Review: Konditor & Cook (Chocolate Brownies Alert!)

I first heard about Konditor & Cook when I spotted it on Time Out’s list of best hot chocolates in London. Being an avid food adventurer and chocoholic, I set off to try this fabled drink.

Now, I’ve tried the hot chocolate at both the Curzon Soho (Shaftesbury Avenue) branch and the Time Out-recommended St Mary’s Axe branch, but the hot chocolate didn’t seem particularly special. Maybe there is some other version that I haven’t been lucky enough to sample. What I tried was pleasing but distinctly average if you’re a hot chocolate fanatic.

The real reason why everyone should visit Konditor & Cook is for their brownie bar. You can choose from many different flavours, including the classic Chocolate Chip Brownies, Boston Brownies (cranberries), Fudgepacker Brownies (the frankly dangerous combination of vanilla fudge and salted caramel) and Curly Wurly Brownies (cream cheese and vanilla pods).

What’s more – you can take away THREE of these brownies for a reasonable £5! That’s 3 days of happiness. (HAHA who am I kidding – three hours more like!)

As for my favourites, this is a tricky one as I think the flavours vary between branches. I thought it was the Fudgepacker as the salted caramel gooeyness was nearly overwhelming when I bought one (or two or three) from the St Mary’s Axe branch. The cream cheese-vanilla was too mild.

However, in a recent visit to the Shaftesbury Avenue branch the Fudgepacker was mildly sticky whereas the creamy gooeyness of the Curly Wurly left me gasping with brownie pleasure.

My advice is…. try ’em all!

I should mention that Konditor & Cook have a lunch menu of salads, soup and one hot meat and veggie dish of the day. They also have a lot of other rather amazing looking cakes. I will investigate these one day…once I get past my brownie affair.

NB: In case you’re an idiot like me, 30 St Mary’s Axe is actually the Gherkin. So don’t stare at it in puzzlement and march up and down the street. Just walk round the Gherkin and you’ll find Konditor & Cook. And a giant ape might kidnap you. However, if that does happen, try and make sure you’ve got a brownie on you first. That way you can die happy.

Konditor & Cook – Brownies, brownies, brownies, brownies…

Website: http://www.konditorandcook.com/
Where: Waterloo, Borough Market, Curzon Soho, Chancery Lane, Cake School (Stamfrod Street), The Gherkin
When: Store dependent – see here.

Author: Phoebe Amoroso

Phoebe Amoroso is a Tokyo-based reporter, multimedia journalist and storyteller. Hailing from the UK, she moved to Japan in 2014 and has since been shouting about the country to all who will listen. She divides her time between covering breaking news and producing feature stories for TV; writing about everything from business and tech to food and travel; and guiding hungry visitors who want to sample the best of Japanese cuisine. When not working and/or eating, she can often be found running up a mountain or cycling by the sea. View all posts by Phoebe Amoroso