Dulcinea Chocolate Café

Came here with a bunch of friends after dinner and a walk around the English Bay. Being wimpy after living in the Bay Area, I found the late spring night a tad chili so the only local friend suggested this place.
The décor was simple and lovely, had an ideal neighbourhood café feel.
I ordered a shot of chocolate with churros, which was the authentic Spanish kind, less crispy than the Mexican one but I preferred those. The chocolate was thick and rich, needless to say decadent for dipping.
My only complaint about the place is how few chairs they had. We found a table large enough for ~6 of us but there was simply not enough chairs and some of us («Thank you, gentlemen») had to stand while we enjoyed our hot chocolate.

I read about Dulcinea a week before boarding the flight from Sacramento! I knew I’d end up there… the only question was, WHEN?
Well, after winning $ 273 in 20 minutes at Edgewater Casino was a good time.
So many chocolate options to choose from! Hot drinks, cold drinks, pastries… but I came for a milkshake. A thick, creamy milkshake. Easy, right? WRONG!
Everything starts with their 1528 base, whatever that may be. I’m told it’s a Spanish chocolate that… well, I can’t really remember. All I know is that a beautiful Señora gave me a sample and I could hardly wait for my Amaretto Shake to slide my way across that counter.
The place was packed, so I couldn’t nudge my way to the counter to see how my shake was made. But it certainly wasn’t your ordinary chocolate shake with some almond extract dropped in. The amaretto flavor was subtle, but notable. The whipped cream was fresh. And it all came together without being overly sweet. Just a great way to end my first day in Vancouver.
Come here, and ask for that 1528 sample. You’ll thank me later.

This place is freaking AWESOME.
The woman who owns the shop (and it’s a family business, from what I gather, with everyone helping out) is so friendly and sweet and you can tell that she really loves this little place and everything in it.
Once she knew that we had never been before we were given a tiny sample of the Spanish drinking chocolate that all the chocolate drinks are based on. Holy crap, dudes. This stuff is gooooood. And we were assured that the chocolate is made fresh everyday using organic, natural ingredients while each drink is made special to order. Which means that it might take a little while to get to you as each one is a labour of love (and a lot of stirring).
The list of hot chocolate drinks is wide and varied and eventually I decided to try the Chocolate Chai (which was confirmed to be the owner’s favourite of them all and I completely understand why) while my friend tried the straight up chocolate. Note: if not consumed while still hot it starts to look more like pudding than hot chocolate, just so you know. Still delicious! But you’ll need a spoon.
I only tried one of the drinks but I most definitely need to go back (and back and back) to try out one of their many ridiculously good looking desserts, milkshakes, tea and, oh yeah, some more hot chocolate.
Plus, they often feature live music and have salsa and flamenco dancing nights! Olé!

While vacationing my travel buddy wanted ice cream. Too bad it was too late at night…
We came across this place and had a simple ice cream dish but… GET THE CAFE OLE!!!
I love coffee, drink it everyday, it is one of my favorite things to try while out and about.
This was the BEST I have ever had!

To die for café au lait.
Good sundae too. I’d love to come back and try a couple more things.

Ranks up there with Mink in terms of best cafes with a chocolate focus in the city.
The staff here are super friendly.
They always ask «Have you been here before?!» all cheery.
One day I’m going to lie and say «no» just to see what happens.

We found this randomly on Unilocal as we love trying new food.
You have to LOVE chocolate to enjoy this as this Spanish dessert/​coffee house uses chocolate as its major ingredients. It is a place for friends’ gathering as its desserts are made to be shared. We have ordered 4 types of desserts to share and the one we all loved is to dip some sort of biscuits in its famous 1528 (hot chocolate). I love its Spanish coffee — Café Olé, great coffee smell, but not too strong (they made it less strong for us).

A must for Chocoholics to experience the uniqueness and diverse
Spanish chocolate-​based drinks offered. All drinks are made with a fine quality chocolate base (i.e. 1528) that is rich and not overly sweet.
The staff are warm & friendly but don’t expect to get your drinks as quick as places like Starbucks & Blenz coffee houses. This place provides a «homey» feeling and makes their drinks with «love».
The seating is fairly small, so I wouldn’t recommend a large group (8 ppl+) unless you take your drinks to go.

