Sometimes you don’t have room for dessert, but aren’t ready to go home just yet.
Other times, you’ve been sitting in a restaurant a little too long, and the urge to get up and get moving comes on strong, but the desire for dessert remains an itch that needs scratching.
And since most restaurants no longer serve those after-dinner chocolate mints, it’s elsewhere we must go. Yep, this is a rather roundabout way of saying that we’re on the hunt for a chocolate cocktail tonight, to satisfy those sugar cravings and the need for a nightcap.
With that in mind, these are the ideal places to indulge in a perfectly crafted chocolate cocktail from some of the best bars in London.
Dancing In The Dark at the Chocolate Cocktail Club, Farringdon
Ideal for a truly Boss cocktail experience…
We had to start here, at London’s first and only chocolate cocktail bar. The menu is a chocolate lover’s dream, with a variety of cocoa-infused creations (nearly thirty in fact) ready to satisfy even the most fickle members of the squad. As long as they like chocolate, that is…
The Dancing In The Dark is our favourite (and not just because it’s named after that excellent song). It’s also the darkest chocolate cocktail on the menu and, like its namesake, is a masterful composition – a rich, dark chocolate liqueur with vanilla vodka that manages to hit all the right notes. Yep, this one is certainly a fantastic spirit in the night.
Here’s a lesser known fact about Bruce Springsteen; his childhood home smelled like chocolate (there was a Nestle factory nearby that permeated his house with the aroma all day). Oh, and his favourite ice cream is vanilla, too, so this cocktail really does make perfect sense.
If you ask us, Dancing In The Dark isn’t just a drink; it’s a performance, with each flavour playing its part in perfect harmony. We’ll stop with the music puns now.
Website: thechocolatecocktailclub.co.uk
Address: 72 St John St, London EC1M 4DT
Mint Chocolate Chip at the Chocolate Cocktail Club, Farringdon
Ideal for an after-dinner mint and drinkable digestif all in one coupe…
With a name so eponymous, of course another one from this Farringdon favourite makes our list of the best chocolate cocktails in London.
If you’re craving that after-dinner mint breeze, then go for the Mint Chocolate Chip. Here the earthy cocoa marries well with the sweet and refreshing peppermint – we like to think of this chocolate mint concoction as an after-dinner mint and a drinkable digestif all in one coupe.
Website: thechocolatecocktailclub.co.uk
Address: 72 St John St, London EC1M 4DT
Pierre Marcolini x Hot Chocolate Menu at 108, Marylebone
Ideal for a ‘spirited’ hot chocolate menu in collaboration with a world-renowned chocolatier…
Marylebone’s 108 have teamed up renowned chocolatier Pierre Marcolini, who for over two decades has established himself as a maestro in the art of chocolate making, to create this masterful menu.
If you haven’t heard of him, Marcolini’s fame stems from his meticulous bean-to-bite process, where he sources the best cocoa beans from around the world and transforms them into luxurious chocolates. It’s this fine artisan chocolate that’s used in the choctail menu here, and the quality comes through in every sip.
The rich and velvety cocktails at 108 include Bourbon Bliss, which sees hot chocolate mixed with Buffalo Trace bourbon, gingerbread and a cinnamon syrup, all topped with whipped cream and a marshmallow.
The Marcolini Mocha is perhaps even better; a cocktail that pays homage to the chocolatier’s legacy. It’s a sophisticated, complex drink where flavours of bitter espresso offset the sweetness of Marcolini’s signature chocolate – all mixed with rum, vanilla syrup and grated nutmeg.
Two of the choctails on the menu are non alcoholic, but you can ask the servers to add a shot of a recommended spirit if you wish. With only a handful of chocolate concoctions on the menu, take a friend, order two each (don’t double park of course) and you’re in for a sweet night.
Website: 108brasserie.com
Address: 108 Marylebone Ln, London W1U 2QE
Light Bird at Social 24, The City
Ideal for a grown-up chocolate cocktail with cinematic views…
This is the ideal location for an after dinner drink. Located on the 42nd floor of Tower 42, Social 24 overlooks a set of neighbouring skyscrapers that shimmer and twinkle in the mystery of London afterdark – it’s one of the city’s most cinematic views.
Fittingly for such sophisticated surrounds (Social 24 is the cocktail bar of Michelin-starred restaurant City Social), the Light Bird is a grown up chocolate cocktail. It features Glenmorangie X and Laphroaig, creating a smoky foundation. Lemon adds a zesty twist, while a vanilla and rosemary infusion brings a comforting warmth. However, the dark, rich, and cacao-forward notes of the chocolate bitter makes this drink all the more complex and nuanced. It’s damn good.
