Chocolate Theatre Cafe in South Oxfordshire

Health issues Babies sitting on tables Kids putting their mouths in the space lids thinking it’s a form of drink Noise levels for too high No tranquility

The best Banana Split ever - with a pot of hot chocolate to pour over it!! Absolutely delicious and served with a smile! Fabulous place for breakfast/lunch/hot chocolate or tasty ice cream treats!!

Nice cakes and breakfast rolls. Lovely coffees. Even though it was extremely busy the service was still good and the setting is really pleasant.

We fancied this place after seeing it on a tv show in our hotel in London. So much other way home we decided to make a slight detour to give it a whirl. Difficult to park but had a nice walk along the river to the cafe. Ordered hot chocolate for my wife and Italian hot chocolate for me and we both had the breakfast burger. The hot chocolate was delicious and Italian was absolutely scrumptious. The food arrived hot and was very tasty. Service was very good. How the waiter managed not to spill a drop of chocolate as it was so full is beyond me. Thank you for a very enjoyable experience.

Used here a few times now, breakfast is always good, team are always friendly and let you bring your dog in (who may get offered sausage). Great place to start or finish a walk along the Thames. Highly recommended

Absolutely fantastic breakfast this morning, warm friendly welcome from the staff. Knowing we are Elvis fans and while it was quiet we were given our own portable speaker playing Elvis while we ate. Would definitely visit here again.

Always go here when we visit Henley. Whatever we have we love…. Meals/cake or the fabulous cream tea. Well worth a visit, usually busy but the staff work hard and are always pleasant and accommodating.

I’d wanted to visit here for a while but was a little disappointed. There seemed to be lots of staff but none were that attentive- except an older man who I assume was the owner. The food was ok but nothing special, my hot chocolate was delicious but the way it was served was in a weird cup and it really did not look as good as it tasted. I generally feel they could have done so much more.

Waited for food for a long time only for 2 pieces of plain toast and a tiny bit of avocado to arrive (the £11 avocado on toast), very disappointing

Great location sitting next to the river, good coffee and excellent fruit tarts (plum & almond, apricot and almond) and quick and efficient service

We visited with friends, for a cream tea. The lovely warm scones were so big I had to take one away for later! There were generous portions of clotted cream and strawberry jam for all. It was extraordinarily good value, especially as we had a two for one voucher. Definitely recommended, even at full price.

Amazing! A beautiful spot to sit and relax with a wonderful coffee or dessert! The tables can be inside or outside right by the river Thames - lovely setting. I've never had hot chocolate like this before in my entire life - made with real chocolate. If we ever return to this area we'll be sure to be back!

Coffee 7/10 Tea 3/10, which was a shame. At least it was cool on a hot day. Would I go again? Probably not.

Visited many times. The visit this week was disappointing. The cappuccinos were tasteless, although a good temperature. The cake was good, as was the apricot and almond tart. Vastly overpriced for average food and beverage offerings and very basic furnishings. Not much ambience. Somehow this place has lost it's sparkle.,

Great welcome from all. Service was great, as was the food. Truly a dog friendly cafe. The owner was very helpful and just wanted us to enjoy breakfast.

I’ve been here many times recently and every time has been great, so as there seem to be a few very negative reviews of late I felt I should give my experience to balance them out. I have never found the cafe dirty, it has always been spotless. I have only ever had tea and cake, but every time, without exception, it has been lovely and today was the best ever. I had the carrot cake and it was not only a very generous size, but it was moist and tasty too. My tea was excellent and my mother’s orange juice was nice too, and all at a reasonable price given that it’s Henley riverside. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend and I will be going back again very soon!

Four of us went for Sunday breakfast and were very impressed. We had the vegetarian and the English breakfast; very tasty and perfectly cooked with great service. Took cake for later and can really recommend the Black Forest. 5 stars all round and a great location on the river bank😊

very surprised to see 4 dogs in the cafe, especially as there is an open door to the kitchen and the cake prep area, which over looks the cafe area with a customer viewing window, also with open door. But, at least 3 of the...

