Brussels' Chocolate
Updated: Oct 1
Chocolate is good.
We tried all the chocolates in Brussels so you can go straight to the best.
In general, we like to take a dark chocolate covered caramel as our first challenge piece. If a chocolatier can't get this one right, we have little hope for their other flavors. We usually try a coffee or citrus flavor next. These should be strong but not too sweet, and the citrus needs to be just the right amount of tangy. It is delightful when chocolatiers have inventive flavors, like eastern spices, teas, and spices. Again, we expect strong flavors, and good balance when flavors are combined. If we can't tell what flavor it is from the taste, but must resort to looking at the flavor pamphlet, that's a fail.
The Royal Galleries is a good place to visit several chocolate shops. It is a famous mid-1800's shopping arcade. You can read more about it on our 6 Things to Do in Brussels page. This was the birthplace of the chocolate praline, so it is a fitting spot for your excursion.
#1 is Passion Chocolates. They have several stores in Brussels, with one near the Grande Place in the Royal Galleries. (They also have shops in Luxemburg) We think the chocolate is the best quality overall here. The fillings are consistently strong and, here's the kicker, it's also the cheapest of the high quality chocolates, coming in at less than $1 per piece. If you get your chocolates in a box, they will sprinkle some chocolate coffee beans inside for no extra charge. They also give samples. Filled chocolates are mostly gluten free. They can tell you which are not.
They have several stores throughout Belgium and Brussels, with 2 near the Grande Place (near the Manniken Pis at Rue de l'Étuve 55, and another closer to the Grande Place at Grasmarkt 55)
They are also generous with their samples and have excellent chocolate and strong, interesting filling flavors. In addition, we recommend the whisky-filled bon bons. The quality of the alcohol is good. They also carry other types of alcoholic bon bons but we liked the whisky best.
The cost of Elisabeth is about $1 per piece.
#3 is Mary's. It is also in the Royal Galleries, and has been since 1919, plus there is a location on the Grande Place. (Other locations throughout Brussels, wider Belgium, and Japan) Mary's is the official chocolatier to the Royal Court of Belgium. We had the caramel chocolate and found the filling was a perfect consistency--a bit better than Passion Chocolate's version--and the chocolate is excellent (but we like Passion just a smidge better). The decorative boxes at Mary's are famous and beautiful. Now it could be that in a side-by-side tasting of other flavors, Mary's might come out ahead of Passion or Elisabeth on some, but since they are 2x the price per piece, and we don't feel we are compromising with Passion or Elisabeth, Mary's didn't get a chance to challenge on more than the caramel.
The chocolates here are about $2 (or a little more) per piece.
#4 Neuhaus should be noted, because it is a famous, old Belgian brand. Neuhaus was Swiss but moved to Belgium and opened a pharmacy in the Royal Galleries in 1847. He had the idea to cover medicine in chocolate, and later his son invented the praline (filled chocolate). You can see this pharmacy vibe still in the shop design
There are of course many other chocolatiers here. We have also tried Pierre Marcolini, Galler, and Leonidas. They are fine, but our top 2 beat them all.
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