We had just come from seeing the 1200 year old priory and castle at the other end of the street and…read moreit was a bitterly cold, fog enveloped morning. Everything about this wonderful place is focused on quality and the smells were just glorious. There were four of us and a dog but the dog wasn't allowed to rest up inside for long. I ordered up a few different coffees and we sat outside in the cold - my flat white was superb. I chose to add champagne truffles on the side to go with our drinks and from memory it was £4 or £1 per truffle. When I ordered up two boxes of truffles to go at around £16/17 each I was warned that they would only last 10 days as there's no artificial additives so this was music to my ears - real, fresh made, exquisite food made with loving care. I reassured the friendly server that they wouldn't survive the next 10 days. They didn't survive three days. I opted to put identical chocolates into each box. I chose brandy, ginger, gin and a few others and they were all just superb. The alcohol was notable and made them truly delicious and the ginger was an exquisite balance of flavour and spice warmth. It had a little bit of crystallised ginger which really enhanced and maximised taste. I also got a few brownies including a raspberry one. Just so good. The staff were all charming and these are the places we must support and even more so now.

This branch of Thorntons is located towards the start of the intu Eldon Square Shopping centre, it…read moreis located fairly close to the likes of O2, Caffe Nero and The Works in the shopping mall. This store is really small, and despite being located in quite a new mall, this store is highly old-fashioned and not a great place to be. The cafe is located upstairs, with no lift access, the staircase its-self is a really old one, considering the mall was built in 1977, it felt like this store hadn't been refurbished of that kind ever since. The selection also was a little poor other than probably around one wall of products, which were traditionally stocked items at a Thorntons store. The staff didn't seem too helpful, I wasn't welcomed until they saw me taking photos around the store, which I have uploaded onto Yelp, which seemed a little self-serving, how they only offered to help me when they saw me taking pictures, perhaps because they thought I was a reviewer or undercover shopper of some sort. Overall, this store is a poor branch, it is highly old fashioned and a little poor too in terms of service and selection, hence sadly warranting a single one star rating.

This is an excellent café in Newcastle, with high quality products on offer, and for decent prices…read more We had divine hot chocolates, with real Thornton's chocolate flakes, marshmallows and cream. They really were delicious, and went down like a dream. Included in the price was a sample chocolate from one of the company's collections. I had a dark chocolate based on those from the city of Milan, and Mary had a Seville caramel. There were brownies and caramel shortcakes on offer for only £1, but I restrained myself from getting these, as I felt I would burst with an ounce more chocolate inside me. The staff member that served us was friendly and helpful, and filled up Mary's water bottle, no problem at all. Definitely recommended.

This branch of Hotel Chocolate is quite a good branch of the high-end chocolate chain located…read moreinside Gateshead's Metrocentre. With it being a busy shop in the busy Metrocentre, I'm surprised I'm only the second person to review this store this decade and the first in close to 7 whole years, it seems not much has changed since then most of the comments in the previous reviews, from Qype still apply. The staff here seemed good, I was greeted and offered to try a sample of chocolate as I looked around the store, the store was quite spacious and has decent products including a mix of iced tea and chocolate, this was quite expensive however at around £2.50, however I found most things in this store a little expensive and high-end, as this is more of a high-end chocolate retailer. The chocolate stocked was quite innovative with some cool ideas, which sounded like a cross between disgusting and great such as with the iced tea infused with chocolate, however I was put off purchasing this because of the disgusting element to it, and the high price-tag. This place deserves a solid three star rating as service is good, and product range is good however due to slightly unusual produce making me feel Heston Blumenthal has helped them design the menu, and some slight issues with pricing with low quantity for high prices, makes me feel the highest I can go in terms of rating this store is a solid three star rating.

wow the chocolate here is fabulous, you get a lovely smell of it as you walk past and you can see…read morethrough the window all the amazing chocolate in different forms. Really expensive for what u get though but the staff are dead friendly. I love the packaging of this chocolate and it really does make a good gift. Sometimes there are tasters standing in the doorway. worth a trip just to sample this great chocolate! This company have a really good reputation, if you order online you pay a heffy delivery fee but u can sometimes find good discount codes online.

Standard Thorntons fare…read more Not the world's best chocolate, but far, far from the worst.

Great little local fish mongers on Amble high Street. All sorts of fresh fish available including…read moreboxed sea food salad. Especially nice are the Mackerel & cheese scones! You may think yuck but they are to die for. Recommend.