Although a two felt harsh the standard of food warranted it. Service was very nice and friendly. Ordered a full English and whilst the meat (sausage and bacon) was nice enough, the scrambled eggs were atrocious cold, dry and crumbly, and the mushrooms were ice...

En route and found this place. Wonderful and efficient welcome from all the staff. Reasonable prices and great food for a quick lunch. The view of the river was beautiful. We shall return Travelling from Derbyshire

Attempted to unsuccessfully eat here at around 2pm on Feb 10th for a spot of light lunch. Upon arrival, the place was about 1/2 full, with every empty table stacked high with dirty plates, cups, cutlery etc. Many of the empty tables either had no...

Turned up thinking a great location but wanted £8 for a bacon roll, this must be a mistake or it must be a very special bacon roll?

We visited this morning today for the first time and what a lovely find. We had a toddler and labrador with us, both were catered for really well. Staff were very friendly and service excellent. Location is perfect opposite the river and near the shops...

Disappointing. Nice venue. Expensive for what you get. Kitchen shut at 1.30. Unable to simplify fancy bagels and sandwiches.

Seven of us wanted drinks & cakes after a lovely walk on Christmas eve morning. It was very busy but they made room for us without any fuss. Food looked good so will definitely go back. Nice assortment of cakes & drinks.

Took my family to breakfast last weekend, the food all came out cold. My daughter ate half of hers and was very sick and poorly a couple of hours later. Such a shame as we have been there a few times.

Had to clean menus before we could touch them they were so sticky , dread to think what the toilets are like if the menus are that dirty .we stood at counter waiting to be noticed while three members of staff looked at their phones...

Had scones which were fabulous- and big ! Brother had fish finger wrap which was very well presented . Superb coffee no room for hot chocolate but have had before and was the best ever had ,

Enjoyed coffee and cake with fabulous view of the boats on the river. Service was polite and slick - weather was fantastic so we sat right by the riverside. Lovely!

There is also seating inside but as it was a nice day we choose outside…..the slice was fab and from what we nderstand everything is made on the premises

Used to visit regularly but never again. Now seemingly run by youngsters. Tables dirty. Floor unswept. Customer service non existent.

Bold claim to offer "the best hot chocolate in Henley"... it totally is!!! Silky and dense served in a chunky glass mug - lovely. Seating across the road by the river and nice young server brought it over to us. Thank you!

Food was awful. mouldy bread, no fillings. rude staff apart from the poor young girl. BIg NO NO. Will not be returning or recommending

Why a grown man needs to publicly bully his young female staff is a mystery. Really sorry for the friendly young ladies who work here. Not recommended.

We visited on a very warm day. The soft drinks seemed to be in a cool cabinet, but the drinks were far from chilled. The milkshake was warm! The cake was a very thin slice, expensive. Panini had very little filling and was dumped on...

Stopped for lunch here but was very disappointed. My panini was pale and limp and the mousetrap cheese had no flavour. My partner's egg roll had very little filling and was also tasteless. It wasn't cheap and they are obviously saving money on the ingredients....

Possibly the best afternoon tea I have ever had! Gone are the tiny finger sandwiches in flavours you don't like- you get to choose your substantial sandwich, your slice of cake- the carrot was delicious - and there's a scone to top it off! All...

Incredible views right on the river, easy to get to in the town, exceptional hospitality not to mention the great hot chocolate and food! I’ll be coming back for the food and the company, for sure, and highly recommend that others do too!

Popped in for a scone and tea. Super scone really nice. Very reasonable priced for the location. A really good selection of cakes also. Would definitely record . The staff were really friendly also.

Ordered a chicken, bacon, avocado roll, & an americano with milk coffee, to sit outside. The food and coffee were brought out to me very promptly; really impressive. The roll was accompanied with salad & a few crisps - all very tasty. Coffee was superb....

