Best hot chocolates in London

Best for kids and their parents: Ruby Violet's two choices of hot choc

Because parents might want a little kick, found in Ruby's Relaxingly Rummy hot chocolate: melted chocolate served with a hot tot of rum and accompanied with almond or hazelnut brittle or mini meringues. On the other hand, the kids might prefer to have hot chocolate AND a pudding. They'll be getting the moreish hot chocolate sauce (a combo of melted chocolate and cream) to pour over scoops of ice cream or sorbet. These not only taste delicious, they come served in glorious gold teacups.

Best melted chocolate hot chocolate: Harry's Chocolate Emporium

Balham and Tooting residents can't get enough of Harry's Chocolate Emporium, which sells a wide variety of bars and loose chocolates, from independent brands and those who love to be a bit experimental with flavours. Harry's just happens to have the most delectable hot chocolate in south London, topped off with marshmallow fluff. The white chocolate version is our personal fave, but you can also get 54% dark and 70% dark versions, too.

Photo: Eiliv-Sonas Aceron

Best for decadence: Cereal Killer Cafe's Stacked hot chocolate

This chocolate, peanut-butter, or salted caramel-dripping loaded hot chocolate (£6) is hot chocolate's version of a freak shake (it's even made from Cocoa Pebbles milk). And isn't she glorious? Lucky for you, there's more than one London location of Cereal Killer Cafe (Brick Lane and Camden Market), where you can sip to your heart's delight.

Best marshmallow: Chin Chin Labs marshmallow hot chocolate

Your kids may never get the chance to toast marshmallows over an open fire (alas, London life isn't an early-90s coming-of-age movie), but they won't need to: take them to Chin Chin Labs to experience all the glory of a perfectly fluffed, torched marshmallow atop tasty hot chocolate. A vegan version, with notes of raspberry and apricot, is also available.

Best for Insta-envy: Dominique Ansel's Blossoming hot chocolate

Of course the man who invented the cronut would manage to reinvent the hot chocolate. This mouth-watering Blossoming hot choc from Dominique Ansel may look too pretty to taste, but you'll be missing out if you don't try it. The gorgeous blossom design comes courtesy of a marshmallow flower, held together with a ring of white chocolate, which blooms as the flower melts.

Best on the high street: Hotel Chocolat hot chocolate

While you're buying the obligatory chocolate slab for your child because you survived a day with no childcare (what, just us?), be sure to check out Hotel Chocolat's hot chocolate offerings: creamy, dreamy and not offensively sweet. You can also sample it at Hotel Chocolat's restaurant, Rabot 1745 in Borough Market, where you'll find an extensive range of hot chocolate flavours, including white chocolate and nutmeg, salted caramel, rum chocolate with a shot of Saint Lucian rum, chili and even iced hot chocolate with whipped cream.

Best on-the-go: Cutter & Squidge hot chocolate spoon

Sometimes you need some gooey, gorgeous hot chocolate... just to make it through that walk. Or get the kids motivated to memorise their lines in their nativity assembly. Stock up on Cutter & Squidge's hot chocolate spoons (£3.50), which swirl into heated milk beautifully. Choose from dark chocolate and veggie-friendly marshmallow, white and milk chocolate and white chocolate and raspberry. Or, do what we're doing and get all of the above - these also make great, unexpected stocking stuffers.