I was kind of surprised by the paucity of chocolate shops in New Orleans. There are only five places where you can buy bonbons or truffles and just one chocolate maker; beyond that, most places are closed on Sundays and Mondays. For a city of just under 400K residents, five shops makes for a fairly even ratio, but for a city with over 18 million visitors each year, that's a remarkably small number of options. But on the other hand, if I included every praline maker & candy shop in New Orleans, this list would get much too long!
Therefore this guide is limited to only the shops where you can get bean to bar chocolate and/or bonbons in New Orleans. For those looking to buy from more familiar names, there is both a Kilwins and an IT'SUGAR location downtown, but neither sells anything unique to the city. In the French Quarter you'll find Evan's Creole Candy Factory, which is now owned by Cafe du Monde and no longer sells bonbons (hence bumping it from this list). Finally is Lolli's Chocolate in Larahan, which only sells chocolate-dipped cookies & molded chocolates for each season, but nary a bonbon in sight.
Yet despite the dwindled numbers, I know hands down that I've found the best chocolates in New Orleans. Read below to decide for yourself!
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New Orleans Chocolate Shops
Piety & Desire Chocolate
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Since the closing of Acalli Chocolate, Piety & Desire has become the only chocolate maker in New Orleans. Unlike in the city's many candy shops, Piety & Desire makes their own chocolate from scratch, starting with cacao beans that they sort, roast, peel, grind, and sweeten all themselves. Every single product they sell is made from bean to bar by the founder, with a stable rotation of origins and a few limited edition creations each year. But without a doubt, the biggest draw for visitors is their stunning array of bonbons.
The house-made chocolate that isn't molded into bars is used to make their hand-painted bonbons and other sweet treats. This includes a limited run of King Cakes in the weeks before Mardi Gras, as well as King Cake-flavored chocolates. But beyond the beauty of their bonbons, Piety & Desire is also the only chocolaterie in New Orleans to use liquor in some of their chocolates, and offer a vegan-friendly selection. My favorites from their permanent collection have got to be the Sesame Praliné and the Café au Beignet, but don't take my word for it— this winter you'll have the chance to go inside their new permanent café space [which is currently pick-up only].
Address: 2727 S Broad St, New Orleans, LA 70125
Hours: 11am-6pm, Tue.-Sat. [currently pre-orders w/curbside pickup only]
Sucré New Orleans
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Sucre is sort of a New Orleans classic, at one point having three different locations around the city, though the shop is now in one place and operating under new ownership since 2020. The shop's specialty is their custom cakes, but over the years they've also become well-known for their macarons and adorable décor (see above). Walking into the shop you'll notice several flavors of gelato, decadent cupcakes, and elegant pastries, as well as a medium-sized coffee menu with tea and hot chocolate options. The space generally encourages patrons to sit and stay for awhile, but it also highly encourages picture-taking.
We had to come away with a box of 8 macarons and a pre-packaged set of chocolates, bypassing the dragees and Sucre-branded merch, as the chocolates are the real heart of the assessment. Apparently they no longer maintain a case of bonbons, but you can still buy them by the box, so my assessment is as follows: all three flavors of their bonbons tasted the same, like sweet chocolates with varying hints of texture and acidity. I'm not quite sure what flavors they were supposed to be, but I wouldn't buy them again. The macarons, however, I will continue to return for until they stop making them.
Address: 3025 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115
Hours: 12pm-8pm, Sun.-Thu. & 10am-10pm, Fri./Sat.
Bittersweet Confections
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Bittersweet Confections has been around for about 20 years, and built up quite a good name for itself in the city. But despite the company's bonbon logo, people seem to be drawn to the shop more for their custom cakes, pastries, and cupcakes, as well as the cafe's modest coffee options and their fair-sized breakfast menu. Along the bottom of their display case are nine different flavors of truffles made from couverture chocolate, and on our Thursday afternoon visit, the place was full of customers ordering from every different layer of the display case.
So to properly assess the chocolate truffles specifically— as that is the focus of this guide— we selected four flavors to try out: lemon, hazelnut, brown butter, and crème brulee. All the truffles had a dark chocolate ganache base, and were rolled in a different color of sprinkles. Of the four, the hazelnut and the brown butter tasted like plain chocolate, and the only one with a discernable flavor was the lemon, which was quite pleasant, if strong. While I wouldn't come back here for the truffles, I'd definitely give this place's cupcakes a shot next time, as the frosting to cake ratio looks right up my alley!
Address: 725 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130
Hours: 7:30am-2pm, Tue.-Sat.
Southern Candymakers
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While there are definitely way more praline shops in New Orleans than there are chocolate shops, there's no doubt that the praline's popularity is what paved the way for the city's sweet tooth. The humble confection even inspired the opening of Southern Candymaker's original location, pictured above, where they still hand out both praline and chocolate samples to any interested customers. Beyond that, they offer ice cream, jelly beans, and lots of New Orleans cooking & flavoring ingredients, like olive salad.
In their front case you'll see milk, white, and dark chocolate everything, from oreos and marshmallows to the country's most popular nuts, all available for a flat $24/lb. (pralines included). Of everything we bought, the milk chocolate "tutles" with sea salt were the group favorite, but in general the milk chocolates came out incredibly sweet, as did the white chocolate, which I just cannot recommend. However the dark chocolate confections we tried were sweeter than expected but not nearly as overwhelming as in the milk and white chocolates; I'd buy a box of the dark chocolate oreos in a heartbeat.
Address: 334 Decatur St, New Orleans, LA 70130 [2 locations]
Hours: 10am-5pm, daily {open 'til pm Fri.-Sun.} [main store hours]
Laura's Candies
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"Candy" is a very apt description for the many varieties of sweets sold at what claims to be the oldest candy store in New Orleans. As soon as you walk in, you see a case on your right containing every flavor of fruit slices you could imagine, as well as chocolate-dipped confections in milk, white, and dark chocolates. Options vary from flavored truffles and chocolate barks to toffees, marshmallows, cookies, turtles, and more, all priced at $28/lb. However, along the left side of the store are various savory cooking ingredients, like Slap Ya Mama seasoning, as well as sugary candies by the pound.
We left with a small assortment of each type of chocolate, trying the base chocolates individually. The milk chocolate tastes very sweet but only faintly of cocoa, while the dark chocolate tastes like chocolate frosting and the white chocolate tastes like sugar milk. If these flavors appeal to you, I'd recommend checking out Laura's for their many flavors of filled chocolates and their caramels & toffees. Of everything, the English toffee and the dark chocolate toffee were our favorites, but there are over a dozen flavors to choose from.
Address: 331 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA 70130
Hours: 10am-6pm, daily
NOLA Chocolate Shops Map
Did this post help you find a new chocolate shop in New Orleans? Let me know in the comments!
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