Argh! I typed a long review but my web browser must have gotten hungry (for chocolate haha) and decided to eat it. In short, I stopped here on a Saturday shortly after Easter while running errands in the area. I had wanted to try Hotel Chocolat for a while but decided to wait out the busy holiday season (I believe it opened in December/January in the long-vacant space formerly occupied by Ghirardelli cafe, but don't quote me on that). The store is sleek and modern, with a wall of chocolate, showcasing over 100 different varieties - some boozy, and the Velvetiser Cafe, serving up the brand's signature drinking chocolates along with standby coffee drinks and pastries from Publican Bakery. The woman working at the cafe was helpful and recommended a mocha. It was not overpoweringly sweet and I enjoyed savoring it, along with my book, in the seating area. The seats are plentiful and the vibe is relaxed. This would be a great place to meet up for a coffee/chocolate drink and to read or work/study. read more

This is just gonna be a quick little review as my visit to this chocolate store in Chicago in April 2026 was a short visit and I didn't order anything from their cafe, but after being impressed by the good selection and the box of 12 I bought there, I am a fan! I didn't know that Hotel Chocolat was a chain before going in - honestly, ny bf and I visited because we needed to know if this was a hotel or a chocolate shop. Turns out, it's a fancy chocolate shop! There are loads of options here and the chocolates are beautiful. Also, less sugar chocolates? Count me as a fan! I couldn't afford a box at the full price but I bought a heavily discounted box of 12 assorted pieces for only $10 (originally $30!) I didn't love every piece but about 75% of them, I loved! These are thicc chocolates too. I'd love to come back to this location or any other one of them in the future. The alcoholic chocolates sound delicious! read more

Hotel Chocolat - Chocolatiers & Shops Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I thought the store was cute. They utilized their space really well to showcase a lot of options. The hot chocolate bar was a cool experience. I wanted their opinion and received a clementine hot chocolate. It's VERY rich, delicious, and not too sweet. All the employees were really friendly and helpful. I recommend a visit, but make sure to eat slowly. The richness will get you and you'll have a tummy ache from too much goodness. read more

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A little too much hype. While the chocolate is good it's not any better than Ghirardelli or Lindt. We purchased several packs of chocolate from the chocolate wall ,12 to be exact, and also tried some treats from the counter. Frozen Milky made with whole milk and chocolate whip on top. It was a very nice chocolate milk shake. They need bigger straws. Iced Milky not sweet enough. Kind of bitter. A cup of chocolate ice cream was good with a very chocolate flavor. The rip and dip pastry with milk chocolate. The pasty itself was not great. The melted chocolate is what made it ok. But again not much different in flavor than melted Hershey milk chocolate chips. The employees were friendly enough but seemed to move at a snails pace making things maybe that's part of the brand. They move slow because they think it's worth waiting for. Over all worth a try if on that end of Michigan Ave. just not as an exciting or delicious experience we were hoping for. Decor inside was honestly kinda cold and over lit. read more

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Cool place! I love chocolate so this was a fun place to experience. We tried a variety of chocolate items from the cafe, such as a hot chocolate latte, iced chocolate latte, and a warm shot of thick and creamy drinking chocolate. The shot of drinking chocolate was the best thing we had-- such and decadent. We got it with a pastry, which was a bit dense. The iced chocolate was a bit watery but the hot chocolate latte was tasty. Cool atmosphere, fun decor, and lots of seating. Next time I'll have to purchase a box of chocolates. Great place to shop for chocolate gifts. read more

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Been trying to go here since they opened. However, can never get in since they close soooo early...after eating at all the restaurants in the area, we always want to go for desert, but they're always closed!! missing a huge opportunity not staying open to at least 8pm. Bad business model!!! read more

This is an amazing chocolate shop. First of all they often have some samples. Second the hot and iced dark chocolate is delicious. There are plugs and places to sit. A nice modern store. read more

OMG. This place is chocolate heaven. An immersive experience that serves luxury of delicate chocolates. The cafe menu serves a variety of hot and cold chocolate flavor drinks. Friendly Staff. Small cozy dining area for you to sit and enjoy yourself goodies. There is a display wall of chocolates for you to purchase $8.00 each or 3 small pack of chocolate for $20.00. Sweet Deal to purchase for yourself or give as gifts. This place is definitely a chocolate gem located across from The Water Tower. read more

The selection of chocolates was very large. This is where the old Ghirardelli store was. The dark chocolate peppermint latte was average. Checkout was fast. read more

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Cute little chocolate shop in downtown Chicago. Because we had just eaten, we did not sample the hot chocolate, but I hope to do that another time. Even if you just go to see the different chocolates, it's a fun experience. I ended up buying little raspberry filled penguins to serve with our Christmas dessert. They were a big hit. Just thought I should know that it is not actually a hotel. read more

I come from the service industry, and transparently, the cafe closing 30 minutes before the business closes without notice is unfortunate. We came for hot chocolate and were told that we can only buy retail chocolates. Additionally, the way it was handled was the worst. We stood there for 5 minutes listening to staff complain about other guests, and after 5 minute they said "cafe is closed, you can buy something else". No hospitality or courtesy. As there are many places in Chicago with great service and amazing drinks, I would go elsewhere. read more

