© Juliette & Chocolat (Plateau)
Juliette & Chocolat
Juliette is the doyenne of all things chocolate in Montréal. Her stores are so popular it’s often hard to find a table at any time of day or night. Several hot chocolates are on this institution’s menu, including the latest, a campfire hot chocolate with velvety thick hot chocolate smoked with wood chips and served with a brownie and toasted marshmallows.
© Cacao 70
Cacao 70
Cacao 70’s Montréal chocolate factory as well as all its stores are beacons of chocolatey goodness for all dessert lovers. In addition to all the regular flavours, try the Cacao 70 Factory Hot Chocolate. A snifter of melted 70% dark chocolate is served with a side of milk or dark chocolate base on the side for the clients to mix their own drink.
La Diperie
La Diperie may very well be known for its ice cream cones but it also makes great hot chocolate in the cold season, which it offers in 30 flavours! From salted caramel to Oreo, ginger, spicy pepper and more, you’ll certainly find one (or ten!) flavours to your liking.
Au Festin de Babette
Au Festin de Babette is a classic go-to spot for great hot chocolate in Montréal. Its hot chocolate selection is separated into three categories: dark chocolate, white chocolate and Valrhona Grands Crus. In all, twelve different flavours for you to enjoy, from a classic mix to comforting brews flavoured with spices, orange, nuts or piment d’Espelette.
© C'ChoColat Lounge
C’ChoColat
C’ChoColat takes toppings to a whole new level! Its crazy and fun concoctions include hot chocolates topped with salted caramel, Oreo bits, marshmallows, and more! Pick from one of its six hot chocolate flavours (including a vegan one) and add some extra toppings for a more decadent drink.
Le Butterblume
The Mile End café has become one of the most popular in Montréal from day one. Its take on the tartine made on its homemade sourdough bread is now legendary. Its hot chocolate concoction is made with Weiss chocolate (a bean-to-bar French brand), cocoa and love. Oh, and milk of course, regular or plant based.
© Patrice Pâtissier
Patrice Pâtissier
Patrice Demers and his lovely, sweet-laden store don’t need an introduction anymore, but did you know that they serve one of the best hot chocolates in Montreal? Their classic version contains Araguani chocolate, cocoa, vanilla and a light infusion of spices. For a small supplement, you can get a caramel mousse topping, and yes, you’ll want the caramel mousse topping.
Marius et Fanny
Close to 12 flavours of hot chocolate await you at Marius et Fanny. The beverages are divided into two categories: soft for milk or white chocolate-based drinks and intense for drinks with darker chocolate (anywhere from 65% to 75%). The intense flavours also include single origin chocolates. Marius et Fanny also serves special seasonal concoctions such as a coconut-flavoured one.
Automne Boulangerie
The Scandinavian-inspired Rosemont bakery serves some of the best bread in the city. Its pastries are also delicious and so is its hot chocolate. Automne uses 58% dark chocolate, cocoa powder, chai spices and a sprinkle of salt. You can get yours with regular or plant-based milk. Either way, it’s delicious!
© Noir Chocolat
NOIR Chocolat
This tiny Plateau spot has quickly garnered a loyal following and has become a favourite among neighbours and tourists alike. Its unusual, elegant cake and bonbon designs distinguish it from the competition. Its classic hot chocolate is a comforting combination of milk, cream and 64% dark chocolate. The result is an unctuous drink that can quickly become addictive.
Les Givrés
Popular ice cream stores Les Givrés will also be serving hot chocolate at their three locations until December 24, 2019. The comforting brews come in two different flavours of Cacao Barry chocolate: 70% St-Domingue and Ghana milk chocolate. You can top your drink with a marshmallow or some homemade whipped cream.
Les chocolats de Chloé
This adorable Plateau-Mont Royal shop is among the most loved in Montréal. Les chocolats de Chloé’s basic hot chocolate is made up of cocoa paste, dark chocolate and organic cane sugar. It’s the same hot chocolate mix it sells in the store for you to enjoy at home. It also serves an alternate weekend choice that is either a chai, coffee or mint-flavoured brew.