We visited Henley on Friday looking for somewhere to have brunch. We always loved the windsor cafe so thought this would be a great family stop. Sadly disappointed. Whilst they were accommodating with a request from my daughter to have omelette, that is where this...

We waited over half an hour for a cooked breakfast after complaining it eventually arrived cold, the manager was not interested and didn't appologize

Visited here as part of a birthday weekend away, we ordered the Henley Royal Cream Tea and just WOW! This is a man afternoon tea for one! You get to pick you own sandwich filling choice (perfect if you don’t really like the boring cucumber...

Having a day in Henley we thought we’d visit this cafe attracted by the name. We entered and found unhelpful staff and an absolutely filthy cafe, the floor looked liked it hadn’t been swept or mopped in months, tables and chairs had seen better days,...

We just went in for coffee, but were very tempted by their cream tea. Two huge fruit scones with amble jam and cream. It was absolutely delicious and the service was excellent, very welcoming on a rainy cold day. Not much more to say than...

Used to come here a lot after a walk but so unwelcoming now. Not the same menu nor table service now. Walked in and walked out.

Having visited today will not return, always eaten here when visiting Henley. Obviously new owners since last time, no welcome as to where to sit or order, scruffy staff and toilets were awful. Food was okay but condiments dirty. Need attention to detail. Shame as...

Losing it - poorest service I’ve had here in years - the wait is very long for take away coffee etc …..and when finally served it feels like they dont care about quality any more and their cappuccino is served as a latte - very...

Did not know where to queue as people getting takeaway drinks and queuing in different places. Attitude of one member of staff was poor as spoke to another member of staff rudely. Food Luke warm and got food before our drinks. Food was average. Definitely...

This cafe has a lot of very nice greetings cards, artwork etc on display. We stopped for a quick lunch. I had chips with chilli and cheese, which I enjoyed. Staff were pleasant. I noticed some poor reviews and wonder if it has changed ownership,...

Lunch - very disappointing experience. Jacket potatoes only just warm & coffee stone cold. We will not be going back.

Unfortunately a very poor experience all round. Service was non existent and we were given takeaway cups despite ‘eating in’ - what a waste. Also noted other diners eating in were given takeaway plates. Please stop this urgently, totally unnecessary pollution of the environment. Unfortunately...

Stopped off for coffee and cake mid walk along the river. Disappointed to be given disposable cups and boxes. Coffee was bitter. Lemon cake was lovely and moist but the raspberry white chocolate cookie was horrible and I had to throw it away. All I...

We arranged an afternoon tea from the Chocolate Cafe for our boat trip through Henley River Boats. The afternoon tea arrived ready for us on the boat and it was delicious! Lovely sandwiches a delicious scone each and loads of amazing cakes. We also ordered...

Very disappointing breakfast experience after reading so many good reviews. I was served the worst avo on toast, with feta, masses of sun dried tomatoes and over microwaved scrambled egg…very strange and unpleasant combination. The guy on the next table was served a bacon roll...

Had a quick lunch with walking friends. Very busy as usual. Nice atmosphere. Good food. Cone here often.

Great cakes but hot food is appalling. Bacon all chewy like it’s been microwaved. Everything just tastes like old cooking oil and stinks. Shame it’s about profit, not quality.

Overall not worth the bother. Staff miserable, Disgusted by quality and service. Ordered Caesar salad- what a joke…… Table not cleaned, food under table.

Good location, with inside seating area plus seats on the riverfront. Good coffee/cakes. (None of the young staff were wearing face masks, which is clearly fine within the law, but maybe a consideration if you are older or have illnesses).

I’m here again for coffee and a panini. Cant fault it. Great views, good value, tasty food and good service. I’m happy. Now all I need to do is cycle another 30 miles Jone. PS its now called The Chocolate Cafe.

Our First experiance of the Lovely Vivienne and her Team at Chocolate Cafe was via Henley River Boats. Chocolate Cafe arranged the most AMAZING Takeaway tea's for us amongst other pleasentries... Thoroghly recomened... We shall return. x

We had breakfast here before our river boat ride. The wait was quite long before we could order, but the scrambled eggs on toast with mushrooms and tomatoes were generous and worth the wait.

