The No 1 Chocolate Factory

We just popped in here for a quick drink and were really pleasantly surprised: D
The space is quite different, like a modernised factory building. The white walls and primary coloured furniture gives it a very nordic, spacious feeling. The waitress was lovely and we had a good chat about Chai. I then enquired about using space for a group I organise and they were super helpful in explaining their space and bookings etc. They do have a room for the use of parties etc. which looked quite useful. They are open till 8pm through the week.
The Chai was quite lovely, although a little watery for my usual liking. My boyfriend got a Mocha and explained it’s probably the best he has ever had!
Their white chocolate millionaire logs were divine!
Definitely will be back :)

I was SO skeptical about this place to begin with, which is especially odd for me as I’m a chocolate FREAK. I think what put me off was the atmosphere/​décor, which initially reminded me a bit of dining halls and screaming babies. I’ve come to the conclusion that this is probably for good reason. On the weekend, the place is often crawling with pushchairs and groups of munchkins. All that space is needed so waitresses don’t trip over the wee ones! I know they offer some pretty exciting birthday ‘chocolate workshop’ experiences for kids (although I’m sure adults can participate too– hint hint, someone buy me this).
Their hot choc is juuuust the bessssst. I usually go for the original as it’s really rich and creamy and just the right amount of sweet, but you can get their Spanish style intense chocolate shots which are even MORE intense and delicious. They do a variety of cakes and sandwiches as well, though I’ve never eaten here and probably wouldn’t bother as the menu’s not terribly exciting.
BUUUUUT
The REAL reason I’m giving this place 5 stars is that it’s one of my favorite places to get some uni work done when I’m sick of the library. What is a junglegym of rugrats on the weekend turns into an oasis of calm, empty blue space during the week! I’m usually loyal to Pena, but sometimes there are too many familiar faces in there and I can’t concentrate. What I love about the Chocolate Factory is it’s super convenient location (bang in the middle of town and the West End, so perfect if I’ve been running errands and want to stop for a pick me up and some productive time on the laptop on the way home.) They have free wifi and the code is easy to find, the staff don’t ever bother you or ask you to leave or give you dirty looks, they have a 10% student discount, the windows let in lots of lovely natural light, and it’s so huge you can pretty much guarantee you’re not going to have to speak to anyone if it’s a weekday. Which, when you’re an easily distracted student with a 2000 word essay to write, is a very good thing.

Oh chocolate goodness I have found you!
I took my Mam here & we didn’t want to leave. .. ever!!!
There is hot chocolate & then there is the amazing elixir they sever here.
We started with the Panini & soup deal (great home made soup & fresh made panini) followed by Choc cake & a choc cup as we drank the most awesome hot chocolate I’ve found in Glasgow.
With a chocolate shop & chocolate factory, if you love chocolate you’ll love here.

I love this place! A five star review for the chocolate on it’s own!
The No 1 Chocolate Factory sell Spanish style hot chocolate which is super thick chocolate ganache. Simply amazing. In my opinion you only need a small amount and luckily they sell chocolate shots — an espresso cup full of melted chocolate for £1.50. Obviously you need to buy a cake to go with it and you will be spoiled for choice. The chocolate brownie is divine with a gooey middle, the rocky road comes in a choice of white or milk chocolate, as does this millionaires shortbread. You can also have hand made chocolates, cream of galloway ice cream…
The savoury food is good value with a soup and panini deal for £5. Great for a filling lunch on the go. The staff are also lovely and happy to bring drinks etc over to tables when they are not too busy.
The premises are large with a mixture of canteen type tables and chairs and big comfy couches. There is lots of space for buggies and big parties and the place is popular with families. They also run chocolate making workshops, one of which I attended with friends, that seem very popular with kids!

Aaituated at the corner of Charing Cross and Woodlands Rd, this bright, spacious café-​come-​chocolatier is a perfect spot for indulgence and people watching. As well as openly boasting their support for child labour *see attached image* and hosting chocolate making parties (I’ve not been invited to one yet, but I hold out hope) it’s a nice place for a catch up with friends. There’s plenty of seating, which does mean in winter it can get a bit chilly, due to the sheer size of the place, and only a single door facing out to the elements.
If you like your hot chocolate classic style, their luxury version is quite simply that. Pure. Melted. Chocolate. No milk, no cream, and certainly no water! Just unequivocal, sugary goo. It does come at a luxury price though, around the £3/£3.50 mark, with cakes coming in around a pound less. And that’s my one sticking point. When I go here it is a treat to myself.
They also do food, with a range of soups, paninis, etc, which, for where and what it is is still a tad pricey for me. However, it’s always worth a visit, at least once.

For the last year I have been promising my niece that I would take her to the No1 Chocolate Factory on Woodlands Road and last Saturday I finally came good on my promise with afternoon tea for 2.
When you first walk into the Chocolate Factory the first thing that smacks you in the face is the chocolate bar where you can buy amazing made in-​house artisan chocolates and at the moment beautiful Easter Eggs. The décor is fairly casual there are a few sofas but mostly canteen style tables and chairs. It’s bright and colourful and on a nice day (like it was on Saturday) it is a lovely area to sit for a few hours and watch the world go by.
It’s probably worth mentioning that it is Kid central — I think in the time we sat there three children’s parties passed through to the back of the building where they host chocolate making parties. If you are looking for a chic Afternoon tea with some girlfriends this is not the place for you, however if you are looking for someplace to hang out with kids on a Saturday afternoon this is an ideal location.
Once we were sat at our table by the window a drinks order was taken, I obviously had to go for a rather tasty and creamy hot chocolate. A few minutes later out massive three-​tiered cake stand arrived and wow it was loaded with chocolate treats.
The bottom layer had a selection of sandwiches consisting of Cheese, Ham & Chicken mayo — they weren’t fancy but they were perfectly nice. The second tier was amazing, it was stuffed with bite size pieces of fudey brownies, both dark and white chocolate caramel shortbread and little coconut bites. The top layer had 6 warm chocolate chip scones accompanied by a pot of strawberry jam & clotted cream, the scones were nice but slightly on the dry/​hard side. We only managed to eat our way through about half of the stand so the lovely waitress offered to box up the left over cakes and scones to enjoy at home later.
The only niggle would be once finished we had to wait about 20 minutes to get someones attention so we could order our chocolate shots which were included with the tea. These arrived in little espresso cups and the only way I could think to describe it was similar to the dark chocolate sauce you get with churros… it was dark, bitter & thick. It was amazing but I could only eat about half of it because it was so rich and it was way to bitter for my 15 year old niece.
All in all absolutely fantastic value, the £26 price included 2 drinks, the cake stand overloaded wi