Hotel Chocolat — Restaurant in Cherwell District

What a strange experience…..

Having found the items I’d come for I proceeded to the only manned tills which were in the cafe section, where I got a very unfriendly and disapproving look from the 2 ladies behind the till (I suspect I interrupted their conversation). They informed me that unless I’m buying something from that counter I couldn’t pay there and would need to pay at the other counter, which was unmanned. Well off the other counter I went and waited, 2 other members of staff looked at me and smiled and then proceeded to totally ignore me and continue chatting away. Having waited as long as I felt reasonable I proceeded to take my items and place them back on the shelves where I’d found them and left…. as I was walking out the 2 staff members thanked me and smiled. No idea what they were thanking me for, but suffice to say I wasn’t able to buy the items I came for and certainly won’t...

First visit, Shop had a nice ambience, but the staff seemed a little lost, several of them wondered around aimlessly whilst the two behind the counter seem to take quite a long time to prepare two hot drinks. We had one cold, iced chocolate and one hot chocolate, both were fine. We also had a slice of Victoria sponge which to be honest was a little dry. Maybe because we were in the store at 4:30 pm? All in all, not a bad spot if you are a chocoholic, but I would struggle to find any particular incentive to return in the future. However, the shop itself sells an impressive and extensive range of chocolate and chocolate related gifts. Banbury is a town in serious, retail and hospitality decline, this type of store should be in the town centre rather than on...

Sells chocolate based drinks and pricey but pleasant cakes. Could do with some savoury options like a proper cafe to be worth going to. Hot chocolate was nicer than average, "milkshake" type thing was quite thin and not very luxurious. The flavour was good, but not worth the cost. The general ambience of the place is greatly lacking, and the very young staff need more training - young staff can be great, but they were clearly struggling with the basic tasks of taking orders and making drinks efficiently, creating a long waiting time despite not actually being very busy. We left feeling that we'd probably have had a better time at Costa next door, and probably won't...