Shokolaat

Interesting concept. You go in and there are all these chocolate truffles… makes sense with the name of the place. However, we were there for dinner.
Ambiance is good and they have a nice outdoor seating area with heating lamps.
Service was nice, but we were sat by the door and every time the host went in/​out (here hostess stand is outside), we were greeted by a gust of air in our face.
The menu had a great selection of fresh farm to table style California food. I had the corn soup and it was awesome! For dinner, I had the tuna tartare appetizer which was pretty good; however, the bread accompanying had a very strange taste.
My dad ordered the escargot… I took a little bite… lovely.

Surprisingly disappointing. Do NOT bring a date here… she will never call you back.
My mom and I came here for desserts around 10:00pm as a way to wrap up our evening. The hostess was standing with her back facing the front door so we had to let ourselves in. She asked us «what can I do for you?» which was really weird… I wanted to respond «Give us a table and feed us! duh!» She was very nervous and edgy the whole night.
Our waiter told us that EVERYTHING except for two things were gone off the menu, which means we would have had a better selection had we just stayed at the restaurant where we ate dinner.
I had the crème brûlée but it was very standard, and I could tell it had been made hours (days?) earlier.

I used to be SHOKOLAAT’s champion! Bringing journalists to try it, organizing my lunched here, etc…
Well, this is the story of how to lose your soul as a top-​notch restaurant… and just because of two elements:
(1) a menu that has become «too boring» and like everybody else’s menu where Shokolaat used to be this very special chic and special place, indeed the best restaurant in town.
(2) their dragon hostess is TERRIBLE! I had told myself the past 3 times I came that she was not the best person to welcome people but her attitude today with me (I did not even end up buying the cakes I came for) has sent me away forever.
The owner of this place and the chefs and sous-​chefs she has hired deserve to be successful. So keep your your cuisine as it used to be and hire a hostess that will greet us client right from the start.
I want my old Shokolaat back!!!

I came here for lunch awhile ago and thought it was ok but not great, but I remembered being impressed with my chocolate dessert. My fiancé and I decided to return this weekend for dinner to check it out further. The place was absolutely dead when we arrived a little before 7 pm on a Friday night (not a good sign!). There was one other couple in the entire restaurant, although a few more arrived while we were eating. I see lots of others have commented on the emptiness as well.
My fiancé had the bolognese pasta ($ 19) (
). He liked his pasta, although we both felt like it was a very small portion. He also said it seemed like a pretty basic, simple dish and $ 19 was a lot for it. I had the filet of sole ($ 23) (
). This was one of the worst fish dishes I’ve had in awhile. The fish had a very fishy taste & smell that fresh fish should not have. The cream sauce it was in and accompaniments (mostly beans) were bland. The service was not terrible, but was pretty inattentive considering the empty restaurant.
We decided to get our desserts to go — they’re $ 8 if you have them in the restaurant (served with ice cream) and $ 5ish if you take away. I had the chocolate caramel tart (
), which I think is what I had here before. It was ok but not as good as I remembered. The filling was pretty good, but the crust kind of tasted like cardboard. We also picked up some loose chocolates to take home (
), which were small and very mediocre. (We were also amused by the sign, which offered 1 chocolate for $ 1, 6 chocolates for $ 6, 12 for $ 12, 24 for $ 24 and 48 for $ 48 — fine if they don’t want to offer a discount for buying in bulk, but then why not just say 1 for $ 1?) They come in a «collector’s box» (
) which was basically just paper. They were not great but were all ok, with the exception of the fleur de sel (
), which was horrible and dried out. It hurt my teeth to bite into it and was basically inedible. I bought two and threw the second one away because the first one was so bad.
Bottom line: definitely not a place I’d recommend for either food or desserts with so much selection in the area.

