Cacao grower in Saint Lucia and cacao roaster in Borough Market

Welcome to ‘cacao cuisine’

When we flung open the doors to Rabot 1745 in 2013 it was a grand experiment: was London ready for West Indian cacao cuisine with an eccentric British twist?

Since then our chic wood-panelled eatery, a contemporary take on a Caribbean plantation house, has become an icon in its own right.

DIETARY INFORMATION(V) Vegetarian, (VE) Vegan, (A) Contains Alcohol, (SF) Shellfish, (N) Nuts. *This dietary can be removed from some of our dishes.

ALLERGEN INFORMATIONFor any dietary requirements please ask a member of staff.Ask a member of our team if your are avoiding wheat or gluten.If you have any additional questions or requirements please ask a member of our team.

STARTERSGoat’s Cheese, Black Olive & Sourdough £8Goat’s cheese, whipped super-smooth with delicate, lychee-like cacao pulp. Rye and olive crumb and Borough sourdough for crunch, apple purée for tang. Elevated with coconut marmalade, inspired by the flora of our Caribbean cocoa estate. (V)

Sea Bass Ceviche £9Cornish sea bass marinated in delicate cacao pulp, coconut and lime, with papaya. Towers of rainbow radish and a punchy kumquat gel.

Radish, Pea & Tarragon Cannelloni £7.50Rainbow radish, paper-thin and wrapped around pea, tarragon and cacao pulp houmous. Cashew sour cream and beetroot gel. Farewell, pasta! (VE, N)

Hereford Beef Yorkshire Pudding £9A starter that boasts a roast. Yorkshire pudding on a velvety cacao and red wine reduction, filled with white chocolate mash. 24-hour cacao nib marinated Hereford flank beef is seared rare for exceptional flavour. (A)

Salmon, Avocado & Watermelon Tartar £9Scottish salmon marinated in lychee-like cacao pulp and lime. Avocado and watermelon with ground cacao nibs. Orange and rocket sorbet. Zesty, refreshing, unexpected.

Assiette of Cacao £6Chocolate balsamic reduction, cacao pesto, nib butter, freshly baked sourdough. (V, N)

Pulled Pork Piton £8The Pitons are two astonishingly symmetrical sea mountains in Saint Lucia. Rising above a rainforest canopy of foliage, they overlook our island hide-away and cocoa plantation. Here our pulled pork Piton-style is slow-cooked and tender in apple and potato with a crisp breadcrumb and cacao nib coating.

The Rabot Gazpacho £7.50What other soups want to be when they grow up. Red peppers, tomatoes, cacao nibs and Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar steeped overnight to intensify their flavours. Served with a cacao pulp sorbet and a cacao guacamole feuille de brick. (V)

Seared King Scallops, Pea Purée £11Creamy West Country king scallops, flash-seared with crunchy, intense cacao nibs. Served with a light, comforting pea purée smoothed with cocoa butter. (SF)

Sharing Platter £24Pulled Pork Piton, Sea Bass Ceviche, The Rabot Gazpacho.

Our Rabot Estate dates from 1745 – hence the name here.

It’s the oldest and most beautiful cocoa estate in Saint Lucia set in a UNESCO site of natural beauty.

Come and stay at our eco-hotel, set in the middle of the cocoa. hotelchocolat.com/Boucan

We are part of Hotel Chocolat, the British luxury chocolatiers, and it was co-founders Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris who discovered Rabot Estate.

MAINSCornish Sea Bass £19Roasted Cornish sea bass marinated in lychee-like cacao pulp. Maldon sea salt cuts through our pineapple and papaya compote. Served with a deep, rich seafood and cacao bisque. (SF, A)

Salt Marsh Lamb £25 Our medium-rare masterpiece. Marinated for 24 hours in cacao nibs and topped with a herb crust, velvety reduced stock and chocolate demi-glace. Delicate white chocolate Chantenay carrot purée. (A*)

Beet Wellington £15Beet not beef. Borough beetroot marinated in cacao nibs, pomegranate molasses and apple. Baked with a mushroom, spinach and cacao nib duxelle in puff pastry. Market baby vegetables and cashew sour cream. (VE, N)

Seared Cornish Hake £18Succulent, with a fresh herb and cacao nib crust. Served on a bed of green beans, with bell pepper coulis and coconut and lime reduction. Recalls the swaying coconut trees of our Saint Lucian cocoa estate.

