Gail Ambrosius Chocolatier

Super good, hand made dark chocolates. I love that they have a rice milk chocolate that my son can eat because he has a dairy allergy.
Their truffles are also really good. I like the rose truffle and the vanilla one. There are also more exotic flavors like curry. They also have other cute chocolate treats like chocolate turtles and buddhas.

Very good if you like upscale, delicious dark chocolates. Free samples of hot cocoa and caramels greeted us upon arrival. We had hoped for a more behind-​the-​scenes look at the chocolate process before coming here, but we weren’t disappointed by the taste quality at all.

Dear Lord, can I get an amen?!
If you are looking for a chocolate experience, you have come to the right place.
Ambrosia means food of the gods, theobroma (the genus which the cocoa tree belongs) means food of the gods. there’s a ton of goodies here fit for the Almighty.
First of all, Gail Ambrosius (the human) is a lovely lady. She is very kind and extremely knowledgeable about her craft and product.
Secondly, each chocolate has been perfected, and highlights the chocolate’s character and/​or origin and other ingredients wonderfully.
The chocolates are grouped into categories or collections based on the experience you are looking for. This makes picking out chocolates a tiny bit easier.
Example: adventurous, classic, tea inspired, etc
The chocolates are a little spendy (about $ 2 per chocolate), but it’s about quality not quantity.
My favorites:
Lemon grass with ginger
Machu Picchu
Sweet curry with saffron

The service is significantly better than the chocolate shop down the street (I’m not naming names). I had called in a rather large order called in for a Christmas party I was catering and from the phone call to the pick up, everything was easy. I’m sure a large pick up order isn’t going to make or break their business, but the nevertheless, they at least acted like they were grateful for the money (unlike their competition — who was snobby and rude). I will be utilizing their services again.

hmmm. Hot chocolate is good. Their regular chocolates (like vanilla) is ok. I wanted to try their unique chocolates like ginger but I really don’t like it, even their pistachio flavor was unpleasant. The employees are nice though…
I will say go try it yourself if you live close by But don’t bother if you are in town for a day.

We stopped in Sat while visiting Madison. Sampled some hot chocolate with marshmallows — yum. Bought a box with 6 truffles, and now that we’ve eaten them — they are just excellent, taste, consistency, and appearance. There was a steady stream of customers in and out the entire time we were in the shop, many clearly regulars based on their order familiarity, a good sign of their quality and appeal.
We live in Chicago, the home of Vosges truffles/​chocolates — they are outstanding and now available nationwide I believe. Gail Ambrosius truffles are in the same league –world class!

Alton Brown-​approved.
I could probably just leave the review at that, but I had such a wonderful time at the chocolate tasting I attended I should probably share a little bit more.
First off, Gail is a delightful and sweet human. Her passion runs through everything she does, and she’s warm, funny, and generally a great hostess. For the tasting, she walks you through a primer on cacao and chocolate production, and then leads you from country to country with samples of several different single-​origin chocolates. She teaches you how to best sample, and how to identify different qualities.
The chocolate she sources is divine. My favorites were the samples from Colombia and El Salvador. Gail encourages you to take home what you can’t eat (and to grab a few more pieces on the way out if you’d like), and I can’t lie — I mowed down my leftover tasters today like there was no tomorrow. In addition to the pure samples, Gail offers you two truffles to test yourself at IDing what source was used — the coating is always the Colombian (yesssss), but it was crazy how you could still taste the identifying characteristics even with other flavors.
At this particular tasting, we were given a ginger and cognac truffle and the Machu Picchu truffle. Both were delicious.
Afterwards, you can purchase more truffles and I couldn’t resist. I chose the vanilla and rose varieties to try. I can’t wait.

Simply the best. From start to finish. My shortest review ever? Yes.

Love local chocolates!!! Gourmet truffles! Get them online, at the co-​op/​fromagination/​grocery stores. One of my favorite gifts made locally in Madison. And they’ve always been a hit with the recipients!
I like the variety of flavors available. Special flavors rotate often, and you can get an idea when you stop by the store! One of my favorite things is their summer ice cream/​sorbet, which will be back in a few weeks. Grab a tub of ice cream, and head to olbrich garden for great views to accompany the delicious treats.
The ladies at the store are so friendly and welcoming. I really enjoyed interacting with them! Also, they were responsive and alert, and were kind enough to make more of the «everything nut» flavor that sold out just before my turn to pick truffles. They then gave me a call when they had the truffles ready! hurray. how nice of them!
I enjoy that the chocolate is not too sweet, but sometimes I wish there was more punch to certain flavors. Some popular flavors are the salted caramel (all time favorite), jasmine, blueberry, cinammon/​cayenne (has a spicy kick), hazelnut praline.
I also love the chocolate brittles. they go amazingly well with cheese (ask for specific pairings at fromagination!
I’m also very happy that Gail Ambrosius and her team are really creative and socially active. The easter hunt egg organized with B-​cycle was really fun and customers who found the egg could exchange for a peanut butter egg in store! So delicious!
Finally, look out for the special design packages — mother’s day, valentine’s day etc. The boxes are made of nice thick cardboard and are great to keep after you finish the delicious chocolates!

