[Dessert] Cacao 70

Restaurant: Cacao 70
Location: 28 Gristmill Lane, Toronto, ON M5A 3C4
Price Range: $$

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Wanna get stuffed with chocolate and/or sugar in general? This is the place to be! Originated from Montreal, Cacao 70 is the newest addition to Distillery District that offer chocolate-based dessert or well, anything with chocolate! I came here with Tien (acornerkitchen) around 9PM on a Saturday night and the restaurant was bustling! Though the wait was around 20-30 minutes, this was during Toronto Christmas Market so I think the line will die down after the holiday season.

The kitchen at Cacao 70 had an open concept, thus you can actually look at the staff make the dishes while waiting in line at the door.

The decors were quite nice and restaurant was very well lit, thus it’s a perfect spot for foodies to take some Instagram-worthy picture. The restaurant was quite small as well so if you are looking for a place to catch up with friends, this might not be the best location for you. I also thought that they could have utilize the tables better. As these were round tables, they actually took a lot more space and it’s hard to organize them if there are groups larger than 5.

The hot chocolate drink’s menu had a large variety of different chocolate available with different cocoa content. Correctly me if I’m wrong, but I believe you can’t choose the type of chocolate for the fondues or other drinks at all. Their prices were comparable to some other dessert places like Demetre or Symposium, but obviously the latter don’t have high quality chocolate. Surprisingly enough Cacao 70 also offer brunch and savoury items as well, which is something I would love to try on my next visit.

Now the strange thing I noticed about Cacao 70 was that despite having more than 10+ types of chocolate, they don’t offer a chocolate tasting menu. Tien asked to sample some chocolate and he was told by a server that they can only allow 3 samples. Apparently the Montreal locations have a tasting menu, so why not offer the same service to the Toronto location? I think a tasting menu to educate and allow customers to understand different types of chocolate would be a great idea, just saying :p.

The hot chocolate arrived to the table.. well.. piping hot! The plate came with a mug of of regular hot chocolate and the special chocolate you chose in a glass. The chef coated the rim and bottom of the glass with your choice of chocolate, this way you are able to taste your chocolate before the hot chocolate mixture hits your palette. I don’t recall what type of chocolate they used in the mug, but the moment you pour the it in, you are supposed to stir and mix both types together. I have to say despite the $10 price tag, this was delicious and I’ve never had hot chocolate like this before. It was perfectly rich, thick and creamy. Just like the description on the menu, the Peru cocoa was not too bitter nor sweet, yet had a fruity note aftertaste which was quite unique!

For the chocolate fondue, you can actually get either double (for 2 people) or just single. I shared it with Tien and we were both having a hard time finishing it, so I suggest ordering the single as it actually was just enough for 2 people.

The chocolate was really rich and smooth. The mini waffles and brownies didn’t taste like anything and it was a bit too soft for my taste, and the brownies keep falling apart while I was trying to dip it into the chocolate!!

Toward the end neither Tien and I could finish any of our drinks or dessert as we were consuming too much dark chocolate at that point, hence I suggest ordering a different varieties of chocolate if you are coming here with a big group of people. Despite the Yelp reviews, I thought the service was great but it was indeed a bit slow. Overall I thought Cacao 70 is a great place to try out if you are a huge chocolate lover. I would come back for brunch or the chocolate tasting menu (if they offer in the future) as I already had enough dark chocolate for this visit :p.