have to be consumed within two weeks - no nasty additives or preservatives here. While there's no point singling one particular flavour out for special attention - every one of these hand-made delicacies is a real tongue-tingling delight - most customers become instantly addicted to a favourite combination that demands regular return visits. For some it's the fresh blast of Moroccan mint, others the comforting spice-filled eruption of cinnamon. A range of beautifully presented assortment boxes allow you to experience a range of flavours and invest in some hard taste-bud testing before deciding on your chosen favourite. Keep an eye / tongue out for the liquid-salted caramels. Chocolate-filled heaven.

Best for:
Moroccan mint to banana and thyme, liquid salted caramels, truffles and tasty sweet treats.

Did you know?
Voted the Best UK Chocolatier at the first World Chocolate Awards.

Extremely upmarket Piccadilly branch of the world-renowned Parisian chocolatiers. For some reason the shop staff all insist on speaking French to you despite the fact that they are living and working in England - perhaps because French is the language of love or food or some such. Never fear - they all speak English very well and it's a friendly, joyous place given over to the adoration of chocolate. The delicious produce on sale here is definitely worth a few moments of pretentious nonsense.

As you would imagine from this plush store, Liberty's Chocolate Shop is full of the most exclusive brands, lining the shelves in row after row of almost too-good-to-eat chocolates. But we all know that it's as much about the packaging as it is what's inside and Liberty just screams beautiful things, right down to its chocolates. Pretty round boxes of Charbonnel et Walker truffles sit alongside Prestat's organic chocolates, wrapped in graphic, bold designs, with chocolate stilettos combining to loves in one. Liberty has also joined the Fairtrade revolution by stocking bars of Divine chocolate (in seven flavours) and with Rococo's sugar-free and dairy-free options too they really have got chocolate to suit everybody. So, if you're not sure exactly what you want then Liberty's Chocolate Shop is the perfect place to browse and be inspired by posh chocs.

Regular tastings, an on-site, open-view kitchen, highly skilled master chocolatier Chika Watanabe and some of the best chocs in town make Melt a mouth-watering option when it comes to confectionary. Stand and drool as organic truffles, melted chocolate shots and spiced, crispy orange discs are rustled up on cool white marble slabs in full view of customers. Children's Hour offers youngsters the chance to get sticky making their own unique range of chocolate treats. Sleek packaging, cool surrounds and top-quality service complete the picture.

Most folk love to indulge in chocolate but Montezuma's with its range of Willy Wonka chocolate factory-esque goodies is for 100%, unadulterated, slightly obsessed lovers of the stuff. There's a fabulous, funky assortment of organic Chunky bars - try the milk-and-orange Space Hopper, white, chilli and ginger Culture Shock or the dark-and-pistachio Vera, made with award-winning chocolate. Or, go for a Choco:Block, big chunks of chocolate with other ingredients like honeyed banana chips or real coffee thrown in - to really splash out there are Gallon Jars full of assorted chunks. The shop also offer more understated, sleek designs for a touch of class but - whatever you go for - the chocolate will be delicious!

Before he was a full-time chocolatier, Paul A Young was patissier for Marco Pierre White. The drama and perfectionism demanded by a Michelin-starred restaurant are both apparent in the exquisite chocolates and desserts produced by his Islington shop. The more impressive are finished at the counter in front of customers, while the smaller sweets and chocolates are jewel-like in their perfection. Young's haute cuisine background - he's a Gold Award-winner at the World Chocolate Awards - means there are plenty of weird and wonderful flavours available, but above all this is a shop that is about freshly made, thoroughly indulgent, luxury chocolates and puddings. Closed Mondays for chocolate workshop day.

With Roald Dahl and Her Majesty counted as just a couple of their biggest fans, this brightly-coloured, richly scented, teeny tiny chocolate shop tucked away in a corner of the Princes Arcade belies its significant status and reach. Prestat is one of the world's oldest and grandest chocolate companies. Founded in 1902 by French émigré, Monsieur Antoine Dufour (a former chocolatier to Napoleon III who stole the recipes from the French Court), Prestat's iconic gilt-embossed packaging continues to offer a striking visual reminder of its royal connections both past and present (Prestat are the official Purveyors of Fine Chocolates to the Queen). Famous favourites include vanilla ganache, marzipan, chocolate-dipped apricots and their world famous truffles.  

The William Curley chocolate empire continues to swell with the opening of the patissier and chocolatier's latest venture in Belgravia. Curley has worked with the best in the business and still advises and supplies chefs including Marco Pierre White, Raymond Blanc, Pierre Koffman and Anton Edelman. This Orange Square shop boasts an incredible chocolate and ice cream counter, a café and patisserie, a specially designed dessert bar, a chocolaty deli for scrumptious baked goods, and a kitchen for chocolate making master classes (where you can do a course and learn how to make truffles or sea salt caramels). Curley was awarded the Best British Chocolatier four years in a row, 2007-2011, by the Academy of Chocolate, and is renowned for his unusual taste combinations which mix chocolate with flavours like rosemary and olive oil or apricot and wasabi. His wife Suzue - who has worked at Claridge's and The Savoy - inserts a Japanese influence with sweet treats like Yuzu filled chocolates and Miso and Walnut biscuits. So, chocoholics who can't face making the trip to Richmond to the inaugural shop now just have to mosey into Belgravia for their sweet fix.