This place makes me long for Spain! If you’ve every found yourself sitting at a café in the old town of some Spanish city and wished that you could transfer the deliciousness of the cup in front of you home, then you will love this place!
The staff are informative, friendly, knowledgeable and passionate about the chocolate experience. From chocolate fiends to those who rarely indulge, there is something for everyone.
Next time you’re looking for a pick-​me-​up, pass those other coffee shops and evil chains by, and stop by Dulcinea to delight in fantastic coffee, delicious snacks and oodles of chocolate.

We’re sitting here in a post-​chocogasm haze. Wow, you have to try this place. Trust me.
We came for coffee after a chilly evening seawall walk. Inside, live music and smiling, happy chocolate-​drinking people greeted us. We sat at the «bar» and were immediately offered a complimentary drinking chocolate. YUUUUM! They have many types of chocolate drinks here, some with whipped cream and nuts.
My favourite? The Dominicana: smooth creamy hot chocolate with cloves, amaretto and vanilla. Mmmmmm.

I consider my discovery of Dulcinea my crowning glory of living in the west end. Nestled in between other little boutiques on Denman street, Dulcinea has an un-​pretentious air and gives the vibe of being a little european café. I’ve sat by the window playing chess on rainy days, I’ve worked there (the staff are so kind, they let me move a table over to where there was an available power outlet).
I live for the 1528 shots of chocolate — but on days where I feel like I could sit and stay a while, it’s the dominicano (amaretto, cinnamon and chocolate. does it get better than that?)
Mari, the store owner, is lovely — she speaks spanish and will chat with you in her sweet ‘mother hen’ kind of way. There’s a loyalty card system so that everytime you buy a drink you get a stamp leading to a free beverage of your choice.
I love that dulcinea is all about chocolate. The friendly staff, great food and amazing drinks are what have kept me a regular.

I felt like I was in Europe here. The staff here are super friendly, and I love how they have free wi-​fi here. All of the chocolate desserts are super yummy and the beverages are delicious – though the chocolate drink is still too rich for me, feel free to try their sample! This is my café of choice!

I wasn’t sure if going to a chocolate café after indulging on sweets for the past month during the holidays was a good idea but I’m glad I did!
Having been a couch potato since coming home mid-​day on New Year’s Eve (aside from the few walks on which my dog took me), I was itching to venture out in the rain after finishing dinner at home on New Year’s evening. Browsing on Unilocal!for dessert ideas led us to Dulcinea.
After tasting a couple of sample shots of the rich 1528 (their house hot chocolate from which they make all other varieties), we decided on Dominicano (heavy on cinnamon and other spices) and Clasico (with milk and whipped cream) and shared their El Diable (a very decadent, rich and intense chocolate truffle gâteau.
We tried to savour our drinks and cake as much as we could because we just couldn’t stop taking sips and bites. Our desserts went down rather quickly. We’ll definitely be back soon to try something else on their extensive menu.

Denman street has awesome little treasures, and independant restaurans where you can try some unique goodies and treats. Ducinea is one of them… Promounced Dul — Soon– a — yah, this is a little spanish hot chocolate shop with a large wooden door welcoming you into it’s little haven. It’s was really home-​y i found, and the ambiance is quite nice. I am pretty sure family own, but the lady was super nice. The selection is extensive, from teas, hot chocolates, to desserts, milkshakes and even tapas!
My lovely lady was craving a lavender hot chocolate and they eve had the actual flowers! We wanted to split and she offered to put it into two little cups for us to share, with the choice of regular or CHOCOLATE whipped cream!!!
The hot chocolate was not as sweet (like Mink’s)… which is original in its own way. Their drinks seem to focus more around spices and cinnamon, which can be a differentiator to other competitors.
The lady even came over to check on how the drink was and if there was enough lavender taste. She had steeped the flower in water to ensure that the flavours fully came out — how exotic :)
If you know someone who loves chocolate, they have cute t-​shirts with chocolate slogans!
Note** they have LACTOSE FREE MILK!

* Bad pun — but factual *
Ok, I gave Dulcinea another «shot» (pun intended on multiple levels) by getting the 1528 shot again. Once again it just wasn’t as good as it had been originally — not as intense and not warm enough.
I’ll have to re-​visit Mink (
) and see if they are holding their leading position in the drinking chocolate wars!

