I hadn't yet had a chance to visit David Hawksworth's Bel Cafe at the recently reno'd Hotel Georgia, so was glad to troop over there this week to meet my friend Karen for lunch and yet another sampling for City Food Magazine's Hot Chocolate Festival.

Bel Cafe is casual and cozy and offers slightly more upscale versions of what you'd find in any coffee shop - soups, sandwiches, salads, baked goods, and delicious coffee. The difference is you are greeted very formally by the cafe's staff and served at your table, as opposed to walking up to the counter and choosing what you want. This seemed slightly incongruous with the decor and the concept but the staff was so attentive and courteous (even when they screwed up our order - twice) that we couldn't really complain.

And now, to the hot chocolate. I informed our server that I would be sampling their Hot Chocolate Festival entry and he was extremely knowledgeable about the product - a 70% valrhona dark hot chocolate with orange oil, green cardamom, and vanilla-infused whipped cream topped with orange zest:

The hot chocolate was served with a dark chocolate cookie which was chewy and moist and the perfect thing to dip in the whipped cream (yum). I'm sad to report that the green cardamom, despite being a luxury, expensive spice, didn't really have a strong flavour - or maybe it was simply overpowered by the orange oil and orange zest, I don't know. The flavour was distinctly citrusy, not spicy. That being said, it was still absolutely decadent and delicious. I think Bel Cafe might deserve a repeat to try one of their other offerings...I've still got two weeks, right?