- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Coffee & Tea |
- All
XOXOLAT
Category: Food Specialty Food Chocolatiers and Shops Chocolatiers and Shops [Edit]
2391 Burrard StVancouver, BC V6J 5L1
Neighbourhoods: Kitsilano, Fairview Slopes
(604) 733-2462
- Hours:
Tue-Sat 10:30 am - 6 pm
Sun 12 pm - 5 pm
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
21 reviews for XOXOLAT
Review Highlights
-
"...some awesome homemade ice cream chocolate covered treats." In 4 reviews -
"Great selection of fair trade brands like Theo from Seattle..." In 3 reviews -
"...fruit and chocolates and ice cream bars dipped in..." In 3 reviews
Loading...
21 reviews in English
-
Review from Sara D.
Vancouver, BC
1/23/2012
I live around the corner and pop in regularly for a bar of sugar free 100% chocolate. The stuff in wrapped bars at 7/11 is typically around 35% and its supplemented with sugar. Darker is better, and xoxolat has a selection.
They make bars in house, ones with bacon! They have chocolate shoes too, which I will never understand. Staff is friendly. Overall win. -
Review from Barbara R.
Burnaby, BC
12/13/2011
A wonderful spot for the chocolate lovers, an amazing selection of exquisite and unique selection of chocolates of all over the world.
The owner its also very knowledgeable and friendly. Staff its happy and customer services impeccable!
A must try! -
Review from Ellen L.
12/22/2011
My experience here began with their Chocolate 101 tasting class this past summer. I never realized that I could be a fan of real dark chocolate (not "chocolate" candy bars) until then - ah the beginning of my ever-so-slight chocobsession. The owner is friendly, knowledgeable, and humble. The same can be said of her staff. The chocolate selection here is varied and unique; haven't seen anything like it in Vancouver. It would be just lovely, even if I'm coming in to browse.
Listed in: Confessions of a Chocoholic
-
Review from Isabelle G.
Vancouver, BC
3/11/2011
I originally heard of this store 'cause we in the office were fucking around trying to find bacon chocolate and this was the first company that came up on our google search. We ordered on-line through work for the bacon chocolate which was extremely good, too good for words. I never made it down to the shop since it was further along Broadway than I wanted to travel to at the time. I found a social shopper coupon for 1 hour chocolate tasting and lecture accompanied by a box of chocolates for $18 each (regular $45 each). I originally purchased this as something cute for my date for Valentine's Day as he is a culinary expert just like I, however, due to the class demand, was only able to get in yesterday March 10th for the class.
I will admit that I know a lot about food and chocolate, however, there was a lot of information that I did not know about which was cool and made the lecture worth while on the education front.
The store itself is overwhelming and had I gone in just off the street without an introduction to chocolate, I would've dismissed this place and left for my garden variety mars bar sadly.
Since the lecture I haven't been able to go to regular 7-11 chocolate bars. I found that a small piece of real chocolate satisfied my craving than eating cheap drug store chocolate. I came out there with a higher appreciation for good chocolate.
The lady who gave the lecture was pleasant and funny in her own way.Listed in: Time of Month Chocolate
-
Review from Melissa E.
Vancouver, BC
5/22/2011
I got my sis and I a Chocolate 101 class for her birthday (see how i got myself in there?) and I have to say, it was awesome. This store would be rather overwhelming for someone coming in off the street, even for the chocolate connoisseur. I found Hodie really funny, endearing and honest. She doesn't pretend to know more than she does but what she has learned since opening the store is a lot.
We started off with 100% coco nibs and over an hour moved down the spectrum ending up sipping yummy liquid chocolate. My favourite...their bacon maple chocolate. Good lord. There is nothing wrong with that.
At 15$ the course was well worth it. My only suggestion...if you are a true dark chocolate freak bypass the gift box and save your money for the amazing bars you will be sampling. You will get a 10$ discount as part of the course so don't forget your credit card. -
Review from Reena M.
