Hunter Valley Chocolate Company @ Twenty-3-Twenty — Restaurant in Pokolbin

Great selection of chocolate products!

Unfortunately there's one old lady with short grey hair working the counter/cafe area with a very unwelcoming attitude. One family from our party went and bought ice cream for his two daughters, and they were just about to take a vacant table when suddenly she slammed a "reserved" sign in front of them. He apologised since it wasn't there beforehand, but it was very strange behaviour. When I heard about it I went up to her and asked about the reservation that was supposedly there for 3pm (meanwhile it is currently 3:32 as I type this) for a chocolate tasting. She asked if we're "tourists or locals or what?" and her tone was so dismissive. Then she said "actually the chocolate tasting is booked out for today and tomorrow", but just a moment before she said "how am I meant to know" when I asked her when the next available booking would be. Awful service and I'm afraid to say it may have been racist motivations because my family and I are clearly not white, unlike the other patrons in the shop. I hope they address her behaviour because it's so hurtful to be treated like that.

Oh and by the way, while we were browsing and finalising our purchases, I looked over to see if there really was a chocolate tasting- you can guess what I'll say next, but it was just a group I'd seen earlier that bought from the Cafe and sat down to enjoy their treat. Really sad that I was lied to, and for seemingly no reason?

EDIT: After reading through some other reviews and seeing other POC's experiences, I can confidently say that this lady (and looks like the male owner too) are...

Unpleasant Experience, Rude Staff, and Unfair Accusations"

I recently had the opportunity to visit the Hunter Valley Chocolate Factory, and I must say it was a rather disappointing experience. The main issue was the behavior of the staff, which left a lot to be desired.

Upon entering the factory, we were looking forward to exploring the wide array of chocolates and treats. We had already made a substantial purchase of over $100, and our younger daughter inadvertently chose a product we had already paid for. While we were in the process of choosing other items, the staff approached us in a rather rude manner.

The staff pointed to the acid fruit ones, claiming we had damaged them. To our surprise, every pack on the shelf appeared identical, with just a bit of sugar drop inside each pack. It was unfair and disheartening to be accused of damaging something that was indistinguishable from the others.

This experience was made worse by the owner,”This is not a toy; it's your commitment to buy once you put it in your basket," when we had already made a significant purchase.

My visit to the Hunter Valley Chocolate Factory was marred by the rude behavior of the staff, the restrictive policies regarding product handling, and what felt like an unfair accusation. I hope they can work on improving customer service and communication to ensure that future visitors have a more enjoyable and...

My wife and I visited this factory on 4/7/25. Ally who attended to us at the counter was ever so friendly and helpful. She offered and bubble wrapped all of our products. We told her that we will be back the next day as my daughter also wanted some products which she had seen on the website. The following day we took up Ally's recommendation to have tea and the lovely scones at the cafe. We would like to commend your lovely staff members , Ally, Rylee, Lucinda and Holly who contributed to our pleasant afternoon tea at the cafe. Please pass our commendations to all of them, especially Ally. Her work ethics are excellent and she displays a passion towards customer satisfaction. We did purchase additional products but I was a little disappointed when I inquired about the price of the "uncoated honeycomb" The price on the website showed $9.50 but we were charged $13.00. This was because a sticker was pasted over the bar code. I tried to show the web page which was on my phone to the manager (Lady) but she said that she had no control over the website pricing. She displayed a "don't care attitude and walked away. The slight price increase did not matter to us but the unprofessional response certainly put a damper on our visit. On a positive note we do enjoy the lovely, tasty products at this shop although it...