ON A MISSION TO FIND EUROPE’S BEST HOT COCO

I know what you’re all thinking – finally, an issue that matters! I’m an absolute sucker for hot coco, with almost all of my friends keeping a pot of chocolate powder in their homes for when I stop by. An adoration bordering on obsession, I sometimes doubt my ability to function without a steaming mug of cocoa. Considering I have travelled a fair bit these past few years, it is safe to say that I have witnessed a lot of hot coco – and am on a mission to find the absolute best. Here’s what I’ve discovered.

THE FISHERMAN’S BASTION, BUDAPEST

There’s only two things that I really want when I’m drinking hot coco – one, for the chocolate to be bordering heavenly, and two, for it to come with an absolute stunner of a view. The Fisherman’s Bastion in Hungary is definite champion for both of these categories, with views overlooking the famed Danube River, little townhouses, antiquated Hungarian ruins, and whole array of bastion turrets just a few feet away. It genuinely feels like you’ve just stepped into a magical fairytale castle, where the hot coco is thick, decorated with cream, and inordinately sweet. It’s pretty perfect, if you ask me.

ANTICA DOMUS, ROME

Like with the Fisherman’s Bastion, Antica Domus hosts both incredible hot coco and an incredible view. This one, however, is definitely more well-known – it’s located only 20 feet from the Colosseum! It’s the absolute best place to see the ancient amphitheater, staying for a couple hours chatting to locals as the sun goes down and the tourists disappear. Also, the typical Italian mugs of melted chocolate are even more adjunct at Antica Domus, where you can really lose yourself in the thickly poured, rich coco, contemplating the beautiful city around you.

THE GRAPE AND OLIVE, SWANSEA

Situated in a gorgeous little city which will forever hold my heart, I would happily refer to the Grape and Olive as housing some of the best hot cocos in the whole entire world. A restaurant housed in the tallest building of the city, you’re really offered some insane views in a tower completely bereft of tourists. Overlooking the ocean, the marina, the town, and distant hills, I wouldn’t blame you for staying for a full lunch, dinner, and finishing with some hand-shaken cocktails. The hot coco is sweet and light, and perfect for that lil’ sugar rush needed for exploring the furthest depths of the city.

GLACIAR, BARCELONA

In another one of my favourite cities, I came across one of the best hot cocos I’ve ever been blessed with the privilege to try. The City of Gaudi is unsurprisingly going to be utterly stunning, but coupled with cinnamon and caramel churros with the cocoa, it instantly becomes a little sweeter. Glaciar is located just off the tiny square of Plaça Reial, which houses violin-playing wanderers and men offering to sell a rose to your sweetheart, offering you the heart of the city whilst you sip your coco. It’s the cutest little location, and the hot coco tastes just like thick churro dip – sweet and luxurious and bound to linger on your upper lip for an unprecedented amount of time.

RIVA, TROGIR

I wandered the streets of Croatia for what felt like years, trying to find a decent place that offered lactose-free hot chocolate. When I landed in the country, my Crohn’s was playing up a fair bit – meaning that I had to cancel out a lot of food groups. I was literally devastated when I found that absolutely nowhere could serve me hot coco I could actually consume – until I went to Riva. Located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Trogir, overlooking a quaint harbour bordering beautiful ruins, you can just sit for hours and watch the world go by. The hot coco is dark and syrupy, and the fact that they went completely out of their way to figure out how to make it lactose-free was really lovely.

VIA CAFFE, KRAKOW

When you’re stuck in the middle of a snow storm, fingers numb, eyeballs turning to frost, the thing that you want most in the world is to be somewhere warm, sipping something steaming, and soon. This scenario is more or less what happened when I visited Krakow and found myself freezing my absolute butt off, bundling into the warmest cafe I could find, and stumbling upon this indulgent hot chocolate. Not only did they do soya hot coco (yesss!), but they also served the most divine cakes to go with it. It took me hours to muster up the strength to leave the confines of the cafe and venture back out in the cold – and I could only do that after one more coco.

And so, that concludes my findings for now. I have explored more of Europe than any other continent, and tried a lot of hot coco – and these are undoubtably the best.

It’s absolutely a matter of life and death – or merely just pure insanity – that I must find the best hot coco in Europe. Let me know in the comments below where you guys have scouted out the best hot coco – this may be my most important assignment yet.*

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*I just really want to lose myself in coco.