Chocolate Bar

I always love going here when I am on East 4^th, whether it’s for dinner or just a drink. You can’t go wrong with their martinis, and the food is pretty good too. Last time I went, I got the Pesto Chicken flatbread, which was delicious and I would definitely get again, and two Chocolare salted carmel martinis (my favorite on my menu).

So… Of course it’s not good, but they are open late which is why I was there. Really nothing wrong with any of it other the the general level of cheesiness– price was right and the service was fine. Don’t go out of your way but if your starving and it 11 pm your in luck

I usually bring out of town visitors to impress them with chocolate martinis and spiked hot chocolated (my persona favorites are the Coconut Macaroon and the Rasberry Vodka). The problem was that, this time, my visitors were thrilled by the «chocolate» name and wanted to try Chocolate Milkshake and A Chocolate Molten cake. Terrible decision…
Chocolate Milkshake had 0 chocolate flavor which was a disappointment for a «chocolate bar». If you want a good chocolate Milkshake please try Flip Side (on west 10^th St) or B– Spot (I have only tried Crocker Park but they have a location at the casino downtown too)
The chocolate molten was really dry with little to no flavor as well.
To top the experience, the waitress made a bid deal to sit us at a table because we had no reservation on a Sunday afternoon with more than half of the restaurant empty. Before sitting us he wanted to know if we were going to «really had food» and when we said just drinks and dessert he hesitated, then proceeded to sit us. Yes, it was as awkward as it sound.
So sad that a nice Cleveland landmark has untrained staff and do not meet the «chocolate name» expectations.

A little pricey for what you’re getting. We ordered: toasted ravioli, a wrap with chicken/​hummus/​kalamata olives etc., cinnamon bun milkshake, steak and stuffed pepper flatbread, and chocolate covered pretzel martini. The ambiance is very nice, darker with lit candles. Fun in that it’s part of the arcade. My daughter loved the milkshake. The appetizer only had 5 ravioli on it. The wrap was pretty good, but didn’t have much hummus in it. The steak on the flatbread was definitely something heated up and not sliced up fresh. The martini was alright. It was way too strong alcohol for my liking. I didn’t even finish half of it, but had a very nice presentation lol. I doubt we would return, but was a fun experience.

I went on a Saturday night and had drinks, dinner, and dessert at the bar. The bar staff was very attentive and friendly and the food and drinks were all great. I had the prime rib special and a few different martinis all of which were pretty and pretty tasty. The prices seemed reasonable coming from out of town from DC. I would definitely come back again when I’m back in town.

Menu is HUGE for martinis and dessert! Food looked great but we only got dessert. We both got ice cream sundaes and they were delicious. $ 10 each tho. But for the size I would say that’s pretty good. Service was friendly a little slow due to how busy they were Friday night at 7pm.

My husband and I came here on our honeymoon. The service started out great and then we almost had to flag our server down. They didn’t have any non-​dairy options for milkshakes. The drinks we did get were pretty good tho. Will probably be back for the amazing cheesecake!

Daina is an excellent mixologist. Very good and drinks were exceptional. If you like chocolate you need to be here. See you next time!

Came here for a quick dessert with my friends before we rushed to the airport. We shared a triple chocolate mousse which was really good. I’m usually not a huge chocolate fan because it gets too heavy but this was just the right amount of chocolate and not too sweet. We also each got a frozen hot chocolate (first time having one!) and I really enjoyed it. Looking back, I probably should’ve just said no whipped cream since I’m not a huge fan of it but I can see why frozen hot chocolate is popular.

I went on a Saturday night. I was greeted and seated promptly by a very friendly host. The server came and introduced herself and explained the menus and was very friendly. I was impressed by the selection of drinks (both alcoholic and non) and the amount of entrée selection. I chose to have the pesto salmon. Presentation was on point. Execution was not. The salmon was not fresh and was soggy in the middle. The asparagus had a charred taste. For desert I had the crème brûlée done table side. Again, presentation was on point. Sadly execution was again lacking. There was no crack that all crème brûlée fans look for when first digging in. The desert itself seemed loose as it became more like eating vanilla baby food/​pudding than a crème brûlée. It was not the worst meal I’ve had in Cleveland but not the best.

Service was great and so was the food. We had a turkey club which was fabulous. Southwest chicken salad was very good as well as the chocolate bar pasta. It was sweet but not overbearing. Great atmosphere. For dessert we shared the peanut butter panic and the triple chocolate fusion. We had cappuccinos and were in love with everything.

Came here for my birthday for the 2^nd year in a row the other night.
Last year all we had was martinis and dessert– a crêpe. Delicious!
This year we had martinis, dinner, and dessert. I had a nutella martini– so good, you occlude taste the hazelnut. She had the chocolate chocolate mint. It was so strong she couldn’t really enjoy it. Could be a bonus for some, but not for the casual drinker.
We’re’ both vegetarians so the menu wasn’t too awful, but there weren’t too many vegetarian options either. I had the alfredo with portabella mushrooms on the top. SOOO good, so creamy, so garlicy… Probably the best alfredo i’ve ever had. Definitely recommend.
She had the chocolate bar pasta. It. Was. Awful. Please please please don’t order the chocolate bar pasta. It tastes like nothing. It literally tastes like pasta with whipped cream on it. It’s paired with a random pile of flavorless corn. She didn’t want to be a bother and didn’t tell them, but i’m telling you it was the worst meal ever. If you’re the kitchen manager or owner and you’re reading this, please change that pasta dish, it’s awful.
We had the bananas foster crêpe for dessert this time and it was good, but we were too full to finish it. We took it home.
Our server was so sweet and helpful!

