Chocolate in Lisbon: choose your favourite flavour

One of the best things about winter is getting warm. Warming up the fire place, warming up your hands on a cup of tea, getting warm under a blanket, warming up your sweet tooth with some hot chocolate, warming up your appetite with dark chocolate with nuts and caramel, or maybe a white chocolate, or chocolate with a tint of a taste of roses, warming up your curiosity with tomato and olive oil flavoured chocolate, or truffles, or orange tasting chocolates... Lisbon may be a true gastronomic experience just by walking into some of these small chocolate stores spread around the city. With very original concepts, (one includes board games made out of chocolate others a special wrapping) these chocolateries will make you melt just with all these mouth-watering smells. Try them and allow all the ranges of tastes flow through your mouth stimulating all the senses of the palate. Treat your palate to the taste of chocolate at: Xocoa The most recent chocolate store in Lisbon is called Xocoa, a catalan brand that has specialised in making products out o Cocoa. And that is what this shop is all about. It explores nearly all the shapes, sizes, flavours, packages, and colours a chocolate may have. Since 1897 the Escursell family has had this brand, but it was only in 1994 they took greater chances and began exploring new combinations of flavours and concepts as avant-garde as creating a scrabble board table made out of chocolate. Within an extremely informal and cosmopolitan shop you may choose any of the chocolates displayed to take home, whether it’s hot chocolate, or dark truffle, or puffed rice with chocolate, or crispy cookies... the choice is immense, all wrapped in a modern and retro-cool packaging. WHERE Rua do Crucifixo, 112-114. 1100-185 TIMES 10h - 20h TRANSPORT M: Baixa/Chiado, Tram: 28E CONTACTS +351 213 466 370  Rojoo It’s a funny sounding word. But the chocolate is pretty serious... seriously good. With the best chocolate ingredients from the Tropics, a stamp from Austria and a life of dedication in Portugal, Rojoo is worth a try. It’s a flavour you may try once and go back again and again... This sweet shop has a terrace close to the famous Santa Justa elevator. It is frequently filled with surprises and new flavours, including some very Portuguese tastes, namely Port wine, fennel, or Madeira wine, or exotic ones such Indian Massala or caramel. For hot chocolate lovers, the choice is wide too, from simple to mint flavoured chocolates. If you would rather drink it cold, this is one of the best places to have it. During the summer months, this artisanal shop produces ice-creams with strawberries, coconut, simple white chocolate or sour. All from the famous chocolate brand zotter, in one of Europe’s most beautiful city centres. WHERE Rua de Santa Justa, loja 34, 1100 - 480 TIMES Every day 9h - 20h TRANSPORTS M: Baixa/Chiado or Rossio.  CONTACTS +351 213 462 253 Mercado do Chocolate The intention of this chocolate market is to offer a place in Portugal where chocolate lovers may head to to find the world’s best chocolate master brands. The interior design invites you to taste even the walls, with its dark chocolatey brown and provocative pink, with a chandelier shining over the shelves that are divided by country of origin, such as South Africa, Italy, England, Sao Tome and Principe or Austria; a useful form of indulging you into the world of chocolate. Some flavours are particularly out of the ordinary: tomato and olive oil or wine and curd, but there are always the classic dark, milk and white. For the cooking risk-takers, try the Balsamic vinegar mousse with chocolate aroma, ideal to go with some salads, or even some chocolate pasta. Plus, it offers several utensils, such as fondue, glasses, scouts... it’s a whole new world of chocolate at the chocolate market. WHERE Rua Coelho da Rocha Campo de Ourique, 1350 - 075 TIMES Sunday and Monday closed. Tue-Sat: 10h-14h and 15h-19h TRANSPORTS Bus: 709, 713, 720, 738 CONTACTS +351 93 710 0451 Arcádia For 75 years, this chocolate factory has been pleasing many palates throughout the country. It started in Porto and it still belongs to the founding family. Like father like son, the passion for chocolate has been passed from generation to generation. With a classic and traditional attitude, Arcádia pleases contemporary tastes, creating all kinds of forms and flavours. If you are watching your weight, you may even choose a non-sugar