Strawberry Festival at Godiva Chocolate Cafe

Confectionery-covered fresh strawberries at Godiva Chocolate Cafe in the Galleria on Al Maryah Island. Adam Workman / The National

Chocoholics who like to at least give off a veneer of healthiness will be licking their lips at the prospect of the Strawberry Festival, which is taking place until the end of this month at the Godiva Chocolate Cafe in the Galleria on Al Maryah Island.

We undertook the arduous task of popping along to the chocolatier to sample some of the delights specially created to combine the favourite fruit of well-to-do tennis fans with Godiva’s brand of Belgian chocolate.

On visual impact alone, we would have expected an ice-cold mix of blended strawberries and white chocolate – a twist on Godiva’s range of “Chocolixir” drinks – to be the standout choice for sweet-toothed types. But for unadulterated strawberry-shaped impact, we had to plump for the range of confectionery-covered fresh strawberries – perfectly smooth white chocolate being the pick, running milk chocolate and crumbs of hazelnut into a close second. Godiva staff will even dispense advice on how to perfectly dip your fruit.

In keeping with the highbrow, well-to-do atmosphere in the Galleria, suave live music arrives at Godiva during the evening hours, with musicians taking to the piano-adorned stand positioned to the left of the cafe. But if you don’t have time to stay, there’s plenty to take away – from cute, heart-shaped biscuits with a milk chocolate topping and strawberry filling to tablets of milk chocolate flecked with dried strawberry chunks.

For more information, call Godiva on 02 677 0717 or visit www.thegalleria.ae.