The Xocolatl Garden

The Xocolatl Garden is pure magic. ✨ I wandered in during a stroll through Carmel-by-the-Sea, and wow… it felt like stepping into a little cacao sanctuary. Their chocolates are rich, intentional, and crafted with such artistry that you can taste the love in every bite. House brand is called Choquiero Chocolates and I loved it!! I’ve been on a chocolate kick lately (my newest obsession: Vixen Chocolates truly unreal), and Xocolatl Garden fits right into that elevated, sensual, small-batch world I adore. Their flavors are bold yet balanced, and everything is beautifully presented. It’s the kind of place where you instantly want to buy gifts and hide a special box for yourself. If you’re a chocolate lover, a foodie, or someone who appreciates craftsmanship and magic, this spot is a must-visit. I’ll definitely be back next time I’m in Carmel.

Carmel-by-the-Sea has plenty of hidden secret places to discover; wander off the beaten path just a little, into a narrow alley or down a park trail, and you may be rewarded with one of the sweetest rewards of all: chocolate! The Xocolatl Garden was one of these random, unexpected, but wholly welcome finds: accessible either via a festoon-lit narrow alley from Ocean Avenue, or via a winding path leading north from Piccadilly Park, this absolutely enchanting hidden plaza, with its tiny shop against one wall, serenades you with its silence and solitude, and invites you in to sample some of the finest chocolates that the world has to offer! Hershey? Nestle? Never heard of 'em. This is real cacao, folks, for real enthusiasts, coming in hard or soft, rich or dark, and filled with everything from pistachio cream to red chili peppers, and a whole lot more! Brands and flavors you have never seen (and quite possibly may never see again) can be found here! If you have a sweet tooth of any level (even one that is virtually non-existent, as mine is), you're still likely to find a chocolate concoction of some sort to pleasure your palate!Carmel-by-the-Sea has plenty of hidden secret places to discover; wander off the beaten path just a little, into a narrow alley or down a park trail, and you may be rewarded with one of the sweetest rewards of all: chocolate! The Xocolatl Garden was one of these random, unexpected, but wholly welcome finds: accessible either via a festoon-lit narrow alley from Ocean Avenue, or via a winding path leading north from Piccadilly Park, this absolutely enchanting hidden plaza, with its tiny shop against one wall, serenades you with its silence and solitude, and invites you in to sample some of the finest chocolates that the world has to offer! Hershey? Nestle? Never heard of 'em. This is real cacao, folks, for real enthusiasts, coming in hard or soft, rich or dark, and filled with everything from pistachio cream to red chili peppers, and a whole lot more! Brands and flavors you have never seen (and quite possibly may never see again) can be found here! If you have a sweet tooth of any level (even one that is virtually non-existent, as mine is), you're still likely to find a chocolate concoction of some sort to pleasure your palate!

Nestled at the end of a twinkling, lantern-lit alley – a passage reminiscent of a real-life Diagon Alley – lies this place, a chocolate shop that feels less like a store and more like an enchanting journey. As you emerge from the vibrant alley, you're greeted by a hidden, fragrant garden, a peaceful prelude to the magic within. Step through the doors and embark on a miniature world tour of flavors. This isn't just a chocolate shop; it's a curated collection of cocoa artistry from across the globe. You'll discover unique treasures, from unexpected flavor fusions that will surprise your palate to exquisitely crafted chocolates that are almost too beautiful to eat. Prepare to spend time marveling at the sheer creativity and breadth of their offerings – the "crazy to amazing flavors" are truly worth savoring and contemplating. We had an absolute blast exploring the delightful world of Cacao and are already looking forward to our next visit in a few years!

This gem is nestled in a lovely, tranquil garden, making it the perfect spot for a sweet escape! They have an amazing selection of chocolates from all over the world, and honestly, it’s tough to pick just one. Josselin (I hope I got the name right!) is super friendly and makes the experience even better!

This is a hidden gem in the back of an alley in Carmel. I was so glad that we discovered this charming store during our trip here. The owner is super nice and he also makes his own brand of chocolate. The free sampling was nice and it sure helped me decide what to buy as I was very overwhelmed with the choices.

Ultimately this review is perfect because the vibe to find this place was perfect. Everyone sees this tiny alleyway that has been clearly been kept up with to look very interesting and cause you to wonder. You finally see this tiny garden with a tiny chocolate shop and art gallery. Very cool spot to find. And yes the chocolate was good. Plenty of varieties to choose from. Expensive products and products on sale. Expect to spend at least $8 for a cheap piece and about $16-$20 for the average piece not on sale.

