Chocolate Café — Restaurant in Columbus

First of all, I want to make a disclaimer that this is For food only since I myself did not go into the store, I did not rate service or atmosphere. I’ve been wanting to try this place forever as I have heard good things and decided tonight would be the night for take out and a movie. Honestly, my complaint is just quality control And this very well may be something that could be tweaked for the future but for an almost $30 order the food was mediocre at best. The concept and flavor profile ideas are there, but just not executed well. I got the Apple bacon, grilled cheese which despite ratio of ingredients (more cheese and thicker bacon or smaller bread would be better balanced) had great flavor but, it arrived cold mostly due to the packaging of plastic containers. Hot food sweats, Plastic containers + any type of toasted bread Is a recipe for disaster and a soggy sammy. Granted, I was able to fix this by putting the sandwich into my air fryer, which honestly I wouldn’t mind if there was a little sticker for reheating - something noting that a long ride may result in the need of a propped warm-up In a toaster oven (Microwave would have definitely made it worse) I also got The lobster bisque that was so incredibly thick and sweet that it wasn’t edible - almost as if it were a concentrated base that was not diluted properly, or Quite possibly the bottom of the batch which had reduced. As for deserts - lemon tart was ok. The lemon curd tasted like it came from bottled lemon juice which can have a heavy acidic flavor rather than the refreshing citrus fresh lemon juice along with lemon zest creates. There was also a layer of white chocolate between the curd and the shortbread. This may have been used to balance the acidity which I ended up scraping off because I detest white chocolate and it was not listed in the ingredients when I ordered it. Lastly I ordered a dark chocolate turtle since it is the Chocolate cafe and was again disappointed not by the flavor but more so the quality control. It had a gray undertone which means it was not tempered correctly or it can also mean that the chocolate is old. Not what you want to see when you assume chocolate is the money maker. All in all I do believe that these are easy fixes with a little time and effort. I also believe this is not the best option for delivery And would be open to trying again in the restaurant, possibly first thing in the early morning...

On 9/25 I emailed this bakery inquiring about a gender reveal cake. On 9/29 I received an apologetic email stating that my email was delivered as spam which was the reason for their late response. I responded to their email on 9/29 but never heard back.

I called on 10/8 making the inquiry via phone. I spoke to Taylor which told me that she’d had to confirm with the baker if the cake could be made and to quote a price. I sent her an email containing various pictures of designs that could be used for the cake (as requested). I asked for them to pick whichever was easiest for them and to let me know.

On 10/9 Taylor called me back requesting a form of payment. When I asked about the design (as previously agreed) she said she’ll have to call me back because she’d have to speak to the baker. She called me later that day and told me it would be a mix of the two last pictures I sent (attached).

On 10/11 I received a call from Taylor to let me know the cake was ready (she texted me two pictures of the cake). The cake looked nothing like the inspirational pictures. I called Taylor asking if they could at least remove the top design as it was what looked most rushed. She responded that she would have to speak to the owner.

Lisa called me later on 10/11. She was apologetic and told me that she would heavily discount the cake if I still wanted it (I didn’t want it but I couldn’t get another cake in such short notice). The cake was originally $55, she gave it to me for $27. She assured me that the cake was delicious.

I’m writing this review because: the staff was not at all friendly when my friend picked it up. the cake was not delicious!! The sponge was dry and the filling was hard!

I trusted this bakery with a very important date for my husband and I. This cake was the birthday present for my husband as it was my way to tell him the gender of our baby. I was genuinely ashamed to show it to him. I made the mistake of trusting this bakery with a very special moment for us. On hindsight I see how I am partially at fault as I should have taken their initial lack of response as a sign of disinterest.

The first two pictures are of the cake I received and the last 2 are of what they said they use as...

Honestly i’m not one to leave reviews but i’m going to. This cafe has absolutely amazing food. The customer service is the problem. The staff is so rude and two faced. I order my usual sandwhich and one time I called to place a pickup order and she forgot to hang up as she talks to the rest of the staff. She says “blank ordered her annoying sandwhich.” My sandwhich is literally a grilled cheese add chicken and cucumbers and onions…… She wasn’t even the one making it. Anyways the guy she talks to says “oh yeah”. I walk in to get my sandwhich and i confirm who took my order and it’s the girl with the glasses and a ponytail. I tell them to make sure to hang up the phone the next time before saying something mean. They apologize which was fine but everytime i call in it’s her who answers and she’s still extremely rude and sounds annoyed. The rest of the staff is honestly quite the same. They always have an attitude when i place orders. Like don’t work here if u can’t even take orders nicely, it’s the basic principal of food service.

Update- It’s honestly getting ridiculous. The customer service is just disgusting. There’s absolutely no reason i’m calling in to make sure my delivery order is received correctly and they tell me they got the modifications i requested but when i get my food it’s missing items which by the way they are charging me for those modificiations. Also when i called in they rudely just said “cafe” and sounded annoyed about me calling in. I’m honestly done getting food from here. Like genuinely the customer service will be the downfall of this cafe. I’ve been going here for about two years getting the same order so it’s not new to them either. The food is just no longer worth the uncomfortable and inconvenient of an experience the customer service gives you.

Btw you would think maybe i’m not tipping so they treat me this way…. NO i’ve tipped every single order atleast 50% yet they’re still SO rude and not just to me but everyone else that i’ve talked to...