Dark Sugars

Sehr leckere Kaffee Spezialitäten und eine große Auswahl an Pralinen und Schoko Trüffel. Auf der anderen Seite aber laut, hochpreisig und ein 1A Beispiel für die Gentrification des Viertels.

Amazing. Absolutely amazing. The chocolate. The music. The Champagne. Best night I’ve ever had so far. I will be coming back

Having walked past Dark Sugars and bought the odd little gift here before I spent far too much money on overpriced truffles and nuts for Christmas. I ended up keeping all three gift bags as I ended up not seeing the friends they were intended for. Also, as everything at Dark Sugars is liberally coated in dark cocoa powder, they ended up looking really messy in their little cellophane bags.
I have since heard some less complimentary things about this shop, and it’s all starting to make sense … apparently there’s been some sort of investigation which found that they use cheap chocs, make them look pretty and sell them at an inflated price. No idea of the source, so don’t take my word for it.
However, these are the three varieties I tried and they were all disappointing in their own right:
— chocolate coated brazil nuts; nice enought nuts literally covered in unsweetened cocoa powder — that’s it, no actual chocolate, which made them dry and bitter
— cherry truffles; I expected something akin to German supermarket favourite «mon cherie», but these didn’t even live up to a mass-​produced treat; just sweet, nothing remotely exciting
— salted caramel truffles; these were the least disappointing but anything but exciting; (if you’ve ever tasted Roccoco’s salted chocolate … similar price range, different taste sensation) I’m starting to believe that story about cheap chocolate dressed up as gold …
That’s three out of three fails at a premium price. I think the only reason Dark Sugars keeps getting positive reviews here is that they are so expensive you don’t usually buy their products for yourself. And friends deserving of such an expensive treat are probably too polite to complain about such a rubbish gift. Apologies to everyone I’ve given these to before — how embarrassing!

I’ve walked by this place many times, admiring the truffles stacked on the beautiful wood bowls. This night I went in and checked it out for the first time.
They’ve expanded to take up two former units, which means even more chocolate everywhere you look. I didn’t get any truffles but was after a hot chocolate instead. They had several flavours, I got cardamom.
The hot chocolate is created in front of you from scratch by streaming milk, prepping your flavour choice and shaving a huge pile of white and milk chocolate which they fill your cup with. Keep stirring as you drink as there’s a lot of chocolate in there! Overall I loved the hot chocolate, was fresh, thick and sweet.
One thing I wish they also had here is a seating area. Enjoying the hot chocolate in mugs instead of paper cups while in their atmosphere would have been great.

Ducking in to get out of the cold was both a delicious and FUN experience. The two people working at there knew everything about the tons of chocolate truffles and encouraged us to try everything. We stopped back in after dinner for an espresso and a hot chocolate, which was absolutely incredible. Both were made with lots of care, and the hot chocolate was like drinking a warm chocolate bar.

My colleague bought some back for the office once and the moment I popped one into my mouth I wanted the whole lot of them. These chocolates are unique and absolutely delightful, you’ll never get tired of the flavours available here, and each and every one is melt in your mouth goodness for the soul. If you liked chocolate, this will make you LOVE chocolate. Not to mention, their hot chocolate is to die for, so make sure you get one if you’re not already buying a truckload of their amazing truffles. I highly recommend the gin and lime one, as one of my favourites. They’re all pretty good, just a little pricey. But just wow, this is the one chocolate shop you should visit while in London.

Best mocha ever… They chop fresh chocolate (dark, milk, and white) to add to your drink while you wait. Beautiful space with awesome décor and displays, friendly staff, and lovely looking and tasting chocolate for your enjoyment. Get it!

Dark sugars does it right when I close my eyes and imagine a picture of a store based on the following keywords: «exotic, cocoa, wood, pretty colors, happy employees with no tight a$$ attitude, crowd with starry eyes due to fun owner/​manager or chocolate display or both».
My real rating is 4.95 instead of 4 stars and I’m only cutting their rating .05 as they can (and should) make their hot chocolate a little bit more dense. Shaved chocolate mix with lots and lots of milk is going to give me a delicious chocolate milk, not hot chocolate. Top up the chocolate (perhaps use chocolate chips and cocoa powder as well?) and Dark Sugars, you will get your sparkling 5 stars in the London chocolate scene.
I will be back.

