Chocolate Museum & Cafe — Restaurant in Dr. Phillips

Took advantage of the Groupon deal, which included the tour and wine/chocolate pairing. Went in on a Saturday afternoon, and was greeted with a golden ticket for the tour. Exactly on the hour, our guide came and began our tour. We first watched a video on the history of chocolate, and then our guide narrated the rest of the history. He also introduced some of the appliances used to make chocolate. After that, we were taken to a room containing some amazing chocolate sculptures for a couple minutes. Then we went to another room where we got to sample some pieces of chocolates. While the chocolates were delicious, they were from third party chocolate bars, and not the museum's homemade chocolate. We did get to try a small sample of their homemade hot chocolate, which was delicious. While the tour was informative and our guide narrated pretty good, he was pretty nonchalant and could have been a bit more entertaining. It's probably because I have been to another chocolate museum nearby (chocolate kingdom). This tour is geared more towards adults, and children will most likely get bored quickly.

The wine and chocolate pairing came afterwards. I was given three homemade chocolate pieces with 3 small glasses of wine. The server who greeted me when I entered also explained each of the chocolates and wine, and explained how to enjoy it. The chocolates were very delicious and I savored every bite of it. The wines were pretty good as well, and ranged from dry to sweet. I found this inclusion with the Groupon deal.

There were some other food, drinks, and dessert offerings, as well as homemade and other chocolates to buy, but found to be a bit pricey. There was ample seating to enjoy the wine and chocolates. Smooth jazz lounge music was in the background, giggity! Parking is free and relatively easy as this was in a strip mall.

Overall, while I did enjoy my tour, I think chocolate kingdom is a bit more entertaining and interactive. At chocolate kingdom, the guides are more entertaining and humorous. Plus, you get to play a game with a dragon over there. But I still think adults will enjoy the Chocolate Museum and Cafe, especially with the Groupon deal. The wine/chocolate pairing with the tour makes...

Oh my Word, it was terrific. We had such a great time. 1st we took the tour. Our tour host Tony, knows everything about chocolate & made it very interesting for everyone. I was impressed with the amount of thought that this Museum shows. Before we started everyone was asked about allergies. At 1st I was wondering why but upon reflection; what's one of the things we all like in our chocolate..NUTS! So away we went with a great video to start, not too long & a great deal of chocolate information. Listen to what your tour guide says if you go because if you like chocolate & you want chocolate around for the rest of your life, we'd better get on the stick & save our Rain Forests! Then we went through more rooms with different information regarding chocolate. I can't tell you everything because then you wouldn't go & that would almost be a sin because it is well worth the trip. There were samples from 7 different types of chocolate as well as a taste of the most delicious hot chocolate ever! We were there celebrating a birthday ( an experience rather than a gift) & we looked over every product in the place. Then we all wanted to grab a bite to eat, so we went to the Chocolate Cafe & had Panini's. Mine was excellent & everyone in our group said theirs was too. Salad's, Panini's, pastry, cakes, custard type desserts...all things chocolate. Ice cream, candy, candy bars, hot chocolate to drink, they have a wine tasting to show how wine can be paired with chocolate, however it is extra $$$ but it looked awesome & several table requested it while we were there. One of our party had to get a shirt about being a "Certified Chocolate taster" and the rest of us dug into our pockets to bring home goodies for later!! Really, if you want to splurge on yourself some after noon, do the Chocolate Museum. It is definitely a...

The Chocolate & Wine Tasting experience is so worth it!

JFJ Almond sparkling wine paired with an almond ganache rolled in sliced almond bits: the overall almond flavor was definitely enhanced with the wine but not overpowering,

Ca' Montebello Sangue di Giuda paired with a white chocolate with a raspberry filling: the wine was mellow, sweet, and easy on the pallet, it was amazing with the chocolate but honestly could be paired with any dessert,

Cabernet Savignon, California, 2022 paired with a dark chocolate covered cherry (cherry cordial): it was a bold combination and had a slight mellow astringency that turned a smoky / salty flavor with the cordial- so cool!

And then I went on the Chocolate Tour.. shout out to Anthony (my tour guide), you were amazing, knowledgeable, & passionate. I really enjoyed learning all of these interesting facts about chocolate & it's origins.

And finally, the Chocolate Tasting: Fruition Chocolate Works Spring Salted Milk 56%, Labooko Zotter Coffee White Chocolate flavored with coffee (loved this one), Amano Cardamon Black Pepper (could be a great fall baking ingredient, I would need to experiment), Venchi Classic Cremino 1878, Paccari Organic Lemon Verbena (I was scared at first but it's really like a chocolate orange except cleaner & with a bright lemon flavor), Mayta Ecuador Raspberry 55% (loved this one too - raspberry REALLY works well with Ecuadorian chocolate), Valrhona Abinao 85% (not as bad as I thought it would be)...

A definite must for chocolate lovers, a definite must for wine lovers, & a definite must for historians... (you gotta help us keep Anthony honest, you know... sometimes it takes...