Gourmet Works of Pleasanton

I can’t stop eating chocolate from gourmet works handmade in store. Great selection of giftware, jams and sauces. Love it.

Super friendly staff! I love all the great treasures in the store. I just bought their chocolate bark and its PERECT! I come in after my strolls through the farmer markets and can’t resist the chocolate bar.

This place has such cool stuff and I want to try it all! Jams, jellies, chocolate and even all these crazy different kinds of ketchup! This time around I only grabbed some truffles but I’m really looking forward to checking out some other items!
The woman working (I’m guessing she is the owner?) was also very friendly and super perky. Very cute little store with lots to offer!

Gourmet Works has a wide variety of gourmet eats: chocolates, jelly belly, jams, teas, truffles, etc.
eats: bag of sea salt caramel chocolates (2.5)
–so deliz! many varieties. chocolate cashews, chocolate strawberries etc.
forget brand.
food notes:
–aisles wide enough so browsing is easy, no blocking lanes…

Super cute little shop filled with gifts and goodies in the heart of downtown Pleasanton. You MUST try their dipped Oreos — just to die for!

Got their truffles this evening. Huge, for one. And so full of chocolaty goodness. And such sweet owners too. I’ll definitely be back — a lovely little store that just beckons you to explore, and buy :-)

I love this place!
If you want to support a family-​owned business and reap the rewards — I mean seriously, delicious rewards — you have to go to Gourmet Works! The owners are super friendly and remember their customers’ names. I can’t come in without buying their honeycomb — so tasty. It’s also the perfect place for that hard-​to-​find gift. They have the cutest kitchen items, too. Gourmet Works is RIGHT downtown Pleasanton, and a definite stop for your P-​town outing.
MMMMMMMM…

Nice little shop! They have a lot of chocolates and jams and little goodies that will make you the envy of the neighborhood. It’s all great quality too! It’s a little on the pricey side though so make sure you have a load wallet before you step foot in this place or make sure your credit card isn’t over the limit. You don’t want to get so excited and check out without the funds!
They have nifty little Halloween things in stocks and we bought this little pumpkin head kid who was going Trick r’ Treating as Dracula. It’s an awesome item and it was actually cheaper here than online! Very rare indeed.
The girl at the counter was really nice and it has a very quaint feel, so this is a must stop if you’re in the old school area of Pleasanton.

Everything I have purchased here has been delicious and well-​received by the recipients. I have our purchased only their chocolate covered items, so I can’t comments on their other wares.
They came through on Valentine’s Day with massive strawberries covered in decadent dark, white and milk chocolate. I preordered a few days ahead and everything was ready when I arrived.
I have also purchased the chocolate covered Rice Krispies, Oreos, graham crackers and pretzels. Of the items I was able to sample, they were outstanding. I’ve resisted the urge to stop in and get a few things for myself lest I eat myself into a chocolate coma stupor.
The staff has always been friendly and fast. This is a local business I am happy to continue to support.

Great Chocolates and Truffles — I asked for a box to place the chocolates in to take with me and it was more expensive than I anticipated so next time I will opt for the paper bag.

Great gourmet gift store and candy shop. Perfect place for a fun hostess gift or when you want to give some nice chocolates. I have heard that the Easter Bunny likes to get his peanut butter eggs here. They even personalize them too.

Discovered this while walking around downtown Pleasanton. Too bad it was after Christmas! Great little goodie bags and gifts that you could give to most anyone. Plenty of selection in the under $ 30 range. Nice folks behind the counter too.

Fun store to poke around & find hostess gifts. The staff is pleasant too. I must admit I didn’t try the candy so I cannot review that but I did enjoy the samples of the various jams & jellies they had sitting out. I bought the fig walnut jam for an appetizer for a party (awesome poured on a goat cheese log w pistachios on top & a side of crackers). Next time I will buy the tart cherry balsamic vinegar (oh all the uses I can imagine) & the sprinkles shaped like sea life (my 3 year old would adore these).
Overall, they have some really unique treats!

Oh my gosh, if a gourmet store chocked full of top notch items and sweets were a playground, I’d play all day!!!
Many of the items they sell could also be found in places like Williams Sonoma and Sur La Table but I think the price point on many of the items were a bit lower than the known chains.
I was particularly excited about the chocolately goodies in the display case like chocolate covered nutter butters, ARE YOU SERIOUS?! This must be heaven!!!
I’d be lying if I said this place did nothing for me, I’ll be back!!!

You don’t buy groceries here. You buy hostess gifts and presents here. The service was perfectly pleasant. I didn’t love the chocolates. I found them waxy and bland. I will go back for interesting jams and vinegar when I need to put together a gift basket. It is expensive so I will only buy things there for people I really like!