Good place for dark chocolate.

These are the chocolates I buy for everyone and I will continue to buy them for any occasion that I feel deserves chocolates. Valentine’s Day, birthdays, new jobs, bad days at work, «your new puppy ate your best pumps and now you’re feeling blue?» These are all occasions for Gail Ambrosius’ delicious truffles.
While some of the flavors are not for everyone (complex flavors and dark unadulterated chocolates) the salted caramel certainly is. Do yourself a favor and grab a small box or a single truffle. It will make any day better.

I walk pass Gail Ambrosius everyday going to work, and could always smell the sweet chocolate seeping outside as I walk pass. But never bothered to check it out. until yesterday.
I wanted to get my family a few things from a chocolatier here in Madison, so I asked a coworker where I would find some great Salted Caramels. She said I had to buy them here. In her own words «They are so good, I almost had tears of joy run down my face.» So I figured I should really check them out.
On my way home, I walked in the busy little store, saw that they had hot chocolate out with their homemade marshmallows, so fantastic. I ended up walking out with a box of Salted Caramels, dark and white chocolate peppermint bark, and a bag of the homemade marshmallows.
I’m sure when I go home for the holidays baring these gifts, my family will gladly appreciate them.

I have to admit that I did not love Gail’s chocolates when I first tried them. I found them too much like coffee and I’m not a coffee drinker. But, Gail’s chocolates are like a fine single malt scotch. Give them to the inexperienced eater and it tastes too harsh, too dark, too strong. Where’s the mixer, they ask. The raspberry flavoring, the interesting taste combinations?
Since that first tasting, I’ve had the opportunity to try many more of Gail’s chocolates and they have definitely grown on me. Gail’s chocolates are single sourced. This is a big deal because you can definitely taste the difference in chocolate depending on the region that they are grown. Gail occasionally (maybe monthly) does a chocolate tasting, which I highly, highly recommend. For $ 15, you learn a lot about chocolate, but more importantly, you come away appreciating the finer notes of chocolate. For example, a Hawaiian chocolate tastes fruity to me. I get notes of fig and raspberry. And from this tasting, I figured out that I didn’t like my first taste of Gail’s chocolates because I wasn’t a fan of Colombian chocolate which tastes a lot like coffee to me and it happened to be what was used for the shell of what I first tried.
Gail Ambrosius is a treasure in Madison because of the educational aspect that she brings to her business. She travels to Costa Rica on a regular basis to visit cacao farms.
Gail’s truffles are subtle in flavor. Again, it’s well appreciated among those who love subtlety in their sweets and picking up notes of flavors, but maybe not for those who want the punch and response of, «omg, it tastes just like a real raspberry.» Gail often creates seasonal flavors and tries interesting concoctions in her truffles, but I’m a big fan of their 85% dark truffle. The shitake truffle is also really good. You can’t taste mushroom per se, but it’s like a lighter, more buttery version of the 85%. The fig truffle is deliciously fruity. Recently, I tried their three nut hot bar and the nuts are deliciously toasted and crunchy. The bar was just a little bit of salty and spicy. Oh, so good.
They are SUPER busy around the holidays (and rightfully so), so be patient when visiting their store during that time.

Nice little place. We did not buy anything, because I saw way too many nuts on items and my son is allergic to nuts. If you love dark chocolate, this is your place.

