The Xocolate Bar

Why would you close a desert shop at 6 pm every day? How am I supposed to get my chocolatey reprive???

Lots of love for The Xocolate Bar! Delectable and unique treats, best of chocolate in the East Bay.

Vegan Dark chocolate bars are really yummy and they have a variety of flavors… cardamom is my favorite but many of the others are quite tasty!

First you should know that I’m not a dark chocolate fan. It’s usually too bitter for me.
Second, I had no idea what was in store (or in the store) other than chocolate. I’ve found that usually means dark and light, but not all or mostly one kind.
So, having walked by this place sooo many times because it’s been closed, I found myself on Solano at the right time of day because Xocolate Bar was Open!
Cute little shop. Francis (I believe she said that was her name) has decorated with warm colors and chandeliers. Also, her display cases are not refrigerated, just humidity controlled so the candies don’t sweat and stay tepid
Just about everything I was looking at was dark chocolate. But the flavors were so exotic that I decided to give a few of them a try.
But first, since I was new, I was offered a little sample of sipping chocolate. I wasn’t expecting to like it at all, but I found myself cleaning the inside of the cup out as best as I could. It’s actually one of those things that gets better with each sip.
I purchased a Cardamom Marshmallow, Tamarind mango, salted chile truffle, Saigon cinnamon truffle, Balinese vanilla bean truffle and apricot marzipan.
Sharing with my Fiancé, we both found the marshmallow to be very aromatic with the flavor present, not strong. Well done. We were not fans of the vanilla bean. The apricot marzipan and the tamarind mango were very fruity, very nice. I liked the salted chilie more than my Fiancé’ and we both liked the cinnamon truffle.
There are lots more choices, even chocolate bars.
We enjoyed our tasting, pairing everything with a nice Port. A little pricy, but for the experience to taste such exotic flavors, it’s well worth treating yourself or someone you love… or like a lot.

I’ve been here before and the chocolate is good. It’s comparable to the other boutique chocolate places in the area, although the selection is a bit more limited. Unfortunately, it’s only open three days a week. I came by today to pick up a surprise for my dark chocolate-​loving husband and they were closed. On a Wednesday. In the middle of the day. How are they paying Solano Ave rent on 3 days a week? Their prices are high but not that high, and it’s never been rammed when I’ve been here in the past. I’ll be sorry to see this place go if these extremely limited hours are indicative of cost-​cutting measures. Welp, I’m off to someplace open to spend my money.

The Xocolate Bar has chocolate bars, truffles, chocolate pieces, and the OMG bar.
based on previous chocolate tastes, there’s always a slight letdown when eating chocolate bars, truffles, etc. so i went for the recommended OMG bar.
eats: OMG bar (5)
–roasted almonds, dark chocolate, salted caramel.
absolutely deliz, every savory bite.
*reminds me of «Mounds» bar, different ingredients but same idea.
5 stars for the OMG bar, 4 stars for everything else.
5 stars for the cashier/​owner? who gave partisan yet helpful advice.

I took a chocolate making class this weekend with the co-​owner the other night at the Albany Rec Center. We learned to make bon bons and dipped chocolates and left with an assortment of 12 delicious chocolates to take home. The flavors are inventive and I cannot WAIT to go to the shop to try some of the other flavors we heard about at the class. I recommend the Saigon Cinnamon bon bon and salted caramel dipped chocolate. Amazing!

Received a box of the Xocolate bar’s chocolate for holidays. Loved them! can’t put them down just after one chocolate!!!

This was my boyfriends secret chocolate spot. But I’m telling the whole Unilocal world! This is what all chocolate aspires to be. A sensual experience for your mouth with every bite. There is no reason you shouldn’t go to Xocolate imediately and have at least 4 chocolates right now!

Very good local chocolate. Well priced, considering quality. Love the OMG bar, chocolate-​dipped banana, etc. Many vegan offerings, and the ones I sampled (I last visited with a lactose-​intolerant friend) were quite good.

I was pretty sure I knew all the interesting places along Solano Ave. I was wrong; sometimes you need an insider to point out small interesting spots. A recent monthly Unilocal Hood Hunters led me here.
The truffles are not overly sweet; the smooth fillings complement the hard shells. I usually buy just one to two, because despite all my good intentions, it seem that I eat whatever I purchase before I’m even in the car. I would feel bad coming home with chocolate breath and have nothing to share.

Artisan vegan chocolates, hallelujah! I really dug the mango tamarind in particular, but they had plenty of other vegan choices. My boyfriend was into the cardamom, which I don’t think was vegan. It was a little too strong for my taste but not to the point where I’d turn down a free one, cause hey, free chocolate. The OMG bar and sipping chocolate (dairy-​free!) looked positively divine. On top of all that, everything was just beautiful — definitely impressive enough to give as gifts.

These chocolates were excellent. Their cardamom-​flavored chocolates were innovative, balanced, and playful. Get them. I don’t even like chocolates because I usually find them too rich, but these were rocking.

