Chocolateria
After spending 20 years practising law, Tim English caved into his sweet tooth, enrolled in chocolate- and pastry-making courses at George Brown, and set up shop in the west end. Why Roncesvalles? “It didn’t have a chocolate shop,” he says matter-of-factly.
What the area did have was ongoing street construction. Yet sugar addicts, in their endless quest for premium-quality Belgian chocolate, have found their way to The Chocolateria, driven by word of mouth. Nothing escapes English’s chocolate treatment. Into the melting pot goes bark, brittle, butter crunch, jujubes, gummy bears – even Spider-Man lollipops and Miss Vickies potato chips ($7.50/150 grams). Traditionalists will appreciate the glass cases lined with truffles that feature accents of fresh mint, anise, pink peppercorn, and salva agave – a mixture of tequila and cactus nectar ($1.40 each).
You might expect a shop serving top-calibre sweets to be decked in bows and ribbons, but English hasn’t done much to the shop since the previous tenants left – including local watering hole Inter Steer. He’s even left its sign (“Romantic Place”) over the front door. The plan is to hang local artwork on the walls, but English is focused more on scooping homemade ice cream come spring.
By Kelly Jones
Photos by Finn O'Hara
As featured in DL Spring 2011
Chocolateria
361 RONCESVALLES AVE (Map It)
416 588 0567
TUE-THU 10-7, FRI 10-9, SAT 10-7, SUN 12-6
