Gourmet Chocolate Near Me in Soho: William Curley's Smiths Court Boutique

William Curley's Soho boutique sits at 33 Smiths Court, W1D 7DP, a short walk from Piccadilly Circus station, and the smallest box of his fresh couture chocolates costs £8 for four pieces. The shop opens 10.30am to 6pm Monday to Saturday and 11am to 6pm on Sunday. If you typed gourmet chocolate near me somewhere between Regent Street and Shaftesbury Avenue, this is the counter run by a chocolatier the Academy of Chocolate has named Best British Chocolatier four times.

The business began in 2004 with a small shop in Richmond, opened by William Curley and his wife Melissa. Before that, William trained in the kitchens of Pierre Koffmann, Raymond Blanc and The Savoy. The couple marked twenty years of the brand in December 2024 with a note to customers explaining that the Richmond shop is no longer there, and that the company now trades from Soho, a Harrods concession and a venture at the Como Metropolitan hotel.

The Soho shop was partly funded through Kickstarter, which the company thanks on its Soho page alongside the regulars who followed it from Richmond. The pair still describe themselves as completely independent, with a small team of chefs making everything in London. That matters when you compare it with the big Belgian and French names on Regent Street: here the person whose name is on the box designed the flavours and still runs the kitchen.

Couture Chocolate is also the title of William's first book, published in 2012 and named Cookery Book of the Year by the Guild of Food Writers. The boxes are a seasonal range of his signature fresh chocolates, with no additives, preservatives or artificial flavours, and the shop asks you to eat them within 14 days. That short shelf life is the clearest sign you are buying fresh ganaches rather than a shelf-stable gift box.

Box sizes run from 4 pieces at £8 and 6 pieces at £12 to 9 pieces at £17.50, then jump to 36 pieces at £60, 49 at £80 and 100 at £155. A themed Salted Caramel Couture Chocolate Box costs £12, and a Maple Salted Caramel version is the same price. For a first visit, the 9-piece box is the sensible size: enough variety to taste the herb and vinegar flavours without committing to a party box.

Nostalgia is the range that wins over people who claim not to like fancy chocolate. It recreates childhood classics with better ingredients, and the Jaffa Cake costs £6: a genoise sponge topped with orange ganache and orange marmalade, enrobed in dark chocolate. Millionaires Shortbread, Caramel Raisin, Coconut and Peanut Nougat bars each cost £6.90. The Jaffa Cake has a 21-day eat-by window, so it survives the trip home better than the couture pieces.

Bars are the easy souvenir. House Dark 65% and 70% bars, House Milk, Dark Chocolate and Chilli, and White Chocolate and Raspberry all cost £6.90, and the single-origin bars named Madagascar, Venezuela, Peru, Java, Trinidad, Grenada and Colombia cost £9 each. Gianduja Almonds, Caramelised Piedmont Hazelnuts and Cindertoffee in dark chocolate cost £14.90 a bag, while Orangettes and Confit Ginger cost £22.50. Skip the gift voucher unless you are buying for someone who lives in London.

The company partners with Noalya chocolate, and its hot chocolate comes as flakes rather than powder. The Aztec Hot Chocolate Tin is 250g of Noalya 70% dark chocolate flakes with a hint of chilli for £22, and a 200g refill pack costs £14.90. Mayan, Gianduja and House Dark flakes come at the same prices. If you already own a tin, buy the refill; the contents are what you are paying for.

Truffles are the other gift worth carrying. House Dark, House Milk, Framboise, Cassis and Hibiscus, and Pink Champagne and Strawberry truffles each cost £20, and a vegan, dairy-free Summer Berry box is the same price. A Pistachio Rocher Gift Box costs £42. The vegan box is the one to pick for a dairy-free friend, because it is the only truffle box labelled vegan and dairy-free.

Arrive soon after the 10.30am opening on a weekday if you want a calm look at the cabinet; Soho fills up from lunchtime and the shop is small. The site says it now opens on Mondays during the summer months, and its current posted hours list Monday to Saturday trading. Sunday opening is at 11am. Piccadilly Circus on the Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines is the station the shop names, and the walk takes a few minutes through Soho's side streets.

If the Soho shop is busy or shut, the Harrods concession in Knightsbridge on Brompton Road, SW1X 7XL, sells the same chocolates and is open 10am to 9pm Monday to Saturday and 11.30am to 6pm on Sunday.

Soho rewards a slow loop after a chocolate stop. Berwick Street Market is a short walk away for street food at lunchtime, and Golden Square lies just west if you want a bench to open the box. Carnaby Street sits beyond that, and Regent Street is close enough to compare William Curley with the bigger chocolate brands on the same afternoon. Keep the couture box flat in your bag.

Address: 33 Smiths Court, London W1D 7DP. Hours: Monday to Saturday 10.30am to 6pm, Sunday 11am to 6pm. Nearest station: Piccadilly Circus. Prices from the online shop: 4-piece couture box £8, 9-piece box £17.50, Jaffa Cake £6, single-origin bar £9, Aztec Hot Chocolate Tin £22. Fresh chocolates should be eaten within 14 days. The Curley Club subscription sends a selection of William's chocolates every month, with the Original membership at £400 a year.