Starting off, I’ll say that I don’t really like chocolate all that much. Sometimes I get a wild craving for it and go bonkers, but I haven’t done that for awhile. That being said, I thought the chocolate here was fantastic. While my girlfriend liked other ones more, the cardamom chocolate blew me away. It had a nice rich flavor, and afterward I almost felt like I had the kind of breath I get after eating Indian food. In a good way.
There are several vegan chocolates, including the cardamom one that I thought was so amazing.

Glad they serve vegan chocolates, but very poor customer service. Purchased two truffles to try before deciding on a box of chocolates for Fathers Day (which I explained). For some insane reason unknown to me, this made the sales lady very annoyed. She was abrupt, rude, and basically shooed us out of the door. Um, guess I won’t be buying a box for my pops. I will not return.

Walking along a warm sunny day on Solano Ave, I randomly bumped into this chocolate shop. I wasn’t quite craving for chocolate and was reluctant to buy their specialty pieces due to fear of melted chocolate in my bag.
But… it’s so hard to say no to chocolate! So I opted for a salted chocolate bar for $ 5. Decent priced, I consumed my bar the next day. It tasted smooth and chocolately, and fulfilled my need for chocolate, at least for a while. Can’t say much else about this place because my visit was so brief.
CONVENIENCE: *** [Located on Solano Ave in a quiet neighborhood. Metered parking is ample. Residential parking available within walking distance.]
AMBIANCE: *** [Very small shop. Did not notice any seating inside, but benches available for seating outside.]
SERVICE: *** [I was greeted, but wasn’t informed of any other specialties. Service was quick, but nothing spectacular.]
PRICE: $ [$ 5 for xocolate bar]
OVERALL: *** [3-​stars… is fair. I guess I would have up-​ed more stars if I was given a story or some background of this spot.]
Nuff said.

Time: 3:47pm/74°F sunny
Purpose: Just strolling down solano ave with friend enjoying the day and what ever comes to mind.
Ambiance: Small shop with two benches out front no inside seatings. From the outside one might think it’s two shops but it’s not. On the left front window there are earrings and necklaces for sale along. Place has two showcases leftside is more like individual single pieces the right side is more of bigger barks and darker version. Some are chocolate cover items like fruits and nuts. Nothing more to say however another one of those utopia vibe.
Staff: One girl quiet and answer your questions accordingly, upselling. Offers samples without asking.
Cleanliness: Clean for what the business is meant for.
Eats/​Drinks: Didn’t buy anything just had a sampler of their dark 70% chocolate. It’s solid smooth with real heavy taste of dark chocolate, not that sweet.
Products: Chocolates of all kinds and more could list each item better if you see it in person. Chocolate seasalt barks are delicious can’t get any better. Try their version of hot chocolate will scar you for life. Vegan chocolate can be found.
Punch Lines: Street parking, moderate price, friendly worker, custom boxes, great for after dinner, solid chocolates.
Tradeoffs: You get chocolates made with care and love locally source and sustainable. Not your typical Hershey bar were talking about.
Final Thoughts: When you come into a place like this you just need to appreciate the love for chocolates and the intensify labor put into it. I had other vegan items before just not chocolate til today. Watching kids getting their mouth and fingers all messy with chocolate is another reason I didn’t want to sit on bench outside, is that good.

I finally stopped at the shop to buy a box of chocolates for a gift exchange. They offer several very unique flavors. After discussing with the salesperson the box offerings, I decided on the $ 20 box.
You can choose any flavors you want, as long as they all fit in the box. With that in mind, I was dead set in filling my box to the maximum capacity. I chose all the unique flavors, then the more common flavors. I must have pushed it to the limit, as I believe I had 13 pieces.
Not to leave my sweet tooth left out, I also ordered the Dulce de Leche bonbon for myself. Very savory and rich. The chocolate lingered in my mouth until I swallowed it. Happily, I left the store.
Hopefully the person who chose my gift liked the bonbons as I did.

Got here right before they closed at 6, and even got to sample a few flavors before we chose what we wanted! The lady working there was very nice and helpful in explaining what was in the different types of chocolates. We went with the buddha (filled with tamarind and mango), passion fruit truffle, salted caramel (one of the most popular ones), and OMG bar (filled with caramel, toffee, almonds, etc.). I’d have to say my favorite was the buddha since it was unique and had the sweet yet fruity taste, but the other ones were also amazing. Great service and just what you need if you feel like indulging in chocolate!

Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get especially when they are so pretty looking that you almost want to buy based on the exterior appearance vs. the interior flavor. But since they’re for eating, I had to look past the outside and pick the flavors on the inside I would most likely enjoy. So we did the 12 piece for $ 20 box where we picked anything ranging from the plain square salted caramel to the tamarind mango encased in a chocolate buddha shell.
If you’re lucky, you would score some pieces where it’s beautiful inside and out.