chocolate. The shops are modern and you may choose different packages, whether you would like the more classic design, or the retro inspired models. It is mostly famous for its chocolate linguas de gato (a biscuit that gets its name from the fact that it is shaped like a cats tongue) and its candy, all produced artisanlly. WHERE Dolce Vita Tejo Shopping Centre, shop nº 1049 TIMES Every day 10h - 23h TRANSPORTS M: Amadora Este or Pontinha, Bus: 210 or 224 CONTACTS +351 214 784 477 Cacao Sampaka It started in Barcelona with the intention of reviving a culture rich in tradition, that has moved people from different continents  for centuries in the hard labour of producing cacao, treating it, forming it and mixing it with almonds, nuts, milk, caramel, to please every taste. Cacao Sampaka controls the process since the selection of the cocoa beans to the manufacturing of the delicious pieces and finally the packaging. With no chemical additives, Cacao Sampaka is produced by artisans that treasure the true taste and culture of chocolate making. The chocolate tablets are divided into three main groups, dark bitter chocolate, milk and white. The small pieces are divided into eight collections, from which you may choose the one that pleases your taste the most, whether it is truffled chocolate, or a combination of fresh fruit flavours. When you’re in house, try the cafeteria with loads of hot and cold chocolate drinks or take home some of the chocolate jams and spreads to try these succulent delicacies. WHERE Amoreiras Shopping centre, shop n. 2007-1010, Avenida Engenheiro Duarte Pacheco, 1070-103 Lisboa  TIMES Every day 10h - 22h TRANSPORTS Bus: 12, 48, 53, 83, 702, 711, 713, 723 CONTACTS +351 213 88 52 11 OR WHERE Oeiras Parque Shopping Centre, Avenida António Bernardo Cabral Macedo, 2770-219 TIMES 09h - 23h TRANSPORTS Roads: EN6, CREL, A5, 1C19, Train: Cascais/Lisboa Line. CONTACTS +351 214 460 050 Pastelaria Versailles This pastry is famous for its cakes and other succulent delicacies for nearly a century. During this time, Pastelaria Versailles joined together  great number of loyal clients, who gather there for a coffee or a small pastry. However, Versailles also has to offer one of the thickest and mouth-watering hot chocolates in the city. The dark melting chocolate that arrives warm at the table gets you asking whether you should drink it with a spoon or through the mug. The environment here is friendly within the Art Nouveau walls and decorations of the 1920’s. WHERE Avenida de República, 15, 1050-185 TIMES 8h - 19h30 Mondays to Fridays.  TRANSPORT M: Saldanha, bus: 16, 203, 718, 726, 742 CONTACTS +351 213 546 340 El Corte Inglês Gourmet This supermarket is specialised in the best quality products in the high-range brands around the world. The chocolate section is no different, only with the freshest products with some of the worlds best brands, whether it is Godiva or Neuhaus. You may pick and choose the chocolates that most satisfy your appetite and mix them all into a box. You are guaranteed a five-star service and great flavoured chocolates. WHERE Between Avenida António Augusto de Aguiar, Marquês da Fronteira and Sidónio Pais TIMES Monday to Thursday: 10h - 22h, Fridays and Saturdays: 10h - 23h30, Sundays - 10h - 13h TRANSPORT M: São Sebastião, Bus: 203, 205, 718, 726, 742, 746 CONTACTS +351 213 711 700 “The Best Chocolate Cake in the World” “The Best Chocolate Cake in the World”, is the name given to a delicious chocolate cake produced by Carlos Braz Lopes, a prestigious Portuguese chef. The name is a form of marketing, but truthfully, the general opinion is that the cake probably is the best cake in the world. The success of this chocolate delight has been immense, being sold in several parts of the country and in Brazil. The recipe is obviously the secret of the business, but it can be revealed that it is cooked without flour, and it is composed of chocolate mousse divided by thin layers of crunchy chocolate meringue. This cake melts in your mouth, and leaves a long after taste, long enough for you to enjoy before you start desiring the next bite. WHERE Rua Coelho da Rocha, 41A, Campo de Ourique, 1250-087 Lisboa TIMES 10h30 - 19h TRANSPORT Bus: 709, 713, 720, 738 CONTACTS +351 213 962 006 Other shops: WHERE Café Thé and Chocolate - Campo Pequeno shopping centre TIMES 10h - 23h TRANSPORT M: Avenida da República CONTACTS +351 217 961 035 WHERE Chiado - Ben n’ Jerrys, Rua da Misericórdia, 13 TIMES 9h - 19h TRANSPORT M: Baixa/Chiado