A must-visit for chocolate lovers! Such a cool environment and an amazing collection—chocolate from many countries in flavors you only imagined of. The two I bought are both very delicious. But maybe there’s some issue with my race 😅 I feel others are treated like they are at a Trader Joe’s, with me being an English speaker in France.

If you're a chocolate lover and you're in the area you must stop by this chocolate shop. There are so many selections and varieties. You'll probably see something you have never heard of before. The clerk was surprising knowledgeable of the shop products and he was exceptionally friendly. I'm glad we came through.

A hidden but not so hidden gem in the Carmel main strip. Through the alley, you'll find a bookstore and a painting store, and a tucked garden for resting or hanging out. Don't miss this niche little spot while in Carmel! ;)

My husband and I returned along with our young child. I asked about the sea salt almond dark chocolate bar and even though the person working there thought that there were no more available or that it had been discontinued, she checked anyway and found the last 2. It is a small shop and it seemed very busy and cramped today. It also has steps and I was using my cane which slowed me down and hindered my movement inside a bit. Before paying and leaving, we also got a honeycomb toffee dark chocolate bar, a small hazelnut cream chocolate bar for the kiddo and 2 small dark chocolate mint candies. I tried my dark chocolate mint candy after devouring my first bar and let me tell you, the cream inside is also dark chocolate and is so silky smooth and velvety. Sorry for the blurry pictures. My phone camera isn't the best.

This is a really cool chocolate shop. It's tucked in an alley near the Thomas Kincaid shop. It was a little hard to find the first time but worth it. They have a huge selection of international chocolates, really unique stuff you won't find anywhere else. The staff is knowledgeable of their wares.

They have a variety of chocolate for all your needs chocolate from all over the world ,they carry little pieces of candy chocolate as well. The place is small situated on a little garden. The lady inside is very helpful. The prices are kinda high, but if you're looking for a good piece of chocolate this is the place to go

Love this chocolate shop!! Such a cute little store with quality bean to bar chocolates from all over the world. Helpful, friendly staff, you let them know what you like and they'll recommend some chocolates for you. To get here, you walk down a secret alleyway & it leads to a courtyard with this chocolate shop & a Thomas Kinkade store. If you love chocolate, this place is a must visit!

I'm in chocolate heaven! There's a really good selection of local and international chocolates here. Some you can't find anywhere else and some are made in small batches. The shop is small but the ambience from entering the alley to the garden and shop itself, super cute. The staff was nice and helpful with our questions. The price is expensive for each chocolate bar but so far the ones I tried were sooo good! I'll come back and will try the rest.

The shop is relatively small, but it offers a wide variety of chocolate selections. I purchased the hot chocolate powder, which was of good quality, though the pricing was on the higher side.

It's such a cute tiny chocolate shop in the back of a super fantasy-like alley walkway. I wanted to like this place due to the wonderful asthetics, but unfortunately, minus 1 star for the inconsistent opening hours. The owner of the shop seems to like to open and close whenever she wants. Had to make 2 trips back because of this :/ While the shop has a lot of variety of chocolates; even unique flavor chocolates like sesame seed + lapsing tea chili pepper chocolate, coffee jasmine creme, cardamon flavored chocolate and even mushroom chocolates, the quality of the chocolates were mediocre. None of these unique flavors "wow'd" me. It's worth a stop by if you are in the area and they happen to be open, but I would not go out of my way just to come here again.

A great variety of international chocolates!! Even though the store is small, there is an amazing variety! They are also very good at recommending based on what type of chocolate you like. There are daily samples and also a tasting menu for $5. I will definitely be coming back to try new chocolates again.

This was such a cute little shop that we wandered into after seeing some string lights in an alleyway after dinner. This can be difficult to find if you're not looking for it since there's no signage pointing to the alley. The shop itself is quite small but they have such a selection of chocolate from not only Carmel but around the world. The man that helped us was so nice and informative giving us unique options to choose from and was pleasant talking to. Parking is street parking so can be difficult during peak hours & weekends.

What a fun find. It's Gourmet Chocolate responsibly sourced. So it's very expensive. Many brands flavors and styles. Loose teas sold here too. Service was okay. The place is cute.

Hidden behind a really cute passageway, this chocolate shop has 100s of different chocolates from all over the world. There's a really pretty seating area right outside the entrance as well

This place is a little hard to find but so worth it if you love chocolate. You have to walk down this little ivy-covered alleyway and once you do it's on your immediate left. They have chocolate from pretty much all over the world which can be overwhelming. Luckily the gentleman that was working there seemed VERY knowledgable. He was able to tell us where the cacao beans were sourced and where the bars were actually made, (often not the same place), as well as their flavor profiles, a chocolate sommelier if you will. Choosing the chocolates is the hardest part. We ended up spending over $100 on 10 or so bars.