Stale praline on the chocolate. Not the highest quality. Disappointing for us. Did not try any of the beverages or pastries so cannot speak to that. To go chocolate is a pass. read more

Ehhh. Located in the former Ghirardelli location, this new chocolate shop and beverage Café has been gaining traction around the globe and social media. I decided to check it out while in town because I do like a café style hot chocolate/drinkable chocolate. It's adorable when you walk in as there are many displays of various types of chocolate, truffles, etc. very well packaged and displayed. Seems reasonably priced although I haven't tasted them for flavor or freshness. I approached the counter. It was warmly greeted by two female employees. I opted for the hot chocolate flight to kind of get a well-rounded flavor of multiple drinks. It was brought to my table a few minutes later. I opted for the vegan version. It came with a 80% dark, peppermint, hot chocolate, I think a hazelnut version and a surprise which seemed to be like a chili ginger. To be honest, it was just OK. I know they use less sugar and they want the chocolate flavors to come through, which is fine and that's what you taste. However overall, the flavors were just OK. For $10 it was fun just to try it. They offer another one which is a classic tasting/flight which had other flavors like salted caramel, 70% dark, etc. I opted not to have the chocolate whipped cream, but it did look delicious. I did end up purchasing three different varieties of chocolate. Those are normally eight dollars each or three for 20. Neighborhood parking lot some street parking but I would use public transportation. Just a minute off of Michigan Avenue near Loyola university. Close to a lot of other tourist areas. You can easily take the 151 bus to get here it's a few minutes walk from the Chicago redline station. It's worth a shot to try once I probably wouldn't come back as I think there's other better hot chocolate/coffee/beverage cafés throughout the city. read more

Hotel Chocolat - Chocolatiers & Shops Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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unfortunately, this review does not have a review of the chocolates since there was only one friendly person working a register and they have to run over and deal with drinks. we stood in line for a bit then left. Valentine's Day too- seems like a day to have plenty of help on hand. suggestion is have a register for candy box only purchases. the store is beautiful, selection is really well displayed and I'm thinking I'll be back once they have more help on hand. service-2, ambiance 5 read more

Hey! This used to be Ghirardelli! Remember that. They just opened another location in Bucktown this month (see our review). I had a hot chocolate. The staff and service are always chocolateriffic. read more

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Love all of it! The cafe is large enough to hold lots of customers and still be able to move easily! There is a nice bow front window with seating and great displays of very interesting chocolate. Our order taker was the nicest and our drinks came out quickly and accurately! The hot chocolate was absolutely the best I've ever had. Just wonderful Tasty chocolate! I had 85% with the whip and I'm thinking about going back today! read more

Hotel Chocolat - Chocolatiers & Shops Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I received their Valentines day chocolate package. It was insanely good. Amazing quality and not crazy expensive compared to some other overpriced chocolate gifts. Hands down the best place. read more

On our annual trip downtown to walk Michigan Ave for Christmas one of our goals was to get to Hotel Chocolat. Since it's on the opposite side of end of Michigan from where we started we were plenty cold and in need of something to warm up with. It's right next to water tower, very easy to find. The space is very modern and inviting. They have a handful of pastries and chocolate drinks at their bar area. The chocolate drinks are available hot, iced or frozen. Since it was 20 degrees out, we ordered them hot, I ordered the classic 70% cacao and my wife got 85%. These are the same percentages we prefer in our chocolate. We also got a pull apart pastry that came with a cup of melted chocolate. They dispense the chocolate out of a spoget like cold brew coffee or something, it's magical. The real problem was from what we were told there was a crew working nearby and the fire alarm was constantly going off. It was so loud it really took away any enjoyment we had and we had to just leave after a few minutes. So after quickly eating the pastry, I can say it would be 100% better if it wasn't so cold. It was good but it was like refrigerator cold. The melted chocolate was as you can imagine amazing. I am not the biggest fan of hot chocolate, but this was next level, complex, creamy and smooth. It was awesome. We did buy some candy that weI haven't tried yet, they have a huge rack of small packs of different candies, it all sounded great. I would like to go back and enjoy it more when it's quiet. read more

I stopped by on a Saturday afternoon and got in line at the café around 5:00 PM. The line was extremely long and moving very slowly. After waiting about 30 minutes and finally reaching the front, I was told the café had just closed. It was very disappointing--I was excited to try this place and always enjoy supporting businesses in downtown Chicago. Unfortunately, the experience ended before it even began. read more

We had very high hopes for our visit to Hotel Chocolat but we were very disappointed. We arrived in the afternoon only to be told they were closed and not taking hot chocolate orders or food orders, even though they advertise there hours being from 9am to 8pm. They told us we could come back in a couple of hours and they would be serving. So thats what we did and we were turned away again. We were in line and then informed that our place in line would not be served but if we wanted to purchase chocolate that would be allowed. Overall it was a very frustrating experience. Just keep in mind what you see on social media isn't always what you get in real life. read more

Very cute shop and good hot chocolate. The staff is also super kind. It's nice that it has a variety of flavors to choose from! Only issue is that they ran out of their 2 most popular flavors by the time we got there in the evening. The cherry hot chocolate was good, along with the salted caramel. read more