12/1/2010 4 Check-ins Here
I've been here twice for the "basic chocolate 101 crash course" through Social Bites and always had a good experience. It's good to really taste the subtle differences between these chocolates and gives a better appreciation for them, like with wine.
I've also been given chocolate from here as gifts (and bough some myself) and they're quite tasty. If you didn't like dark chocolate before (I didn't), you will after this. Their prices range from "okay" to "really expensive" for chocolate but I'm guessing the "really expensive" is for the more refined palate. In fact, the owner even told us that if we're not that sensitive to the differences in chocolate notes or interested in that, then we should steer clear of the expensive bar because we would just be wasting our money.
I was impressed that she didn't just try selling the pricey stuff. She really cares about chocolate genuinely--even if she did just buy the business on a whim.
As for products, I really like the xoxolat line of chocolate bars--it's dark chocolate but really smooth! The west coast breakfast bar is interesting. ALso the Zotter brand of chocolates are quite unique.. they have tonnes of filled one--my favorite is the butter caramel--it's like a chocolate covered soft peanut brittle, minus the peanuts. Zotter also makes this duet of chocolate bars where they pack two different dark chocolate bars from two distinct regions together and you can taste the difference in chocolate notes based on where the cacao was grown.Listed in: Give a *good* GIft!
-
Review from Sara M.
12/2/2010
I have walked past this shop a million times after hours and always thought "that looks cool I should pop in" buuuut never did. BUT then it was the cherry on top of our Social Bites evening! Jackpot.
I am giving this shop the extra star for Hodie herself. I love going somewhere that customer services the crap out of you. She is honest about the stuff she does know, and the stuff she doesn't. The chocolate tasting intro that we did was pretty awesome. I didn't know chocolate had "notes". Or that your typical run of the mill chocolate bar has lots of wax in it.... like wax your snowboard wax. Gross.
The chocolate I tried was fantastic! I highly recommend the Zotter line. YUM! The shop has lots of chocolate for the novice or fancy refined palate. Opt for a tasty and healthy bar that costs a little more, and leave the wax to your snowboard :)
Thanks for changing the way I look at chocolate! -
Review from Cara P.
12/1/2010 1 Check-in Here
I'm not a huge chocolate eater but I quite enjoy all of my visits to Xoxolat. The staff are very knowledgeable and love their products and it really shows in the selection, the atmosphere, and the amount of information you can learn by just asking someone 'what's good?'.
I've been to Xoxolat for both walk by shopping and a basic chocolate 101 crash course and would highly recommend both, or more if you can get it! If you're not sure about the origins, health benefits, flavours, regions, percentages, etc. of chocolate, and you really want to know, then you should really head here and ask.
Best chocolate shop in the city! :) -
Review from Nadine N.
Vancouver, BC
11/12/2008
Monde Chocolat brings you chocolate from around the world. If you are a chocolate aficionado you might really get a kick out of all the high end chocolate bars from Austria, Switzerland, Ecuador, Spain, Belgium, Italy, and France.
When my wife and I walked into the store, we were the only customers there. Three employees were working on something and none of them really acknowledged us or offered us any assistance as we wandered around the store. I would give this place another star if I felt better about the customer service.
We finally settled on some chocolate covered pretzels and chocolate covered dried mangos. The chocolate covered dried mangos were quite good, but the chocolate covered pretzels were a dud. In fact, I still have the chocolate covered pretzels in the baggie that they came in. Unheard of in this household! -
Review from shain r.
Vancouver, BC
10/2/2008
So the fastest way to my heart is ALWAYS through my stomach! I stumbled upon this little gem one day walking home from downtown, and have been a fan ever since. Their biggest philosophy is how chocolate can be broken down into our senses, smell, touch, feel, and most importantly taste. my favorite selection of chocolate is the Republica del Ecuador Cacao which was created to enhance the complexities of the Arriba Cocoa beans....yum! They also have a summer selection of frozen treats that are amazing and my favorite is the ice-cream bars dipped in Terra Nostra certified organic chocolate.. YUM YUM!
so run.. don't walk to this shop and experience what I am sure to be an indulgence for the senses. -
Review from Kreag S.
