Toronto is home to a vibrant specialty chocolate landscape, with several award-winning boutiques and artisanal shops producing luxury handmade creations. From vegan chocolates to custom gift boxes, these makers offer a top-tier gourmet experience through quality confections and personalized orders.
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SOMA Chocolatemaker
SOMA Chocolate is one of Toronto’s premier bean-to-bar chocolate shops and an authority among Canada’s luxury chocolate boutiques. At SOMA’s three welcoming Toronto chocolate shops, discerning customers can browse fanciful assortments, artisan confections, and carefully procured chocolate supplies for home chefs and professional use alike.
Products
SOMA offers an extensive range of products, including chocolate bars, hot chocolate mixes, bonbons, drinking chocolate powders and popular seasonal items like their Old School Chocolate. They also produce chocolate-based goods like spreads, confections, cookies and cakes.
Locations & Hours
- Distillery District Shop Monday-Sunday: 11am-7pm
- King Street West Shop Tuesday-Saturday: 11am-6pm
- Cacao Bean Lab Wednesday-Sunday: 11am-6pm
Special Features
A standout aspect of SOMA is their direct relationships with cacao farms across the world, from origins like Tanzania and Haiti to remote growers in Guatemala and beyond. SOMA actively engages with the Toronto community through regular tasting events, classes on chocolate production and their “Thinking Cap” series, which sees collaborations with fellow artisans.
ChocoSol
A Toronto vegan chocolate favourite, ChocoSol distinguishes itself through its commitment to ecologically sustainable production. Beyond superb stone ground creations, ChocoSol aims to broaden access to fine chocolate across Toronto communities through its charming St. Clair shop, bustling St. Lawrence presence and popular seasonal markets.
Products
In addition to their popular Rustico line with classic flavours, ChocoSol produces a variety of chocolate creations sourced straight from the origin. Unique offerings include their multiple award-winning Jaguar bars which spotlight rare white cacao cultivated by an indigenous women-led cooperative in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Locations & Hours
- St. Clair Production Facility and Shop
Monday-Sunday: Varies, 10am-8pm
- St. Lawrence Market Stall:
Tues-Friday: 9am-7pm Saturday: 7am-5pm Sunday: 10am-5pm
Special Features
Environmental sustainability and social benefit core are to ChocoSol’s brand identity and production ethics, also evidenced by their use of minimalist, low-waste packaging. Their welcoming hub on St. Clair also regularly hosts educational chocolate tastings spotlighting specific origins, as well as hands-on bean-to-bar workshops open to the community.
Onyx Chocolates
Onyx offers an escape into the intriguing flavours and alluring allure of worldwide chocolate traditions. At this small chocolate shop in Toronto’s east-end Riverside neighbourhood, sisters Kristen and Karleen recreate global confectionery experiences through unexpected ingredients, visually impactful bonbons, and transportive design details in the shop itself.
Products
Onyx tempts customers with artfully designed bonbons featuring adventurous elements like miso caramel, hojicha green tea, chestnut and yuzu. Their chocolate bars also integrate tropical flavour notes through ingredients like ginger, lychee, guava paste and durian.
Location & Hours
- Riverside Shop (601 Gerrard St East) Wednesday-Sunday: 11am-5pm
Special Features
Beyond their retail selection, Onyx offers customized orders for specialty desserts, wedding favours and event gifts tailored to each client’s preferences. Their emphasis on innovative flavours, the inclusion of Asian ingredients rarely showcased by other makers, and visually striking colourful bonbon designs are creative focal points.
Soul Chocolate
Childhood sweethearts Katie and Kyle launched Soul Chocolate in 2015, driven by a dream to create ethical, intentional chocolate after years of worldwide travel exposed the couple to global inequities in cacao sourcing and production.
Products
The conscientious Toronto bean-to-bar maker offers a selection of single-origin dark bars crafted from cacao beans sourced directly from independent farmers in the Dominican Republic, Peru and other premium regions to ensure fair payment. Soul also prepares specialty inclusion bars, vegan milk chocolate and chocolate confections.
Locations
- Products available locally at Toronto cafes and shops
Special Features
By nurturing transparent, direct trade relationships with marginalized growers – rather than relying on commodity markets and mass production – Soul Chocolate aims to confront systemic issues in the chocolate industry. Their smoothly-flavoured products champion fair labour practices and premium ingredients, available through local cafes and shops.
CXBO Chocolates
CXBO Chocolates, also recognized as Chocolates by Brandon Olsen and Chocolates X Brandon Olsen, was a celebrated artisanal chocolate shop in Toronto from 2015 to 2022. Founded by the collaborative genius of chef Brandon Olsen and artist Sarah Keenlyside, CXBO became renowned for its exquisite chocolatier chocolates, which were a testament to both beauty and taste.
Products
Throughout its operation, CXBO, under the guidance of Brandon Olsen and the creative direction of Sarah Keenlyside, crafted an array of stunning chocolate collections. These included unique bonbons and caramels that became synonymous with the Brandon Chocolate and Brandon Olson chocolate labels. Catering to a diverse clientele, CXBO also specialized in creating customized chocolate orders for corporate clients and special occasions, making it a go-to for those looking to buy luxury chocolates.
Locations & Hours
The retail shop and production studio, situated in the heart of Toronto’s Kensington Market, became a landmark for those seeking out Brandon Olsen’s chocolate creations and the artistic flair of Sarah Keenleyside. Despite its closure in the summer of 2022, the legacy of CXBO Chocolates and its contribution to the chocolate Toronto Canada scene remain impactful.
Special Features
The end of CXBO Chocolates marked a significant moment for the gourmet chocolate store community in Toronto. The artistic vision and exceptional craftsmanship behind each piece of chocolate created by Brandon and Sarah have left an indelible mark. Their innovative approach to combining culinary excellence with artistic presentation set CXBO apart, making it a cherished memory among fans of luxury handmade chocolates.
Stubbe Chocolates
As a legacy chocolate store in Toronto, Stubbe Chocolates represents generations of European chocolate mastery now perfected with contemporary Canadian influence by Chef Daniel Stubbe. Stubbe’s acclaim comes not only from this dedication to his craft but also the charming chocolate shop and café nestled in Toronto’s Annex community.
Products
In addition to working directly with clients on fully customized creations, Stubbe prepares premium handmade truffles, tortes, caramels and more using time-honoured techniques. Beautifully packaged chocolate boxes and other gifts await at their historic store.
Location & Hours
- Annex Neighborhood shop (653 Dupont Street) Tuesday-Saturday: 10am-6pm
Special Features
While preserving generations of confectionery tradition, Stubbe Chocolates stands out through Chef Daniel’s technical mastery and penchant for precision, alongside his imagination in adapting Old World recipes to suit modern preferences. His accolades demonstrate Stubbe’s enduring reputation and sweet legacy, cementing his rank among Canada’s elite chocolatiers.