Wonderful place to stop by the river. The salmon salad was wonderful. I was expecting ridiculous prices from the location but was very pleasantly surprised.

Horrific hygiene!! A shame because the actual drink was nice but appalling how there was a fly in my takeaway cup and when i went to complain the woman said she wasn’t surprised there is flys everywhere in here!

Great cakes (very large) and great coffee. Friendly service and right beside the Thames. Great place for takeaway and soon to sit in

We love this place and make a bee line for it whenever we visit Henley. I live their very regular classic chocolatey hot chocolate. There are so many flavours to choose from. When we popped in last month the cafe wasnt open due to lockdown so you could only get drinks and their delicious cakes to take away. But they had opened their cafe space to local artists and crafts people to sell their wares. A lovely touch of a business helping small businesses in the town.

Came here for lunch. It was very quiet and social distancing etc was good. We were made welcome and the staff were friendly. I had been here before a year ago but just for coffee. This time I had lunch and it was delicious. I had the roasted red pepper and goat’s cheese soup which was absolutely divine - I can’t say how good it was. It was served with a lightly toasted roll which was great. Afterwards I had the dark and white chocolate parfait which was a bit like a cheesecake. This was also delicious and big accompanied by an awesome hot chocolate with amaretto - very naughty but really nice! I knew this would be a bit of a calorific blowout but saved myself up for it. I also liked the decor and layout. The lime green crockery was really great too. Thanks very much.

We got a takeaway lunch from the Chocolate Cafe and it was lovely. Panini’s are very tasty and come with a nice salad - very generous portion. Same can be said for the chips! Their coffee menu is really unique too and contains lots of unique chocolate based drinks. The food is fairly expensive but it is nice to support an independent cafe and the really friendly staff make it worth the money. They also sell unique art and other nice potential gifts as well. Would definitely pop in if nearby!

We visited during 2nd lockdown so it was mandatory take away.I had Chicken, bacon and avacado bap (includes a packet of Walkers crisps),followed by a Tiffin cake, accompanied by piping hot Americano with hot milk which was all very good and tasty.Partner had a baked potato, cheese and beans & salad (which she was definitely not impressed with to the point of only eating a mouthful- it was luke warm at best!.... followed by cake and decaf Americano which was good.Service was just about acceptable whilst cost of a little under £30 seemed excessive for what amounted to simple fayre.Went back later for 2 scoop Italian ice cream cornet which was delish..... Chocolate mint! That was good value at approximately £3. Would go back but would skip baked potato!

Went here out of lack of choice on the waterfront.The place is as welcoming as any low greasy spoon and the prices are definitely not justified. There was plenty of staff but service was slow for the simplest of requests like please can a have a fork. It all just felt very amateurish.The tables were wiped regularly but the debris pushed onto the floor with bits of food building up on the floor snd under the tables.The toilet was appallingly filthy and clearly had not been attended for a long time. As I came out of the loo someone elsje was complaining about them. In these infectious times if that is the best they can do they have no right being open. Where is the pride or respect for your customers

Visited for lunch. The actual place is not very welcoming, more of a canteen feel than a nice coffee shop. Bucket chairs we sat in were filthy on the arms. Toilet was clean but really shabby. I ordered an omelette with added cheese, tomato and spinach. Weirdly enough the spinach and tomato were raw and just folded into a cooked cheese omelette, not nice. My daughter had cheesy chips but the cheese was not melted on what were rather dry oven chips. Not a good experience will not make a second visit. Shame.

The Cake here was very nice indeed as was the tea, only problem was the long wait from the order to receive it. Covid has slowed things down a bit of course but the place would benefit from a bit more organization.

