Hot chocolate, you wonderful! – A little dip into the country’s soul-warming hot chocolate hot spots

You can always make hot chocolate at home – and experiment with flavours and textures – but there are times in life when it feels better to have a frothy hot drink on your table in a cosy café or patisserie. There is probably no shame in ordering a cake to go with your chocolate either, even if it’s a chocolate wonder served with whipped cream... We could list many favourites; here is a small selection of them:

The area around Lake Balaton is open not only in summer, but also in autumn and winter. Although the holiday mood of flip-flops may be replaced by walking in the forest litter and being cold in a warm cap, the undeniable advantage of the cold is that a mug of hot chocolate is a nice treat. Strolling along the north coast, you might also want to visit Badacsonytomaj, where the La Téne Dessert Workshop and Café offers hot chocolate and a range of croissants and specialty pastries, though like a fairytale siren song: we think it is the best not to try to resist them, just enjoy the French-style interior and dive into the creamy hot chocolate and other sweet treats.

When in Sopron, you should head for the Harrer Chocolate Workshop and Confectionery.Light streaming in through the giant panoramic windows adds to the cosy feel of the vast, modern interior. And then there are the heavenly delicacies, with hot chocolate taking a special place. The various hot chocolate flavours are transformed into a silky, attractive sip in your glass. As a curiosity, in addition to the traditional dark, milk and white chocolate versions, you can also taste versions like white chocolate with beetroot, furthermore, white chocolate with chilli and orange, and white chocolate with mango and passion fruit. All of which you can take home with you, because there is nothing better than curling up on the sofa on a chilly evening – which can happen in any season of the year – and laughing at the cold out of the warmth inside.

The Black Sheep cafés have exploded onto the scene with their new-wave coffee, but most are also worth a visit for their breakfast dishes and Neapolitan pizza. And, of course, because of their unquenchable passion for chocolate, which they use to make their warming range of high-quality chocolates. In addition to the traditional dark chocolate version, you can also dive into white chocolate steamed delicacies, and if you want to add a little extra sense of life, order extra marshmallows. Home-brewed cocoa can also provide an unearthly experience to visitors.

Although this article is dedicated to the former, the Blue Elephant Café in Szeged is not to be missed without mentioning the dizzyingly varied coffee offer either. Luckily, Blue Elephant specialty hot chocolates are blessed with a good soul, so they won’t be offended if you surprise yourself with a good black one before or after you have indulged in their velvety texture. With an array of new wave Turkish, naked espresso, aeropress, brewed, French press and filter coffees on the drinks menu, it won’t be easy to choose... but then again, it might not be, especially if you have the opportunity to return to the quaintly cosy café named after the azure trunked one at the Lion’s Fountain. We know that tastes differ when it comes to hot chocolate, but we believe that the secret to finding the best hot chocolate is persistent tasting...