24 Places that will knock your socks off with their indulgent chocolate treats
(Image on left, Hudsons and on right My Sugar)
Cape Town
The Sneaky Sausage, CBD
Leave your health regime at the door, because it’s not going to get you very far at The Sneaky Sausage. This modern day German-inspired beer hall, serves up some seriously good bratwurst and bokwurst, but do allow yourself additional indulgence with their deep fried Mars Bar, covered in an airy batter, that’s nice and crispy on the outside.
Hudsons, Gardens, Claremont, Stellenbosch, Green Point
Just like any good burger joint, Hudsons is enthusiastic about comfort food offering a good dose of over-the-top sweets, with chocolate, naturally, a prominent feature. On the dessert front there’s a Nutella waffle, pecan nut brownies with ice cream, espresso chocolate mousse, and the crowning glory, deep fried Oreos with ice cream.
My Sugar, Sea Point
This spot is at the helm of all things chocolate, creating the most sensational desserts and sweet treats that will send your taste buds into overdrive. Owners and chefs Kaylah and Asher, produce their artisinal chocolate out of sheer love and passion that shows in their innovative creations. Try the OTT hot chocolate topped with brownie and marshmallow, the chocolate cake jar, and the assorted chocolate doughnuts.
Honest Chocolate, CBD
Honest Chocolate’s philosophy rests on an ideal of purity, which is why their chocolate is rich, dark, and free of all the bad stuff that compromises the cocoa and the quality of the chocolate. This is why you’ll find higher quantities of real cocoa in their chocolate. Try their bon bon truffles, dark chocolate brownies and the spiced nut and salted caramel dark chocolate ganache tart.
Il Leone, Green Point
It’s not very often you see profiteroles on the dessert menu in Cape Town, let alone on an Italian one, but I can assure you, these are worth saving space for. After a pasta, this might be a dessert to share as it’s rather large: choux pastry filled with custard and topped with warm homemade chocolate sauce.
Saigon, City Bowl
A Vietnamese favourite with excellent, authentic dishes, thriving for over a decade now. It’s not to be expected that Saigon would dabble in decadent desserts quite as well as they do, but don’t give them a miss after you’ve polished off a plate of noodles. The hot chocolate bom-bom with ice cream is a serious winner – a Saigon take on the chocolate fondant.
IYO Burgers, CBD
Any cheesecake connoisseur will tell you that IYO serve one of the best cheesecakes around. It is pure indulgence made with Oreos, Nutella and white chocolate – need we say more?
The Creamery, Mouille Point, Newlands, Palmyra Junction
This list of chocolatey treats would not be complete without Cape Town’s favourite ice ream parlour. Get a scoop of their classic 65% chocolate ice cream either on its own on a warm choc chip cookie (Mouille Point) or on a waffle (Newlands and Palmyra) topped with chocolate sauce. They also have changing monthly flavours which often involve some variation chocolate.
Johannesburg
Moody Cow, Clearwater Mall, Roodepoort
Moody Cow is a café dedicated to authentic Italian gelato and coffee. They extend the gelato offering to include gelato accompaniments like waffles, ice cream sandwiches and more inventive sweet treats like the waffles on a stick and a cone taco stuffed with gelato, marshmallows and popcorn.
The National, Parktown North
The National, inspired by cuisines around the world, serves up some great comfort food with a menu that pleases most tastes. The desserts offer serious chocolatey indulgence with deep fried Snickers bars, gooey chocolate brownie served with a ginger soil and rum and raisin ice cream, homemade doughnuts filled with dark chocolate or white chocolate sauce and if you’re after something simple, there’s ice cream and chocolate sauce.
Belle’s Patisserie, Sandton, Clearwater, Bluebird Shopping Mall
Belle’s is a sweet tooth’s dream, with a wide variety of classic patisserie items like chocolate eclairs, to beautiful layer cakes and luscious desserts. The cakes and sweet treats are as pretty as they are tasty, with a consistent level of quality that runs through each branch of Belle’s. On the chocolate front, They’ve got classic chocolate cake, chocolate cronuts, chocolate eclairs, chocolate croissants, chocorons (chocolate macaron), chocolate brownies, and pretty much any other chocolate patisserie item you can think of!
