Last week, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. humorlessly declared that “sugar is poison.” Fortunately, for those in the United Kingdom, things are far more laissez-faire. A chronic sweet tooth is an important part of the national identity, and to service it, a raft of new chocolate shops has recently arrived in London.
In this competitive market, deliciousness alone is nothing special. So some enterprising chocolatiers have enlisted interior designers—also considered national treasures—to ensure that their offerings look as good as they taste.
Leading the pack is Makers, which just opened on Old Church Street in Chelsea. Its founder, Noor Freiha, enlisted Rosanna Bossom (who decorated Julie’s restaurant and bar and the Fitzdares Club, both also in London). This is presumably to ensure that the interior of her chocolate shop is as Instagram-worthy as her colorful chocolates.
“The whole point of Makers was to bring back the feeling of old-school hospitality,” says Freiha. The space feels “like a giant hug,” says Bossom. “Nothing really matches, in a wonderful way, and there’s something beautiful to see at every turn.”
Bossom’s charming mishmash includes rattan pendant-light shades, hammered-copper serving pieces, Petra Palumbo’s Delft tiles, hand-painted plates by Sasha Compton, and Minnie Kemp x Mind the Gap wallpaper.
The glossy, vibrantly colored spheres within its cabinets are filled with matcha cassis, soba cha, and tahini-flavored chocolates.
Here, too, Freiha, a former chemical engineer, is creative. Her health-conscious approach to confectionery has inspired her (along with chocolatier Alexandre Vandale) to create treats that are free of refined sugar, dairy, and gluten. Makers’ gourmet candy bars, reminiscent of Twix, Snickers, and KitKat, are infused with superfoods and supplements such as collagen, reishi mushrooms, and ashwagandha. (Get in line, MAGA moms.)
A similarly stylish scene unfolds at Naya, which opened last week in Mayfair. Founded by Gen Z brothers Can and Cengizhan Ayan, fourth-generation members of a Turkish chocolate dynasty, its interiors were conceived by designers India Hicks and Anna Goulandris.
“The brothers come from an extraordinary heritage of chocolate-making but wanted to create a new beginning in London,” says Hicks. “It needed to be grounded in the principles of English design but with a worldly aesthetic.” A custom version of wall-covering manufacturer De Gournay’s hand-painted Salon Vert wallpaper, in which birds represent members of the Ayan family, creates a beautiful backdrop for photographs. Armchairs by Paola Moschino and Adam Lippes up the style ante, and two faux “trees of life” adorn the center of the room.
Meanwhile, in Covent Garden, Barnaby Bars founder Barney Goff enlisted Tom Morris, of Morrisstudio, to help create his first store. The Arts and Crafts aesthetic starkly contrasts with the childhood-inspired creations behind the counter, some of which incorporate pretzels, potato chips, and peanut butter.
Morris and Goff’s starting point was the Bournville garden village, outside Birmingham. The Cadbury family (of chocolate-egg fame) built it in the late 1890s to house their workers. Morris has taken his cue from that era, using a solid-oak façade, grainy wood paneling, and aged copper lights in the Barnaby Bars shop.
Back in Chelsea, the lines snaking around the block at Birley Bakery are now spilling into Birley Chocolate as well. This new temptation from 5 Hertford Street impresario Robin Birley and executive pastry chef Vincent Zanardi is a feast for all the senses. Its walls are covered in a fantastical fin de siècle scene by the artist Lizzi Porter that nods to Zanardi’s favorite chocolate flavorings, with sesame plants, rose and strawberry bushes, cinnamon, and coffee and cacao trees.
Design and flavor also mix well at Nicolas Rouzaud at the Connaught. The master pâtissier describes his minimalist sweet shop as “a space that feels as thoughtful as our creations—elegant, calm, and full of the smallest details that inspire people to feel something.” Admiration, presumably. But also, perhaps, hunger?
Fiona McCarthy is a London-based journalist and international contributing editor specializing in art and design. She is a regular contributor to Elle Decoration UK, Vogue Living Australia, and The Times of London, and a co-author of interior decorator Kit Kemp’s best-selling interiors titles, including Design Thread