Koko Black

Melbourne-born chocolatier Koko Black opened its flagship store on the corner of Chapel Street and Toorak road in South Yarra in 2019, a sleek space with six-metre-high ceilings, Australian timber surfaces and custom-made lighting and furniture.

It’s also home Koko’s first ever Chocolate Bar, where you can order the brand’s signature hot chocolates in flavours such as classic Belgian, chilli, orange and mocha. Purpose-designed milk wands automatically steam the hot chocolate to between 70 and 75 degrees.

But it’s not just hot chocolates – you can also try the range of “Chills” (essentially a frappe) made with all-natural ingredients. The refreshing strawberry number, for example, uses real strawberry purée, white chocolate and vanilla ice-cream.

You’ll also find croissants, cakes, cookies, freshly churned milkshakes and Koko Black’s ice-cream and sorbet flavours highlighting native Australian flavours such as strawberry gum.

At the centre of the space is a zigzagging brass pendant light, and beneath that, a custom-designed counter displaying Koko Black’s 40-plus varieties of praline. There’s also a giant wall displaying around 700 blocks of chocolate in 25 flavours.