Dilettante Mocha Cafe

I absolutely loved this location. I hope that it opens up again. The staff was great. They made you feel welcome, always recognizing the regulars. Most of all, I yearn for the bittersweet chocolate mochas they made. If you don’t like bitter, their ephemere is excellent as well. You can still get it at the Seattle airport. Why four stars? Really a personal style thing in common with all coffee houses: lack of light fare to go with your mocha (I don’t like sweet in the morning). They did have cereal (including non-​sweet) and some salads (though the salads were less frequent after a while).

If I had a choice of the big name international coffee vendor with green and white logo side by side this place, I would choose Dillitante first… as long as their isn’t a line. LOL

Chocolate heaven. Speaking of just the chocolates, nothing else. Four pieces of ridiculously good confections. Memorable.

The cakes are tasteless, I mean tasteless and for such a high price, you are better off with an easy bake oven from Mattel Toys and make your own.
I was very disappointed, 2 pieces of German Chocolate Cake, 8 pieces of chocolates, $ 30, wow? For Tasteless.
Skip this place and save your money. Somehow they think screwing customers is a way to make money, NOT.

Bad service, mediocre chocolate desserts and drinks. Waste of time IMO. Every time I have visited here, the employees walk around like their shit doesn’t stink.

I first discovered Dilettante Chocolates years ago while in town for a conference. At the time, they made Symphony mint truffles as a way to help the Seattle Symphony fundraise. Dilettante stopped making these truffles for a few years but about 3 years ago, I came across their Chocolate Peppermint Truffles at Costco and then on the internet so I knew they were making them again.
The last time I visited my cousin in Washington, we did a bunch of tourist stuff like taking the Ducks tour from Westlake Center. After we returned from the tour, I dragged her into Dilettante in Westlake Center to get some truffles to bring back to California. We of course, had to sample a few truffles to see what we liked beyond the Chocolate Peppermint. The truffles were as wonderful as I remembered, and not too sweet, flavored with mint oil. Since my cousin helped me with her tasting opinions, I bought her an assorted dozen truffles since I knew she has a chocolate sweet tooth. As long as they keep making them, I’ll continue to periodically purchase those wonderful Chocolate Peppermint truffles and English Toffee truffles.

I should have realized that once I saw the millions of chocolate items here that their coffee drinks would taste predominantly of chocolate.
I tried a milk chocolate mocha since I assumed that was a «regular» mocha. The drink was good, but I tasted none of the espresso and all of the chocolate. It was basically a glorified hot chocolate, which is tasty, but not worth the $ 4.00 for a tall 12 oz cup.
They were also play super 90’s and early 2000’s music, which was a throwback to my high school and college days.
Next time I will try the dark chocolate mochas to see if I can taste the espresso.

HOT BARISTAS.
…The mocha was good too…

Had an errand downtown so I stopped by the Dilettante at Westlake for my mocha fix.
I am a big fan of the Ephemere dark mocha at Dilettante. It tastes more like milk chocolate and you wouldn’t think you were drinking a mocha, but rather a hot chocolate. Pricing is pretty reasonable and competitive with other coffee spots. Simply put the mochas here is superior to what you would find at a place like Starbucks. They are in the business of chocolate and it definitely shows.
I will say the layout is a bit unusual if you are getting a morning java fix. The baked good items are on the far left side away from the coffee counter. It would be better to put them in the case to the right instead. At least for the morning rush.
They have free wi-​fi here, but I found it to be somewhat spotty. Also it was hard to decipher which connection was used by Dilettante. I couldn’t find one that specifically was titled Dilettante, so I used the one marked Westlake. If they do have a wi-​fi account for the shop, they should rename it to be more obvious.
If you are looking for a great mocha, Dilettante is the place to go for one. They are the chocolate experts after all.

Dilettante used to make my fav lattes in Seattle. But a staff change and disappointing drinks at the Rainier location led me to stop going there entirely (
). With so many coffee places to choose from I didn’t really miss Dilettante, especially since I no longer work downtown.
However, I was shopping downtown last Saturday and decided to give the Westlake shop a try. I’d purchased chocolates here before but never a latte (that I can remember). There was a bit of a line on a bustling afternoon but my drink didn’t take long. And much to my dile-​delight, it was the same old delittante-​ousness I remember.
This location also boats an entire wall of chocolate for sale, a huge display case featuring really yummy looking desserts, and quite a few tables and chairs to lounge about in.
You’ve been redeemed, Dilettante!

Pure bliss in a cup when it comes to an Ice Mocha. The fact that you have more than 3 options for chocolate to put in your coffee is enough to make this place heavenly. I was so unsure with all the choices I had the fabulous barista pick for me. I also picked up a layered piece of chocolate cake and that was just as heavenly!
There is no place out there that does this so right! Well at least from the places I have been to. I recommend this to all my friends even if they don’t like coffee. YOU MUST TRY THE CAKES!
The staff is friendly and know their chocolates! The place has your typical coffee shop feel and is tucked away in the West Lake mall. An absolute gem!