Had I have just turned up without having looked at the website I think I would have enjoyed it more. The food and menus just didnt live up to those displayed on the website. Maybe this was due to covid and having a lesser menu on, but that wasnt apparent from the website. The waitresses were friendly but didnt seem to really know about how to clear tables or take notice of what each table needed. Our waitress tried to serve the cakes even though the table was clearly full of the main course plates. In summary just felt a bit disappointed to what was advertised on website and service could have been better.

I went here due to the proximity to the river and fancying a cake and hot drink. After ordering a cake it was dry and hard and the chocolate seemed old as it had started to go white. I asked to change the cake for something else or to have a refund and the unhelpful waitress said ‘no we don’t do that’! The food was bad and the atmosphere reminded me of a canteen! Would not recommend!

Looking for a cafe by the riverside in Henley we found the Chocolate Cafe. From the outside it seemed to fit the bill perfectly, however inside was a totally different matter. We had to wait for absolutely ages at the counter in spite of the fact that it was late afternoon & not especially busy. There were 5 young female staff members behind the counter yet only two seemed to be doing anything - the barista & the redhead on the till, who seemed to be struggling with the till or card machine but not getting any support. A blonde was wearing a mask beneath her chin & was slumping over the cake counter, playing with her hair, which was not hygenic. Another was eating behind the counter - surely food breaks should be taken away from the counter? Another was wearing her mask beneath her nose, defeating the purpose entirely. We only ordered two takeaway coffees but the instruction was not given correctly to the barista so she made in cups for consumption inside. While we were waiting for this to be corrected we became aware how grubby & uncared for the tables & floor were. There was also a water jug on one of the customer collection points that was absolutely filthy. At one point the chef appeared behind the counter, also wearing the mask beneath his nose, so we were relieved that we hadn't chosen to eat there. He had left the kitchen door open which did not look particularly clean, with food on the floor.We would definitely not recommend this establishment. The best part of our visit was passing through the exit door.

Reviews said this was the place to enjoy the best hot chocolate. Wow. It was so rich and smooth and delicious. Friendly staff. Covid 19 safe. Clean and staff was very friendly.

Visited on a busy Saturday afternoon. The covid restrictions/systems put in place were really impressive. Nice, easy display of drinks and food and overall well organised place. Highlight was the massive variety of hot chocolates. Staff were really friendly and welcoming.Perfect location by the river so will definitely be back to grab a hot chocolate and watch the boats go by.

Love visiting this cafe! The cakes are great and they do amazing hot chocolate too! Little bit pricey but definitely worth it. I recommend the carrot cake!

Stating off on a positive note the hot chocolate and tray bakes were delicious. The problem is that the only option is to take away, that is fine, but to still charge at the sit in price in unfair. A walk around Henley after our visit highlighted that the majority of cafes were providing the option to sit in so why is the Henley Chocolate Café only providing take away service? Seeing as the only option was for take away the process was slow and inadequate with confusion when the orders were delivered. A simple system must be to provide a numbered receipt and when your order is ready to call the number out and avoid the unnecessary confusion. Having read a few recent TripAdvisor reports I can only agree that it appears that making money is the over-riding aim at the moment, which I can fully understand, but it is certainly not value for money which will, in turn, reduce the number of return visitors.

Firstly there are no prices visible. Also there is not a list of drinks available, a sort of menu just says hot drinks, tea and coffee. When asking the staff they then told us the prices and what was available so quickly, it was hard to catch any of it. In general the staff were unfriendly and seemed to be in such a hurry despite it not being busy. I found it to be pretty tatty inside, with a lack of comfortable chairs. It looked like an uncomfortable place to stop in. Although at the moment you can only take away anyway. The shortbread looked like a large portion and the chips look nice and reasonable priced.

I had 2 bespoke cakes made for £70 each.I was disappointed that the design was not exactly what I had asked for - but whilst that could be subjective, the execution was appalling. See pics.There were brown flowers placed on top - even at 930am on the morning of collection.The fondant icing was lumpy and looked to be sweating. The icing had also cracked in places. We placed the cakes in the fridge immediately, but this did not improve the appearance.Just terrible. Not worth £140. Rip off.