Ok, so my last review of Shokolaat was a tad over the top enthusiastic ;) Unfortunately, last night (Saturday around 9pm), I fell a bit out of love with Shokolaat. Thus, lowering my rating to 3 stars.
First, the hours of operation for the patisserie are incorrect on their website. It says the patisserie is only open until 8:30pm, so when I called to check that, the hostess said the patisserie was open until 10pm (good news for us, but not for people who only go by the website’s info).
So we showed up and were greeted by the hostess. I told her we were there for dessert and she offered to seat us at the bar away from the door. I said thanks, but I’d prefer to sit at a table. She said that she would seat us at a table this time, but that they usually save the tables for people who are having dinner. Not exactly a warm welcoming. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a restaurant where you are seated in a different location, or have a limited choice of where to sit, because of what you’re ordering. That irked me quite a bit. We are still customers just like anyone else. She said that because it wasn’t busy, we could sit at a table.
When we were seated, we were told that only what was on display in the pastry counter, was what was left. There were maybe 4 types of desserts left in the display — which was disappointing because on our way over I was mulling over their menu of multiple selections. The souffles were still available because those are made to order. But what was helpful to learn is that they get the delivery of their pastries on Tuesday, so by Saturday they sometimes run low. Good to know.
So given all of that, we decided not to stay, and we left to go elsewhere. We will be back, because I do love the desserts they serve — but, my love of this place has definitely decreased. We won’t be going back for the warm welcoming we received… strictly for the good food, and for the positive experience and service we had the first time we were there.

A-​mazing chocolate martinis — who would have thought ;-)
Interesting floor plan, might be a bit too open for me to have dinner — pretty much everyone that walks through the door will be walking by you, unless you’re in the private room they have.
Great for sitting at the small bar, having a delicious cocktail mixed up for you and enjoying one of their many decadent desserts!

What’s not to like about Shokolaat? I can’t think of anything!
Was treated to lunch here last week. Although allowed to bring a +1, I decided to go solo on this dining excursion. Normally I don’t like doing this, but I wanted to take my time and truly enjoy the experience. So glad I did!
Not sure why more Palo Alto people don’t come here for lunch — it’s centrally located on University Ave, parking is free (at least for 2 hours) and the menu is reasonable. Hello!
I was greeted and immediately seated inside. It was a windy day, otherwise I would’ve taken full advantage of the front patio. Seems like the perfect happy hour spot for sure, especially with that fancy wine list. Since I was one of two tables inside, the server was extremely attentive and made some exceptional recommendations.
As an appetizer, I had the crab cakes. Light, not too fishy and the perfect amount of sauce. Would’ve eaten the entire plate, but was saving room for more food :) As an entrée, I had the Pappardelle with beef — just the right amount of food, so you wouldn’t overdo it and fall asleep later in the afternoon. Took half of home, ’cause I was saving room for dessert!
Oh, the dessert! Per the recommendation of my server, I had the soufflé. It comes out all puffy and delicious looking and tastes even better. Although it seems large, it’s actually manageable for one person to finish without feeling like a big pig. Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself ’cause I ate the whole thing :)
The icing on the cake (pun intended) was when the chef came out to introduce herself and brought out a box of chocolates! I’m still enjoying those little treats at home after a long day of work.
Will I go back? But of course! And you should too — for lunch or dinner! It’s a «must try» in Palo Alto.

Um. charge for water? Really!?? One star off!
No lunch on Saturdays??? Really? One star off!
I think those were the only two things that bugged me, customer service was eh… the only COOL thing was that their Red Velvet cake was pretty good. It wasn’t super sweet how some places make them. The décor and the whole gig is nice, kind of romantic. Their chocolate variety is ok, would of loved to see more dark. I’d probably just head over to Stanford Shopping Center for chocolates if anything.

Got my chocolate fix at Shokolaat after dinner last night…
Ordered the Bailey’s mousse bombe and bittersweet love. Both desserts were delicious, I think I enjoyed Bailey’s bombe more than the other one, mostly cuz I was expecting the bittersweet love to have darker chocolate…
I checked out their chocolate selection and the lady was kind enough to give me details on their chocolate making process. Next time I go, I’m going to pick up some small delicious pieces of chocolaty sin to indulge in… ;-)

This place is near my salon and I’ve always been interested in trying it out.
One late night a few friends and I had a craving for dessert and decided it was time to give this place a try.
We got there around 8:30 pm and found that they only had 2 tables of customers. It was super quiet. Crickets…
The ambiance and staff looked sharp. Service was slow (which I didn’t understand because of the slow night). They have an extensive dessert menu, but do not list important ingredients. I have a tree nut allergy and had to check to make sure I was able to eat my desired dessert. I was wrong. My selection was whittled down to 2 choices from a list of more than 8. I was disappointed to say the least.
The actual dessert wasn’t bad, but seemed a little pricey for the size. We didn’t have dinner so I can’t comment on the entrees, but I probably won’t be visiting this establishment anytime soon.

