Koko Black, Queenstown

Experience More - Subscribe to Our Weekly Events Newsletter

For those of you out there who may have not heard of Koko Black. Prepare to be drooling (especially if you have a love affair with all things chocolate).

Entering their Queenstown establishment (and not really knowing anything about Koko Black) was a nice eye opener for my partner and I. We decided to head in as we were exploring the main hub of Queenstown and were convinced we had walked into chocolate heaven, brimming with temptation at every corner. Little did we know that this tasty eye candy travelled up from the decedent shop downstairs (filled with truffles and ganaches) to the dessert restaurant upstairs. We obviously had to make our way up and check it out.

The interior of Koko Black is quite modern with a suiting use of different shades of brown wood to construct panels and create the 'home of chocolate' atmosphere that was present. The smell of hot chocolate is what first hits you, and as we later found out, it is quite a popular item on the creative menu.



We made our way to the display cabinet that showcases some of the unique sugary creations of the chocolate artisans who work at the company. Directly behind the cabinet is a creation station where these desserts are elegantly crafted for customers.

Looking through the display unit, I knew I had to try the salted caramel liquid truffle. It looked so delicious sitting there and I was interested to know what the inside of the treat would be like. My partner opted for the hot chocolate (which we shared) and a ganache chocolate dessert.

The service is quite prompt and the staff are quite attentive. On this particular occasion we noticed that 4pm on a Friday seemed to be quite empty, which was a good thing as it meant that our order would appear quite quickly

The hot chocolate came out first and it was the perfect amount of chocolate and sugar, without tasting watered down or too milky and bland. Koko Black knows what they are doing. This would probably have to be the best hot chocolate I have tried in my life to date and I have had many a hot chocolate in my time. If you go to Koko Black in Queenstown and don't order anything but the hot chocolate, you will still be super satisfied.



The salted caramel dessert came out with a hand-made toffee slide which the caramel sauce slid down. Very cute and just a simple little idea that impressed me a lot. Taking that first spoonful (ensuring I took a bit of every layer) was just divine. The ganache had a slight hazelnut taste and was like fairy floss on the tongue that just melted perfectly onto the palate. Not only was the salted caramel in a little pouring jar for my slide, but it was also in thicker form in the middle of the dessert. It was crazy to think that something that appeared so sweet actually was balanced perfectly. Not at any point did I feel sickly, which usually happens after a trip to Max Brenner.

The chocolate ganache cake with the mini chocolate detail and edible gold was another great choice. It came out with a strip of finely crumpled chocolate biscuit (or at least that is what I thought). It gave nice crunch to the cake looking dessert.

Koko Black is not only located in Queenstown but throughout the major cities in Australia. The first store opened in December 2003 by Shane Hill and has since grown from strength to strength with locations across Australia and New Zealand. Hopefully there will be more in the future, but until that day comes, you should be able to find one near you. Remember if you are in Queenstown and want a break from skiing and snowboarding and want to warm up quickly then Koko Black and their standout hot chocolate is definitely for you.


#handmade
#dessert_bars
#coffee
#chocolate
#child_friendly
#cafes
#bucket_list
%wnqueenstown