Choconut is an odd hybrid between shop and café, selling chocolate, nuts and crystallised fruits, plus coffee and hot chocolate.
Presentation is a strong point, with a large chocolate fountain in the window, huge wooden vessels (shaped like urinals, but don’t let that put you off) showing off the nuts (absolutely no double entendres there) and shelves groaning with candy jars.
The high-end chocolate is made on the premises whereas the baked goods aren’t. We shared a couple of cronuts, almost the size and density of a human head. The custard version was better than the oversweet salted caramel and pistachio.
The chalkboard on the pavement outside states ‘life’s too short to drink crappy coffee’, so it’s a relief that the flat white was just as it should be. But the hot chocolate was disappointingly lukewarm and thin – in a blindfold taste test, it could have passed for Cadbury’s Instant.
Friendly service makes up for some of the flaws, but Choconut remains more of a shop where you might suddenly decide to stay for a snack, than somewhere you’d arrange to go deliberately.