Chocolats Geneviève Grandbois
Geneviève has been one of Montréal’s foremost artisanal chocolate purveyor for several years now, thus contributing to the happiness of her young and mature clientele alike. Her European-style hot chocolate is prepared from her homemade blend of 70% chocolate and vanilla cane sugar. It’s served at the Geneviève Grandbois Mile End boutique on Saint-Viateur Street West.
Sophie Sucrée
Vegan bakery Sophie Sucrée specializes in pastries and cakes that are dairy free and/or allergy friendly. Its hot chocolate is served all winter long and is a scrumptious mélange of dark chocolate, spices, cinnamon and a mix of coconut and soy milks. It can be purchased in store to make at home.
Hof Kelsten
This Mile End Jewish-style bakery has garnered a loyal following since its opening. Hof Kelsten’s flakey pastries and scrumptious breads are some of my favourites, hands down. Its hot chocolate is made by preparing a thick Valhrona chocolate ganache, which is then thinned out with hot steamed milk, in the same manner one would make a latte.
Café Dei Campi
Everything at Café Dei Campi tastes delicious. Its vegan pastries are some of the best in town, regardless of their butter and egg content. Its hot chocolate is no exception and is prepared with extra brute cocoa with vanilla and sugar and your choice of cow, soy or homemade almond milk.
Avanaa
The little Villeray chocolate factory makes its exceptional bars from beans that it sources, roasts and prepares in house. Avanaa’s classic hot chocolate is always available as well as a second seasonal option. The classic is a rich mix of two 70% chocolates, a little sugar and oat milk. Don’t forget to top yours with a homemade marshmallow. The hot chocolate mix will soon be available for purchase.
Café Bazin
Westmount’s Café Bazin is the chic destination for brunch, lunch or an exquisite pastry date. Its classic hot chocolate is a mix of 64% chocolate, a little bit of sugar and some milk. This makes for a light yet creamy drink that you can top with one of its homemade marshmallows.
Janine Café
The popular brunch and lunch spot also serves several hot chocolates made with a variety of beans, including white chocolate. Try one of Janine Café’s most popular drink made with 68% chocolate or its 70% spicy mix created by adding several warm spices and topped with a cinnamon stick. It also serves a deconstructed hot chocolate that includes a small teapot with melted chocolate, a pitcher of your milk of choice (cow or plant-based) and homemade marshmallows.
Tella’s Santé ou Sucré
The name of the game at Tella’s Santé ou Sucré is extravagance! Its list of hot chocolate mixes includes classics such as a milk or dark chocolate base, but it also serves peanut butter, Nutella or caramel infused drinks. Its over-the-top toppings include a whole brownie square, a burning roasted marshmallow, caramelized popcorn, a donut and a waffle.
© Two Food Photographers (Alison Slattery)
MELK Bar à Café
With three coffee shops across the city, MELK Bar à Café is slowly expanding its coffee empire through Montréal. Its coffee is exceptional and the latest spot in Old Montréal is Instagram famous for its funky design. The hot chocolate is made like a latte with a dark or milk Cacao Barry chocolate base and an addition of steamed milk. It can be topped with MELK’s homemade marshmallows.
Pikolo Espresso Bar
This little café in the McGill University ghetto has been a coffee lover destination since its opening. Pikolo’s hot chocolate base is a dairy-free, homemade chocolate syrup made with 70% Callebaut chocolate. A milk of your choice is then added to the syrup base. That same chocolate base is also used in its mochas.
Arhoma
The Hochelaga-Maisonneuve bakery and pastry shop is one of the most loved in Montréal for its baked goods. Arhoma’s hot chocolate is made with Camino, a fair trade and organic semi-sweet chocolate. Clients also have the option of having their hot brew made with Arhoma’s house brand of 70% chocolate.
Mayssam Samaha
Mayssam Samaha is a food and travel writer and blogger and the founder behind the blog Will Travel for Food. She travels the world in search of the next culinary discovery. From Iceland to South Africa, she’s already visited over 30 countries and there’s nothing she enjoys more than wandering around a farmers’ market in a foreign city. She is also the founder of the SAISONS intimate dinner series highlighting Québec products and chefs.
