Support Us Button Widget
Food

5 Raleigh spots to get hot chocolate

Swap that second coffee for a sip of chocolate — candy canes optional.

December 19, 2022 • 
Sarah Leonhardt
A top-down shot of a matcha peppermint mocha latte with two candy canes forming a heart.

Here’s where to get your hot chocolate fix.

Photo by @lisaheegaard and @theoptimistraleigh

The secret to recreating the holiday movie moment of your dreams? Having a cup of hot chocolate in hand. Here are some of our favorite spots to grab hot cocoa around the Triangle:

🍫 Black & White Coffee, 327 W. Davie St. | Order a hot chocolate from this cafe inside Videri Chocolate Factory and choose whole, skim, or oat milk.

🍫 The Dessertery, Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, 2 E. South St. | There are 50+ toppings for hot cocoa available at this seasonal sweets cafe.

🍫 Milklab, 526 N. West St. | Himalayan salt hot chocolate and a hot chocolate + Thai tea combo are on the menu.

🍫 Sola Coffee, 7705 Lead Mine Rd. | We believe in housemade chocolate made with steamed milk.

🍫 The Optimist, 1000 Brookside Dr. | Grab a classic hot chocolate or go crazy and order the peppermint and mocha matcha latte.

Holiday
More from RALtoday
A set of storefronts that look like a European Village.
City
How to make Raleigh feel like Paris
With the Summer Olympics well underway, we’re craving a Parisian day without having to leave the 919. Here’s how to have a Parisian staycation right here in Raleigh.
July 26, 2024
 · 
Allie Remhof
The storefront of A Place at the Table
Nonprofits
Nonprofit cafe A Place at the Table is launching a food truck.
A Place at the Table is a nonprofit restaurant in Raleigh that offers a pay-what-you-can system and is expanding their reach with a new food truck.
July 26, 2024
 · 
Danyale Daniels
RALtoday_DrinkUp_Carousel
Food
Try your City Editor’s favorite drinks in Raleigh
Find out what your RALtoday City Editors Allie and Danyale love to drink and where to get them from. We’ll also share where you can get drinks similar to our favorite at Drink Up Week participant locations.
July 25, 2024
 · 
Danyale Daniels
A tall can of Crank Arm Brewing's Road Hazard on Fayetteville Street.
Food
The best beers in Raleigh, according to Untappd
Beer drinkers can rate brews all over the world on the popular app Untappd — here are some of Raleigh’s most popular beers. Don’t forget to save this one for lager.
July 24, 2024
 · 
Allie Remhof
art
DTR tourism is back up and more from Downtown Raleigh Alliance’s Q2 report
Raleigh’s downtown is always changing — read about the data the Downtown Raleigh Alliance has collected about DTR’s growth.
July 24, 2024
 · 
Allie Remhof
Four mocktails in front of a bright mural.
Food
The latest data on nonalcoholic beverages and where to drink them in Raleigh
Learn what it means to be sober curious, the current popularity of nonalcoholic beverages, and where you can enjoy a mocktail in the City of Oaks.
July 23, 2024
 · 
Emily Shea-Owen
AVLtoday_Cherry Bounce_moonshine
History
The history of Raleigh’s official cocktail, the cherry bounce
Dating back to colonial times, the cherry bounce is a delicious symbol of Raleigh + NC’s early history.
July 22, 2024
 · 
Allie Remhof
RALtoday_ScottHazard
Arts
Raleigh’s nature-based Block Gallery art exhibition
See the Block Gallery’s latest nature-based exhibition before its last day on Friday, Aug. 23. The exhibition is curated by Scott Hazard, the Nature Preserves Artist-in-Residence.
July 19, 2024
 · 
Danyale Daniels
RALtoday_LongleafLounge
Food
Toast of the town: Drink Up Week sponsored by AVA Rooftop Bar has arrived
This week — Monday, July 22-Friday, July 26, 2024 — we’re shining a spotlight on the vibrant drink scene in Raleigh.
July 19, 2024
 · 
Monica Garske
The NC State Belltower.
City
Chancellor Randy Woodson to retire, leave NC State
Randy Woodson has served as chancellor at NC State for 14 years, and the UNC System is tasked with finding a new candidate to fill his shoes.
July 18, 2024
 · 
Allie Remhof