Winter is so bittersweet. Mind-numbing temperatures, blinding blizzards, and treacherous ice, oh joy.

But then there’s hot chocolate. A hug in a mug. And we’re not talking about the watery, powdered stuff with dehydrated marshmallows. Instead, think cups of thick dark chocolate, spicy chocolate, and boozy hot chocolate drinks that warm toes and souls. Here are sweet spots to sip a mug of winter’s BFF.

Taj Boston

Order a Starry Night off the fireside dessert menu, an “upscale version’’ of hot chocolate with steamed milk, rich chocolate, marshmallow, and chocolate shavings. Sip it in style in front of the fireplace in The Bar, with floor-to-ceiling windows that peek out on the Public Garden. www.tajhotels.com

Café ArtScience

This eye-candy restaurant, a canvas for creative cuisine, has got the art of hot chocolate down to a science: Urfa pepper spiced hot chocolate with orange blossom marshmallows. The Kendall Square ice skating rink is a spin away, so glide and then come in for a warm-up. Tip: Request a splash of Diplomatico rum in your cocoa. www.cafeart science.com

Bistro du Midi

Toast to Paris with a cup of hot chocolate at this perfect pre- or post-skating spot not far from Frog Pond ice rink. Acclaimed chef and owner Robert Sisca, who has worked at New York’s Le Bernardin, has created a cocoa rich with Valrhona French chocolate and a hand-toasted marshmallow. www.bistrodumidi.com

Dante

Chef Dante de Magistris’s spicy hot chocolate is a hot combo of cocoa with cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla pods, coriander, cardamom, ground black pepper, cayenne, fresh ginger, and coffee grinds. Turn up the heat with a splash of rum. www.restaurant dante.com

The Met Back Bay

The Boston Hot Chocolate Experience is a hot chocolate tasting menu that brings out the best in winter. You’ll be presented with a flight of four mini glasses, each with a distinct flavor: Classic Hot Chocolate with Taza vanilla chocolate, whipped cream, and mini toasted marshmallows; Mexican Hot Chocolate with Taza cinnamon chocolate, whipped cream, a cinnamon stick, and grated Taza guajillo chili chocolate; Salted Almond Chocolate, with whipped cream and an almond biscotti; and Peppermint Hot Chocolate with Taza cacao puro chocolate, peppermint, whipped cream, and candy cane. Pour on the heat with Bailey’s White Chocolate, XO Patron, Amaretto, or White Crème de Menthe. www.metbackbay.com

Coda Bar & Kitchen

When the thermometer dips below zero, the wind is whipping, and the snow is piling up, somehow make your way to this South End restaurant and say to the bartender or server, “I can’t feel my face.’’ You’ll be served a warm-me-up drink of the same name — hot chocolate made with homemade cocoa syrup (cinnamon, cocoa powder, granulated sugar) and green chartreuse, with a drift of amaretto whipped cream. www.codaboston.com

Papa Razzi

Plop a couple of marshmallows in your cocoa at this Newbury Street restaurant. Order the Café Mocha Menta Panna, a minty hot cocoa that you can lace with Fernet Branca. www.paparazzitrattoria.com

Ogawa Coffee

Kyoto meets Boston and the result is a winter respite of hot chocolate expertly created with melted Carupano dark chocolate, cacao powder, milk, and heavy cream. www.ogawa coffeeusa.com

L.A. Burdick

Channel a tropical beach when sipping a cup of hot chocolate made with South American cocoa beans at this chocolate shop and tea room with locations in Back Bay and Harvard Square. www.burdickchocolate.com

Laurie Wilson can be reached at laurieheather@yahoo.com.