John Kelly Chocolates

Ok, these chocolates are heavenly! Whenever I’m taking a walk on Montana Avenue I will make an excuse to walk down to John Kelly! I highly recommend any of their chocolates with sea salt.

John Kelly Chocolates taste great and are the premier gourmet fudge. I have to say that the last time I went in there to buy a box two dark chocolates for a holiday gift (which cost $ 9), they asked if I’d like it to be wrapped. I said yes, and they said: «It will be an extra dollar» for a 6-​inch brown ribbon (which probably costs 5 cents). I’m sorry, but I’m going to spend $ 4.50 on a piece of fudge, I would expect that you could «wrap» the chocolates for free. I generally think the service is great, but after this experience, I’ve gone there less.

I received a box of John Kelly Chocolates from a client of mine and they told me it was the best chocolate in the world and they were right. I went there last week and the service was excellent and they even gave me a Unilocal discount. Very pricey but well worth the price.
Great gift for a client or special friend. I would highly recommend this company.

Customer service remains on point. I called in a custom order during the holidays and they were able to ship it out to me right away. When I received the order I noticed I was missing a box so after a call to their office they were able to quickly resolve the issue and sent it out immediately.
Friends and family continue to be happy recipients of these delicious chocolates.

Just. Go. Here. My friend and I stopped in during a «sweets» bike tour in Santa Monica yesterday. We easily spent a half hour in the place. Immaculate little shop with information on the walls about the chocolate craft, but what really sets this place apart is Polly, the amazing girl who worked there. The chocolate, of course, was divine — really, handmade chocolate with quality ingredients is hard to get wrong — but Polly knew her stuff. She told us the proper way to eat a salted piece (salt side down) and spent time just getting to know us. This was just one stop on an amazing birthday ride. Thanks, Polly!

The best chocolates in LA if you ask me! I love them — even if I just stop by for one little bite, it’s worth it! :)

These chocolates are so unreal. I used to work at a candy store so I know my candy. I can honestly said they are he best truffles I’ve ever tasted. They’re so rich I’m still in shock. They are super expensive but you only need one they’re so big and filling. MUST TRY

I bought my wife a couple of truffles for V Day. (I got her some more chocolate from elsewhere, but this place basically only does truffles if you want the dark stuff.)
After a bite – hm. Disappiontment. And then, what the hell?! There were little white maggot-​looking chunks in what tasted like wet brownie batter. Turns out that the fat separated in the ganache, and these weren’t flyblown. But still. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Add to that the $ 2+ charge to put two truffles into a two-​truffle box (you read that right), and your total is one star.

I am very fortunate enough to have family members who send me Chanel perfume every year for my birthday, as an older couple who has no «grandkids» but only has «granddogs» they have always been exceptionally generous when it comes to taking me places or gifting me amazing gifts. Of course, this puts a lot of pressure on a young 25 year old woman. Where on earth do I get a gift that is posh enough to express my thanks towards a $ 150+ bottle of joy? Unlike my family members I am not lucky enough to share the same 90 211 zip-​code, I can’t just run to my Benz, and drive to the nearest luxury boutique…
Unless of course that luxury boutique specialized in chocolate and my «Benz» is my Camry with the big scratch down the passenger side of it from the one time I was so exhausted from working 70+ hours a week I fell asleep driving! That I can do!
My relatives and I had a lunch date the other day and a few hours before the engagement I found myself in Santa Monica dropping a friend off. I had mentioned to her that I was about to drive to Hollywood so that I could pick up a gift from John Kelly and she told me about this (smaller) location that is located smack-​dab in Santa Monica.
After finding near-​by metered parking a few blocks down (the neighborhood looked wonderful, I could have parked closer, but I wanted to enjoy the ambiance of walking around on a bright-​sunny morning) I was able to run into J.K. and pick up a 12-​piece box (about $ 48) of mixed chocolates for my relatives to enjoy. While the price may seem a bit exorbitant I MUST add that these are no «run of the mill» chocolates; they make See’s (a personal favorite of mine) seem like something you would buy in an aisle of Rite-​Aid and Godiva (yummy; but also on the exorbitant price scale) doesn’t stand a chance next to them. Each piece of John Kelly chocolate is large enough to split (during our post meal coffee hour we were cutting them into 3-​pieces each and we all had enough to enjoy ourselves). Factor that in with the delightful creaminess that comes with each bite and you have a serious «Wow!» factor on your hands!
John Kelly also wins at presentation. Every little thing in their store seems to have the perfect place, and you will not see anything out of line — ever. Boxes are clearly stacked on shelves with labels set up in front of them telling you both the flavors and the prices. Everything is clear so that you shouldn’t have any questions but if you do a worker is there to help you. They also have samples of chocolate neatly placed on the counter for you to try; and I suggest you sneak a bite or two.
As well as buying the box of chocolate I also bought two mini-​gifts, a bar of dark chocolate for my parents and a bar of milk chocolate hazelnut for myself ($ 6/​each). These bars alone would make a great pick-​me-​up for anyone, or a nice little gesture for a chocolate lover. They are simply wrapped and a very good size for the price. For my walk back to the car I also bought a single piece ($ 3.25) of the white chocolate vanilla; it was divine!
It goes without saying that my relatives absolutely adored their gift! John Kelly is a great chocolatier to visit, and I promise you you will not leave empty handed. Every time I have gifted it the recipient has always had a massive smile on their face and it will continue to be my go to «fancy» gift.