Vancouver, BC
1/26/2009
Having a dinner party and need a quick and fun dessert ASAP?? Well kidos..make a trip to Monde and look through their freezer for some awesome homemade ice cream chocolate covered treats! The ice cream bombs are..well...the bomb!
They also have a great selection of homemade chocolate that have been carefully created by their skilled chocolatiers...
The staff are pretty good..not the friendliest but helpful none the less...when chocolate is the item on the menu do you really need help?? -
Review from Celeste T.
9/20/2010
This place has amazing chocolates - a wide variety of flavors and textures from many countries and chocolatiers. They have their own truffles as well, with truly wonderful flavors like Strawberry Black Pepper and French Lavender.
However, I felt like I was an interruption when I came in to order a box of chocolates. The lady was mystified that I was ordering from her, was slow, and wasn't very polite. The store would get one more star if I had felt like I was appreciated for my business.
It would get an additional star (the fifth of five!) if I were charged the amount for my box of truffles that was advertised on the sign, but it was mysteriously three dollars more - with an un-itemized receipt to say why. I didn't feel so strongly about it that I would bother asking the lady who had already been somewhat rude.
Also, after coming home, I noticed the Canadian - US exchange rate was better than I thought, so I feel slightly better about the overcharge! But still...go there for a great selection of great chocolates, and not for great customer service. -
Review from Katie F.
7/20/2010
I've driven by many times but have never come inside... Very glad that hubby was craving something sweet after dinner!
This is a nice little shop that has some of its own chocolates (barks, dipped fruits, boxed items that you can fill with chocolate items from the display.
Great selection of fair trade brands like Theo from Seattle and imported brands like Valrhona from France and some harder to find brands like Amadei and Amano.
Prices are a touch steep but the chocolate we bought was great quality. We had a milk chocolate bark with nuts to share - I like that their milk chocolate is actually a bit dark... was about $8.50 a piece. Would come back again! -
Review from Kat S.
11/18/2010
A couple lady friends and I came here for the Groupon chocolate tasting a week ago. It was an interesting experience. Let me explain...
The woman running the tasting was the owner, and she explained to us numerous times that she doesn't have a super refined pallet for chocolate, and only bought the store because it seemed fun. Okay, great. She was nice, don't get me wrong, but it just felt like maybe she wasn't the best person to be giving the class. The class was supposed to be a Chocolate 101, but her presentation was pretty scattered, and she would jump back and forth, which left me a bit confused and not really sure what we were supposed to be learning. We finally got to try some chocolate, and that was fun, and tasty. And she had lots of samples for us, so no complaints there. I just had a hard time following along with the presentation because a lot of her "facts" were made up numbers. Which she admitted to. It just seemed like she wasn't really prepared to give us the info because she didn't really know it herself. There were some good bits, and I have a higher appreciation for chocolate, I suppose, but I don't think I would have felt satisfied had I paid full price for the class. Also, it's a tiny shop, and we were packed in there, with no seats. So we stood for an hour and a half trying to taste chocolate while balancing our belongings in the other hand. I wouldn't recommend the class to someone who is quite pregnant, or can't do long periods of standing.
Anyhow, other than the class, the chocolates were very nice, and I enjoyed trying a range of different varieties, flavour combos, and percentages, and I especially enjoyed the drinking chocolate. We got a lovely gift box of the shop's own confectionery chocolates, and I bought a couple bars, too. The chocolate shoes are really cute, too. Two of my favourite things!
Overall, it's a nice shop, with a very good range of chocolates, and the class was interesting, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone wanting a serious understanding of chocolate. There are other classes for the non-beginner, and they are taught by someone else who has a lot of knowledge, so perhaps those classes are better.
For stars, I would say a 2 and a half for the class, and a 4 for the shop. -
Review from Katrina R.
Burnaby, BC
5/27/2010
I have given a couple gifts from this store, and also sampled a few things myself. Never been disappointed.
