Bar à Chocolat Chez Mauboussin ⋆ Secrets of Paris

Mauboussin Jewelery Boutique
2nd floor
66 ave des Champs-Elysées, 8th
Tel 01 42 56 03 42
M° Franklin D. Roosevelt

I have a friend who is even more of a chocoholic than I am — hard to believe, non? When I told him about the newChocolate Bar hiding a few blocks from his flat on the Champs-Elysées, we immediately agreed to go check it out on a cold and wet December night.

Most passers-by would have no clue that the elegant jewelry store hides a chocolate bar on the top floor. Even when we checked our umbrellas with the doorman and climbed the two flights of stairs, we weren’t sure we’d found it either. It doesn’t look any different from the rest of the contemporary minimalist boutique of white PVC/Vinyl armchairs and sofas, very brightly lit, punctuated only by the black jewelry boxes and red and yellow accents on the walls (decor by Aki Kuroda). We asked if we were in the right place, since we saw no sign (nor smell) of chocolate, and were pointed to one of the tables to have a seat.

I’m more of Ladurée fan, so I like cozy tea rooms. But my friend loves everything contemporary, so he is already planning to make it his daily breakfast stop.

There are three kinds of hot chocolate, all between 65% and 80% cocoa. We got the strongest, of course, and probably could have shared the pot (there are two cup fulls at least) for €15. There are also cakes and tea in case you can’t stomach chocolate. Very good, even if the pot of thick chocolate and hot milk sent me into a lactose intolerance coma soon after finishing (I know, I know, I should take those pills…I’m in denial). Still, excellent stuff, well done!

The fetish-like chairs are very funky, especially if you’re wearing leather pants (I wasn’t).