Chocolate Dreams

Sadly, Chocolate Dreams has closed. It moved from downtown Pacific Grove to Monterey, then changed ownership. Look for it on Alvarado Street in Monterey.

This place is a mystery. I’ve walked by here countless times in the last couple of years, and they have been closed! Closed so much that I don’t think they have too much of a turnover in chocolate. I swear I’ve seen some of the same displays and chocolate used over several months. Bleh. The one or two times when the moon aligned, and they were open, I was floored by the prices! All this for ground shipped chocolate to your store? Wait a minute, it could be chocolate sent by the snail mail too! I suppose I am too much of a fussbudget. I go to Marini’s in Santa Cruz, see the chocolate made on site at the wharf in front of my very eyes, and it’s less expensive! Perhaps this store being closed all the time is a blessing in disguise.

As I waited for my take-​out across the street I saw a little well lit shop so I walked towards it and realized it was a house of chocolate. Although not made inhouse the chocolated were beautifully layed out and organized in the showcases and the little treat boutique was just charming. I love the quirky greeting cards that they had on the wall racks and found 3 great unusual birthday cards for 3 of my unusal friends.
Although I’m not a big fan of sweets (I prefer salty snacks like nuts and chips), I can have a sweet tooth once in a while and it usually involves a little white chocolate so I picked up a hefty white chocolate covered pretzel.
I feel like I have an onset of diabetes coming along (not really but kind of) so I’m assessing my situation and waiting another minute or two before I devour the whole thing. I’ve been eating a lot of sweets that last few days (I’m talking half a sheet pan of gluten free brownies and 10 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in like 2 sititngs) and then I pass out and can’t wak-​up for hours… never had diabetes but I sure hope I don’t get it!

Large pricey truffles, good display but flavor was average. Meyer lemon truffle had a weak lemony taste. It’s a party peanut butter didn’t even have peanut butter in it, just a peanut flavored toffee-​esque filling. The chocolate covering itself (on both) wasn’t much to write home about. Service was fine. Best part was the chocolate covered espresso beans. Yum

I used to work at a chocolate and fudge shop, since I have moved to California I have had a craving for chocolate. So I went into Chocolate Dreams, maybe my expectations were too high but I was disappointed. I first asked if the chocolates were sold by the pound and I was rather shortly told they are all different prices. With no explation of price range. I proceed to ask a few questions on what some truffles were filled with and it seemed like I was a bother-​I have a fairly decent knowledge of chocolates so the were not dumb questions. The truffles maybe large, but the taste does not make up for the quantity, or the cost. Also I noticed some of the chocolates had bloomed-​does not necessailry effect the taste, but when you are paying their high price, you should get a product that is properlly tempered. Nor do they make their chocolates in shop.

I’m so on the fence with this review. This place serves good chocolate if you know what to get, but its so expensive that I feel like an a-​hole every time I go in. You will literally pay upwards of $ 10.00 for two pieces of chocolate. I go here about once every two months, but only because its the only game in town and is the only thing open when I get out of dinner and my sweet tooth comes calling. Every time I leave this place I just don’t feel good about myself, my time, or my dollars spent in there. I always swear it off after every visit… but somehow I find my way back. I just want to run in there and shake those large, unfriendly ladies and scream «This business sucks… you’d sell twice as much chocolate if you were friendlier and didn’t try to stick your fist up my…». They don’t accept credit cards. I’m waiting for this place to go out of busin… oh wait… what time is it? 10:00PM? Oh boy, I’m feeling sadomasochistic… its time for my chocolate nightmare.

Save your money, these chocolates aren’t even made there! Hostess wasn’t pleasurable to talk with either.

A few days after finishing my review I tasted the hazelnut truffle I had brought home. The hazelnut taste was hard to discern and what I did get was an artificial quality. That means of the four truffles DGD and I bought, the raspberry and the hazelnut left us unimpressed while she liked the double chocolate and I liked the mint. Comparing these to the other chocolates on my list, I’m revising the rating down to 3.49.

Absolutely love this place.
It is a bit pricey to go there all the time but I always get the same thing.
I go for the «milk chocolate cashew alligators» that have carmel, cashews, and are covered with chocolate. They’re like 2 something a pop, but they’re huge and have the right mix of everything.
The ladies that work there are also super nice. Great place for a treat every once and a while.

