Discover 6 Great Chocolate Shops to Visit in Chicago

Chicago is home to some big heavy hitters in the world of chocolate: Blommer Chocolate Company, Frango Mints, and World’s Finest Chocolate. Chicago even has the headquarters of Barry Callebaut downtown. So naturally, it makes sense that the city would be home to craft chocolatiers and shops. Here’s a list of great Chicago based companies that specialize in all things chocolate.

Chocolat Uzma

Located in the Pilsen neighborhood in the Southside of Chicago, Chocolat Uzma offers everything from bon bons to drinking chocolate. Coming from a family of pastry chefs and bakers, Uzma Sharif decided after working as a pastry chef at Museum of Contemporary Art’s Wolfgang Puck restaurant to open her own business. She opened Chocolat Uzma in 2012 to “create a product infusing my colorful culture and things that are staples in my pantry into chocolate and pastries.” She wanted to bring the flavors of Pakistan to the world of chocolate and pastry.

Her most popular chocolates are her bon bons/truffles which come in 16 different flavors, one for every tasting profile, such as “Zeera” that contains cumin and honey or the “Golden Spice'' that has turmeric and cardamom. She mostly uses Valrhona chocolate but it depends on the profile of ingredients she is working with. Recently she created a pomegranate and yogurt truffle as well. Open currently on weekends, this place is not to be missed!

Cocoa + Co

After a career in the wine world, Kim Hack, founder of Cocoa + Co, wanted to make the equivalent of a wine shop but for chocolate. The idea was that people could come in and get recommendations on different types of chocolates and possibly pairings, just like a wine shop. She opened the shop in 2015 in Old Town and currently sells 150 different types of chocolate bars as well as coffees, drinking chocolate and pastries. When asked what she recommended, she says that the bars in her purse are Marou Ba Ria Ginger Lime as well as Rozsavolgyi Olive and Bread 77% Bar.

The chocolate bars offer a variety of bean to bar or single plantation chocolates as well as different price points so everyone can enjoy but all of them have to taste good and Hack has to respect what the artisans do with their chocolate, whether how it's sourced, their labor practices, etc. She partners with Meg Gallis, a pastry chef, to make their pastries. Ultimately, she wants people to think of chocolate as “a rabbit hole that is really fun to fall down in.”

The Fudge Pot

Just down the street from Cocoa & Co, The Fudge Pot has been a neighborhood staple since it opened its doors in 1963. James Dattalo runs the family-owned shop that makes every chocolate from different kinds of fudge to chocolate dipped strawberries or orange peels. They use variety of chocolate brands from Blommer’s Meadowland Milk as well as Wilbur and Ambrosia varieties for dark and white chocolate, Dattalo says. It’s a place you want to go to since it’s a real delight for the eyes. There’s chocolate molded into anything you could think of from tools in a toolbox to a bunny on a motorbike they have 1,000 molds that will suit almost every occasion. It feels like a blast from Chicago’s past and is not to be missed by chocolate fans.

Katherine Anne Confections

Opening its doors in Logan Square in 2012, Katherine Duncan wanted to make something that would make people smile. She had been fascinated by the world of chocolate and caramels as a child and that curiosity has continued to the present day. The current shop has an open format so folks can see the chocolate being made while enjoying their treat. They’ve just reopened indoor dining. She’s best known for her truffles, including boozy ones and savory ones, but her drinking chocolate and marshmallows are not to be missed. Recently they’ve announced plans to open a second location in Irving Park that hopefully would open next year. Here’s a longer interview with Katherine Duncan about her shop.

Noir d’Èbéne

While Noir d’Èbéne is in Evanston, a suburb just north of Chicago, it’s well worth a visit for the discerning chocolate connoisseur. Journey Shannon, inspirer of happiness of Noir d’Èbéne,  opened her shop in November 2020 because  she loves food and music. “It brings us together,” she says, ”It lights you up and makes you shimmy and it makes you tap your feet. Just let the blues float away. I like being a part of that magic.” She makes all of her own chocolate, sourcing cocoa beans from a single farm in Cameroon and a cooperative in Peru. She describes her flavor profile as “funky and interesting.” Sometimes she’ll incorporate spices like Trinidadian Scorpion Peppers into her chocolates; other times, she uses goat’s milk. Other confections include chocolate covered orange peels, single origin chocolate bars, deconstructed peanut butter cups, as well as pastries like brownies and cake. Ultimately, she wants her chocolates “to remind you that life is sweet.”

Vosges Haut-Chocolates

Located in three locations in Chicago including both airports and the Bricktown neighborhood, Vosges has been bringing its unique chocolate to Chicago since 1998. After training at restaurants and traveling in Europe, Katrina Markoff decided to pair high quality chocolate with ingredients not traditionally associated with chocolate in the United States such as wasabi and paprika. Now she’s got a selection of truffles, chocolate bars, wellness collections and special collaborations such as the Grateful Dead. Read more about Vosges’ use of cheese in their chocolate bars and truffles here.

Where else to find noteworthy chocolate? Portillo's, a hamburger and hot dog joint spread out through Chicago, has a truly spectacular chocolate cake with the secret ingredient allegedly being mayonnaise.