Hahndorf's Fine Chocolates, Forest Hill by Bureaucrat

Free hand-made chocolate with every drink purchased - all the time, every time.

Gimme, gimme!

Yep, I figured that'll get your attention!  Hahndorf's Fine Chocolates has to be the best kept secret across Melbourne - more so than any hidden bar in a CBD laneway.  How this delightful chocolate shop isn't as well known as, say, Koko Black or Max Brenner is a puzzle to me.  Ms M first took me to Hahndorf's over 10 years ago.  This was at their Burwood shop, which I think no longer exists (though there are now about 15 shops dotted across Victoria).  At the time, I was amazed at how we just ordered a coffee each and the staff, with beaming smiles, would come around with a tray of chocolates to devour.  Since then, I had all but forgotten about the place until I started seeing one in Ferntree Gully as I make my regular pilgrimages to Mt Dandenong; and then I spotted one in the unlikely place of being next to an Aldi supermarket in Forest Hill Shopping Centre.

Hahndorf isn't trying to be the latest, chicest chocolaterie with gimmicks to lure the Instagrammers.  It does chocolates well and service is always with a smile.  The menu is brief: hot and cold drinks, small range of snacks (e.g., muffins, toasties) and chocolates.  Perhaps because of this, Hahndorf seems to be mostly frequented by the golden oldies - those that just want to enjoy a good cuppa with a nice piece of chocolate.


I took Boy Chick there a few weeks ago, and since then it's become an almost weekly visit for us there!  We always get an iced chocolate to share.  This is a generous serve of chocolatey milky goodness - the chocolate syrup is sweet but not too sweet; lots of ice cream; lots of chocolate shavings; and there's usually quite a lot left in the metal container.


As Boy Chick slams down the iced chocolate in one breath, the staff come around with a big tray of all their chocolates, which is served to you with metal tongs.

Verdict

We loved it.

Cheap eats.

Overall

How can you not love Hahndorf's? Good old fashioned service and chocolates here.  Amazing value for the quality and quantity for the drinks and chocolates.  Generosity is key here - even the boxed chocolates come with a coupon for a free drink (which you then, in turn, get a free chocolate!).  I mean, what other place does this?!  Check out their website to find the closest shop near you.

The only thing I don't like is that the 'background' music is often loud and is some generic FM radio station. 

Find it at

Hahndorf's Fine Chocolates
Shop 170
Forest Hill Chase Shopping Centre
270 Canterbury Road
Forest Hill VIC 3131
Phone: 03 9878 5516