My husband and I and our spaniel went out for the day to Henley-on-Thames last Friday, spotted this cafe that had a dog bowl just inside the cafe. Great we thought they take dogs. Went in and so long as we sat in the dedicated area no problem. Us humans had a lovely hot chocolate each and lovely sandwiches. Did not think prices were too high for what we chose. If you won't to go a bit up market for your salmon sandwich then you will pay more. There are several different sandwich menus. Will go again.

Superb hot chocolate drink. One of the best I have ever had. The cakes looked really good so will be back to work my way through them!

They sell delicious hot chocolate, what more is there to say? I need at least 100 characters so had better say more, actually. Plenty of spare chairs around so I could elevate my broken leg, and right next to the river if you like that sort of thing. My only complaint would be that we were too full up from our wetherspoons breakfast to sample the delicious looking cake. If my next visit were at a time when I was feeling peckish, that would be nice

Yet another appalling visit. If only the owneress bothered to act on the reviews!It really wouldn’t take much to make a massive improvement. Shame. Such a great location with so much potential. Just wasted on highly inflated prices, greed and not quality. Put some of that money back into this restaurant rather than just trying to maximise profit.. will work out better in the long run!

best place in Henley for a cooked breakfast. Tea and cake a speciality too. near the river so easy to find.

We visited place a Saturday afternoon to drink coffee. Staff was kind and found a table for us straight away, but we waited over 15 minutes for the waiter to take our order. After that took them another 15 minutes to prepare our order, which was quite simple. We ordered one americano and a cappuccino. Also the cleaning in toilet was poor. Generally I left with a bitter taste in my mouth with my experience in this place.

My partner and I like to come here for breakfast occasionally. The Chocolate Cafe is in a lovely location with view to the river. There is plenty of choice and also caters to food sensitivities, such as gluten (actually the gluten free bread is good!)Seems like staff sticks around, which must mean it’s a good place to work.Also nice to see that the owner on occasion puts on an apron and helps serve the customers. Nothing bad to say. Always a nice visit.

Hadn't been in here for a while but popped in for a coffee and cake after a walk along the river.I had a flat white coffee which was good and a slice of the Victoria Sponge cake, this was excellent, just the right amount of cream and jam with pieces of fresh strawberry and the cake has an excellent texture with a crusty feel on the outside like home made baked sponge.Recommend a visit here.

The best hot chocolate. A really friendly cafe. We also had the lemon drizzle cake which was a generous portion and was tasty.

Six couples were accommodated on a long table which we requested. We all had cooked breakfasts which were excellent and plentiful. The hot chocolate and the service were also excellent.

Awsome if you like chocolate other food looked good also. Staff good a bit like a cafe which I suppose it is Fair price

The hot chocolate here is lovely and the food is very good - I would definitely recommend! But I have to say that everything else needs a lot of improvement. They get big groups of mums & children and it's very noisy. I know they can't help that but they could at least clean up after them. The floor is filthy and tables are left for a long time with dirty plates and cups on them. Overall it just doesn't seem like a clean place so if it's like that in front of the customers I worry about what it looks like in the kitchen!

we ordered a sausage sandwich and a slice of cake (with the intention of sharing both) and tea for two.

Popped in today for a quick dink and had hot chocolate with cream and shavings, best very have had in ages, proper melted choc and not powder.

Great quality sausages and bacon which is rare these days! The garlic mushrooms with my full English were excellent and there is a lovely view of the river.

Great location and fab food. Sandwiches for business lunches are excellent. Ice cream, cakes and biscuits and fab. Can get a bit busy in the summer at lunch so plan accordingly.

We visited here on 18 September 2019.

Good service, but the food and drinks were fairly average - over spiced hot chocolate, sandwiches with rubber ham, oversweet cakes...

Lovely cakes and a knockout peanut putter hot chocolate on a Sunny day by the river - not the cheapest but no more than you’d expect in Henley!