Ciocolat

Ciocolat on a June afternoon, 2006.

Location

301 B Street, next to Sam's Mediterranean

Hours

Mon-Thu 7:30AM-10:00PM

Fri 7:30AM-11:00PM

Sat 8:00AM-11:00PM

Sun 10:00AM-10:00PM

Phone

(530)753-3088

Fax

(530)753-3156

Web site

http://www.ciocolat.com/

A view from the street, Dec. 2004. Ciocolat is a dessert (pastry, chocolate, etc.) place which also serves coffee and lunch items. Their byline is "Extraordinary Desserts". Ciocolat is perhaps the least "academic" of the coffee shops in Davis — in so far as academic implies a sort of pulling out of books and papers to rustle through. Gone are the countless students with OChem books and powerpoint slides — instead we find a quaint little house on the corner, a patio filled with people enjoying each other's company, and innumerable delicate dessert items. Most of the servers are female, but there is at least one male server.

Ciocolat at night. They have lovely trees at night

In addition to desserts, Ciocolat also has a wide selection of coffee and beverages including wine, port and beer. Unknown to many, Ciocolat offers a few California cuisine lunch items. Notable are their salads, the wild mushroom lasagna, and the salmon Croque Monsieur, all of which are cheaper than analogous items at Mustard Seed or Cafe Bernardo. They also serve breakfasts: french toast and omelets. The breakfasts are not generally highly regarded, other than their excellent pastries.

On the weekends you can take high tea at Ciocolat. High tea goes from 11-3, and a reservation is required. The tea consists of basically a four course meal. It starts with savory items—Croissant Sandwiches, Croque Monsieur, Foccacia with Brie and Sun-dried tomato spread, Banana Bread and Blueberry spice bread. After that, white chocolate and cranberry scones with lemon curd and raspberry spreads are served. The third course is dessert, where they serve 5 small desserts per person. Finally, the meal ends with fresh berries and Chantilly (similar to whipped) cream. This was the menu during Mother's Day, so it may change with the seasons. Budget at least 2 and a half hours for the entire meal. The cost is 25 dollars per person.

One of the chocolate cakes is essentially a giant truffle — it's completely breathtaking. The Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake is something everyone should try. It's a single serving cake that is perfect for two to share, especially for dessert after a romantic dinner date. The Chocolate Decadence Cake has chocolate everywhere and is a really moist cake with mousse and more.

Ciocolat also offers beautifully designed custom cakes and desserts. Go to them if you ever need a special fancy cake for a special fancy occasion. Be prepared to spend quite a bit of cash, but every bite will be well worth it.

While Ciocolat doesn't have wireless internet, you can sometimes pick up Crepeville's and another signal.

Served 8am to 11am Monday-Friday
Served 8am to 2pm Saturday and Sunday
Each served with your choice of two: 2 slices of whole wheat or organic walnut toast, 4 slices of bacon, rosemary potatoes, sauteed apples or a bowl of fresh fruit

Eggs Benedict

Asparagus and Goat Cheese Fritatta

Sausage Casserole

Scrambled Eggs

Corn Casserole

French Toast

Veggie Omelet

Served Daily
Each served with a side of spring of Caesar salad

Croque Monsieur
Smoked Salmon, Gruyere cheese, buttermilk bread served warm

Wild Mushroom Lasagna
Wild mushrooms, fresh thyme, Italian parsley with Béchamel sauce

Ultimate Vegetable Frittata
Eggplant, tomatoes, garlic, and basil

Ultimate Quiche Lorraine
Smoked ham, spinach, Monterey Jack cheese, and Provencal herbs

Croissant Sandwich
A choice of Black Forest ham with Swiss cheese, or smoked turkey with Provolone cheese Gourmet Vegetarian Muffaletta
Sun-dried tomato spread on Focaccia bread filled with Brie cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, artichokes, and greens

Ciocolat BLT
Hickory-smoked bacon, tomatoes, red onion, and basil mayo, served on Focaccia bread

Caesar Salad
Chopped romaine lettuce tossed with croutons, Parmesan cheese, and dressing

Seasonal Green Salad
Mixed greens, goat cheese, cranberries, candied walnuts, and sliced pears

• 2008 Review — 2008 review of Ciocolat in Davis Life Magazine.
  

• 2008 Interview — Interview with Ciocolat owner, Kate Hutchison in Davis Life Magazine.

