Notes on chocolate: ‘I love a newsagent bar that’s been made a bit special’

A few weeks ago I was in London and noticed, as I walked along Charing Cross Road, an entire shop called Barnaby selling just these sorts of bars. I wanted to go in and peruse, but was in a hurry. Later, I walked along Upper St Martin’s Lane - really not that far from Charing Cross Road - and saw another branch of the same shop. Those are the only two branches, although two more are planned for the summer - both in London: St Paul’s and Mayfair.

These aren’t to the same standard as the three brands mentioned above (which are made in much smaller scale), but if you choose carefully, the little bars from Barnaby do make a fine treat. Some of the bases were a bit hit and miss for me, not quite biscuit, not quite cake. New flavours are introduced in limited edition, weekly. And in the summer they do ice-cream bars, which I bet are delicious.

Perhaps not surprisingly some of the core, classic flavours were the best: Noisey (hazelnut) and Tip-Tap (peanut) were a favourite. I do actually love the idea of the limited-edition flavours (current: orangatanga – chocolate orange and sponge). The bars are streets ahead of anything that is available in the newsagent, and the chocolate that covered them was rather good. They only last five days and prices start at £9 for a box of three (store pick up only) or £3.50 for one.