Changed my bus-​to-​work walk route today and am now walking through Westlake mall… dangerous for the wallet! This morning I passed by Dilettante Mocha Café and I could not resist the fantastic chocolatey-​espresso-​y aroma on this chilly Fall day.
Their tagline is «Pure melted chocolate and premium espresso, golden crema mingling with cocoa butter– Pure Mocha Bliss». And it truly is. I think this is the best mocha I’ve had in my life, actually. Prices were insanely reasonable (think, a tad less than Starbucks), and the menu was extensive yet simple. There are about five or six different «levels» of mocha. I went for the popular «ephemere» mocha, which includes friggen… truffle liquid and other fancy things. (I later tried their darkest mocha — 72 cacao or somethin’- too strong for my taste, and I’m usually a fan of dark chocolate!)
Totally amazing experience. For chocolate/​coffee lovers, this is the perfect drink on a cold morning.

Great location in the semidead (?) Westlake Center Mall (which is undergoing renovations). We were thirsty and wandering outside. The nearby Starbucks was jammed. So enter the mall and found a relatively relaxing oasis with ample seating!
The mocha frap xgrande help wash away the thirst. And, as they had half off pastry special, got one. Sugar and more sugar and caffeine= ENERGY to continue doing the touristy thing!

Conveniently located in the mall. Pretty display of all the chocolates and treats. You can find their chocolates in any candy stores in WA.
Mocha is the best! They keep their chocolates warm literally until it gets in the coffee. Nothing like a nice hot cup of yummy mocha for an average day in Seattle. It’s better than coffee because it’s got chocolate in it. Everything is better with chocolate.

Nice quick service to grab a cup of iced mocha on the go. This place is close to my work and is the perfect location to get my caffeine jolt before I start my long work hours.

Oh god. Chocolate. I think my tummy hurts.
Unilocal, let’s chat. Do you like chocolate? No no — I mean do you REALLY like chocolate? Do you stay at wake at night, craving for its cocoa-​ey goodness in your mouth? Do your nether regions tingle when imagining a chocolate bar up against your lips? Well, this is your place. If you don’t have a sweet tooth, there’s nothing here for you.
Dilettante is chocolate, chocolate, and everything more chocolate. I had a chocolate coffee. A bit odd, but hey, still good. A friend had a chocolate Manhattan. Another had a chocolate cake with chocolate icing layers with chocolate ice cream on top. It wouldn’t surprise me if the chairs, tables, and wait staff were made of chocolate.
In short, this is the Willy Wonka Factory of chocolate, without the Oompa Loompas. They do what they do well enough, but it’s a bit too much for me.

Don’t be mislead — it’s in a mall and I was a little like, ummm. But WOW, did I say, WOW! This was part of a stop on a coffee tour and I wondered why we were there… ANSWER: The divine café mocha idiot — that’s why we were here.
There are café mocha’s where the chocolate seems like an afterthought. Here it’s a seamless merger of smooth coffee and rich chocolate. Not too sweet but as goldilocks would say… Just Right.
And I haven’t even started on the chocolate. Their chocolate re-​defines the term «Family Recipe». When your family reciped served to the Habsburg Monarchy, do we really have to say more?
Good thing this was part of a walking tour cuz that’s just putting a dent in this deliciousness!

The good stuff:
From 4pm until 6pm, they have a baked goods happy hour. All those teeth-​rotting, ass-​expanding, metabolic disorder-​inducing confections in the glass case are HALF OFF!
The bad stuff:
They’re stale.
That made me almost as bitter as my Americano.

My blended mocha was very tasty, but on the pricey side.
I liked the options to add in different varieties fo chocolate or caramel into your drink, but the options dwindle if you want a cold mocha, which is weird to me.
I think I will have to come back during the winter months and really try a hot mocha.

I’m going to slowly make my way through Seattle reviews starting from the beginning of my trip to the end in Chronological order. With that said, I wanted to try a coffee place other than the Starbucks’ on every street corner here. Dilletante happened to be the first place I came across so here we are!
I expected grandness from Seattle even though this place is in a mall…
I ordered a small double shot latte and it was just okay. I could barely taste the espresso, meaning it wasn’t strong enough for my liking. It wasn’t bad coffee, but it’s reminiscent of a million other cafes out there.
The ambiance here is really cute, with dark wooden furnishings and lots of desserts and chocolates on display. They offered free chocolate covered raisin samples next to the cashier so I helped myself to two. It was very rich and delicious. I’m sure this is a great place for chocolate or sweets, but I’d go elsewhere for coffee, especially since coffee is what Seattle is known for.
Free wi-​fi! Great study environment.