Tucked in the middle of an office park in Carlsbad is a delicious chocolate factory--it's not Willy…read moreWonka, but rather San Diego's own Chuao chocolates! I especially love their firecracker chocolate- spicy and filled with pop rocks! They had a post holiday sale --50% off their center table. The chocolate flavors are so fun and the chocolate tastes smooth and creamy- churro, sprinkles, s'mores and lots of other fun flavors! The staff is super nice and there's a big window you can see the factory in action.

Friendly neighborhood chocolatier, Chuao has their corporate batch plant hidden in business park of…read moreCarlsbad where they create their seasonal batches and fantastic flavors. I learned that Chuao's pure chocolate shows no signs of any waxy texture. Waxy texture can indicate low quality ingredients. Chuao provides all fair trade, ethically sourced chocolate with no artificial flavors. I'm partial to Dark Chocolate flavors but the milk chocolate is fantastic! Firecracker, Churro, Honeycomb, and Spicy Maya! Tastes so good!

I've ordered from D'Liteful Chocolat three times now, and they've come through every single time…read more For Valentine's Day I picked up a box of chocolates for my girlfriend and she absolutely loved them the quality is on another level compared to anything you'll find in a regular store. You can tell everything is handcrafted with real care. If you're looking for top-quality chocolate from a local San Marcos small business that actually takes pride in what they make, this is the place. The truffles are fantastic and there's a great variety to choose from. Dayleen clearly knows her craft, and it shows in every bite. Highly recommend I'll definitely keep coming back.

Nice store located near Lake San Marcos. Parking is adequate. The store is clean, nice, decorated…read moreas expected. The staff is friendly. I got to try a Macaron making class and it was a fun experience. It was supposed to take 2.5 - 3 hours. The other party was late so we started about 10 minutes late and we went way over 3 hours. The class is very hands on. You get detailed instructions, and a template for the Macaron shapes. The instructor is the owner, and she is Cordon Bleu trained and loves making Macarons and Chocolate. She will tell you all about her schooling, background, experiences, and the history of the Macaron. The instructor will walk you through the process step by step, explaining why you have to be precise and follow each step completely and in order if you want to get good results. She also explains how you may need to add a little extra of an ingredient based on the humidity, the science behind it, etc. You make the Macaron shells and you also make Italian butter cream filling to put in the Macaron. You will get 14-16 delicious Macarons depending on how you follow the template design setup. Enjoy my photos.

See's Candies in Encinitas on El Camino Real is the friendliest! A great welcome sweet treat and I…read morelike that they asked me what my favorite type of See's and gave me a dark chocolate pecan with light Carmel inside called 'Pecan Bud'. It was delightful and delicious! Don't forget to stop by all seasons to get your sweet treats! I'm partial to the dark chocolate and nuts but I can easily be sold for a Dark Chocolate Scotchmallow or Cafe Latte Krispys!

I always have such a great experience at this See's! The shop is always so clean and inviting. The…read morestaff, especially Amelia, are always so friendly and helpful and make sure I'm well taken care of. I'm obsessed with scotchmallows so they help me get my fix every time!

I stumbled upon this place right before Pilates and saw the sumptuous special! The girl told me…read moreabout it and my eyes lit up and I wanted it so bad, but my friend Perla said, "No, we got to go!" Not the best thing to have right before Pilates. The next time we went was after Pilates and I asked my friend if she wanted to share it and she agreed this time! I was so excited to try it! The owner was very sweet she let us try samples of the new marshmallow ice cream that they are testing out. It was so good! I ordered the sumptuous special with frozen hot chocolate. She made it aesthetically pleasing. They asked how I wanted it and I said picture perfect! Watching her make it was so fun and jaw dropping. I was in such awe! The marshmallow alone was so amazing to watch! It was so good and made with such good ingredients. I did share a bit with my friend, but boy I had basically the whole thing to myself and it was perfect. The frozen hot chocolate was bittersweet too. So it was balanced with the cookie, marshmallow, and cream. The perfect amount of sweetness for me. It was pricey, but it was worth it! Well worth it to try it at least once! I am absolutely coming back again!

I had these cookies at my Wedding !…read more My husband and I stumbled across this bakery a few years back on our way home from Los Angeles. I am a cookie feen and these cookies quite literally stopped me in my tracks. The Scarlet letter cookie .... Just get one. In my case I get at least 4 of these each time I go. The most imporant thing in any cookie is the actual dough and theirs is always the perfect balance of buttery and sweet! I despise dry crumbly cookies and these never even come close. They are all so good! The staff has alway been very nice and when I have gone it is never outrageously busy. Worth the detour everytime.

Loved everything from Sip n Sea!! They have a great menu and everyone working there was so…read morefriendly. OG Acai bowl was phenomenal - one of my favorites in the area! The honey is incredibly flavorful - I've never noted the honey as a standout ingredient of an Acai bowl before but whatever honey they use is so floral and delicious it adds a really special flavor to the bowl. Great acai base as well that isn't too sweet. Matcha latte - I got the honey lavender and even with that flavor added it was not too sweet which I really appreciated. They also have juice and baked goods - what a great spot!!

This spot is AMAZING! The customer service was spectacular! My drink was too sweet and I wanted a…read morenew flavor, they remade it for me! I got the iced matcha with vanilla syrup and their vanilla cold foam and it was so good I came back the next day for another one. Disclaimer, I got 25% sweetness the first time and then 15% and it was perfect for me. Outside seating area is nice. Didn't have to wait long for my drink despite it being pretty busy. Free parking lot right next door. No bathroom but the place next door let me go. Will definitely be returning when we are in town!

