Roly’s Fudge Pantry

If you like fudge… PROPER fudge then this is the place to go. A range of flavours that often change from month to month, this place is top of the class for me. Your be won over by the smells of delight that come from the shop. The staff are really friendly and lovely. Happy to help and offer suggestions. You can see it being cooked and made behind the counter and they always have free tasters for you to enjoy.
Very fatty but worth it for the shear amazinness that your get from having this sweet stuff! My favourite is the coconut, peanut butter and coffee!!! Woooozers. They also do student discount and gift boxes.
Perfect for presents for anyone! I always come here when people are visiting Brighton to share the love and to win over another fan.
Trust me! You won’t be disappoint. Although, I can only manage a few… Otherwise they get a bit sickly!

I can’t begin to describe the deliciousness that is Roly’s. It was my very first trip to the UK and I was visiting a good friend of mine who lives in Worthing. After arriving in the airport, the very first place she took me to was Brighton to visit the Lanes. Roly’s was the first place we popped into, because I had never experienced English fudge. I almost regret trying it. Why, you ask? Oh, well… I live in FREAKING Texas. I’ll never be able to just pop in for some of that Vanilla and Clotted Cream goodness! My heart just broke typing that out. Luckily they ship internationally but still! Roly’s had me seriously considering just overstaying my visa limitations, finding a husband and just living there… Forever.

Roly’s Fudge Pantry is awesome, there isn’t any other way of describing what a brilliant place this is, assuming you like fudge that is.
Only in a place like Brighton could such a niche shop survive, bringing with it a real charm and unique style that makes it different from old fashioned sweet shops or a modern newsagent.
The fudge is also fantastic, you can get a range of different types that go from your typical vanilla fudge, right down to a spiced chocolate fudge. Part of the attraction to Roly’s is that you get to see the fudge process, which is surprisingly cool.

Another of Brighton’s famous specialities, Roly’s Fudge Pantry is sweet-​tooth heaven: any conceivable fudge flavour is often here, and you can watch them making it live, wiping sweet swathes of hot fudge over a table before cooling and chopping it, making the whole shop (and street outside) smell thickly of glorious sweetness. I haven’t the sweetest tooth in the world, but this is a guilty treat: it’s just so tasty, and a unique place to buy yourself a little treat!
Prices are perfectly reasonable, and what you get is so much more than a bag of sweets or something like that: little cubes of heaven. They are incredibly rich: I couldn’t have Roly’s Fudge more than once every now and again, otherwise it’d just be too much. Still, worth a look-​in, and the occasional splurge: it is gorgeous!

I’m going to take a risk here and invite derision but I think Rolys may just make the best fudge in the history of fudgedom. Having very narrow tastes I always have the same crumbly Vanilla fudge and can be seen whooping in ecstasy as I stuff fist sized cubes of the stuff into my mouth. They make it in the shop before your very eyes, rolling great Willie Wonka swathes of fledgling fudge on the counter. The smell of Rolys drifts down the length of Kensington Gardens. Picture this: a coffee from Brighton Cofee Co in one hand, a bag of vanilla fudge in the other, and a wander round nearby Snoopers Paradise. Perfection.

UPDATE: I met the manager of Roly’s (who is incredibly lovely) in a pub on Friday night and he very kindly gave us a few little free samples of fudge. Forget the chocolate fudge I raved about before, the new coffee flavour TOTALLY knocks the spots off everything else. I think the sweet tooth of my childhood may be coming back… Roly’s gets an extra star now!
—
Even though I’m not usually a great lover of fudge (more than a couple of pieces make me feel a bit queasy) I find it very hard not to be taken in by the gorgeous smells wafting from Roly’s into the midst of Kensington Gardens.
The variety of flavours is hugely impressive, particularly their chocolate fudge which is the only one I really like. Probably because it tastes more like chocolate than fudge. They’re also brilliant about letting you sample a little bit before you buy. Yum!
All the fudge is handmade in the shop, then cut into pieces on a big table for everyone to see. I may be a proper geek for saying so, but stuff like that fascinates me. It takes me back to the days of kids’ TV shows like Playdays and Blue Peter when they used to visit places like chocolate factories and show all the sweets being made.
If you’re buying fudge as a gift, Roly’s also sell it brightly gift-​wrapped in little bags or boxes which make the perfect Christmas present or Easter Egg alternative for those with a sweet tooth.

Welcome to picket fenced fudge land. On the left we have lots of fudgey fudge bits, on the right we have giant fudgy pot making area and straight ahead is Mr. fudge himself ready to tell you all the basics about fudge, and it is basic, its fudge. People make all sorts of over blown comments about sugar these days, but lets face it we need it like we need the sun, so lets celebrate that with a big cheek tingling block of fudge.

I literaly cannot walk by this shop without paying them a visit. The smell of freshly made fudge drifting through the North Laines is too irresistable! I am not normally a massive fan of fudge, but the variety here was enough to tempt me. You can watch them hand make the fudge, which often attracts a small crowd of fascinated spectators.
I found the staff really friendly, giving me helpful advice on which variety I might prefer (I can confirm their choices were damn good!)
It’s not cheap, but great as a treat or ideal as a present for someone with a sweet tooth as you can buy the fudge in charmingly wrapped packages.

Like Fudge? Welcome to fudge heaven. Although not as good as some of the epic fudge stores found in continental Europe and America, this is a great place to visit, and unless you’ve tried any of the products from the aforementioned places, you won’t notice the difference, nor care.

Sugar
Butter
Cream
Vanilla, chocolate or another flavouring.
As far as I’m aware, the four things listed above are the only ingredients that go into fudge. Yet every weekend, Rolys has hordes of people queing up to go inside, savour a free sample and buy half a pound. Its amazing. Maybe it’s the fact, it’s a West Country company and people associate the West Country with fudge? Maybe their fudge is crumblier and creamier than rival fudge companies? Who knows.
I don’t particularly like fudge but now I’m thinking about it, I could probably manage a mouthful or two of maple syrup and walnut.

I have the sneaking suspicion that my Dad is still on speaking terms with me– despite my still being a (n incredibly clever.) student years later– because of Roly’s Fudge. I buy it regularly for him and ship it to him– I use the word ship because I send it in bulk to keep him in a semi sugar comatose state! It is admittedly not the cheapest fudge on the market– but you can tell as you walk past the shop that this is good quality fudge. You can watch them make it in fact so you know it’s carefully made and from good ingredients. My Dad favours classic vanilla fudge– which is so creamy and maple syrupy. Vanilla is a good one but for me it’s the chocolate– it’s like rich chocolate frosting with a creamy undercurrent. All fudge is super sweet– and this is no different but it has much more flavour than most fudge. Buy yourself a bag and nibble on it with a coffee…

Places like this take me right back to family holidays. In various and random parts of England and the Isle of Wight my parents would take my siblings and I to the local glassblower, pot maker or confectioner so we could see how it was all done. Highlights included being shown how to make stottie bread by a lady dressed up as a Victorian maid at Beamish and watching a man make rock in Cornwall.
At Roly’s the fudge is made right there in the shop by a friendly man who happily answered my questions and directed the serving staff as to what weight of fudge to bag up for my fiver at the same time as actually making the stuff. The range of flavours is quite impressive, the classic vanilla or chocolate on offer next to lemon meringue or cherry bakewell. And the shop smells phenomenal!
I don’t do dairy so can’t vouch for the taste, but if the grinning boyfriend rubbing his tummy with glee is anything to go by Roly’s have something pretty special.