The Old Chocolate House — Restaurant in Bruges

I found this cute little tea room a couple years ago and I’ve been here a few times. Something must have changed. New management or new staff as this time our experience there was utmost unpleasant. The hot chocolate there is still amazing and is served nicely and the selection of chocolate is great.

To our disappointment the staff was very rude and not helpful and lacked basic customer service skills. This time I was travelling with people with lactose intolerance and for our surprise the menu offered soy, almond and coconut milk. So we ordered two varieties of non dairy milk. We were extremely happy about this. A few minutes after taking our order the lady came back and told that we can only choose one type of non dairy milk per table and everyone at the table has to have the same sort. Instead of ordering one coconut milk and another with soy milk we now had to take all soy milk. She didn’t provide us with any explanation why just that we had to choose one type of non dairy milk per table. We were utterly surprised and shocked by how unaccommodating they were. Of course, she was little to none apologetic about this.

After the initial shock when our hot chocolates arrived I asked why couldn’t we order the non dairy milk we wanted, especially as they offered three different types on the menu. A new waiter explained that they only have a couple of microwaves to heat up the milk and if they heat up several different types of non dairy milk this slows them down a lot.

Please bear in mind that after we had arrived to the tea room no other guests had arrived and the place was quiet with 4-5 other tables who has been served before us. Meaning no new orders were placed and their microwaves were not being used.

This also made me appalled to learn that they use MICROWAVES to heat up the milk for their hot chocolates!!!

Had they been apologetic about this inconvenience about having to choose one non dairy milk and up front explained the reason this would not have been an issues.

In addition to horrifying customer service you are not allowed to split the bill and must pay by cash if your bill is less than €15. Also they charge a fee if 1€ for extra cutlery?? What restaurant charges for extra cutlery?!?? Absolutely...

One of the best hot chocolate experiences I've ever had! This was one of my favourite things to do in Bruges and I'm grateful for TikTok recommending it - it's worth the hype!

This charming spot offers a delightful way to indulge in authentic Belgian chocolate culture. The experience of making your own hot chocolate is truly special—you can choose what type of chocolate you'd like to drop into a cup of warm milk, and as you stir it with a whisk, the chocolate slowly melts, creating a heavenly, creamy drink. I found it really relaxing and enjoyable experience.

The quality of the chocolate is outstanding, and the rich, smooth flavour truly captures the essence of Belgian craftsmanship. The entire experience feels warm and comforting, making it perfect for chocolate lovers or anyone looking for a luxurious hot drink. You can add toppings such as whipped cream, additional chocolate, biscuits, fruits etc. The hot chocolate also came with these delicious handmade Belgian biscuits.

The menu has a fantastic selection of different chocolates and toppings to find your perfect hot chocolate. They also do great selection of waffles - I deffo would come back to try the waffles and have the hot chocolate again. The waffles looked amazing and very generous size!

I would recommend this to anyone planning to visit Brugge! I'd also recommend popping in next door to check out the actual chocolate shop - you can purchase the chocolate to make the hot chocolate at home or buy a nice gift. This was a really fun and enjoyable experience in Bruges that everyone should visit at least once...

A beautiful place. Lovely cosy atmosphere and delicious hot chocolate. We were seated right next to a beautiful stained glass window with a view out over the street. My friend had the ruby hot chocolate and loved it. I had the vegan milk chocolate hot choc with soy milk and also loved it.

There are many dark chocolate hot chocolates to choose from according to your tastes of cocoa percentage and origin. For vegan hot chocolate, you can choose any of the dark hot chocolates or the dairy free milk chocolate, and you can have it with either soy milk, coconut milk or almond milk.

The best part is the experience itself: you are brought a massive mug of the milk of your choice with a small whisk and a cup full of chocolate drops of the requested chocolate. You drop the cup in (including the cup itself as it is made of chocolate!) and whisk it to perfection. It's a really fun novel experience. The ruby hot chocolate also came with a raspberry, a blueberry and a flower which was lovely.

We also got a small complementary chocolate and a biscuit each with our hot chocolates. It was all round a magical experience!

Do note that the hot chocolate to take away is not the same product (it comes from a machine I believe) and it is also not available vegan - you need to go to the tea room for all the delicious hot choccy options.

Overall highly recommended, it was one of the best experiences of our weekend in Brugge. My only regret was not having time to return and try all the other hot...