The scarcity of chocolate stores in New Orleans startled me. There are only five outlets to purchase bonbons or truffles and one chocolate manufacturer; everything else is closed on Sundays and Mondays. Five businesses is a very equitable ratio for a city of just under 400K people, but for a city with over 18 million tourists each year, that is a shockingly tiny amount of possibilities. Nevertheless, if I listed every praline maker and candy store in New Orleans, this list would be much too large!
alternatively, in New Orleans, bonbons. There are Kilwins and ITSUGAR locations downtown for people searching for more recognizable names, but neither offers anything unique to the city. Evans Creole Candy Factory, located in the French Quarter, is currently owned by Café du Monde and no longer offers bonbons (hence bumping it from this list). Lastly, Lollis Chocolate in Larahan exclusively offers chocolate-dipped biscuits and molded chocolates for each season, with no bonbons to be found. As a result, this directory is restricted to stores who sell bean to bar chocolate and
Despite the reduced numbers, I am certain that I have discovered the greatest chocolates in New Orleans. Read on to make your own decision!
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Chocolate Stores in New Orleans
Chocolate Piety & Desire
Piety & Desire has become New Orleans’ only chocolate producer with the closure of Acalli Chocolate. Piety & Desire, unlike the city’s numerous confectionery stores, creates its own chocolate from scratch, beginning with cacao beans that they sift, roast, peel, ground, and sweeten themselves. The founder makes every single product they offer from bean to bar, with a consistent rotation of sources and a few limited edition innovations each year. The most impressive lure for tourists, without a question, is their spectacular selection of bonbons.
Hand-painted bonbons and other sweet delicacies are prepared using the house-made chocolate that isn’t molded into bars. This includes a limited run of King Cakes and King Cake-flavored chocolates in the weeks leading up to Mardi Gras. Beyond the beauty of their bonbons, Piety & Desire is New Orleans’ only chocolaterie to employ liquor in some of their chocolates and to provide a vegan-friendly variety. My faves from their permanent menu have to be the Sesame Pralin and the Caf au Beignet, but don’t take my word for it; this winter, you’ll get the opportunity to visit their new permanent caf area [which is currently only available for pick-up].
2727 South Broad Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70125
[Only curbside pickup] Hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday [currently pre-orders w
New Orleans Sucr
Sucre is a New Orleans institution that formerly had three locations across the city, while the business is currently only at one location and has been under new management since 2020. The shop’s speciality is handcrafted cakes, but they’ve also become well-known for their macarons and charming décor throughout the years (see above). As you go inside the store, you’ll see a variety of gelato varieties, rich cupcakes, and exquisite pastries, as well as a medium-sized coffee menu with tea and hot chocolate alternatives. The location normally invites visitors to sit and remain for a long, but it also strongly promotes photography.
We had to leave with a box of 8 macarons and a pre-packaged set of chocolates, ignoring the dragees and Sucre-branded merchandise, since the chocolates are the true focus of the evaluation. They no longer have a case of bonbons on hand, but you can still purchase them by the box, so my verdict is as follows: all three types of their bonbons tasted the same, like sweet chocolates with varied hints of texture and acidity. I’m not sure what flavors these were intended to be, but I’m not going to purchase them again. The macarons, on the other hand, will have me coming back till they run out.
3025 Magazine Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70115
Sat. hours: 12 p.m.-8 p.m., Sun.-Thu. & 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri.
Confections with a Bittersweet Flavour
Bittersweet Confections has been in business for almost 20 years and has earned a strong reputation in the community. People seem to be attracted to the business more for its personalized cakes, pastries, and cupcakes, as well as the cafe’s modest coffee selections and fair-sized breakfast menu, despite the company’s bonbon emblem. Down the bottom of their display case are nine distinct varieties of couverture chocolate truffles, and on our Thursday afternoon visit, the shop was packed with people ordering from every tier of the display case.
However, since chocolate truffles are the emphasis of this tutorial, we chose four varieties to test out: lemon, hazelnut, brown butter, and crème brulee. The truffles were all rolled in a different color of sprinkles and had a dark chocolate ganache foundation. The hazelnut and brown butter flavors were the same as plain chocolate, and the only one with a discernible flavor was the lemon, which was pretty good, albeit overpowering. Although I wouldn’t return for the truffles, I would certainly try the cupcakes next time, since the icing to cake ratio seems exactly up my alley!
725 Magazine Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
Tue-Sat: 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m.
Southern Confectioners
Although there are many more praline businesses in New Orleans than chocolate stores, there is no question that the popularity of pralines is what opened the way for the citys sweet craving. Southern Candymakers’ first location, seen above, was inspired by the simple dessert, and they still give out praline and chocolate samples to any interested clients. Besides from that, they sell ice cream, jelly beans, and a variety of New Orleans culinary and flavoring components, such as olive salad.
lb. (pralines included) (pralines included). The milk chocolate tutles with sea salt were the group favorite, but the milk chocolates in general turned out very sugary, as did the white chocolate, which I just cannot suggest. The dark chocolate confections we tasted, on the other hand, were sweeter than anticipated but not as overpowering as the milk and white chocolates; I’d purchase a box of the dark chocolate oreos in a heartbeat. Everything in their front case is milk, white, or dark chocolate, from oreos and marshmallows to the country’s most popular nuts, and it’s all $24.
334 Decatur St, New Orleans, LA 70130 [2 addresses]
Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays; open till 7 p.m. on weekends. [normal shop hours]
Laura’s Candy
lb. Yet, on the left side of the shop, there are a variety of savory culinary items, such as Slap Ya Mama spice, as well as sweet candy by the pound. Candy is an accurate descriptor for the many different types of sweets available at what claims to be New Orleans’ oldest candy shop. As soon as you step in, you’ll notice a case on your right with every variety of fruit slice imaginable, as well as chocolate-dipped confections in milk, white, and dark chocolates. Choices include gourmet truffles and chocolate barks, as well as toffees, marshmallows, biscuits, turtles, and more, all for $28.
We departed with a little selection of each variety of chocolate, having tried each of the basic chocolates separately. The milk chocolate is quite sweet with a mild cocoa flavor, whilst the dark chocolate tastes like chocolate frosting and the white chocolate tastes like sugar milk. If these tastes appeal to you, I suggest stopping by Lauras to sample their many filled chocolates and caramels and toffees. Our favorites were the English toffee and the dark chocolate toffee, although there are over a dozen kinds to select from.
331 Chartres Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
Daily hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Map of NOLA Chocolate Shops
Did this article assist you in locating a new chocolate business in New Orleans? Tell me in the comments!
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