THE BAKED BEAR ENCINITAS…read more Parking is mostly street parking, and you may be able to find a few spots nearby. Since it is located on the main strip of Encinitas, it can get pretty busy depending on the day and time. I came on a Sunday afternoon with one of my friends because we were craving a little sweet treat. There are so many dessert spots along the main street in Encinitas, but I had only been to The Baked Bear in Pacific Beach before, so I wanted to try this location. When you walk in, you can order a scoop of ice cream, cookies, brownies, or create your own custom ice cream sandwich by mixing and matching your choice of cookies, brownies, and ice cream flavors. I decided to go all out and made an ice cream sandwich with a brownie on one side and a Cookies and Cream cookie on the other, filled with Cookies and Cream ice cream. It was so delicious. The cookies were warm, soft, and paired perfectly with the cold ice cream. I would definitely recommend this combination. The staff was super friendly and welcoming, which made the experience even better. It is a little on the pricey side since my custom ice cream sandwich came out to about $10. Personally, it is one of those desserts that you could probably recreate at home with store bought ingredients, but it is still a fun experience that everyone should try at least once. If I had one suggestion, I wish they made their ice cream in house or offered more unique flavors. Most of the flavors were pretty classic, so I would have loved to see some more creative options. The shop itself is nice, but there is not much indoor seating. There are a few standing tables outside along with some chairs right in front of the shop, which is where my friend and I ended up sitting. Overall, it was a great experience, and I would definitely come back whenever I am in the mood for a sweet treat.

Really interesting concept. And thankfully there isn't one near where I live as it would be too…read moretempting. Came here with my kids while on vacation. They got a brownie bowl and a chocolate chip bowl. The bowls come with ample ice cream. I got a cookie sandwich with the yellow butter cookie and cookies and cream cookie. It was great that they warmed it up. In terms of ice cream flavors, we really loved the strawberry shortcake, and also liked the cookies & cream and milk & cookie. They offer a punch card, and a water station which comes in handy. Just a really chill place. Not cheap whatsoever but it's worth the splurge if you're on vacation.

I tried some of their belgian chocolate covered strawberries and it was yummy. Their chocolate…read morefountains and strawberries on sticks were uniquely displayed. They have other options available if you don't want fruit. They are available for weddings if you want something like this at your event.

We used Chocolate Haven and my wedding last weekend and I have to say it was one of the things that…read moremy guests kept talking about! They LOVED the chocolate, they LOVED the options that were provided for dipping, and the guy that was there replenishing the items was so nice! He left a plate of an assortment of chocolate covered items on the table for my new husband and I to enjoy, which was so thoughtful! And I have to say, Georgie, the owner, was a PLEASURE to work with! She was extremely helpful in suggesting what items are the most popular (we struggled with the 5th item and settled on the nutter butter cookies...which the guests absolutely RAVED about!). The presentation was perfect - the items were spaced nicely and the strawberries looked plump and juicy...most were on skewers already, but some weren't for those guests (kids!) who like to do the skewering themselves! If I could give Georgie and Chocolate Haven more than a 5 star review, I would. You are not just a customer to Georgie - you are a person and she really makes sure you get what you are looking for. Thank you, Georgie! It was a pleasure doing business with you!

While their yelp says they are temporarily closed, they are offering beachside delivery. Alisio…read moretook our order and brought our gelato to us in our beach chairs! They had gelato, boba, and coffee. They even had non- dairy options. Great gelato and great service! Can't recommend enough!

Gelato 101 has nice vibes. It has both indoor and outdoor seating…read more They don't only have Gelato ,but also they have coffee, Boba, Açai bowl, shake, and smoothies They have many great flavors to choose from. The sizes are Doppio (two flavors) Triplo ( three flavors) Quad (four flavors) and kid gelato size. We stopped here after dinner and ordered two Mango, and one mango and stracciatella. The Gelato had nice and creamy texture.The line was very long, but it moved fast. The staff were nice. Highly recommend.

Wow--what an overwhelming amount of ice cream choices! This place seriously has everything,…read moreincluding a bakery and coffee, so it's a great one-stop spot. Service was pretty quick, which I appreciated. They also offer gluten-free cookies and other baked goods, which is a nice bonus. That said, the gluten-free cookie on its own was pretty bland--but I could see it being much better paired with ice cream. One thing to note: they don't really offer a kids size, and when I asked for smaller portions, they said it would still be charged as a regular--so parents of little ones, just a heads up! The ambiance wasn't super inviting--more of a "grab your treat and go" vibe--but with its prime location near the beach, it's easy to see why it stays busy. Overall, still worth checking out!

Not worth the difficult parking…read more Food: 1/5 One flavor is three scoops of ice cream. We ordered two flavors, which was four scoops, hoping we could split the ice cream into two cups so we would each have two scoops. We asked our server if they could split the ice cream for us--just put two Ube Matcha scoops in one cup, two Cookies and Cream scoops in another. This is against company policy, but they were willing to give us a second cup so we can surgically operate on the mixed ice cream and split it ourselves (??). The Matcha Ube was more green tea flavored than matcha or ube. The Cookies and Cream was good. The ice cream--even if three scoops for one flavor--is just not worth the street parking or flavor mashing. There are other better ice cream places. Service: 3/5 Nothing to say or add. No bad news is good news. Atmosphere: 2/5 Holy overstimulation. There were two other families in the ice cream parlor with us, and we were all being serviced at once at the cashier. It's too small of a room to do that. I would recommend this place to kids 12 and under who live down the street and need a quick sweet treat. Final rating: 2/5

Love that they do full cakes and cakes by the slice, great options! Also love that they do samples…read more:)

I have bought a few different cakes for special occasions multiple times at their location in the…read moreFORUM shops location of Carlsbad. Hana, Haylee, Brittany, Lauren, AND Andrea (who took my phone order) have customer service skills that rival the industry's BEST!!! Mahalo and Aloha, Edward Jim