Shokolaat is a very cute and modern restaurant located in downtown Palo Alto. I had the pleasure of dining here for a team dinner.
I must say that… I am in la la la love with the bittersweet chocolate & aged dark rum soufflés at Shokolaat! I was told that it is extremely difficult to find a restaurant in the Bay Area that makes good soufflés and if I had an opportunity to taste a well baked soufflé, I should definitely take it. Well, I’m glad I took that chance! The soufflé was baked to perfection, it was so soft that it practically melted in my mouth.
As for the food, I ordered the Pacific Halibut for my main entrée. I was not pleased with the portion I was given and the fish was a bit dry. However, it was nonetheless very tasty.
I would like to come back to Shokolaat and perhaps try a meatier dish such as the Rack of Lamb or the Filet of Beef. I have nothing to complain about this restaurant, except for the portion size. Overall… well decorated restaurant, great soufflés and amazing service!

The name threw me off and it is not just a chocolatier but a restaurant as well. Here is what I had.
French Onion Soup — Good.
Burger — OK
Chocolate Soufflé — Good
Perhaps a tad pricey for the food and setting but pretty good overall.

Shokolaat is unassuming but has every right to brag as it may have become my new fav dig for date night!
Atmosphere: dark furniture with romantic lights inside; lounge furniture and heated lamps outside, accommanied by flat screen tvs.
Service: attentive. however, I do need to point out that the servers sucked at pouring wine. They’re clumsy and the wine driped all over the glasses and the table.
Price: great value aka big bang for your buck. The most expensive item on the menu is the rack of lamb for $ 26. Really?! I didn’t know one could still get a beautiful piece of steak and/​or rack of lamb, well presented, served in a big portion with sides for under $ 30 in the penninsula.
Wine: wine list is comprehensive and reasonably priced.
Appetizer: we ordered the cheese plate. The bread that came with the cheese already had walnut and raisins in it. The honey chutney that accompanied the cheese was heavenly.
Entrees: I ordered the lamb medium rare as it was the chef’s recommendation. I was a bit skeptical afterwards while waiting for my food, as lamb can be. well. gamy. The lamb came cooked perfectly, and melt in my mouth. BF got the steak and it was cooked perfectly as well. The portions were so large that I had to doggie bag ½ of my entrée — because I had to save room for dessert!
Dessert: The chocolate soufflé was heaven in my mouth. okay, I love chocolate and i love soufflé. But it’s hard to do it right and Shokolaat hit a home run. We didn’t get a chance to try to grand marnier soufflé — maybe next time!
I would definitely recommend coming to Shokolaat for date night — or any night when you want to get away from your mundane routine. Or, if you’re in the mood for some wine and dessert, stop by the outdoor lounge and indulge.

I tried the Canelé:
Bad. It’s solid/​gloopy inside: it doesn’t have all the nooks and crannies that it’s supposed to have.
They no longer sell macarons.

A bit on the pricey side…
~ Parking ~
Try parking on University Avenue…*shudders* I got lucky since it was later at night and there was a parking spot right in front of the place.
~ Interior ~
There’s a huge bar and lots of seating outside and inside. Very romantic feeling with tea lights and such.
~ Food ~
*** MEDITERRANEAN SEA BASS, PARSNIP PUREE, BRUSSELS SPROUTS, APPLEWOOD SMOKED BACON AND RED WINE
REDUCTION — $ 21 ***
Oh Sea bass… how I love thee. It’s a small entrée, but it’s so delicious. Melts in your mouth and not in your hand.
*** WILD MUSHROOM SOUP, MINT OIL — $ 7 ***
Very hearty.
~ Drinks ~
Caiparinha & Audrey Hepburn — $ 9
It’s so strong! Caiparinha that is. Audrey Hepburn is definitely a girlier drink so be prepared if you’re a guy and want to drink this.
~ Dessert ~
*** SHOKOLAAT’S SIGNATURE GRAND MARNIER SOUFFLE, VANILLA CRÈME ANGLAISE — $ 10***
We ordered this as one of our entrees since it was on the entrée dinner menu, but it never came out! They thought that we wanted it for dessert. Reminder to ask them to bring it out as the same time with other entrees if you plan on eating it for dinner. It’s definitely delicious.
*** CRUNCH BAR — crunchy Almond Success Sponge Cake, Feuilletine and Praline layer, Milk Chocolate Mousse — $ 8 ***
Not really impressed. It was dry and not very moist.
I wonder how this place is during a busy time. But I did like having the restaurant all to ourselves at the end of the night. Everyone waiting on us =) I did leave a hefty tip because of that and they also gave us free pastries which I GREATLY appreciated. It was breakfast this morning.