‘Inside-out’ Aubergine Curry £13.50Delicately spiced aubergine with coconut yoghurt and sundried tomato concasse. Crowned with market vegetables punctuated with carta di musica: amazingly thin, crisp sheets of unleavened bread. A towering tribute. (V, VE)

- Add chicken £6- Add monkfish £10

Hereford Beef Chateaubriand: Cacao Pièce De Résistance £66For two to share (or one to reminisce about). Medium-rare, grass-fed prime beef, 24-hour marinated in cacao nibs. Mac and cheese with braised, shredded featherblade. Bone marrow. Chunky chips. Served with a 70% dark ganache and our chef’s secret-recipe plantation sauce. If you’re going to do it, do it right. (A)

Perfect with a bottle of our vintage red: Chateau Chocolat, £35

Vegetarian Trilogy £18.50Beet Wellington, ‘Inside-out’ Aubergine Curry, The Rabot Gazpacho. Why choose? Borough beetroot with a mushroom, spinach and cacao duxelle in puff pastry. Spiced aubergine with coconut yoghurt in a sundried tomato concasse. Red pepper and cacao nib gazpacho with cacao pulp sorbet and cacao guacamole feuille de brick. A veritable vegetarian feast. (N)

12-hour Marinated ‘Bois Bandé’ Chicken £16.50Bois Bandé (pronounced Bwah Bonday) or West Indian ‘bush magic’ rum has been loved for centuries by the local communities around our cocoa estate. A riot of spice and sweetness, with notes of cinnamon, star anise and nutmeg and one special ingredient – the bark of tropical tree Richeria grandis. Works so well with chicken. Sweet potato served two ways and a rum peppercorn jus. (A)

Lobster Tail & Seafood Cacao Bouillabaisse £28The silken broth for our much-loved bouillabaisse is brimming with cacao nibs, fresh tomatoes, herbs and fennel. We spike it with cayenne and saffron before adding the freshest fish and shellfish and crowning with a whole lobster tail. (SF, A)

Slow-cooked Hereford Beef £21Featherblade cut, marinated in cacao nibs for 24 hours, then slow-cooked. Glaze of beef stock, red wine, 70% dark chocolate and balsamic. (A*)

Mac & Cheese £14London’s best mac and cheese, reborn. We heighten flavour with a hint of mushroom in creamy, melted mature Cheddar. So moreish, you’ll want to eat the bowl – which you can, it’s puff pastry kneaded with cacao nibs. Served with a whirl of smoked paprika coleslaw. (V)

The King of Burgers £15- Add bacon £1.50Aged Cheddar, triple-cooked chips, cacao Creole chutney, 70% ganache.It took us a long time to create our signature burger. We settled on chopped rump steak, with only a smattering of other ingredients and side of our melting 70% dark chocolate ganache. We think we’ve nailed it. (A*)

SIDES £4.50White Chocolate MashShouldn’t work, but it does. Addictive. (V)

Heirloom Tomato SaladA riot of colour and flavour, plucked from heritage vines. Crumbled with feta, dressed with cacao pesto. (V, N)

Caribbean Sweet PotatoWith cacao barbecue sauce. (V, VE)

Sautéed Market SpinachWith cacao nib butter. (V)

Potato ChipsWith cacao ketchup. (V, VE)

Borough VegetablesGreen beans, mangetout and petit pois. From the Market to your table. (V*)

SALADSAvocado, Tomato & Zesty Lime £7 / £12Spiced lime-cacao dressing, red onions, cherry tomatoes. (V, VE)

Superfood Seeded Salad £7 / 12Earthy, crunchy, packed full of thegood things – quinoa, cacao nibs, saffron-poached fennel, pumpkin seeds, pistachios, cranberries. Moreishly good. Sensational when teamed with our secret-recipe orange tahini dressing. Fly solo or order as a table sharer. (V, VE)

Cacao Caesar £12- Add cacao crust chicken breast £6- Add cacao pulp marinated monkfish £10With roast sweet potato, soft-boiled egg, cacao nib croutons.

Engaged Ethics is the name we coined for our direct programme to create sustainable cocoa growing. It’s a roll-up-the-sleeves, take risks, long-term approach, which has led to a remarkable set of results so far.

The cacao tree has (deservedly) the best ever name in the plant kingdom: literally “Food of the Gods”(Theobroma Cacao)

Sun-ripened, shade-grown, sustainable supercrop.

DESSERTSBAFTA Light White Raspberry & Blueberry Crémeux £10As served at the legendary British Academy Film Awards dinner. Honduras Mayan Red 65% Supermilk mousse, white chocolate blueberry and raspberry crémeux, seed granola. Supermilk: our revolutionary chocolate genre. Robust cocoa depth, creamy milk, less sugar than a typical dark.