If you want another cocktail that borders on dessert territory, if it’s on the menu (it hasn’t been for a while, sadly) then go for their Ultimate Espresso Martini, which is made with toffee fudge vodka, Maestro Café liquer, espresso coffee, coffee foam and chocolate.
Your usual espresso martini, this ain’t. Hypothetically, pair it with a bitter chocolate & blood orange delice from the restaurant’s dessert menu and set off into the night below, because you won’t be doing much sleeping after consuming that much sugar and caffeine.
Website: citysocial-london.com
Address: 25 Old Broad St, London EC2N 1HT
Choctails & Dreams at The Cocktail Club, Old Street
Ideal for an 80’s inspired cocktail and then an early night..
A drink with a nostalgic nod to Tom Cruise’s 1998 film Cocktail, Choctails and Dreams is made with Jack Daniel’s, coffee liqueur, Nutella and a creamed yolk, then topped with whipped cream and a toasted marshmallow. With its chocolatey essence paying tribute to the film’s iconic bar scenes, this indulgent cocktail that comes in a mug is a dream for anyone who has a sweet tooth.
You’ll probably be too full to order a second, but do be warned that the bar can turn a little wild later on. If that’s not your thing, go and rent the movie and have an early night. Just don’t accidentally get the 2015 movie Cocktails and Dreams, which is a parody version of the Tom Cruise film.
Website: thecocktailclub.com
Address: 63 Worship St, London EC2A 2DU
Coffee & Woodruff Hot & Cold 18 at Kol’s The Mezcaleria, Marylebone
Ideal for a masterful, memorable temperature-controlled chocolate cocktail experience…
Giving Mr. Whippy a run for his money is the Coffee & Woodruff Hot & Cold. This drink is inspired by a cocktail made by Luke Whearty, the world-renowned mixologist and bartender-owner of Byrdi in Melbourne, and the highly original creation ‘Hot and Cold’, which was a signature at his now closed trail blazing cocktail bar Operation Dagger in Singapore.
This one has been given an unmistakable Mezcaleria twist. Cacao, fig leaf and woodruff meet to create this warming number, all earthy and rounded with touches of cardamom and vanilla. You need some serious piping skills for the meadowsweet infused cream and white chocolate foam that tops off this intricate creation, otherwise the whole thing would collapse. Fortunately, the guys at The Mezcaleria have those skills.
What makes it so memorable is the experience of drinking it. The drink itself, which sees house fig leaf-infused mezcal, parafante liqueur, absinthe and cacao all combine, is ice cold, whilst the frothy layer of white chocolate foam is hot. When you take a sip, you get an intoxicating, enlivening mix of hot and cold in the mouth – a truly memorable experience.
Website: kolrestaurant.com
Address: 9 Seymour St, London W1H 7BA
Pippin at Whiskey & Seaweed, Core, Notting Hill
Ideal for a nostalgic yet sophisticated choctail…
Whiskey and Seaweed, an intimate cocktail bar in the 3 Michelin-starred Core, is where you’ll find a chocolate cocktail that’s a riff on one of Core’s signature desserts, the ‘Core-teaser’.
Chef Clare Smyth’s cooking is all about evoking nostalgia, and the core-teaser is the culmination of the £235 tasting menu, a tribute to the Malteaser with flavours of chocolate, malt and hazelnut at the fore.
Back in the cocktail bar, the Pippin is a blend of hazelnut liqueur (made with malted barley, poitín and hazelnuts), Chivas XV, chocolate liqueur, and barley sorbet. And whilst barley sorbet isn’t exactly a flavour you’d think would conjure up childhood memories, the Pippin does genuinely possess strong Malteaser vibes, that sorbet bringing a subtle toastiness that mirrors the usual malt notes smartly. It’s just a very boozy, very sophisticated, very drinkable version of the much-loved sweet, and is all yours for £21 (perhaps this is a single order kind of drink).
Website: corebyclaresmyth.com
Address: 92 Kensington Park Rd, Greater, London W11 2PN
DJ Got Us Falling In Love at The Parlour, Sketch, Mayfair
Ideal for cocktails and DJs…
The DJ Got Us Falling In Love at Sketch’s The Parlour is a take on a brown butter old fashioned. A sweet and buttery cocktail that’s intense, bold and velvety, the Johnnie Walker Black Label plays off against the chocolate bitters beautifully. A garnish of chocolate macaron (because, well, why not?) seals the deal.
This one is enjoyed in a bar where the DJs play loudly, and if you have one too many, your “bodies going to be rockin’ from side to side”, to paraphrase the cocktail’s namesake song. We think we might just steady ourselves a while. Cheers!
Website: sketch.london
Address: 9 Conduit St, London W1S 2XG
One for the road? We’re off to London-by-the-Sea next, and heading to these best cocktail bars in Brighton. Care to join us?