Connie and I stopped at Shokolaat for a pre-​lunch lunch. All this Unilocaling makes us hungry girls you know! Since we knew we were headed to the Slider Bar a few hours after our visit we decided to eat fairly light — sharing a tuna tartare and beet salad.
The beet salad was great — it had huge slices of beets, mixed greets, spiced nuts, and yummy soft cheese. The tuna was equally divine although you may have to ask for more bread triangles like we did to eat it all up.
And of course, no trip to Shokolaat would be complete without sampling some desserts. Since we were keeping it small I ordered a few truffles and I highly recommend the one made with red wine as well as the salted caramel version if they happen to be available when you go.
Shokolaat seems to be a great place for lunch or dessert and drinks with friends or on a date. It’s an all around kind of space. Or you could even just get your desserts to go, home or to a special friend’s house.

L’amour à la première morsure!
I have been traveling too far for a good meal these days. Countless hours and nights where I am rushing to make my reservation in SF. stuck in traffic after work– pulling my hair out.
Not anymore.
I am truly lucky to have had the pleasure of dining here with good company and delectable food. I don’t need to go far for a 5 star meal in a snazzy location with style and flair!
I ordered the Escargot, Scallops and Soufflé. I also tried various samples from my friends plates. The Tuna tartare is to DIE for. I also tried the Rabbit confit which I will order and devour next time. Don’t forget to try their braised beef ribs. I got some inspiration to make my own very soon. ;)
I enjoyed every bite of my meal and loved the chocolates I took home.
My next romantic pinky in the air meal will be here! Hats off to the wait staff and the owner who know how to treat their guests!

THEY GOT IT RIGHT with this modern bistro: Good food. Good space. Attentive service staff. Awesome owner. As a bonus, CHOCOLATES.
Greeted WARMLY by the wonderful staff and chef/​owner Shekoh Moossavi. The ten of us were seated in a beautiful modern glass-​enclosed private room with an Edison-​bulb hanging light fixture facing the wine bar.
Ordered the following:
(1) Gratin of escargot with spinach, onions, garlic, bone marrow sauteed mushrooms — Sounds amazing right? It was! The flavors were BOLD, intense, and creative.
(2) Caramelized scallops with gnocchi, mushrooms, cabbage, and white cream sauce — hands down one of my favorite dishes of the evening. Scallops were cooked perfectly.
(3) Bittersweet chocolate and aged dark rum soufflé — I didn’t taste too much of the rum, but it was light and airy, like European souffles should be.
(4) Various chocolates — Using Vahlrona and Clover (my favorite ingredients), their chocolates are AHHHH-​MAAAZING!
Overall, a wonderful dining experience and cannot wait to return.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND for romantic dates, a drink at the bar, SCALLOPS, a to-​go pastry, or a box of chocolates!