Reviews

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• /Reviews prior to 2007
  

• /2007 Reviews
  

• /2008 Reviews

2009-01-21 13:39:30   Clearly mixed reviews for Ciocolat, and this will be no different. Pros: great deck and indoor vibe, out-of-this-world currant and cream scones, delicious french toast, excellent happy hour prices. Cons: not the greatest coffee (weak), some things are more expensive than they ought to be, slow staff (though they're usually friendly enough). Biggest con, however, is the fact that the music is generally quite loud and quite repetitive. Mix things up, Ciocolat! Play more than the one or two salsa CDs currently in rotation, and try something more chill sometimes. Then I might become a regular. —Kay

2009-01-24 17:21:23   I agree about the music. I'm a salsa dancer, so I don't mind salsa music. But I have heard them play that same CD a zillion times, and I recognize every break, accent, and phrase in every song! They'd do well to keep the volume lower and play much more of a mix of music. —jsg718

2009-02-23 16:18:12   Accidentally dropped my cake on the floor without having taken a bite. I informed the girl at the counter and she gave me a new slice free of charge. Thumbs up from me for that alone. —bunchies

2009-02-23 20:24:49   These guys make the tastiest BLT I've ever tried. —WilliamLewis

2009-03-05 20:24:58   I'm addicted to their white chocolate/cranberry scones and berry danishes. I have to say, however, that their cakes are not worth it.. taste + price. —renee415

2009-03-13 07:17:19   so i am not very picky about where i eat, but i went here with my mom the other day. some sorority looking girl was working the counter in a tank top which apart from looking unprofessional might actually be illegal when working around food. we asked her to show us various things and she leaned over the counter with her armpits touching the food on top. i admit the food was good, but customer service is key in small places like this. —fakeplastictrees

2009-03-31 22:38:18   HIGH TEA was a wonderful experience! I definitely recommend it if you want to spend a couple hours chatting away with a good friend. The waitress was super attentive and friendly. I loved all the little dishes. The lemon tart was perhaps the best one I've ever had. The homemade jam and lemon curd that came with the white chocolate and raspberry scones were AMAZING. I asked to have the leftover tablespoon of jam to go because I just couldn't let it go to waste. My favorite dishes were the brie, salmon and gruyere sandwich, lemon tart, and chantilly cream on berries. YUMMY! I just saw a post that said high tea was Friday-Sat only - but I just went last Sunday! —Hyungmi

2009-04-04 21:20:57   cook was here at 7:30 great croissant sandwich, the sauteed apples were fricken amazing. My partner had a benedict and enjoyed it immensely. We also shared some pastry type fare that was delicious, we will return —StevenDaubert

2009-04-15 11:46:04   So much to say . .. The food can be good, esp the Muffaleta, Carrot Cake, Scones, Chocolate Decadence, Truffle Cake and the Cookies. Stick to these.
There Moose Cakes can be good but you must make sure they are newer, otherwise they are hard and the cake is to moist, almost wet.
The dessert cake needs to be cleaned and they need to maintain which desserts should still be there.
The coffee is okay. Mild, and never warm enough. I wouldn't recommend it. The croissants are not very good, you can tell they can from the freezer. Don't order any chocolate drink! THey are never blended well and are not worth the three dollars you have to shell out for them. Avoid the breakfasts all together. Overpriced and not good. Lunches are also a little iffy with poor presentation and spoiled supplies. Ciocolate should stick to making just desserts everything else is just not worth it.
Overall. . . Way overpriced and way overrated —LotsofThoughts

2009-05-27 14:02:43   Owner is rude and sexually harasses female employees (pulling hair, eyes focused on certain part.., petting). I've seen it first hand. —love2dancewild

• That's a pretty serious accusation coming from an anonymous account.
  

2009-06-12 14:18:50   One of the small coffeehouses in Davis that serves GOOD chai. Not watered down or ridiculously expensive chai like other places. The place itself is tranquil and nice. Only negative aspect of Ciocolat is that there is NO WI-FI. A cafe with no internet access, what? —strawberry

2009-06-21 11:29:14   I had breakfast on Father's Day. Didn't have a reservation, but they found me a table. The Eggs Benedict and Fruit Bowl were very good. The six female servers gave new meaning to
the term eye candy. All were college-age and really attractive. Service was good, too.

—nowhereman

2009-07-02 16:55:42   This place has amazing desserts, whenever I go home my parents always make me pick up a mango mousse cake and bring it back. I also like to study here. The deck is really nice and I usually end up seeing friends riding their bikes down 3rd. Its fun! I also like their sandwiches on croissants and their salads are good too. I ask for the dressing on the side though, so I can put less of it on than comes standard. But its all soo yummy! —Audrey13

2009-07-03 00:39:19   I used to work here and there are a few things wrong on this page. First, you can make reservations for High Tea anytime that you want. The scones are actually served first, their in store menu is incorrect. It is a pretty popular place for college students to come and study. I've also seen my share of professors there. Internet can be mooched from Crepeville or Sam's. If you encounter slow or substandard service, just remember the manager is continually hiring people so they are new and they are paid minimum wage and can't get a raise so it's not like they have incentives to give good service. The training system is pretty crappy, too. It's pretty much word of mouth from one employee to the next. Plus, the employees don't get breaks. I know they should still work better, but that's how it is.
You're pretty damn lucky if you get waited on by Kate, the owner. Her customer service is fantastic and she's incredibly nice. Easy to recognize, she's the only non teenager there.
In my opinion, the desserts are the best thing there, but a piece of cake costs you five bucks.
The manager has a habit of turning up the volume on the tunes and playing the same stuff over and over. It gets annoying for the employees, too. Once in awhile someone will get away with playing their own music.
Wearing a tank top isn't illegal, it is against dress code, however.
As far as desserts, order a cake that isn't cut or is almost whole. They will be more fresh. Things sell pretty quickly, but once in awhile something stays in the case too long.
As far as coffee goes, I wouldn't order a mocha iced, it just doesn't mix well, no fault of the employees.
I'm not sure what policy is on getting rid of old food, but they do seem to try and use things as long as they can.
Also, when there are rushes, you can bet that there are not enough people to handle it. Plus the kitchen (and the entire store) is small for it's hard for them to handle a massive group of people. There can pretty much be one to two people effectively working on the food. Which, by the way, tends to run out, especially breakfast items.
The quiche and lasagna are made ahead of time and microwaved when you order it, but people still seem to be impressed with it's quality.
Puff pastries are made on premises and are fresh everyday, but a bit pricey. Croissants and cinnamon rolls are frozen and then baked in the morning. Scones are mostly fresh, but can be carried over from the previous day. —pheobe

