Everybody who loves chocolate knows that Belgium has some of the best chocolatiers in the world. As I was planning a trip to Brussels, I got super excited about eating the finest Belgium chocolate on Belgium soil. Once I arrived in Brussels, it quickly became apparent that finding the best chocolate in the city wouldn’t be easy. Literally, every second shop sells chocolate and the quality varies greatly!
So the geeky part of my personality kicked in and I decided to embark on a quest to find the best chocolatier in Brussels.
Qualities of a good chocolate
So what critique did I use to select the best chocolatier? The chocolate should be glossy, smooth and silky, but never gritty. Good quality chocolate has a high cocoa butter content. This means it will melt quickly when you hold it in the palm of your hand or on your tongue. And then, of course, it should taste great!
And so it begins
With limited time and budget at my disposal, I couldn’t visit every chocolatier in Brussels and taste all the chocolate (although, that would be kinda epic!). By doing a bit of research online, I narrowed my list down to 10 chocolatiers. I went to each chocolatier and selected one or two samples that appealed to me most, the chocolates that looked the tastiest.
Here we go, counting down the best chocolatiers in Brussels!
10. Chocopolis
Lame name, lame chocolate! The shop assistant wasn’t friendly and the chocolate was very expensive too!
I selected the ‘Crunchy praline’ (white chocolate) and ‘Honey’ (milk chocolate). The chocolate wasn’t smooth and silky, quite the opposite. It was grainy and sugary, and I couldn’t taste the honey in the praline.
I didn’t like this chocolate at all and I wouldn’t recommend it. The Belgium chocolate you buy in bulk at the tourist gift shops is probably better than the chocolate at Chocopolis.
9. Leonidas
You’ll find Leonidas shops all over Brussels. But just because the shops are everywhere doesn’t mean the chocolate is great. In fact, the chocolate was a let-down for me.
I selected the ‘Manon café’, the most popular white chocolate praline with a coffee hazelnut filling, and ‘Petit Coeur’ with a mango ganache filling.
I loved both the coffee hazelnut and mango ganache fillings, but the chocolate itself wasn’t very good. If this was about fillings, Leonidas would rank higher, but it’s about chocolate. Sadly, the chocolate was a huge disappointment.
8. Frederic Blondeel
I selected two pralines at Frederic Blondeel: the ‘Truffon’ (white chocolate with hazelnut praline) and the ‘Coeur’ (milk chocolate praline with hazelnut).
The chocolate was smooth and good, even tasty. But something was lacking. The chocolate didn’t have that WOW factor for me.
7. Elisabeth
Here I selected the colourful chocolates: the yellow ‘Passion caramel dome’ and the green ‘Salty caramel dome’.
The chocolates were so smooth and shiny they looked like marbles! The salted caramel dome is good, but the passion caramel dome was even better. I loved the hit of passion fruit in the chocolate.
6. Godiva
At Godiva I selected the ‘Lady Citron’ (white chocolate with a lemon olive oil ganache) and the ‘Ecusson Caramel Sale’ (caramel chocolate sale with lime).
The chocolate was smooth and shiny with a good hit of citrus in both. White chocolate and citrus flavours just work together so well. My favourite between the two was the ‘Lady Citron’. Also, take a look at the funky designs on the chocolates below.
What I also loved about Godiva is the other chocolate products they offer. The ‘Crispy mini pearls’ is so yummy and the ‘Blonde chocolate salted caramel’ is to die for!
5. Jean Galler
I selected two pralines, the ‘Palet Blanc’ (white chocolate filled a coffee ganache) and the ‘Balzane’ (white chocolate with an almond praline).
The chocolate is top quality: smooth, shiny and tasty. It ticked all the right boxes!
4. Neuhaus
I selected the ‘Manon’ (white chocolate ganache with a walnut on top) and ‘Prestige’ (milk chocolate filled with caramel).
Between the two, I really loved the ‘Manon’. The white chocolate was melt-in-your-mouth smooth and so delicious! The walnut added some crunch to the chocolate. The milk chocolate was really tasty as well.
3. Corné
I selected two pralines, the ‘Manon Blanc’ (white chocolate praline) and the ‘Cornet Dore’ (milk chocolate shaped to look like a mini ice-cream cone).
The white chocolate was super smooth with a creamy filling and a crunchy walnut. It was so delicious! The milk chocolate was great and I loved the playful design.
2. Pierre Marcolini
This best way to describe Pierre Marcolini is that it’s a designer chocolate boutique. The chocolate looks so pretty and perfect, you almost don’t want to eat it!
I sampled only one chocolate here, the ‘Coeur Framboise’, white chocolate with a raspberry pulp filling. The delectable chocolate melts in your mouth. The chocolate was a beautiful shiny, red colour. The raspberry pulp was vibrant and packed with of flavour. Head to Pierre Marcolini for truly delicious Belgium chocolate.
1. Mary Chocolatier
My favourite chocolatier in Brussels is Mary Chocolatier!
I selected two white chocolate pralines, the ‘Gabriel’ with a creamy vanilla filling and a walnut, and the ‘Blanche’ with a nut praline filling. The chocolate was super smooth and silky and melted quickly between my fingers. The taste was phenomenal!
All the delicious treats are hand-made (even the whipped cream!) using only the best ingredients. Another reason to love Mary is that she was the first woman chocolatier in an industry dominated by men. She was also the first chocolatier for the Royal family. An added bonus is the friendly and helpful staff members in the shop.
A little secret…
I’ll let you in on a little secret… If you visit these high-end chocolatiers and you order only one or two samples, you may get them for free! Three out of the 10 chocolatiers I visited gave me free samples (Pierre Marcolini, Jean Gallier and Godiva). Being friendly and polite really goes a long (and delicious) way!
Let me know if you agree with my ranking and Bon Appetit!
