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| - Before I begin, I should say that the first and only time I've been here was just for a drink post-dinner, so I can't say anything about their food. This is really solely a review of their hot chocolate.
My visiting friend and I had gotten dinner and margaritas at Zocalo, and were heading home on a particularly windy and cold night. I had been in Cleveland for 9 months and my boss kept asking if I had gone to Chocolate Bar - so I seized the opportunity and we went inside. I didn't really know what to expect - I hadn't realized it'd be so restaurant oriented, I guess I had incorrectly pictured more of a bakery-and-bar type thing.
Anyway, we got seats pretty quickly and poured over their menu. Holy hot chocolate. In every form. Normal? Dark? Aztec? English toffee? Caramel? Sea salt? Check. Not only that, but if you turn a page you can then get a spiked hot chocolate - which we both did.
My spiked Aztec Hot Chocolate was delicious and rich, and served at the perfect temperature - I didn't have to wait for it to cool down, but it was delightfully warm. My friend got the spiked English toffee hot chocolate, and my sip of it was equally delicious. Both came with a chocolate stirrer that melted into my drink in about 10 seconds, only for me to rediscover the melted chocolate at the bottom of my glass.
That being said - both drinks were so good that I sort of wished I had gotten it sans alcohol. Were they overpriced? Probably, but considering that the closest I normally get to hot chocolate is some Swiss Mix mixed into my morning coffee at work (if you haven't tried this, you should), it was work the price.
I will say that I saw a few couples here, and it made me cringe a little because the place is just a little too sweet. Maybe I'm just coldhearted though... but seriously! Chocolate bar? Uggg. Too Valentine's-y for me, and it was early January.
The bathrooms were also sort of tricky to find - you have to go out the back door of the restaurant, into the Arcade, and go down a set of stairs. Still, not that bad, and they were pretty clean.
Anyway, I would go back here on another cold night - but only to have a hot chocolate.
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