Chocolate. The mere word evokes lustful sentiments and feelings of intense desire. Chocolate is more than just a form of sugary sustenance; it is an encapsulation of all that is good in the world. Chocolate can no longer be classified as a type of food, but rather a delicious manifestation of human emotion, a symbol of contentment. Lucky for us, a select number of individuals were placed on this earth to spread this embodiment of delectation. One such contributor performs her mouthwatering magic right here in Madison, concocting gourmet chocolates at one of the tastiest shops in town: Gail Ambrosius Chocolatier.
Gail Ambrosius, founder of the shop, has been sharing her passion for chocolate with the Madison community since 2004, when she opened Gail Ambrosius Chocolatier. Since then, chocolate has become a way of life for Ambrosius. She learned much about the chocolate craft when she went to France to learn from the esteemed Valhrona and Cluizel chocolatiers. As a result, her chocolates have received wide acclaim. In fact, her shop earned the title of America’s «Best Little Box of Chocolates» on the Food Network, wherein Alton Brown’s film crew came to the shop for a whole day of filming.
Over the years, her shop has become a beloved installment in Madison’s Atwood neighborhood, earning praise for its innovative flavor combinations and its commitment to artfully crafted chocolates. Ambrosius has melded outlandish ingredients with fresh chocolate in her acclaimed truffle collection, some of which include:
Sweet Curry with Saffron
Lemongrass with Ginger
Shiitake Mushroom
Rose
Earl Grey
A few of her most popular flavors – Lucille’s Vanilla and Caramel Sprinkled with Grey Salt – are similarly transporting, albeit a bit more traditional. Whether it’s exotic or conventional chocolates you seek, know that Gail Ambrosius is here to satisfy.

Full disclosure: while I have a soft spot for most sweets, chocolates aren’t really my bag, baby. That said, I’ve been here a few times over the past year, usually to buy gifts for friends.
My most recent visit was a bit of a nightmare. I generally dislike reviews that complain about a one-​off situation, but this past visit has stuck with me for a few days now, so buckle-​up and let’s do this.
I popped-​in to buy a single box of the Beerific Taster’s sampler. There were 4 staff members working behind the counter, and two customers inside. One of the customers was purchasing more than $ 600 worth of chocolates; he had two people helping him pay, box/​bag-​up, and sign-​off on the frequent buyers cards.
Another customer couldn’t decide what to buy and was asking questions («What flavor is lemongrass?» «Are the salted caramels really salty?» «What’s a ganache?»), getting samples, hemming and hawing.
I grabbed the box, and stood, waiting to pay, cash in hand. The staff member who was helping the indecisive patron looked at me a few times, but didn’t offer to take my cash. However, as soon as the phone rang, she was all over answering it.
Wish I was exaggerating when I say that 12 minutes later, I was still standing there waiting to pay. I knew 12 minutes had passed because I had sent a text just as I walked in, and I got the reply as I was standing in the store. Ugh. Fed up, I said, «I will happily over pay for this box if I can just pay and leave. Here’s $ 13 (the chocolate was $ 12) — please keep the change.»
The fourth staff member who had been milling about, said, «Oh, I’m sorry, did you want to check out?» Grrrrrr.
Other visits have been pretty decent; this was likely an anomaly. I’ll return, I’m sure, but I may bring a camp chair, just in case.
Oh, and the Beerific sampler was excellent; my friend inhaled the box; I managed to sneak a nibble from a few of them and was quite pleased.

Gail Ambrosius’ chocolates are fantastic. She has created a wide range of truffle flavors, all of which are blow-​your-​mind decadent. Less-​adventurous (or I suppose, more kindly, ‘classic’) eaters will love the caramels and the vanilla (More adventurous will as well, but they’ll be willing to try more exotic flavors without trepidation…). I think my current favorites are sweet curry with saffron & shiitake, but each truffle is distinct and delicious in its own right.
I recently placed a large order of truffles (including custom favor boxes) for my wedding. The staff I worked with the whole time was fantastic, and the end result was transcendent. Transporting 600 truffles across the state in two coolers terrified me, but the truffles made it and were a big hit. A big thanks to Gail, Katharine, & everyone who had to tie those little bows for making our big day that much sweeter.

Absolutely amazing. I love this place! My personal favorite is the salted caramels, but their vegan truffles are also delicious! I love going in here once a month or so to get my grandmother fancy chocolates because she is allergic to milk and can’t get them anywhere else.
Bonus: they do Bike Benefits here and also have truffle and box punch cards!

If you like dark chocolate, this is your place! I went here on a whim with my friend after a big breakfast at Blue Plate Diner and got a 6-​piece box of truffles and chocolate dipped candied orange peels. Soooo yummy and satisfying. I really like how smooth the chocolate was and the variety of flavors. They have the usual flavors like salted caramel and raspberry, but they also have some interesting varieties like ginger. Definitely recommend.

Don’t let the creativity of these artisan chocolates intimidate you. Everything here is so delicious that you can’t go wrong in your selection even if you close your eyes and merely point at the display case! I spoil my little grandson with the lovely chocolate Buddhas; he will probably never eat a Hershey’s bar! I am so happy that dark chocolate is good for me, as that’s just one more reason to stop at Gail Ambrosius.