Short answer: Visitors name two hot chocolates in Looe: a vegan one at Paws for Coffee on Buller Street, and a luxury one at The Courtyard on Fore Street. The kiosks on Marine Drive sell hot drinks with sea views, and Hannafore Kiosk serves refreshments all year. Winter parking at Millpool is free until 9am.
Looe is a seaside town where most cafes sell coffee first and hot chocolate as an afterthought, so a good hot chocolate is a matter of knowing where to look. A few places have visitors writing about theirs, several more are worth asking about, and the best setting for a cup is a bench with the wind coming off the river mouth. This guide separates what visitors have said from what you will need to ask, so you do not walk twenty minutes for a cup that is not on the menu.
This tiny coffee shop is the clearest local answer. One recent reviewer said her husband ordered a vegan hot chocolate and that it was "the best we've ever had", and she tried it too. The same review praises the bubble tea, the vegan treats and the range of dog biscuits. Google gives it 5.0 from only 27 reviews, so it is a small sample, but it is a very specific compliment about the exact drink. Opening days and hours can change through the year, so check before you make a special trip.
A cafe set back from the street with a sunny courtyard (4.6 from 482 Google reviews). It serves vegetarian and vegan food, and HappyCow lists it as a vegetarian restaurant with many vegan options. One reviewer paired big slices of coffee and walnut and courgette and pistachio cake with a "luxury hot chocolate" for a lunchtime treat. Reviewers say the scones come with a choice of vegan creme fraiche or dairy clotted cream, and a windy day pushed one reviewer indoors, so there is room to sit inside. It is open in the middle of the day rather than early or late, so plan it as a lunchtime stop.
Out on Marine Drive, the Beach Kiosk (4.5 from 103 Google reviews) sells coffee, tea and cold drinks, and the Hannafore Kiosk (4.7 from 712) is the more famous of the two. Visit Looe says Hannafore Kiosk serves refreshments all year, which matters in winter when other seafront outlets shut. No reviewer names the hot chocolate at either, so ask before you commit. What you get is a hot drink on a bench with Looe Island in front of you, which is the point. Hannafore has free roadside parking behind the beach, according to Visit Looe, and toilets near the Coastguard Station.
On the East Looe side, The Cornish Bakery on Fore Street has barista-style coffee and paper lids on its takeaway cups, a detail one reviewer liked. Lammana on Buller Quay is a specialty coffee shop that also does teas. Neither has hot chocolate named in the reviews, so ask.
Truly Scrumptious of Looe on Higher Market Street has a small downstairs shop and a coffee lounge upstairs, according to a reviewer (4.4 from 106 Google reviews). Reviewers describe it as spotlessly clean, with cakes, sandwiches and granary toast, and a vegan raspberry ripple ice cream. Hot chocolate is not specifically praised, but this is a good place to ask. The stairs would be hard with a pushchair.
The Lookout on the Quay (4.6 from 382 Google reviews) has harbour views, and reviewers like its scones, hevva cake and bacon butty. Dotty's on Fore Street fills fast; a reviewer who saw it busy made a reservation for a cream tea and returned fifteen minutes later.
If you were hoping for a pub fire, the Campaign for Real Ale lists an open fire in winter at the Fishermans Arms on Higher Market Street, though one reviewer of the Salutation said the log fire there was not working when they visited. For wet days generally, see what to do in Looe when it rains.
Sarah's Cake Shop (4.9 from 99 Google reviews) at River View on the Quay sells cakes and desserts, and reviewers like the generous portions and the open kitchen. It is a bakery, so check whether it has seating before you plan to sit down. Choklet is a different idea: Perfect Stays describes it as a handcrafted chocolate shop in central Looe that also serves coffee and cocktails, and Google reviewers call it an Ibiza-themed bar that pairs chocolate with cocktails. It is rated 5.0 from 35 Google reviews. It is not known as a hot chocolate stop, but it is the place for chocolate in the evening. See date night in Looe.
Yes, because the town is quiet and the harbour is at its most atmospheric. The Banjo Pier is at the river mouth, and Cornwall Council says wave over-wash has forced safety closures, so do not take children or dogs out in a gale. From the quay, the easy winter walk is round to Hannafore, though it includes steps and a steep hill on the way from the waterside path, so see the flat access guide if you are pushing a buggy. Looe also holds a lantern parade and Christmas lights, with dates in our Looe lantern parade guide, and a hot drink is the obvious companion.
Cornwall Council's Millpool car park in West Looe has 964 spaces and is open 24 hours. From 1 November to 31 March it is free between 4pm and 9am, and costs £1.30 for up to an hour, £2.50 for up to two hours and £5.50 for up to four hours between 9am and 4pm. The pay station takes cards and phones. Cafe hours drop in winter, so check the day. Our winter opening guide covers more, and the Looe guide lists the rest. If you cross to the next village, try hot chocolate in Polperro. The Looe Valley train is another way in, though there are no Sunday trains after 8 November on the current GWR timetable.
Visitors name two: Paws for Coffee on Buller Street, where one reviewer called the vegan hot chocolate the best they had ever had, and The Courtyard on Fore Street, where another enjoyed a luxury hot chocolate. Both are small samples, so ask what is on the menu.
Paws for Coffee has a vegan hot chocolate and vegan treats according to a reviewer, and The Courtyard serves vegetarian and vegan food.
The Cornish Bakery on Fore Street sells takeaway drinks, and Visit Looe says Hannafore Kiosk serves refreshments all year. No reviewer we read names hot chocolate at either, so ask first.
Many are, but hours shrink and some places close for a break, so check before you go. Hannafore Kiosk serves refreshments all year, according to Visit Looe.
Cornwall Council's Millpool car park in West Looe is free between 4pm and 9am from 1 November to 31 March. During the day it costs from £1.30 for an hour.
Times, prices and dates are the businesses' and organisers' to change, so check before you travel. Spotted something we've got wrong? Tell us and we'll fix it.
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