We got a few truffles from here and my friends both got chili hot chocolate! They both said it was incredible and I trust them, the spicy stuff is just not for me. However I really enjoyed the Irish cream truffles we got– super delicious. In addition to just having good product, the shop is also manned by two of the funniest guys you’ll ever meet. They were lovely and even gave us a few chocolates on the house after chatting with them for a bit. Love this place.

The aroma is fantastic and so is the layourlt of all the chocolates. They are very exotic and the musice there puts you in the mood. It is definitely a place to go again.
Don’t forget to ask for help on how the pippette works for those chocolates that have one. You will be in for one great experience!
The proce range might be a little more than your average chocolate shop but this is absolutely not an average shop, it is THE place to go if tou are around and craving some dark sugars.

«You used to call me on my cell phone, late night when you need my love…» — it’s Sunday afternoon at Brick Lane market, why is Hotline Bling blasting on this corner? Intrigued by the blaring dancehall tunes that start playing after my boy Drake, I follow the music and end up at this spot. I’m now witnessing a dude dancing on the cash register counter while lip syncing and handing out free samples of chocolate. Is this a dance club or the storefront of a chocolate purveyor? Either way I’m hooked.
The staff that work here could not be more friendly. This spot also looks like the most fun place ever to work at. I honestly couldn’t tell if their job is to just give potential patrons free chocolates or actually sell them, because there was no shortage of free samples being handed out to the steady crowd gathering in the tiny storefront. Note that they have another bigger location a couple of blocks up on Brick Lane, but I’ve not been so I can’t speak to the vibe at that location.
Those melt in your mouth truffles though. They let me sample a chili truffle — the heat doesn’t kick in until the last bit of truffle has vanished, but then the spice hits you hard. If you’re a fan of heat in your chocolate, this is for you. I’ve tried their other chocolates, including the liquid filled sea salt, hazelnut crunch and honeycomb, but those truffles are where it’s at.
I opted for the cardamom hot chocolate, which took at least 5 minutes to prepare as she graciously kept piling shaved milk chocolate and white chocolate into my cup. The hot chocolate has real crushed cardamom (not the ground powder!), so you’re sacrificing a smooth texture (you’ve gotta spit out cardamom shells in between sips) for the most freshly spiced and insanely decadent hot chocolate you’ll ever taste.

I was off to dinner with a couple of friends at the Old Truman Brewery and on the way the the tube, we spot this new Dark Sugar store in sort of soft launch and just could not resist…
That’s a master move from the guys at Dark Sugar. 2 shops in brick lane, literally a stone throw from each other. These guys wants us to be fat or what? :) I am not a fan of carbs and sugar as a general rule, but I grew up with cocoa farms and chocolate so it’s hard to say no.
The variety of chocolates these guys have over there is mind-​blowing. The creativity is impressive, and the staff… Let’s just say that they know how to get their ladies to make us buy more. All with that hipster my touch and smile we love from Brick Lane. If you fancy some great coffee to go with your chocolate, they do have cheap options on the other side of the shop. An all-​in-​all experience that will please more than one, no doubt!
This shop seems bigger than the other upper on the lane, and more woody/​hipstery too. And this was just soft launch… I can wait to return there once it’ll be fully opened.
As one the guys said to me: people f’ing love chocolate. I agree, so I’ll be back shortly!

This place is the truth!!! Randomly stopped in as they were playing music and invited us in. The friendly and welcoming evening crew was happy to chat and have us a few samples… Some of the best chocolate I have ever had … Hands down. Plus you can tell how passionate they are about what they do and what they love… Dark Chocolate!

YUM YUM YUM! You can smell this place from down the road, and I couldn’t help myself from wandering in. It is one of the most beautiful chocolate shops I’ve ever seen. The layout is just fantastic — I can’t say enough good things about their branding — you need to go check it out! And their chocolates are outstanding. They have a HUGE selection — from super classic to super trendy. And they usually have samples :) I didn’t try it — but the person in front of us ordered the hot chocolate drink — I will be going back to try that! They cut and shred bits of chocolate and melt it in frothed milk — TO DIE FOR!!!

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I probably had over 10 different chocolates here and nothing was bad. Nothing, I tell you! This is a gorgeous store that smells amazing even from the sidewalk before you walk in. The flavors range from traditional (sea salt caramel) to unique (gin and lime, really?). Seriously, it’s all very, very good. And the chocolates are reasonably priced as well.
Watch out for the spicy chocolate — that one packs quite a punch!

