Hidden Scotland
Sign in
Cocoa Black in Peebles, a stone building with its name across the gable and dark shopfront windows, on the corner by Cuddy Bridge, with a church steeple behind.
Scottish Borders

Cocoa Black

A chocolatier, patisserie and chocolate school in a listed building by Cuddy Bridge in Peebles, open every day for hot chocolate and cakes.

Visit websiteCall
Welcome

Peebles has a lovely surprise by Cuddy Bridge, and it's one of the best places in Scotland for chocolate.

Cocoa Black was started in 2008 by Ruth and David Hinks, and today its restored listed building holds a chocolate boutique, a patisserie café and a Chocolate and Pastry School upstairs. Ruth is a former UK Chocolate Master who reached the top five at the World Chocolate Masters in Paris, and everything is made by hand in small batches at the company's own Chocolate Factory in Peebles. Come for a hot chocolate, from salted caramel to gingerbread, and something from the cake fridge, which has plenty of low-gluten and vegan choices, then take a box of chocolates home with you. On a fine day there's a riverside garden to sit out in. Classes in truffles, caramels and patisserie run through the year and are booked on its website. It's open every day from 10am, and weekends are busy.

Not far101 BakeryA small green-fronted bakery on Newington Road, making celebration cakes, buns and pastries, open Tuesday to Saturday.20 milesSee it101 Bakery
Before you go

No need to book for the café; classes are booked on its website.

Where
1-3 Cuddybridge, Peebles, EH45 8JB.
Open
Every day: Monday to Thursday 10am to 4pm, Friday and Sunday 10am to 4.30pm, Saturday 10am to 5pm.
Classes
Three-hour classes in chocolates, caramels and patisserie at the Chocolate & Pastry School, £125.
Click and collect
Order chocolates and cakes online and collect them in the shop.
Parking
A large car park directly behind the building.
Phone
01721 723764

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
10am–4pm
Tuesday
10am–4pm
Wednesday
10am–4pm
Thursday
10am–4pm
Friday
10am–4.30pm
Saturday
10am–5pm
Sunday
10am–4.30pm

Eaten here? Tell others what to order and when to go, and the best go on this page with your name.

Add your tip
Where it is

Beside Cuddy Bridge in Peebles, EH45 8JB.

Close byPeebles and the Tweed Valley.
  1. Roofless stone chapel ruin with a pointed arch window and gravel floorCross Kirk, PeeblesThe tall ruins of a friary church in Peebles, founded where a cross and relics of St Nicholas were found in 1261.Under a mile as the crow flies
  2. Neidpath Tunnel and CastleNeidpath Tunnel and CastleA walk west of Peebles to Neidpath Castle, the old railway viaduct over the Tweed and a disused tunnel of 1864 that you can walk through with a torch.Under a mile as the crow flies
  3. Kailzie GardensKailzie GardensGardens near Peebles, with a walled garden, restored glasshouses, woodland walks by the Kailzie Burn and a laburnum arch.2 miles as the crow flies
  4. Pink-harled kirk with bellcote tower overlooking a gravestone-dotted churchyardStobo KirkA small church near Peebles, much of it built around 1120, on a site said to go back to St Mungo, who is said to have baptised Merlin nearby.5 miles as the crow flies
  5. White harled tower house with turrets overlooking a lawn and flowerbedTraquair HouseScotland's oldest inhabited house, near Innerleithen, home of the Stuarts since 1491, visited by 27 monarchs, with its own brewery and maze.6 miles as the crow flies
  6. Dawyck Botanic Garden, Scottish BordersDawyck Botanic GardenOne of the world's great arboretums, near Stobo in the Tweed valley, part of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, with rare trees from around the world.6 miles as the crow flies
  7. The Gordon Arms in the Yarrow Valley, a long whitewashed coaching inn with dormer windows and tall chimneys under a blue summer sky, green hills rising behind.The Gordon ArmsA family-run restaurant with rooms in an old coaching inn in the Yarrow Valley, with seasonal Borders cooking and just seven tables.10 miles as the crow flies
Directions
Aerial view of a Scotland-shaped relief map pool surrounded by treesAttractionsGreat Polish Map of Scotland4.3 miles
The farm shop door at Whitmuir, between its Farm Shop and Whitmuir signs on the timber wall.ShoppingWhitmuir Farm7.5 miles
CarlopsWilderkin CabinSleeps 2 · 10 miles
A grey stone farmhouse with several chimneys stands against rolling hills, a wildflower meadow in the foreground.YarrowThe ScullerySleeps 2 · 11 miles
Clermount Cottage, EdinburghPenicuikClermount CottageSleeps 2 · 12 miles
White cow parsley blooms in front of a stone cottage with skylightsPenicuikSteadingSleeps 4 · 13 miles
Stone cottage courtyard with slate roof, chimney and rolling green hills behindPenicuikThe ByreSleeps 4 · 13 miles
A black kitchen counter with flowers on the worktop stands before a curved timber slatted screen opening onto a bedroom.PenicuikCartshedSleeps 2 · 13 miles
PenicuikWoodshedSleeps 2 · 13 miles

Recommend to a friend

The Daily for 22 October, from Scotland with love. An aerial view of the Kylesku Bridge curving across a sea loch at sunset, Sutherland

The Daily

Arrives at 5am every day.

A free morning email to see what’s on this week, catch up on what’s happening in Scotland and find somewhere new to go.

Stay nearby

Places to stay near Cocoa Black, and when each is next free.

Wilderkin Cabin
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Carlops
  • 10 miles from Cocoa Black
Free 11–13 NovA grey stone farmhouse with several chimneys stands against rolling hills, a wildflower meadow in the foreground.The Scullery
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Yarrow
  • 11 miles from Cocoa Black
Free 13–15 NovClermount Cottage, EdinburghClermount Cottage
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Penicuik
  • 12 miles from Cocoa Black
Check datesWhite cow parsley blooms in front of a stone cottage with skylightsSteading
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Penicuik
  • 13 miles from Cocoa Black
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in the Scottish BordersAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
Hidden Scotland, the magazine

Scotland, in print.

We want to show you the best that Scotland has to offer. The makers and the creatives, the enduring experiences, the evocative tales, the concealed corners. The roads less travelled that take you to places that matter. The adventures that gather you up and sweep you away. The blend of the wild and the artistic that makes Scotland what it is. We’d love for you to join us.

Get Issue 13Read it here
Find out more

For further reading, before you go. The details on this page were checked on .