OH MY GOSH! THE ALLEY WAY AND SHOP ITSELF ARE SO CUTE! Ambiance is amazing and great for photo taking if thats your thing. It's small in the shop itself but since they sell only chocolate who cares? The chocolate selection is huge, I've never seen so many different chocolates from cultures and locals in one place. We ended up doing a 5 dollar sampler and then getting 2 bars from the shop for a total of 30ish dollars which is a good price for the quality of them, The person helping us was so helpful in asking us our chocolate preferences and describing how hot chocolate was prepared in some native mexican ways. And they were amazing with recommending us bars and flavors that we may like.

An incredible array of chocolate. Honestly one of the broadest arrays of chocolate I think I've ever seen. Chocolate from all over the globe and in combinations of flavors ranging from the fairly standard (mint & chocolate) to the more bizarre. Cashier was nice and kept offering us samples. But honestly the samples were like dust, you couldn't taste anything. If you're going to offer samples, at least offer enough so we can get the flavor of it! It's in a really cute garden and the chocolate we did buy was great, but either don't offer samples or at least give the customer enough to taste the chocolate not just dust and crumbs while you unpack giant boxes of the chocolates...

Great variety of chocolate options, the employee recommended us great chocolate options which we ended up buying and we loved it it's a bit pricey but the chocolate is authentic and it's worth it!

Sometimes you need to wander off the common paths/sidewalks and find hidden gems in the alleyways. Phenomenal location. It's a small shop packed with a variety of chocolates. Not the cheapest, but quality was good. We only picked up a handful of individual chocantes; 4 small pieces for about 6 bucks. The one employee was very friendly and willing to share his knowledge about their delectable treats. Will stop by again when in town.

Such a cute place! The chocolate selection is really big and I got this Vietnamese thin chocolate bar pack of 6 or 7 I think. They were really good. The worker was so sweet and nice and gave us a free sample after we purchased our chocolate. You might have to wait to enter through the little tunnel because so many people are taking their own pictures in it but still cute and very lovely place! We found street parking at a near by restaurant we ate at, and just walked over to here!

It's really hidden and one can pass by this easily if it wasn't for the alley nicely lit at night! Glowing garden once one walks in the alleyway and then there's the chocolate shoppe filled with wonders of chocolate types and gourmet ideas to choose from! I adored their bourbon chocolate bar and coffee chocolate milk package. They also had themed festive chocolate items, such as for Halloween packaged up very nicely! Worth a pop by while in Carmel and in the main streets enjoying a stroll!

Cool chocolate shop! It is hidden and you have to go through this alleyway entrance to reach this chocolate shop. There are soo many variety of different chocolate!

The entrance is a super whimsical garden! The shop itself is very small but provides a lot of chocolate bar options from various locations. It's mostly ethically sourced chocolate. Most of the bars are over $10 each! There are some bite size piece chocolates for purchase.

Such a hidden gem! Live this authentic chocolate stir and specially the cute little pathway leading into it! Yum

On 6/14/23 we had the pleasure of visiting this establishment. Casey was a Jedi of everything chocolate. He was entertaining, excited and vibrant with descriptions of the variety of delicious treats. We had to choose several different types...spicy from the Philippines (Theo & Philo), mezcal from Mexico (Cuna De Piedra), lime from Peru (Gran Nativo Blanco) and oatmilk from Brazil (Mission Chocolate.) We cannot express the unique experience we had with Casey, magical it was!!! XO

Such an amazing hidden gem. Did not expect to buy as much as I did but they had such great products and I went chocolate crazy. My most memorable and delicious bar was the Mayana coconut...so good.

We came to enjoy some authentic indigenous chocolates and immediately received an unpleasant pretentious attitude from some teen probably working for his family. His attitude and behavior was so deplorable we left disgusted. Don't give them a penny. Spend your money on the real thing.

Absolute hidden gem tucked behind an alley. One of the best chocolate selections I've seen recently and the staff is incredibly helpful at curating a good selection of chocolate based on your preferences.