If you want to be impressed, get one of their sampler boxes. I was amazed at the variety of flavours and textures.
They also have these little foil-wrapped bug chocolates, and I bought maybe 8 of them and put them on my walls and fridge. I call them my "emergency chocolates". I like them as decorations as well. :) -
Review from Donna H.
Vancouver, BC
2/7/2011
I've only been to Xoxolat once; I had been interested in trying this place out since I often seen it on my drives down Burrard Street, and the yelp reviews seemed to be pretty consistently good. I went in on a Sunday at about noon, which is close to the time they open. The shop was pretty messy... really messy. There was stuff everywhere, except for chocolates to buy, which there were hardly any of. I ended up buying a pack of truffles in a wooden box (no lid) with cellophane wrap taped to the sides of the box -- I thought this was a little odd as there were a bunch of pockets where air could get inside the box (where there wasn't any tape).
Based on my first experience, I would not go here again. To be fair, I didn't try the chocolates, but the presentation and disarray of the store turned me off (the disarray is probably due to the fact that it was a Sunday and that they had just opened, but the lack of care in the presentation and service makes me wonder). I think I will stick to Thomas Haas or Chocolate Arts.Comment from Hodie R. of XOXOLAT 3/4/2011
Hi Donna, I am extremely sorry about your experience at… More » -
Review from Elisa W.
Vancouver, BC
Updated - 3/5/2011
When I called to make sure I could have my remaining chocolates picked up, the young lady I spoke to on the phone was much more helpful.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
2/10/2011
One star just because the chocolate is delicious. However, keep in mind there are other delicious… Read more »
Comment from Hodie R. of XOXOLAT 3/4/2011
Hi Elisa, First - Thank you for taking the time to comment!… More » -
-
Review from Cameron M.
Toronto, ON
11/4/2008 1 photo
In months like October, when everyone seems to have a birthday and I'm stuck for a gift I always head to Monde Chocolat. Food is an easy thing to give and chocolate is even easier.
Monde has a lot of great fresh, handmade chocolate products but what I'm really into is their chocolate selection from around the world. They have a bit of an airy fairy philosophy about sensuality when it comes to tasting and making their chocolate but I can definitely understand when some of the flavors available are things like chocolate and bacon! Monde definitely takes the whole chocolate experience to a gourmet level and makes it more about experimentation than a lot of other chocolatiers.
They definitely get props for not only having their own products but a store full of all the best stuff around the world. This is definitely a fun place just to browse but yeah, when you are stuck for a gift I'd always suggest perusing the stranger chocolate covered delights. I've gotten many a smile from giving those. -
Review from Victoria R.
BC
12/19/2008
Chocolate is therapy for many, including me. I like the fact that people make it an art-form and design chocolates like it is a piece of clothing or a sculpture. And the fact that we can now get something other than Kit Kats or Mars or even Rogers chocolates and actually make it our everyday chocolate of choice is wonderful. I like the different world chocolates, fruit and chocolates and ice cream bars dipped in chocolates. Chocolate heaven, in fact it's a world of chocolate heaven.
-
Review from Gloss E.
3/2/2010
Pretty good, pretty good. Worth the stop. I usually like to hand pick my chocolate but there was a nice sized pre-pack for $15 so I went with that. It was a great way to sample many. The apple pie flavour is super yum and the pure chocolate truffle just melts....
-
Review from Coco C.
Edmonton, AB
8/31/2009
My husband is crazy about peanut butter, so it's no surprise that we chose to have peanut butter cups made by Xoxolat to put in our wedding favours. Heather (Hodie) was a sweetheart to work with - as a bonus, she offered us better pricing for our large order than any other gourmet chocolaterie that I inquired at. I am a total foodie, so I've had the opportunity to sample a variety of Xoxalat truffles by way of what I like to call "apology chocolates" (my husband through many years of courting me has learned that the quickest way to end to dispute is to go for my stomach). Well, let me tell you guys and gals, it works like a charm every time. I will definitely be popping into the store more often, now that the wedding is done and I don't have to worry about fitting into my dress :)