Pretty damn good if you like chocolate as much as me. This café is located on denman st. close to many of the other dessert places on that street, namely Cupcakes, Marble Slab Creamery, Beard Papa’s and Cookies by George.
They have a trademark Hot Chocolate called 1528 thats super rich, thick and creamy. It wasn’t served very warm so I wasn’t too impressed with it and have had a couple better, namely at Meinhard’s and at Thomas Haas.
We also shared a few other desserts which were really good. A chocolate truffle bombe, chocolate chip cheescake bars, and a mousse pyramid. All were pretty fantastic.
Those 3 desserts and 2 solo shots (size of an espresso shot) of 1528 came to about $ 18 so pretty good deal.
The quality of the desserts was better than expected as the décor and the outside of the café is pretty basic and nothing special (I must have walked by it at least a dozen times without ever thinking of going in). compared to say even Godiva or Rocky Mountain Choc Factory which let the customer know that they will be getting quality products inside so maybe Dulcinea could do with a bit of a facelift.
The café is spanish inspired and also serves a chile spiced hot chocolate called Xocolatl which we didn’t try but isn’t served at many other places so may be worth a go.

I really like this place! For nostalgic purposes, I decided to go with churros con chocolate like i had in Spain. They were okay. But despite that, I think I may have found a new potential lover. :-D I like the way they were served on a cutting board. The Xocolatl hot chocolate drink was really delicious too with just the right amount of chiles. This is the perfect place to come during the winter to warm up.
They have a variety of other chocolate desserts, which I would love to try next time. The cool thing about this place was that they have t-​shirts! And they sell some Spanish items. This would also be a good place to hang out and surf the web with your laptop.
I’m a huge fan.
Ooh, it’s like ordering at a coffee shop where you pay upfront. But they serve it to your table. Please remember to tip!

This place really is sweet, and so was the nice Hispanic boy working today. I don’t know which was richer, his brown eyes or the dark chocolate drink.
Beverages are lovingly made with high quality ingredients. The place is religiously chocolate, meaning lots of delicious chocolate-​centric treats.
I love the ambiance in here. Beautifully detailed décor, the perfect harmony between homey and retail.
I will be back.

I’ve been here twice now, first on a very foggy day in January, when I had the spicy hot chocolate, ordered full spice (which was a little to spicy for me in the end!) and second on a sunny afternoon in May, when I opted for the Vancouverite (chocolate with maple syrup and cashews). I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the maple syrup, but it wasn’t overwhelming, and I quite enjoyed it. Definitely keep coming back here when I’m in the West End.
Oh, and the staff are always very friendly and genuine.

Tauted as a spanish chocolate café, I strayed away from this one since it had opened. I had my worries about the ability of any café to re-​create a genuine spanish experience.
I’ve gone twice for reassurance. Let me tell you where I am coming from. I love Spain. My bias comes from living in Barcelona. Enjoying a café con leche and patatas omelette (aka patatas gravas) almost every siesta. I can’t tell you how good it is.
First, they call it a tortilla. That’s cool as long as it wows me with the taste. I will say, give it a try! I found it too be lacking some salt. I wouldn’t say sprinkle it with salt before eating. It needs to be in the actual mixture. I didn’t mind the thickness. I’m not used to that but there’s always variation. All in all, it wasn’t bad but it sure was not like what I’ve had in Barcelona.
Second, during siesta, I always parked myself onto the café’s bar stool and ordered a café con leche. Dulcinea, dubs their version as Café Olé. Now, when you are sitting in a catalan café, i was never asked, ‘tall, short or grande.’ I never had a ‘to go’ cup. You sat and enjoyed the same size of coffee as everyone else.
The café olé I had was nothing like the café con leche I had but I really wanted it to be because it is one thing I really miss. Perhaps it was the coffee, milk or method they used. I was disappointed.
The older woman that was working behind the bar was an awesome person for sharing information about their products. If you go, chat with her about what they make. I walked in and she promptly provided a sample of their hot chocolate.
Customer service goes a long way. Makes me want to try it again.
I would like to add, the interior is quite inviting. Nice place to chill.
As for the desserts, there’s plenty of chocolate to choose from. This would be a great place to take someone to enjoy what they offer especially the thick, rich hot chocolate they serve. Great for a rainy day.
Free Wi-​Fi