Melt

Melt has been serving the royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea its gourmet chocolates since 2006. Founded by Louise Nason, Melt is a contemporary chocolate shop with both an ethical conscience and a demand for quality ingredients at its core. Just a few blocks from Portobello Road, Melt is home to its own master chocolatiers who sculpt the finest chocolates in their in-house kitchen while you watch – how’s that for fresh? Sourcing their ingredients from the industry’s best companies - Valrhona in France and Switzerland’s Felchlin - Melt then creates its own candy art. Sea-salt caramel bonbons, salted praline cups and passion fruit-infused dark chocolate are some of the delights to be sampled – and that’s without mentioning the stacks of fresh truffles. Melt takes just as much care with its presentation as it does with its recipes. Novelty chocolate bookcases line its shelves, the ingenious ‘hot chocolate on a stick’ decorates the tables and at times it can all get a little too much for the sweet of tooth as it bombards the senses all at once.