If you’re ever in London, you have to make your way to this chocolate shop. It may be a little small on the inside but the experience definitely makes it worth it. I went twice during my stay in London and both times the owner himself made my hot chocolate whilst jamming out to music.
Speaking of hot chocolate, you have to try it. 3 pounds sounds like a lot for a relatively small hot coco, but I could barely finish it it was so rich. Also try the little truffle cups with pipets. Both the mango and raspberry are very good and well worth the price.

Found this place to be unwelcoming the first two times we attempted to buy anything here over the last year or so but on walking past this time noticed that they now had a pick and mix your own function so I was more than happy to do so plus the staff this time were much more friendly and welcoming.

Every chocolate looked delicious, so I based my selection on previous Unilocalers’ suggestions. You pick up a plastic bag, and pay per weight (7 quid for 100g). 100g amounts to around 8 – 10 pieces of chocolate.
The first ones I picked were the spicy chili chocolates (both vegan and non-​vegan). These definitely were powdered with some hidden chiles because they were HOT! I went with various other dark chocolates (skip the mint — nothing special) since the day was warm and the milk chocolates seemed to be melting in the store already. I picked up some roasted cocoa beans, which were really bitter and would not recommend, lol.
Tl;dr — Alluring chocolate displays, actual chocolates are hit-​or-​miss.

Beautiful store filled with yummy chocolates in all sorts of surprising flavours. On last visit had gin & lime, dark chocolate coconut, Irish coffee, and salted caramel. Really fun to fill up and mix-​and-​match bag of everything you want to try. Just be aware that it adds up fast price-​wise!
Also, it smells amazing when you walk in.

I was never really a fan of dark chocolate until I stumbled across this store of magic!
A bit pricey, however you get exactly what you pay for… Quality chocolate!
Delicious rich cocoa with the most amazing flavours you could ever imagine! This chocolate is a REAL TREAT!

I think I’m missing something.
I’ve been to Dark Sugars thrice and… don’t really get the hype.
I think the staff is pretty surly (sidebar: I get that it’s an intense environment on busy nights when everyone is crowding the small space, but when I’m the only one in the shop? Less understandable), and I think the truffles sound more interesting than they taste. The orange/​cardamom is, on paper, my dream combination: but the bitterness of the cocoa kind of killed the flavour pairing and the cardamom was really too mellow. Same thing with the gin/​lime truffle (theory/​practice in execution held a major gap). The white chocolate I found straight-​up not tasty, and didn’t finish. That might be my choco-​palate, I dunno.
My favourite thing to consume from Dark Sugars is the orangette — a dark chocolate-​dipped round of candied orange. The orange was perfectly done, and the orangettes look beautiful displayed on a plate (if they last that long).
I went in today and for 3 truffles: 3.70. Not cheap, not great, meh staff-vibe…I’m in no rush to give it a 4^th try. The true saving grace of this place is the wow appeal: the display of the truffles in wooden containers is truly a sight to behold.
Unilocal note: lotsa vegan options! W00t.

Sorry for the caps lock but THIS WAS THE BEST HOT CHOCOLATE OF MY LIFE!!! So ridiculously delicious. Get the chilli version. It’s made with love, chilli and at least three different kinds of chocolate. Fantastic.
And of course a tonne of other delectable chocolates to choose from as well… Yum. (They also have a selection of vegan chocolates, if that’s your thing.)

Absolutely delicious.
I’ve been to brick lane twice this week and have ‘had’ to visit dark sugars both times.
Walking into the shop you’re hit with the heady chocolate aroma; it’s an experience within itself. Stand in the middle, breathe in and open your lungs. It might convert even the most resolute chocolate haters amongst us!
Whilst the chocolate can be quite expensive, it’s worth every penny. Freshly made, well presented, moorish and simply addictive.
I went for a selection of the truffles, pearls and the pipette chocolates and I cannot fault them on taste, consistency, construction. They were simply divine.
I also like that you can choose the ones you want yourself and they are simply weighted for price.
I tried their chilli hot chocolate on my second visit. This comes laden with dark and swirls and whilst I throughly enjoyed it with it’s thick and creamy consistency, I would recommend against it if you’re not really a chilli fan. I really am, yet I found this to have a very substantial kick.