Been a while, May of 2023, meant to share my experience much earlier but the story came up recently so better late than never. It's a cute little shop and as a fine chocolate enthusiast all my life I found the selection to be spectacular. Spent about 5 minutes inside and the young man staffer shared some knowledge and recommendations and I chose two nice (and expensive!) bars of Peruvian dark. All good there, but when check out came he spun the iPad around--and there it was, the dreaded tip screen. Being a retail establishment with no food or beverage service I didn't think twice to hit "no tip" but when he spun it back around and saw my choice he was visibly put off and his attitude shifted palpably. I kind of laughed I think, incredulously, I couldn't believe what had just happened. 5 stars solid for the amazing selection and quality of product, but 1star for the uncomfortable experience.

This cozy shop is located in a wonderful garden location. We visited here about a six months ago and received wonderful customer service. Once again we had the same experience! The selection is well curated and sophisticated. But the salesman tending the shop is the best part. He really knows his stuff! He was very attentive and observant to the tastes of the shoppers. I would recommend this place to anyone in need of a special chocolate recommendation.

Super great service! The guy working there recommended some vegan chocolate for me. Definitely the best chocolate I've ever had.

The products were really good quality. I'm not sure what his name was, but the tall blonde gentleman who worked there was very kind and helpful. He was able to go into depth about many of the chocolates and he suggested some of his personal favorites which helped me narrow down my choices. Good customer service and beautiful ambiance.

First of all, a huge thank you to Casey for all of the knowledge he shared about chocolate. It's always fun learning and the passion he displays talking about chocolate made it a fun experience choosing a chocolate my girlfriend and I would like. The ambiance is beautiful, the garden is gorgeous, and the chocolate selection is incredible. Any chocolate lovers who visit Carmel have to stop by! Thanks Casey! -KC & Jorge

Getting to this store was so magical, you have to go through an alley and it's covered in foliage. The store decor was great, service was awesome , and we got some quality chocolate from it.... They have chocolate source from like 80+ countries... pretty cool.

My group and I unintentionally walked into the shop and left with $50 worth of chocolate. Casey knows his stuff and totally sold us on the chocolate because of all his knowledge. 10/10 experience and we left with yummy chocolate. Someone give Casey a bonus!!!

Must visit for chocolate lovers. Phenomenal collection. Friendly and informative staff member. Had a piece of "dark milk" from a brand called Fruition that was divine. Worth stopping on every visit to the area!

I loved everything about this place. The young man staffing the place showed tremendous depth of knowledge about the products on offer. Considering how many different products they stock, his knowledge is pretty impressive. I found him entirely pleasant and approachable. All of the chocolate in the shop is ethically sourced from growers and producers all over the world. I mostly bought gifts for others, but I did bring my husband a very cute doughnut-shaped truffle (?) which he said was delicious. The place is very clean and brightly lit, and it's located in a secluded shop down an alleyway, with a lovely garden.

Cute location, but waaay overpriced. Most of the selections can be ordered direct from the various chocolate companies for a 3rd of the price, with online specials.

This place has a great variety of chocolates! Totally worth a visit, I highly recommend the Lychee Rose Fossa chocolate. Can't wait to go back.

Such a cute little shop!! The employee named Casey was amazing!! Definitely recommend stopping by and getting his opinion on the chocolates! He knows his stuff!

I totally stumbled onto this amazing store full of magical goodies by accident. The location itself reminded me of a secret garden. And the selection reminded me of the movie Chocolat. I would definitely go back and buy more things!

Casey helped us out and gave us awesome suggestions. He knew his product and we will definitely be back!

This place is a hidden gem! Aurelio is charming and very knowledgeable about chocolate.. you must try his Mayan Rose chocolate bar. It's sensuous, romantic and velvety. I really enjoyed the unique flavors! Do yourself a favor and stop by this adorable shop and try Aurelio's sweet chocolate for yourself. I can't wait to come back and try some of his delicious, mouthwatering, exotic flavors! You won't be disappointed!

Cute alley takes you to the small chocolate shop. Tons of different chocolate bars from lots of places around the world to choose from. Some of the bars are pricey. The young male working was very knowledgeable on the products and can easily recommend a specific bar based off what you like.

Love this little store. It's all about chocolate from all over the world... some of the best single origin dark chocolate I have tried.

Wow! That was the most rude encounter ever this afternoon. The person at the counter refused to let us exchange a purchase or do a refund and we hadn't left the counter or opened the package. Fine, store policy but then instead of saying sorry he berated us for asking and then continued to tell us how wrong we were for even asking. The worst part was he would not shut up and kept telling us off. Other people in the shop were also stunned at his behavior. Everyone walked out shaking their head. As locals you can be sure this will be shared.

What a nice surprise to find this specialty chocolate shop featuring a wide variety of organic, vegan and gluten free chocolate, with plenty of 80% and greater cacao. Looking forward to trying out the chocolate I picked up today!