Love Gourmet Works… I wrote Jessica L. about her review a couple of months ago. And she seems to do that wherever she travels. Hmmm?
I/​we love you guys, keep doing what you are doing.
L from Pleasanton

Unilocalers: do yourself a favor and ignore Jessica L’s long-​winded looney tunes message below. It’s better suited for her therapist. Anyhoo…
Gourmet Works is a downtown Pleasanton staple. The best chocolates in the Bay Area, (chocolate) bar none! I’ve been shopping here for 5 years now and have never had a bad experience with product quality or customer service. In fact, posting a review this close to midnight was a bad idea; any potential midnight snack will pale in comparison to the chocolate-​covered strawberry or dark chocolate honey-​comb I really CRAVE from Gourmet Works.
In addition, GM has many good gift ideas: fancy pepper jellies, candles, décor, and dishware for those who like to entertain. This place is a must-​visit when you’re downtown.
Woohoo! As good as it gets!

The staff did not greet me as I entered… in fact it took me walking up to the counter to be acknowledged… not my type of customer service. then, to top it off, the woman who helped me was short with me. I asked for chocolate covered strawberries and she stated they were out as if I should know this.
Chocolate: good.
Service: Terrible.
Don’t think I’ll be going back even though I do love their strawberries…

I don’t want to get bashed on for giving a one-​star review of this place amidst the positive reviews, so let me say this first: I am rating Gourmet Works based on their CUSTOMER SERVICE, not on their quality of chocolate and other goods.
Gourmet Works’ Chocolate: Fantastic.
Gourmet Works’ Customer Service: The worst service experience I’ve ever had.
Situation: This business specializes in producing personalized molded chocolates. For my graduation party, I ordered a large batch of 3 types of molded chocolates. Within the order, I wanted flower-​mold chocolates with blue-​colored centers. I recited my order to the store owner (Kathy), who wrote down the order on an invoice sheet, and I specifically told her that I wanted a blue-​colored center for the flower chocolates.
I went to pick up my order the next week, and was mad and frustrated to discover that the flower chocolates had white centers instead of blue centers. I complained to the store worker, but she said that the owner was out of town at the time and there was nothing that they could do right then, and suggested that I call Kathy the following Monday. With my party being the next day and not having any other options for guest gifts, I unhappily took the chocolates home.
I wanted to get some type of refund or an apology at the very least for the mistake, and so I called Gourmet Works the following Monday. I left a message for Kathy with another employee, and informed them of the mistake, and requested a refund for the batch of flower chocolates. For the entire week, Kathy never called me back, so I called again on Friday and was finally able to get ahold of her.
And here’s where it gets interesting… or should I say maddening? In a calm voice, I told Kathy of the mistake her shop had made in making the wrong-​colored chocolates. Kathy immediately became defensive and said «I’m not giving you the refund because you took the whole order. I can’t believe you’re asking for a refund.»
After I reinstated the fact that we did point out the mistake during the time of pick-​up and looked at the invoice Kathy had written and saw that she did not even write down that we requested a blue-​colored flower, Kathy said «Your order was very confusing and you kept on changing your mind. There’s nothing wrong with white color for the flower centers… why are you getting traumatized by this?»
I said, «We never changed the color of the flower. We chose blue all along because those are our school colors. We came to your store to get things personalized, and that’s not what we got. I don’t feel like I should pay for something that I didn’t want, and that’s the reason why I’m asking for a refund.»
After a long and maddening phone conversation, I was unable to receive a refund. Kathy did apologize at the very end of our conversation, but the fact that she initially asked me if I was «traumatized» by having the wrong color flower, and refused to admit that she had made a mistake shows a lot about how much she cares about her customers. I was more traumatized by her bad attitude and lack of good business sense rather than by the initial mistake.
Sorry for the long review, but I really think that the owner of Gourmet Works really needs to reconsider the way that she runs her business. I paid her with the understanding that they specialized in personalized goods and would satisfactorily fulfill my order. However, doing business with Gourmet Works just made me unsatisfied and frustrated that I had to pay for chocolates that I did not want.
Lesson learned: In the end, it’s not just about making money, but about being a good business owner and running your business in a way to keep your customers coming back — because god knows, I’m definitely not going back to Gourmet Works.

Simply the best boutique chocolate and gifts store in the Bay Area! Of course I am partial because I live in Pleasanton and know the owners but come on… if you have been there you would agree this place rocks! If you are looking for the perfect gift along with custom made gift bags and cards, or just wanting some of the best chocolate goodies ever for your self… this is the place!
If you’re real nice, Kathy might even show you where the magic happens!!!