ChoccoBar Hot Chocolate House — Restaurant in Great Britain

We saw this place as we were doing a bit of window shopping and said we’d visit on the way back up. At 1:15 we came in and sat down to order. Most of the staff seemed not to know how to do most things and were being directed by a lady behind the till. They were pushing past up to grab menus and trays several times as we were stood in line to order. Very unhygienic coffee making. Flies everywhere. Their “paninis” are toasties as she explained they don’t have the panini bread, and only use toast which is “basically the same thing”. Didn’t have any smoothies. When we asked for waffles the lady said she couldn’t do waffles, then said she might be able to one - she then looked into a very dirty container which I’m guessing had batter in it, and then said No, she can’t make any. She made the excuse of not having had the time to make more batter as it had only been her in all morning (I counted 4 members of staff at the time). I asked how long would it take for another batch to be made, and she said “well, with the traffic, about half an hour”. So the batter isn’t even made on sight. We asked for a milkshake made with oat milk which they said they could do. They then asked if it was for an allergy, which we replied it was just a preference. She then said “well, we’ll need to charge you in that case” - I don’t know if that means that if it had been an allergy, they wouldn’t have charged us? I don’t have an issue paying more for oat milk, but her response was confusing. We then had another customer push into the queue as we started to order, and the lady then tried to stop taking our order and start taking his. After all of this, we decided it was not worth all this - very unprofessional Go to Sweet Dreams Cakes instead, they’re next door and they’ll...

Very lousy service. We were a group of 10, and before going in, I asked them if they had enough cream teas for 10, and they said yes. We stood in line to order one by one but the staff took the first 5 orders, then turned around to make their orders, and left the rest of the us waiting at the counter for nearly 15 minutes. By the time it was our turn to order, I heard the manager tell the staff to run out to the shop and buy more clotted cream. The service was also extremely slow. At the very least they could have taken everyone's orders together and let the customers sit down and relax. Half the group got their orders before the other half had even placed their orders. I found this really inconsiderate. Later I heard the manager saying they were overwhelmed because 10 of us walked in all at once. They could have just said no when I checked before we all walked in as a group. Really inefficient. The coffee was just average. I ordered a lemon ginger tea and it just looked like plain hot water. The chocolate cake was very nice though. An older review mentioned a dog tied to a railing and the dog was there this time too and it kept barking. Not very atmospheric. Would not...

100/5 stars 🥰⭐

If you're visiting Windermere, this little shop is an absolute must visit. Their hot chocolates are exceptional and great value, only £4.10 for their luxurious hot chocolate with any free flavouring, dipping fruits, shortbread and whipped cream. And their waffles that we tried were divine.

But what really sets this place apart is the customer service. We were welcomed by the lovely couple who manage the shop, Joan and Runa, whom we spoke to outside the shop a few days earlier and promised they would take care of us if we came in - which they did. We were offered delicious samples of hot chocolate, and Joan also kindly offered to let us mix and match two types of waffles without charging us extra.

As we were sat in the cafe, we noticed that everyone received warm and personal attention from the staff - it's clear that the team genuinely care for their patrons, as well as their colleagues. It made all the difference seeing such a supportive, well-knit team who were dedicated to providing a positive experience.

Definitely give this place a...