The Avant-Garden £8.50If Dalí did desserts. Punchy strawberry mousse and white chocolate-lime curd. Smooth basil notes and refreshing fromage blanc sorbet. All on a beautifully crisp shortbread. (V, N)

The Story Of Chocolat, In Ice £8 The story of chocolate in three scoops, as served in Saint Lucia next door to our cocoa plantation. First, floral citrus cacao pulp as a sorbet. Next, finely ground cocoa nibs infuse our Rabot ice cream. To finish, chocolate ice cream made distinctive with 70% dark. Chocolate evolution on ice, artfully told. (N)

Molten Chocolate Lava £9 Your cake runneth over with intense 70% dark. Served with a sesame and Nigella seed tuile and house cocoa nib ice cream, gently infused over 24 hours. (V)- Make it tipsy. Its perfect match: La Hechicera rum, 50ml £6

Crumbly Rhubarb Tartlet £9A triple-layer threat. Grated coconut and almond frangipane. Baked rhubarb with a hint of dark chocolate. Classic crumble topping lifted with dense strawberry coulis. Finished with tangy rhubarb sorbet and a chocolate lattice. Only things missing? Dairy and wheat. (VE, N)

Chocolat Cream Liqueur Crémeux £9Our own Chocolat Cream Liqueur creates a luxuriant crémeux with a tingle of warmth. Salted caramel chocolate brownie and refreshing cacao pulp sorbet. Raspberry two ways: Chantilly and fresh. (A, N)

Trio of Island Sorbets £7Our pièce de refreshment. Delicate cacao pulp, gently juicy guava, caramelised and roasted pineapple. Ground cocoa nibs, for crunch. (VE)

Mousse Seduction £10Trio of smooth, intense mousse quenelles: 65% Supermilk, 70% dark, 90% dark. Beautifully crisp sablé, nibbly pumpkin seed crumble, sticky caramelised Nigella and sesame seeds. Lose yourself. (V, N)- Make it tipsy. Its perfect match: Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva Rum, 50ml £6

CacaoOther chocolate makers discard everything but the cocoa nibs. We use it all.

Fig. 2Cut Cocoa Pod

Fig. 3Cocoa Bean

Fig. 2.1The PulpFlavours of: lychee/sweet elderflowerWe use for: sorbets, cocktails & marinades.

Fig. 2.2The BeanNeeds to be fermented and sun dried, then delicious.See fig.3

Fig. 2.3The HuskWe use for: organic composting.

Fig. 3.1The ShellFlavours of: toast, umami. We use for: tea infusion drinks,cooking stock and spice mixes.

Fig. 3.2The NibFlavours of: cocoa, oak and tannins.We use for: marinades, sauce enriching, crusts and grinding up to make chocolate and chocolate drinks.

THE ANATOMY OF COCOAFig. 1Whole Cocoa Pod

Rare & VintageTwenty degrees plus or minus the equator is where cocoa grows best.

As well as growing our own in Saint Lucia, we work with growers in Ghana, Colombia, Ecuador, Vietnam, Honduras and more.

The flavour of the beans varies with the geography, gene type and harvest year. Explore our Rare & Vintage range in our chocolate shop downstairs.

Afternoon Tea of the Gods

SandwichesMarinated beef and white chocolate horseradishA rare cut above. Grass-fed Hereford beef, 24-hour marinated with treacle and parkin spices. Fiery wasabi horseradish tempered in our high-cocoa butter white.

Creole chicken with pumpkin mayonnaiseHeat of warm, smoky Saint Lucian spices and cayenne pepper, tamed in pumpkin purée mayonnaise.

Egg mayonnaise briocheAroma of fresh baked brioche? We make our own to create that ‘just right’ bite, the perfect hold for egg and chive mayonnaise with a malty edge of cacao nibs. (V)

Pea and tarragon mousse on rye sourdoughMade with chickpea, lychee-like cacao pulp and fresh lemon juice. Pea shoots and radish thinly sliced. (V, DF)

Cocoa... worshipped by Mayans. Theobroma Cacao translates as ‘food of the gods’. Discover why.

Available Tuesday to Saturday, 1pm — 5pm

Afternoon tea for two with a glass of Prosecco Superiore DOCG: £35 each, £30 without.

Vegan, gluten-free, special dietary requirements? Simply let us know ahead at time of booking.

Want to know more? Read our blog: hotelchocolat.com/afternoonteagods

Our grocery? Our neighbours, the Market.

Free-range: we insist on it. From egg to chicken.

Pastry chef: Fabrice. Known for his taste-testing par excellence...

Cakes & SconesStrawberry and vanilla cheesecakeForget tradition. Cheesecake reimagined as a light, airy mousse made with fragrant Madagascan vanilla and all-natural strawberry gel purée. Cocoa nib crunch in the biscuit base. (V)

Chocolate and cherry opera gateauOpulent layers of light chocolate mousse, cherry purée and Madagascan vanilla sponge. Topped with a kirsch soaked cherry and 70% dark ganache. (V, A)

Fresh baked sultana scone and cinnamon sconeLavish your way. Strawberry jam, clotted cream or 70% chocolate ganache first?

Tasting chocolatesMade from cocoa beans, including those grown on our estate in Saint Lucia. (V, N)

Please ask about today’s selection.