Said Dal is a small Italian cafe furnished with little wooden tables next to a giant counter full of goodies from truffles to vats of churning melted chocolate. The smell in there is incredible.
There are a selection of sandwiches and salads on the menu that pop up through the dumbwaiter on the wall of the cafe from the kitchen below. But of course I cannot recommend these to you as we skipped to the main event straightaway, the chocolate!
Boy and I both ordered a Mocha. "A Mocha?!" you say, outraged that we diluted our pure Italian chocolate with coffee. Truth is we both needed a caffeine fix and ordered the Mocha because of the insane way it is made. Melted dark, milk and white chocolate are spooned over the entire mug encasing it in rich silky chocolate before the coffee is poured in.
It was heaven on earth when the chocolate mixed in with the coffee and of course we shamelessly licked off all the chocolate from the outside of our mugs.
If you yourself do not have a sweet tooth/chocolate addiction you might be inclined to stop there but we simply could not leave without trying their chocolate cake. We figured chocolate cake from a chocolate shop must be insanely tasty, and of course it was.
Just look at that stodgy goodness. This cake was definitely more of a dessert than a fluffy cake but this suited us perfectly and we finished it off JUST before the sugar coma kicked in.
I live in Guildford so when I go into London I do not tend to go to the same places as there is so much to see and do all over the place especially where food is concerned. However, I just had to bring my twin to Said Dal 1923 because I knew she would love it as much as I did.
Again, I ordered the mocha because I think I may have been dreaming about it ever since I tried my first one. It was just as perfect as the first one I had. Emily ordered the small milk hot chocolate (you can have either dark, milk or gianduja which is hazelnut) with whipped cream. A small hot chocolate being actual melted chocolate in a small mug. It was so thick that she was glad she had the portion of whipped cream to cut through the richness of the chocolate, she isn't as well seasoned in the chocolate drinking business as boy and I are.
Of course I recommend heading to Said Dal 1923 as soon as you can. Do not be put off by the brusk Italian staff whose service can seem a little rude and unwelcoming. Order anything chocolate as the quality is very impressive. Next time I go, and I'm confident there will be a next time, I think I'll try the chocolate truffles or chocolate brownie. See you there!