I called weeks in advance to make a reservation for a party of 10 the lady on the phone (Eve) was kind and helpful and said, «Oh it’s your birthday, I am going to note that down and see if we can do something for you.» I thought how nice maybe they will get me a dessert or something of that sort and didn’t think about it anymore. We read other Unilocal reviews and read about the whole photography issue. We called around 6PM and asked if we can take pictures and also I can place an order for appetizers and drinks to be ready for the guests upon our arrival. She told me that it would be okay to take pictures in her opinion but she would have the owner call me as I needed her permission and that she couldn’t place the orders for me — 2 days later & still no call from the owner.
We arrived promptly and the lady at the front of the house escorted us to the bar and we waited for the rest of our party to arrive. I asked her for a menu and asked if I can place orders for appetizers, she handed me the menu and walked away. I waited about 5 minutes and then asked the bartender (David) who our server was going to be-​he smiled and replied «I am going to be your server tonight». So I looked over the menu with him asking his suggestions on how many appetizers he thought I should order for sharing with our party of 10. He suggested 4 plates of the Prawns and potato dumplings and 2 plates of the cured meats. I also ordered a pitcher of Raspberry Kiss and a pitcher of Lady Elegance. Both were a huge hit and were $ 36 for a 32oz pitcher which we got about 5 martini glasses out of it.
As family began arriving we moved to the private dining room from the bar, the table was set beautifully and decorated with little tea lights– simply elegant.
Our server welcomed everyone and filled everyone’s martini glasses with their choice of drink. Once we were all seated with drinks he said he would be back with the appetizers and baskets of fresh bread and butter, he returned momentarily to inform me that they didn’t have any Duck tonight and they only had one cured meat plate left for the evening. I was disappointed and told him one plate was fine but was confused since they were only open for an hour.
15 minutes later our prawn appetizers appeared and every one enjoyed them, the combination of the shrimp with the potato gnocchi and the shaved fennel all atop a lemon cream sauce was fantastic, however the cured meat plate was greatly disappointing. The basket of fresh breads that he had promised us was nowhere to be seen and made its appearance after we had finished our appetizers.
What we ordered:
X2 Lamb — Price per plate on their menu was $ 26 but my receipt shows I was charged $ 27! I asked for my lamb to be medium but it arrived well done, the gratin, rutabaga purée and the sauce were all good and they made an effort to substitute the eggplant with French green beans which I liked. The flavors were all there and it was well seasoned.
X1 — Rabbit — Dave ordered the Rabbit dish. This was his first try at rabbit. He liked the flavors but wasn’t completely blown away by it, not sure if he would order it again here.
X2 Scallops — Both loved this dish, they both agreed the scallops were perfectly seared with nice caramelized tops, the potato gnocchi was the same as that which was in the prawn appetizer and was already a hit.
X2 Halibut — Both commented on how wonderful the dish was.
X1 Tuna Tartar — Our guest loves tuna and a well-​made tuna tartar is hard to find. She absolutely loved the flavors and commented on how richly the grated black truffle, the citrus-​vanilla vinaigrette together with the Ahi tuna and accompanied by toasted brioche sticks gelled so well creating a symphony of perfectly balanced flavors in her mouth.
X1 — Sole — Our guest said she liked it but we agreed the lemon butter sauce was a bit too rich.
X1 — Risotto — Our guest ordered the risotto and she asked our server to recommend a wine pairing and he recommended the Esterlina Riesling. Our guest said she liked it a lot and said it was creamy and scrumptious and the recommended wine pairing was a good choice for the risotto.
Of course no meal would be complete without some photos and dessert. I was assuming they would let us take photos without the flash, but when our server said he was a bit of a photographer and ended up using the flash, I went back out to the car and got my nice wide lens with external flash. I put it on its brightest setting and pointed it to the roof and our server took 2 pictures of our group and we took probably 30 more on our own with no complaints from management (probably because the place was nearly empty). They were out of the Framboise which most of us wanted, so we chose alternatives — all were good.
Final verdict: They had good food and the portions were the right size. The ambience is pleasant and has a romantic feel. Overall this meal wasn’t worth the $ 600 we spent for 10 people.

Upside: Excellent Dishes– I can personally say the risotto was cooked to perfection and the prawn/​dumpling appetizer I had contained the most fantastic sauce. And portions are just right.
Decadent Souffles. Faintly playing house/​trance music definitely a bonus of this place– makes me feel like I’m somewhere in Europe, not Palo Alto.
Downside: PRICE. 2 persons = 135 bucks including tip (only 2 glasses of wine as far as the alcohol tab). Hey, I don’t mind shelling out a lot more than usual for a gourmet meal, but I am not a money tree!
Still, shokolaat… not too shabby! I have a sneaking suspicion I may return in the distant future.