Chocolat de Kat — Restaurant in Toronto

Found Chocolat De Kat when I was tired of dealing with Soma and their greed-flation pricing. According to Taste of Toronto, CDK are number one on their current list of the Best Chocolatiers in Toronto and I was enticed by their beautiful truffle designs so I got my mom a selection of their truffles, a bar and chocolate eggs for Mother’s Day and she loves them! She says better than Soma and she’s been a Soma devotee for the better part of a decade, as a professional baker. If she’s happy, I’m happy and as a designer myself I am impressed by their overall branding, aesthetic and vibe.

The employee I spoke with was knowledgeable, friendly and happy to guide me through my first, of what will probably be many future purchases. I didn’t get a chance to try the coffee but I will next time, that said there were people there seated having coffee and coming in to buy chocolate, the place has a good overall “community favourite” vibe and I will for sure be back. Two small suggestions, the boxes for the truffles really should be easily closable after you open them (unless we missed something) and May I suggest an amount of truffles between the 9 box and the 25 box, it’s a big jump and I think you would garner more sales from it. Other than that, top notch chocolatier, will be recommending...

Initial impression - skeptical: We were given a box of chocolate bonbons as a gift and I was very skeptical at first. I thought with the beautiful design, that that would be the focus instead of taste. But when I tried one, I was so wrong.

Loved it: I loved how thin and crispy the chocolate shell was and it wasn't too sweet at all!! I wanted to have more than 3 at a time but I had to stop myself (my dad also had to stop me). This was so tasty, and I'm so glad that I was able to try these delicacies. Just be aware that if you want to split a bonbon with a friend or someone, it's very delicate so it will crack a lot into pieces when using a knife to split.

Recommended flavours: I even rated and reviewed each flavour for my friends, I loved the Earl grey and champagne ones as they were so strongly infused with the flavour that I was surprised. It was clear that the taste and quality was not compromised in the making of these cute treats.

Recommendation: I recommend a box of them as a gift or even as a treat for yourself. If you are a skeptic like me, be prepared to be proven wrong within...

[UPDATED REVIEW]: A great little spot in an otherwise ramshackle part of St Clair that is on the bleeding edge of condofication. The coffee's excellent, using De Mello Palheta beans. (When I first went after the place opened, I got a few meh coffees, but since then they've perfected things: I've not had a bad cup since then.) The staff are unfailingly welcoming and friendly, and the place has become a local hangout/socializing spot, not just a daily dispenser of caffeine. Minimal seating, so it's not an informal office spot like Krave down the street.

Oh yeah... the chocolates. They are jewel-like in appearance and consistently delicious. Not cheap but entirely worth it, and they offer a hipper alternative to Stubbe down the hill.

The pastries are baked in-house, which is a big plus, and mainly consistent of huge, oily croissants generously stuffed with cheese or almonds. They're really more like crusty buns than croissants. Again, they've improved since the place opened--the croissants used to be tough, now they're a bit softer.

Nice spot, and part of our regular Saturday...