Martin’s Chocolatier

It may surprise you to hear that this place is mainly about chocolate. Entering on the entrance of St. David’s 2 nearest Cineworld and Cardiff International Arena you’ll find Martin’s Chocolatier on your left hand side. Failing that you can use always use the fancy interactive maps dotted around the shopping centre.
I knew I was going in for chocolate-​related goodness, but I did not expect the amount of choice or variety that Martin’s offers, and there really is a lot of choice. You have not tasted hot chocolate until you’ve had one at Martin’s. To quote Kramer: ‘They’re the best, Jerry. The best.’ It also sells chocolate-​related food like waffles and cookies and stuff like that. As well as being a café it also doubles as a shop, so you can get some quality hand-​made chocolate as a gift to a friend or yourself.

This place is simply a chocolate lovers dream and yes it’s in one of the modern arcades and it would be nice if it was actually renovated 19^th century building which had some history to it but I don’t really care because Martins makes awesome hot chocolate. Not the cheapest hot chocolate I’ve ever paid for but it certainly quelled my screaming sweet tooth and I I counted something like fifteen or more varieties of hot chocolate how many other establishments can say that?
Like others have pointed out Martins is essentially a chocolate café with gorgeous and spacious seating area that seems to extend beyond the shop itself out onto the floor of the arcade. I would recommend going to Martins for a nice hot chocolate and some other chocolaty goodies as everything they sell is simply delicious.

Go here for the hot chocolate: whether you love white, dark, or blended milk chocolate there are dozens of varieties to choose from and they’re better than any hot chocolate I’ve tasted elsewhere.
This café /​shop combo is a bit like Hotel Chocolat, if you’re familiar with that chain, because the shop part sells mainly luxury chocolates, and the café area focuses on hot chocolates — but the difference is that this one’s independent. It’s the business of Philip Ahn (middle name ‘Martin’, hence the shop’s name), who trained with Michelin Star-​winning chef Paul Merrett before being inspired by the film Chocolat to embark on his chocolate adventures.
The chocolates are hand made so obviously they’re not cheap, but they are divineand well worth every penny — and there’s cake, too!

This place seems to be slowly gathering customers, and it’s a good thing too, because these chocolates are really, truly delicious.
Fortunately, this place isn’t just a chocolate shop, but also a small and well presented café too. Although the location is a little bit odd — right in the doorway of the new food court area in St Davids Shopping Centre, meaning it’s somewhat lacking in ambiance or privacy — this place somehow manages to carve out a pocket of niceness.
The tables and chairs are all comfortable and it’s surprisingly quiet once you’re sat down. But it’s the kind of place that you could walk past again and again without popping into because it’s on such a thoroughfare. But I advise that you make the effort. next time your feet are sleepy from shopping, or the summer rains have made it miserable outside, it’s worth remembering this place.
And of course, the hot chocolates. They really are delicious, and I’ve not found a nicer one in Wales. New Zealand, yes. Wales, no. So it’s probably worth going to Martin’s rather than sending 24 hours on a plane.

This is a very welcome new addition to the St David’s 2 complex. I like most women in the world love chocolate so this place is heaven. I can go shopping and get chocolate in one go!
As someone who doesn’t like coffee I am also happy to have somewhere to try out a range of different chocolate drinks instead of just the with cream or without option that most café’s offer. I think I would have given it 5 stars if it was in a different location with a bit more character but thats just me being fussy.
You can get about 20 different types of Hot chocolate in here and you can also bag yourself some very lovely handmade chocolates and cakes. I had a really good waffle there too and discovered that it is possible to have too much chocolate goodies! Yum.