Good stuff. I agree, a little pricey, but when «vacationing» in the coastal town of Pacific Grove, take the opportunity and splurge a little. We tried the dark chocolate covered nuts (my fav) and were not disappointed. Also tried a truffle and I agree with Lindsay: They are so huge that it was a bit over-​the-​top for me. But I am a chocolate «liker» not «lover»…so to each his own.
Great lady who owns it. Ask her for restaurant recommendations while you’re in there. She has great tips.

This completed our afternoon after a so-​so breakfast up the street. Inside, out of the rain, the heavy aroma of chocolate was intoxicating! The size of the truffles were astounding! The almond toffee-​ettes were so buttery and perfect.

This place is GREAT!
After a bad breakfast at a restaurant earlier in the day, we were walking around Pacific Grove and stumbled across this divine place!
The lady that owns it was SUPER friendly and was very helpful with our myriad of questions etc. She helped us pick out the chocolates that we were looking for as well as some others that we would probably like based on what we told her and BOY WERE WE GRATEFUL! She got it exactly right for all four of us! THANK YOU OWNER LADY!
Great chocolates with a great atmosphere and friendly service!

In search of the «place that sells Lappert’s» we stumbled on something that said Chocolate in the title… which made me ver my sugar head into the shop for a looksy… I likey lots! From the street I could see the huge portions of chocolate heaps in various shapes. it smelled like heaven… it looked like heaven and as I reached towards the glass to point and ask for a…
«VICKY LET’S GO IT’S DOWN THAT WAY»
Are dads allowed to cock block when it comes to chocolate? What is the appropriate protocol when something like this happens?
SIGH. I smile and say «Next time!» and walk out the door… *mentally I shake my fist and curse at the gods*
To be continued. I have a date with destiny… more to be continued at a later time

The truffles are good and huge, but they’re Joseph Schmidts. Didn’t see a sign posted anywhere, but when I asked, they confirmed. Can’t go wrong with Joseph Schmidts! Their own chocolates (I think) which are located on the inside of the store were good as well.

Yum! This place is a chocolate addict’s (me) dream. You have every kind of chocolate available — specialty, gifts, basic. Not to mention that the staff are SO sweet and the place is so cute. You cannot help but walk by and stop inside just to see what they have. And when we checked out with our cavity inducers, we got a little something in addition — for free!

ENORMOUS CHOCOLATES! I was initially extremely excited as my eyes fell upon the swollen truffles and chocolates behind the glass. I make a habit of stopping in any chocolate shops I come across to try at least one treat and so I perused Chocolate Dreams in search of a tasty afternoon sugar fix. The store itself is extremely cute and they have a nice selection of packaged chocolates (not their own) that line the walls… however I wanted to try their own creations so i ordered a chocolate dipped Oreo, a gooey caramel thing, and a toffee butter crunch truffle or something like that. I was a bit shocked to see each item rung up at about $ 2.75, but figured they were large and delicious looking so I might as well splurge. The chocolate dipped Oreo was good but standard… I mean how can you go wrong with a chocolate dipped Oreo? The caramel thing was so gooey that it stuck to the paper bag so I got bits of paper with my tastes of caramel. I was most excited for the last item, but it turned out to be a bit of a bust. The truffles are just so large that they are a bit overwhelming in sweetness and without some milk to wash them down they are a bit saccharine for my tastes. With all the delicious chocolate there is out there in the world, I see no reason to return to an overly pricey shop with over stuffed chocolates. I will march onward in search of better options to satiate my own chocolate dreams.

I was totally charmed by the little town of Pacific Grove, and a visit to this shop was a highlight. They’ve got a great selection of chocolate that would make any chocoholic swoon. We got a selection of truffles and they were all delicious. Very nice owner, too.

A darling and delicious little chocolate shop in the hear of PG, Chocolate Dreams only deals in the high end chocolates and offers a fabulous assortment of specialty, hand made truffles. It’s quite an impressive little shop! I’m not a chocolate fan, but I popped in because I had a few minutes to kill before The Red House Café opened for lunch and I ended up leaving with a bag full of chocolates :)