Visited August 2013
I knew I wanted to stop here on our trip. We made it a point to locate this place… thank goodness! My husband had the chocolate chocolate mint martini, my mother-​in-​law the raspberry ruffle truffle & I had the chocolate fusion. They were all incredible! If I ever make it back I would like to try one of their frozen hot chocolates!

Excellent drinks… the Chocolate Banana cream and pomegranate martinis were. delicious! Food selection had variety and the pecan chicken was super good! Steak made to order as well. We had good service on a Sunday night during a Browns game.
We’ll be back!

Came here for an early dinner and had a chicken salad and a hot chocolate alcohol drink. Both were extremely flavorless and poor quality. It made me sad. Seemed like no thought was put into the dish or drink. I came here another time a year or two ago, and remember thinking the same thing.
When I first walked in, about 4 of the staff at the host’s station had their backs turned to me for like 5 minutes, so I just went and found a seat myself. Of course, nobody came over to give me a menu or anything so I had to get up and tell someone I was sitting there. The place was basically empty. Not a huge deal, but just seems careless.
It feels like their MO is to entice tourists/​suburbanites from the E4 scene who don’t come downtown that often, and won’t be back soon anyway. Would not recommend.

We visited for a light, late, dinner on a weeknight. There wasn’t much of a crowd — a good thing — and we got seated immediately. The atmosphere and décor were very inviting, as was the persistent but not overwhelming aroma of chocolate goodness.
The service was good — not great. Our waiter was attentive and speedy but made a couple of awkward blunders. First of all, asking my wife and I if we wanted separate checks before we even put in our drink orders was a little less than classy. Granted, I’ve been told that my lovely wife is WAY out of my league, but give a guy the benefit of the doubt that he may actually be on a date. This of course was followed up with him asking if I wanted Tanqueray in my VODKA tonic. Learn your liquor and if the customer doesn’t specify, they want a well drink. That should just be understood. Don’t make me look like a cheap ass in front the person that 30 seconds ago you didn’t think was my date. I politely asked for Absolut instead, thinking he would pick up on his mistake. No dice. I ended up with a GIN and tonic instead.
The food was a mixed bag. The potstickers were quite delicious and had a nice siracha garnish to add a little heat. On the other hand, the Bruschetta flatbread was a huge disappointment. If I wanted pizza with a few lonely chunks of tomatoes and olives, I could get that for a lot less at any pizza joint. Someone needs to hit up google images for «bruschetta». The common theme is MOUNDS of fresh tomatoes, basil, etc. What we were served was an insult to the classic dish that is quite hard to screw up this badly.
We ended the evening with the peanut butter mud dessert. They earned back two of their stars with this little slice of chocolaty heaven. I would come back just for dessert — after having dinner and drinks elsewhere first.
The restroom situation does deserve a mention as well. Following the signs, you are lead out the back door of the restaurant, down a flight of stairs into a shared basement/​elevator lobby. I wouldn’t recommend letting anyone in your party take this adventure on their own — it just didn’t feel safe AT ALL.

This was my second time going to the chocolate bar while visiting family in Cleveland. I had a chocolate covered strawberry martini and it was absolutely delicious, along with a turkey wrap which was okay. Overall, it was a tad expensive. My tip is also to only order one martini too. I am a huge chocolate lover but they are SO rich that by the time you drink your martini and eat less than healthy food, it leaves a slightly unpleasant feeling.
I think this place would be great for a drink and an appetizer or just dessert but it’s very rich for a full meal.

The Chocolate Bar is a very unique place. It sounds more like a cocktail bar, which it partially is, but it is also a thriving restaurant.
I was here on a Saturday and the only table available to those who did not have a reservation was one left on the patio. Busy busy busy. I guess people must really like this place. The inside is dark with most of the lighting coming from the natural light. The patio area is nice right off of Euclid so you can people watch.
Almost everything on the menu has something to do with chocolate. Even the pasta dishes. It is really quite strange to me. Drinks and desserts, ok that is cool, pastas and pizza, now that is weird. But again, people like it and they say it tastes good. The cocktails were proven to be good by a few people in my party but again I did not participate. I got a flatbread that did not have chocolate in it. Whew! There are very few items on the menu that don’t include chocolate.
Have I referenced chocolate in this review?
Not my kind of place but like I stated earlier the people must love it here because it stayed busy all Saturday evening.
FYI (The washroom is in the back and down the stairs, in what feels like an old underground mall area)

When Chocolate Bar first went into this space, I was stoked. I spent most of my weekends downtown and this was the perfect place to grab a drink and a reasonably priced food. However, their downfall was always slow and poor table service.
I hadn’t been here for dinner since those first few years of opening, so I thought I’d try it out. I was disappointed to find that the service was exactly the same — SLOWWWWW. We came here on a Monday night, the place was dead, and it took way too long to get a drink and an entrée. On top of that, the server was not attentive and never came back to our table with the empty martini glasses to ask if we wanted another. We were fully prepared to get another, but by the time he asked, we were already asking for the check.
While the service is unfortunate, the food is okay. For the price you are paying, it’s a pretty good deal. And the only redeeming element of this place is their extensive drink and dessert menu. I’m pretty sure there were over 25 types of martinis and over 10 types of spiked hot chocolate. And the martinis were pretty scrumptious. I didn’t get dessert on this occasion, but I’ve got it enough times from here to know that I have never been disappointed by their sweet treats. If I were to ever come back here, it would only be for drinks/​dessert.

Why only 3 stars, Unilocal!Why? As much as I am usually aligned with other, this place was a 5-​star experience for me.
I came in to try their crepes, but when I saw salted caramel hot chocolate on the menu — I knew I had to try it. The service was very friendly and welcoming, and the chocolate came out right away and just right after a stroll on the cold streets of Cleveland.
The food at the table next to me looked great as well, I almost wished I skipped Lola for this…
Next time in Cleveland, I guess.