2009-07-04 08:49:15   Not speaking at all about the food or service, I'd like to mention how shabby I found the outside upkeep on the morning of 2 July. The south-facing eaves were festooned with cobwebs, there were leaves all over the lawn and shrub beds, one of the two pots of plants at the top of the entry steps was un-watered and half dead, and there was litter strewn around as well on the tables out front. The litter on the tables included food scraps, which was especially unattractive. This lack of attention to simple housekeeping is unfortunate. —DavidRobinson

2009-07-24 15:57:00   Their chocolate and cherry scones are amazing! Their BLT is good, but I won't each lunch their anymore because the food quality is not consistent. They put raw (seriously undercooked) bacon on my BLT the last time I ate there and I was 2 months pregnant—undercooked/raw meats can be very dangerous to a developing baby. That's just one example of their mess-ups with my food. I won't go there anymore because of this incident, even though their scones are good. I'm fed up with not knowing if my experience and food will be good or bad. —ces139

2009-07-30 11:20:44   Does anyone know if lasagna or ravioli is worth ordering? —Kiran

2009-07-30 13:14:31   I've been here twice now. It's a very nice little place and the food all looks/sounds delectable HOWEVER I find that it is outrageously overpriced for the quality I got rather than expected. Most people seem to love the desserts but I was a bit let down by them so it maybe high quality for Davis but not overall. I was especially disappointed by their cheesecake because the cinnamon in the crust totally overpowered the cheesecake itself so all I got flavorwise was cinnamon and graham cracker. —OliviaY

2009-08-25 15:57:08   I don't understand why Ciocolat, like 3rd and U, refuses to take advantage of it's location and provide decent customer service or cater to the habits of the clientele. (In the case of 3rd and U I feel they really just want to be a lunch place, but they could get so much more business if they consistently opened at the same time every morning and had the same items available.) In the case of Ciocolat, I usually avoid going there because if I am going to take a 20 or 30 minute break from work, I don't want to spend it standing in line. I always feel bad for the employees there, because it isn't their fault they seem to be the only one scheduled to take orders, make drinks, and serve drinks and food. I like the food and drinks here and the unique atmosphere, but they've become a joke to my co-workers and I and we don't come here anymore even on our personal time due to the painfully poor service. How hard would it be to have a second person around to help from morning through lunch? The amount of business that they would keep or re-gain I think would pay for it. —Butterfly

2009-09-14 08:50:22   When this place opened years ago, it was spectacular. Always a full dessert case, and all the desserts were fabulous. Lunch entrees, too, were good, especially the vegetarian options. I used to eat at Ciocolat at least once a week. That said, the quality of the food selection, the flavor of the food, and the service (there are never enough people working, it seems) have declined so much over the years that I only now go to this restaurant when a colleague insists on a meeting there. I miss the old Ciocolat and its delicacies, as there are so few *really* good desserts to be had in this town. —LeslieMadsenBrooks

2009-11-08 20:44:56   We used to like this place, always had delish, rich mochas...however, a couple times ago we ordered a chicken caesar salad..the dressing was watery, and the chicken was dry, stale, and had bones in it. last time we went there, we ordered 6 chocolate covered strawberries ( for $2.50 each, way over priced), and they were horribly rotten. We peeled back some of the chocolate to find green and black MOLD growing on them. And the mocha that I got there was also bitter, flavorless, and just plain GROSS.

If you want good quality food, do not go here, if you want a cake or some desert (less likely to go bad) then you could probably still go here if your willing to pay alot. always check your food before you eat it...you never know what your really getting. —mrandmrs

2009-11-18 14:09:33   Their individual cake are nothing great. The lunch/dinner/meals, I've never had. The white chocolate/cranberry scone is amazing! The service depends on whose working. Sometimes they can be great, sometimes they ignore you, and sometimes they get your order wrong and are rude. Today, an Asian girl with short hair and glasses helped me and I asked her for a raspberry danish and she gave me a cherry one instead (I hate hate hate cherries, hate! I didn't realize she gave me the wrong one until I was in class....). When I said, "Thank you," she had no response. And I'm positive she heard me because she was looking right at me. Oh well. —ElizabethLee