Café Del Sol Tre, Parkhurt
This glitzy art deco restaurant, embodies a balance between decadence and elegance with gold accents and lush textures. Their refined food matches the sophisticated interior with an extra special chocolate fondant hot pot on the menu. It is served with a scoop of peanut butter ice cream for the ultimate pairing.
Durban
Spoonful Eatery, Glenwood
Sit outside in the lovely courtyard and choose between the chocolatey cupcakes: Bar One, triple chocolate or mint crisp. Or try the incredible brownies with flavours like Milky Bar, S’mores, salted caramel chocolate ganache, triple chocolate and mint crisp. Good luck deciding!
Old Town Italy, Umhlanga
These guys have featured in our restaurant guides a couple of times now, because at Old Town Italy, nothing is spared and indulgence is always promised. Head to the gelato stand for a chocolate ‘conut’, or grab some Nutella filled doughnuts or even some chocolate themed cronuts, or homemade chocolate truffles… the list goes on!
Château Gâteaux, Durban North, Morningside, Pavilion and Gateway
This is the place to go when you are seeking out a specific patisserie item. Château Gâteaux offers a slice of the French art of pastry making, with a local spin on things. See the hot puddings menu with hot chocolate brownie, chocolate volcano and hot mud pudding for some sheer indulgence. There’s also a large display with chocolate cakes and desserts for eat in or take-away.
Sugarlicious, Umhlanga
When we first heard about Sugarlicious, our taste buds were filled with excitement. The macoron ice cream sandwich hybrid will make you weak at the knees, and they keep sprucing them up with new flavours and additions. Try the Choconut Deluxe with vanilla ice cream, chocolate macaron, all dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with peanuts.
Pretoria
Zest Bistro, Menlopark
Zest is a charming old restaurant serving bistro classics with a distinctive local flair. The menu features a single chocolate option; a classic rich dark chocolate torte with coffee ice cream, salted caramel and crumbs. It’s definitely not to be missed.
Hillside Tavern, Menlo Park
Hillside Tavern keeps things traditional, and have done since 1989. Their reputation is that of a reliable and trusted family restaurant with quality that continues to impress. Like the rest of the menu, the dessert section keeps things classic with chocolate mousse, homemade chocolate brownie with ice cream, Italian kisses and ice cream scoops with the ever popular Bar One sauce.
Carlton Café Delicious, Menlo Park
Scrumptious and hearty are descriptions that can be applied to every dish at Carlton, from sweet to savoury. Passion and love for food is evident in the creative and carefully prepared food that they serve. Chocolate is a prominent feature on their sweet menu, with dark chocolate brownies and chocolate ice cream, white chocolate blondies with vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream sandwiches and an Oreo baked cheesecake. They also often feature specials like their recent churros with chocolate and olive oil dipping sauce.
Lucky Bread, Brooklyn Mall
This spot is dedicated to baking, serving up serious chocolate indulgent treats. Go for the chocolate eclairs, brownies, chocolate ganache tarts and chocolate spread filled doughnuts.
Port Elizabeth
Savages, Central
This spot is a firm favourite with locals, offering a cosy home-away-from-home. The food is hearty comfort food, classics that we’ve been eating for years and never tire of. Chocolate is not spared at Savages, as they serve gooey brownies, pain au chocolat, freakshakes, S’mores tart and more!
Rhubarb and Lime, St Georges
This quaint café is a popular spot for breakfast, and equally popular for their fresh-out-the-oven cakes and confectionery. Baked goods have been known to feature mammoth brownies, as well as unicorn brownies on occasion, chocolate tarts, black forest cupcakes and salted caramel popcorn chocolate cake.
Banneton Bakery, Walmer
Banneton is a rustic, artisanal bakery and café with a glorious amount of sweet treats. As items are baked daily, they sometimes change from day to day, but regular chocolate treats include pain au chocolat, dark chocolate tart and a gluten-free flourless chocolate cake.
RocoMamas, Brooklyn
RocoMamas like to take things to the next level, which is why you won’t find anything small or simple here, so be prepared to go all out. Get involved in their Nutella waffle and their mighty ‘slow death by chocolate’ freakshake, if you dare…
Have we left out your favourite chocolate treat? Tell us what and where in the comments section below.
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