Chokolait

Shop 8, 318 Little Collins St
Melbourne, VIC 3000 
chokolait.com.au

EVERYBODY DANCE NOW! Dun-dun-dun, dun-dun, dun-dun-dun! Because exams are finally finished! And a Chokolait-dipped extra special pharmily celebration ensued, silliness fuelled by excess sugar and lack of sleep.

Being inside Melbourne’s most famous arcade, Block Arcade, Chokolait is no doubt overshadowed by the Koko Black, a chocolate cafe that has people crossing state-lines. And let’s not even go into the fact that to get to Chokolait, you’d have to go down a set of dodgy steps that seem to lead to nowhere but a dodgy looking key cutters (or was it a dry cleaner? clothing alternations? I really don’t remember). But this is Melbourne, and it pays to be a little adventurous.

Pavlova with Strawberries and Double Cream ($9.5)

This doesn’t happen often, but I left the ordering to my friends who, unlike me, had been here before and knew what was good. The Pavlova with Strawberries and Double Cream ($9.5) was whisper light and nowhere near too sweet like most pavlovas have a bad habit of being, and sandwiched gooey, chewy dark chocolate chips. The meringue creaked under the weight of succulent strawberries and cool, thick cream, but before it had a chance to collapse, we had eaten it all.

Chokolait Mousse ($9.5)

Compared to the pavlova, the Chokolait Mousse ($9.5) was a complete and utter let down. The small cone-shaped glass held what Sneha said ‘kind of tastes like the yoghurt I got at Aldi’. That’s not to say it was bad, but we couldn’t believe that the mousse served at a chocolate specialty cafe looked and tasted like it was scooped out of a container found in the dairy aisle.

Lemon Cheesecake ($9.5)

Bilge decided to be different and ordered the Lemon Cheesecake ($9.5). The cake was creamy and smooth with a lingering lemony tang, though the base could be a bit drier and more crumbly. We all really liked it but Bilge insisted that it was ‘not lemon enough’. Silly crazy girl.

Chokolait isn’t as fancy as most speciality chocolate stores are; their menu items learn more towards homely than artisan. That said, I’ve heard that they do a hot chocolate that practically solidifies in the throat, and the pavlova is to die for. When you want to impress a pavlova lover with a hidden gem, Chokolait is what you want.

Rating: 15/20 – pavlova love.