The other day, while I was walking through miserable and grey London, I was suddenly overcome by an unexplicable chocolate craving. I also wanted somewhere to sit down and read a book - so when I put these two desires together, it suddenly came to me. There was a Chocolate Café in Harrods, a treat that I had promised myself for a while. I hopped on the next Piccadilly Line and exited at Knightsbridge.
I have always been intimidated by Harrods - its size is simply overwhelming. Instead of walking through this massive empire of junk and luxury, I immediately went up to the information desk and ask where I might find the Max Brenner Chocolate Café. I was told it was on the second floor and given a map. It turned out that I really needed it. Once on the second floor, I initially followed the signs to the Harrods Café, but on eyeing the menu, I immediately knew that I had found the wrong place. Turning to my map, I realised that this place was better known as "The Harrods Chocolate Bar" and located on the other end of the floor, between the cookshop and mahor household appliances - in the middle of home electricals.
When I finally arrived in front of the café, I was rather disappointed. I do not know what I was expecting, as I had been forewarned that this place was not exactly luxury in style - but I suppose I had been under the illusion that everything in Harrods would be luxurious. In front of the entrance I could see two massive metal pots with melted chocolate being churned, twisted and mixed. Behind the entrance I could see only a handful of tables. There were also some turquois bar stools located in front of the food preparation area. They seemed to have room for me - so I decided to give it a try.
I was greeted by a smiling, friendly older gentleman. He surveyed his surroundings and then offered me either a tiny table in the corner, squeezed inbetween two couples on either side, or a seat at the bar. I felt slightly uncomfortable taking the table, as I was on my own, so I opted for the bar and was immediately placed in front of the chocolate chef.
Opting to sit in front of the bar turned out to be a mistake. From here I could see exactly what was going on in the kitchen, and I simply did not like what I saw. The place seemed to be a mess, with puddles and bits of chocolate all over the place. There were massive porcellain jugs with melted chocolate and plastic tubs with melted chocolate. From my corner I could watch the chocolate chefs spoon chocolate into smaller dishes, melt it in the microwave and serve it up to customers. What I really did not like to see, however, is that on more than one occasion did a chocolate chef have his fingers a little to close to the actual chocolate itself.
Watching the scene unfold before me, I surveyed the menu. It looked quite good. In terms of chocolate drinks you could either choose from hot chocolate prepared with a powder mix or you could choose Italian hot chocolate. The Italian hot chocolate is called "Suckao" and is essentially melted chocolate mixed with cream. Non-chocolate drinks were also available - tea, coffee, juices, water and even champagne could be seen on this menu. In terms of food, the café offered a selection of baked goods. By the time I was there it was about 5 p.m., so I suppose they had sold out of a lot of their goodies, but I saw croissants, pain au chocolat, loaf cake and brownies. They all looked rather regular to me - the only thing that tempted me visually was the chocolate brownie, a massive piece of baked heaven, visibly packed with nuts of all sorts. All of these culinary delights were available with ice cream - and I briefly flirted with the idea of trying a brownie with vanilla ice cream, before I returned my nose to the menu and selected a white chocolate suckao. I briefly noticed that the menu also offered sandwiches - but that was a selection I instantly dismissed - after all, I was here to have some chocolate.
While I was waiting for my white chocolate suckao, I surveyed my surroundings a little uncomfortably. I felt very much "on display" sitting at the bar alone and made a mental note to select the table the next time. Either way, I immediately noticed that this was not the type of place to sit down with a book and spend substantial amounts of time in. The artificial lights on the ceiling clearly ensured that the atmosphere was far from relaxing. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the place has been designed for busy shoppers to quickly have a little treat to gain strength before returning to their shopping spree.
My suckao arrived in front of me about 5 minutes after ordering it. It came in a cup that looked very much like a candleholder. It was oval in shape, did not have any handles - and in the middle was a small metal dish containing my treat for the day. I was handed a spoon along with my cup, which, incidentally, was not the cleanest item of cutlery I had ever seen.
A look down at my Suckao made me feel a little disappointed. At £3.75, this seemed to be a rather small amount. And it did not look that inviting either. In fact, it looked a lot like melted butter, the type you would dip your crab legs or lobster into in a seafood restaurant. You could see the dots of grease swimming on top of the little metal container. It was not particulary thick in consistency - thicker than ordinary hot chocolate, a little like creamy soup.
A first spoon of the mixture in front of me tasted exactly how it looked - melted butter with lots of sugar stirred into it. I stirred the concoction a little longer, to make sure all the particles were mixed properly. This was a success - the next spoon I tried had a little more flavour to it. I could clearly taste double cream and vanilla, though the buttery flavour was still very present. It was insanely sweet, so sweet that the sugar made my throat scratch and I nearly had to cough a couple of times. While spooning my mixture bit by bit, I was seriously considering ordering a cup of tea or a glass of water to help it "go down better".
When I reached the bottom of my cup, I was kind of satisfied, but not overwhelmed. The suckao had been alright, but it had not been spectacular. I did not feel like it tasted any better than Cadbury's white chocolate buttons - and I probably would have been better served by eating half a bar of Lindt's Swiss white chocolate. Contrary to my expectations, the suckao did not leave an aftertaste in my mouth, it simply disappeared and left me thirsty for a bottle of water.
I briefly considered ordering something else, when I spotted one of the chocolate chefs preparing slices of cake and dishing out vanilla ice cream on top of it. The thick yellow cake slices looked inviting, but what turned me off immediately was the consistency of the ice cream - it was so runny and melted that one could have thought it had sat out in scorching summer temperatures for too long. That seriously put me off trying anything else. A brief glance at the menu to make sure I had not missed anything major - and I asked for the bill. The bill arrived promptly, I paid and was on my way.
♦ My verdict ♦
On my way home I had to seriously think about my experience. On the one hand, I did like the place. It had been friendly. And for about £8, I could have had a lovely hot chocolate and a slice of cake in one of the most luxurious shops in the world. I instantly knew that I had not made the right choice with the white chocolate suckao - I should have gone for milk or dark chocolate instead. I also should have tried some of their solid and baked chocolate delicacies. As I am writing, I do feel tempted to go back for another visit - but the mess that I saw while I was there is slightly putting me off giving it another shot. I doubt I would ever deliberately go back there, but if I happened to be in Harrods and was not looking for a relaxing place to read a book and enjoy my hot chocolate, I might just pop in again.
♦ Further information ♦
Max Brenner Chocolate Bar Harrods 87-135 Brompton Road London SW1X 0LZ
Tel: 020 7730 1234
More details
Cleanliness
Family Friendly
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