ChoccywoccydoodahNewburgh St. is a pleasant cobbled side street running parallel to Carnaby street and a handy cut-through from Oxford Circus to Soho. I was doing just this, when I noticed a handsome shop on the corner of Foubert’s Place which seemed to be glowing red from inside.
“That’s very curious!” she thought. “But everything’s curious to-day. I think I may as well go in at once.” And in she went.
(Mad Hatter’s Tea Party
Lewis Carroll)
Inside Choccywoccydoodah is an eye-popping extravaganza; a wonderland of chocolate and cake, the sex-shop glow being created by deep red walls.
Chocolate kittens, skulls, birds, puppies, flowers. Chocolate Buddhas, shoes, frogs, snails, ducks; Chocolate by the block and in chocolate in jars. Marshmallows drenched in chocolate and chocolate drops. And the cakes – three feet high, sparkly and dripping with chocolate and hearts and flowers and sentiment – ‘All you need is Love’; an enormous colourful confection by the doorway declared ‘curiouser and curiouser’ and indeed it was; there was even a chocolate teapot.
“Yes, that’s it,” said the Hatter with a sigh: “it’s always tea-time…
I’m not sure what o’clock it was, but was ready for a cuppa, so was happy to spot a sign with swirling red and gold letters and a large manicured hand pointing: ‘Cafe Upstairs’.
The cafe has a mezzanine floor with high windows and tables overlooking the street below. Curly bistro chairs, tasselled lampshades adorned with flowers and vibrant red walls make a warm, welcoming atmosphere. Cakes and biscuits are beautifully displayed under glass domes and all looked delicious. I settle into a red velvet and gilt sofa and enjoy a lovely a pot of English Breakfast.
All CWDD cakes are decorated using Belgian chocolate by their expert chocolatiers, including two dedicated chocolate flower makers.
It’s kitsch, it’s camp, it’s choccy and it’s dod-dah; and it’s fun and fabulous and a lovely, bonkers place for a cuppa.
Boy George’s Birthday Cake
You can see Choccywoccydodah on Youtube.
Here they make Boy George, who once famously declared he prefered a nice cup of tea to sex, a very colourful cake for his birthday celebrations.
Address: 30-32 Fouberts Place, Carnaby St W1F 7PS
Website: Choccywoccydoodah
Nearby: Camellia’s Tea House
Nearby Choccywoccydoodah, Fouberts Place
Heddon Street