Thorntons

For people who love chocolate, Thornton’s is more of a church than a shop. Found on the busy Queen Street of Cardiff, Thornton’s is a chocoholics paradise.
With a selection of chocolaty treats that could rival Dawn French’s snack draw, Thornton’s offers something for all tastes. Whether it’s milk, white or dark chocolate that takes your fancy, Thornton’s will supply you with a bar of chocolaty goodness so flavourful, it will turn your mouth into tornado of taste.
As well as being a great place to grab a tasty snack for yourself, this is also the perfect shop to pick up a gift for a loved one when you’re all out of ideas. The personalised items and gift wrapping service make it the ideal outlet to find a gift that’s heartfelt and thoughtful whilst also being convenient and handy with all these facilities in the shop itself.

Branding is a powerful, powerful thing. People’s opinions are crafted by the branding they are subjected to; their minds are affected by the advertisements they witness.
And I think that because of their mighty branding, people are a little afraid of Thornton’s. In the same way that no one is prepared to admit that £1000 bottles of wine taste exactly the same as the Spanish anti-​freeze you can buy for £2.50 a litre in Spar, the bland and tasteless chocolate of the Thornton’s group is defended from the truth by the power of its branding. If you say Thornton’s chocolate tastes like expensive cardboard, or possibly like well sugared glass, you’re a heathen! A philistine liar who wouldn’t know good chocolate if it was injected into his brain.
Well, the only thing Thornton’s has going for it is the obscene price. Everything else is decidedly average.
Except for the ice cream. The ice cream’s actually pretty good. It’s probably ASDA Finest ice creams repackaged, but still; pretty good. Go get an ice cream from Thornton’s.

Although we all know that all Thorntons sell the same products, each shop can have a very different feel to it; just like any chain store. So I’m reviewing this store because I was particularly impressed with the standard of service, among other things, in this branch.
Nestled along Queen Street, not far away from Lush, I sometimes find my appetite taken away while standing on the street outside this store because of the Lush smells. But fear not, when you go inside, the appetite will return, I promise you.
This is a very nicely kept store. Everything is always neat and tidy and fully stocked, and the window displays are some of the most charmingly precarious that you’ll see on a shopping trip around Cardiff.
But the best thing about this place are the staff. I went in recently trying to find a present for a friend. No nuts, no Belgian chocolate, no dark chocolate, no Turkish delight, no marzipan, no chocolate ‘flavour’ things (chocolate itself was okay). So there I was with my long list, and instead of laughing or being unhelpful, a staff member was swiftly assigned to me and I was aided, in a very friendly manner, in the chocolate selection process.
Thank you Thorntons, and may your products continue to be yummy.