So impressed by the people and delicious treats! I was looking for a gift for my dad (you know how stressful that could be) but when I got to the store, it was 20 minutes past their closing time. An associate saw me and my shipping box, waved at me and talked to his manager. Then they opened the door and said «Come on in!» Wow.
He recommended a gift set and the manager, a very lovely lady, offered to hand pick a mix after I told them what my dad likes.
Wowww…
They’re so nice that they even offered me yummy chocolate samples!
My favorite chocolatier in town, thank you!

Good god, what is not to love about this place?
All the free samples you can handle, incredible variety, and the staff don’t sneer at me when I fill up on samples. The chocolate is super dense and filling, and the flavors are rich and a number of other adjectives that just blow you away.
It’s expensive. It’s Montana. No surprises there. But you will never look at Snickers or Hershey (or chocolate in general) the same way again. People love it when given JK as a gift, too. Always goes over very well.

John Kelly was totally foreign to me as of an hour ago and by the time I left the store I was won over. First of all, they offer free samples… generous free samples. Secondly the chocolate is delicious — of a similar quality to See’s but with a more modern flair and a better «bite». The store itself is great, clean and modern and prices, though not cheap, seem reasonable given the quality. You pay by the piece here vs. the weight like some other chocolatiers (i.e. Godiva).
If you’re on the west side of LA or near their factory store in Hollywood, I highly recommend you stop by (and at least get a free sample). ;)
PS — the chocolate covered orange slices are AMAZING… they’re also fairly unique.

Best birthday present ever! These were so good.

Yum! So freaking good!!! Pricey but dang this is some good chocolate! Depending on the rep service can be subpar but it’s cool the sweets are sweet! My new fav!
Close @ 6pm so don’t procrastinate but on V day open until 7pm lucky you!

OMG OMG OMG the best chocolate I have had in my life. I have visited every boutique chocolate shop in LA and NYC and this place is the best no comparison.
Get the chocolate dipped orange slice!
Also amazing :
Chocolate caramel with red algeae sea salt
Chocolate with french gray sea salt
Semi sweet dark with raspberry
Now if only they delivered chocolate bathtubs…

Large pieces (1 oz) and bold rich flavors. Dark Chocolate Pink Alaea Hawaiian Sea Salt with caramel, Dark Chocolate with Habanero and Jalapeño, and Dark Chocolate with Gray Sea Salt. If you like spicy, they have mild or hot; I chose the hot and loved it, but there is a milder Chipotle and Ancho version. The gray sea salt interior with rich truffle filling and generous sea salt. The Pink Alea Hawaiian Salt Truffle bite with a thin layer of caramel.

Peanut butter with dark chocolate and sea salt. Ay!
The selection is not huge but everything I tried was good. Most with dark chocolate.
Great dessert option after eating at Locanda Portofino. It’s just across the street.
Average price is 3.00 each. Not cheap.

The store is tucked away on Montana and very welcoming. Granted, service here is excellent. I was offered samples of any chocolate I wanted after I said it was my first time there. In fact, she cut me such huge sample slices that after trying 4 or 5 different types, I felt like I’d eaten a whole piece.
However, I personally don’t think the chocolates here are that great, definitely not any better than Godiva or Royce. They aren’t exceptionally smooth or anything, and the flavors aren’t anything to write home about. It’s just, rich. Which is why the 4.5 star rating confuses me very, very much.
We tried the Sea Salt Caramel, Himalayan Pink Sea Salt Peanut Butter Chocolate, Vanilla Fudge Dark Chocolate, Caramel Walnut and a few others.
(On a side note — they only sell Dark Chocolate here so, Milk Chocolate fans, you’re not in luck!)
All in all, the chocolates were all okay. Not bad but, not great. I’ve definitely had better and not quite worth $ 3 a piece.

Seriously, John Kelly has the best chocolate I have ever eaten. THE FREAKING BEST. The pleasure and comfort that their chocolates give you are only rivaled by sex. It’s that damn good.
Recommendation: Himalayan Pink Sea Salt Caramel Dark Chocolate

This place is dangerously good. Everything from the chocolates to packaging to customer service is first rate. I’m truly hooked with this shop. Their signature truffle fudge bars have an amazingly rich, sweet and creamy consistency… enough to go toe-​to-​toe with any chocolate boutique in Europe. A nice twist on American-​style fudge, this shop has a number of flavors to complement their chocolate blends including Dark Chocolate, Cappuccino, Caramel, Mint, Vanilla, Raspberry, and others.
My all time favorite is the Vanilla Fudge, because I like my women like I… well, because the vanilla-​flavored fudge is anything if not exotic. The vanilla flavor combined with the sweetness of the white chocolate and texture of the walnuts are simply incredible. Take that Belgium!