Honestly, you don’t have to head across the Channel to Chez Janou in Paris to enjoy next-level chocolate mousse. There are plenty of places here in London serving up the perfect chocolatey dessert and we’ve picked out some of the best for you.
Tableside at Amélie
Belgravia - 19 Motcomb St, London SW1X 8LB
Grab a table out on the sunny terrace at Provencal restaurant Amélie in Belgravia and prepare yourself for the theatrical experience that is their mousse au chocolat. A trolley arrives at your tableside, ready to serve up a scoop with your choice of toppings: candied pistachios, caramelised almonds, chocolate crumble, grated milk chocolate, extra virgin olive oil and sea salt. So you can have your mousse just how you like it.
Sharing-style at Bar Valette
Shoreditch - 28 Kingsland Rd, London E2 8AA
Staff at Shoreditch spot Bar Valette are at pains to recommend this dish as a sharing option and when it arrives, you realise why. It’s a huge dish of 70% Tanzanian chocolate mousse, which is topped with a thin layer of very lightly whipped vanilla cream. Scraping a spoonful of mousse from this dish is extremely satisfying.
Bonus brownie at The Kerfield Arms
Camberwell - 16 Grove Lane, London SE5 8SY
We were enamoured with all the desserts at new Camberwell gastropub The Kerfield Arms, particularly their 70% Cru Virunga chocolate & olive oil mousse, which not only comes flecked with salt but also features an unbilled additional section of chocolate brownie.
XXL at Jacuzzi
Kensington - 94 Kensington High St, London W8 4SH
As you’ll no doubt be aware, none of the Big Mamma Group restaurants do things by halves and their sharing dessert here in Kensington is also larger than life. Get a couple of ginormous scoops into your dish of this mousse al cioccolato with hazelnut praline and Sicilian sea salt as the perfect end to any meal here.
On a biscuit base at The Parakeet
Kentish Town - 256 Kentish Town Rd, London NW5 2AA
The always-on dessert at Kentish Town gastropub The Parakeet has been around for almost a year. It's made with 70% Valhrona Dark Chocolate and is served tableside. But what really separates it from the crowd is that it comes on top of a white chocolate crumb and biscuit tuille for added deliciousness.
Straight from the drawer at Canteen
Notting Hill - 310 Portobello Rd, London W10 5TA
The menu at this Notting Hill Italian may change daily but one dessert that’s regularly on is their chocolate mousse that’s served up direct from the stainless steel kitchen drawer it’s made in. It’s thick enough to stand your spoon up in and incredibly rich, making it an absolute must-have. But be quick when ordering as this regularly sells out.
Photo by @hiyaimhan
With boozy cherries at The Devonshire
Soho - 17 Denman St, London W1D 7HW
Executive chef and co-founder Ashley Palmer Watts spent almost 20 years working for The Fat Duck group so it’s fair to say he knows how to obsess over a recipe. Apparently this mousse spent months in development which explains why it’s so gorgeous. It’s served in a pool of double cream with some seriously boozy cherries and a heap of flaked chocolate on top for added texture
In a puddle of pistachio at Paulette
Little Venice - 18 Formosa St, London W9 1EE
Tucked away in Little Venice the impossibly pretty Paulette is a French bistro run by actual French people, so they ought to know about serving up a classic mousse au chocolat. But while the mousse itself is super traditional, its presentation is anything but. The kitchen sends it out with a neat row of caramelised hazelnuts along the top, sitting in an eau de nil coloured puddle of pistachio crème Anglaise.
Topped with Chantilly at The Knave of Clubs
Shoreditch - 25 Bethnal Grn Rd, London E1 6HT
There aren’t too many East London pubs serving up a pitch perfect chocolate mousse but happily for Shoreditch residents and City workers The Knave of Clubs is one of them. Here it comes liberally topped with Chantilly cream, a whole load of boozy cherries and syrup. Honestly, a pint and one of these pots of joy would make for a very fine pitstop.
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