Best Chocolate Shops in Melbourne

The Swiss and Belgians have long had a stranglehold on the production of quality chocolate. And while many shops in Melbourne still work with couverture chocolate imported from Europe, a smaller number of operators have brought the entire process in-house, with impressive results.

We’re already a world leader when it comes to coffee, and there are many parallels between the two industries: the beans come from the same regions, both products involve fermentation and roasting, and even share terminology such as “single origin”.

In compiling this list, we haven’t discriminated between shops that re-mould European chocolate and those that actually roast, winnow and grind their own cacao beans – all we’re interested in is that the finished product is up to scratch. And in that respect, there’s plenty to choose from.

Words by Dan Cunningham And Holly Bodeker-smith
Updated on 7 April 2022

Cafe

Ratio Cocoa Roasters

A single bar of chocolate takes four weeks and eight steps to make - and you can watch the entire bean-to-bar process through glass screens separating the kitchen from the attractive blue-and-white dining space.

Shop

Atypic Chocolate

French-born chocolatier Charles Lemai works in a transparent kitchen set at a chocolate-friendly 20 degrees Celsius. You can bet everything here – from the single origin drinking chocolate to the whipped-cream meringue sandwiches – are made on site.

Shop

Burch and Purchese Sweet Studio

Celebrity chef Darren Purchese's own sweet studio in South Yarra. The multi-level store is a wonderland for the senses, where you can pick up kaleidoscopic cheesecakes, “explosive” desserts and artfully-shaped blocks of single-origin chocolate.

Cafe

Hunted & Gathered

A minimal industrial space where brothers Harry and Charlie Nissen craft their highly refined chocolate. Single-origin cacao nibs, coconut sugar, cacao butter are the only three ingredients used to create each unique flavour profile.

Cafe

Xocolatl

What separates this store from the average chocolate cafe is its experimentation with a range of exotic flavours, without producing chocolate too rich or sickly sweet. Find single-origin bars, fruit and nuts “enrobed” in couverture chocolate, and Faberge-inspired eggs at Easter time.

Cafe

Bibelot

A dessert boutique showcasing petits gâteaux, macarons and more by Chez Dré next door. If you can’t get your chocolate fix from the neat retail section, two chocolate taps sit ready to coat your ice cream.

Cafe

Mörk Chocolate Brew House

Hot chocolate brewed with the same principles found in the specialty coffee realm. Cocoa beens are traced from origin to cup, ensuring the highest quality and ethical standards.

Shop

Koko Black

The Melbourne-born chocolatier's sleek flagship has a dedicated bar for hot chocolates and chilled drinks made with all-natural ingredients. But you'll also find croissants, cakes, cookies and 40-plus pralines; and a chocolate wall filled with around 700 blocks.

More Options

Chocilo, Ivanhoe

Formerly the Australian Chocolatier Shop, this purveyor of affordable, “luxury” chocolates has a warm retail and cafe space where you can pick up choc-coated confections, signature smash cakes and more. A range of inventive drinking chocolates (Sicilian orange, French mint and chilli-infused) is backed up by coffee from NZ roaster, Supreme.

The Ministry of Chocolate, Croydon

With a strong focus on sustainability and local ingredients, this family-run chocolatier has plenty of fun with its range. Case and point: the stilleto-shaped chocolate heel. It also does wine-pairing hampers, praline gift boxes, and mixed “survival kits” that include highlights from the core range.

Hahndorf’s Fine Chocolates, Various Locations

Old-school truffles and creams, chocolate-dipped liquorice, and novella-sized blocks – Hahndorf’s treats are classic in the best possible way. Its Balwyn North site is allegedly the first cafe-and-manufacturing hustle of its kind in the city, and has since spun off into eight more stores from Geelong to Greensborough.

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