Perhaps Le Dame of Chocolat herself - Fran Bigelow has been serving gourmet chocolate (inspired by Paris) to Seattle since 1982, and has passed down this exquisite legacy to a family-operated business that continues producing from their Georgetown location several decades later. This location is at the base of the Four Seasons & downhill from Pike Place MKT - not to be missed! Upon entry in greeted by a finely dressed server offering salted caramels from a silver tray, rows of their beautifully-boxed sets lining the walls, and self-assembled truffle boxes (varied vintages of Kopke Porto for pairing high-end gifts) in the back. The chocolate is rich and sweet, melts in contact with the tongue but lingers long. An Oolong Truffle tastes like Earl Gray - gentle bergamot blending with rich cacao. A Dark Hazlenut Truffle has every essence of freshly fallen nuts, blended smooth and savory sweet. It's easy to be transported to otherworldly bliss after trying these treats, fully experiencing and understanding Fran's receipt of the Specialty Food Association's Lifetime Achievement Award! read more

Fran's Chocolates - Palatial chocolates! - Chocolatiers & Shops Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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OMG, what a yummy chocolate. I wandered in here because who doesn't love a little piece of chocolate. Inside the store, the vibes are fancy chocolate shop, like something you would see in France. The staff is very approachable though. In addition to just milk and dark chocolate, they make many other chocolate flavorings. Their goodies are sold by the piece or you can buy a gift box as well. In case you are feeling parched, they also offer a variety of beverages, including espresso drinks and matcha. They gave me their little spiel about their business and their chocolates and let me try their signature chocolate, which was a salted caramel. This was the one that I was going to buy, so I was glad to sample it before purchasing. Their salted caramel is what they're known for because their owner, Fran, created it. France was also the Obama's chocolatier while he was in the White House. The chocolate was so creamy. I loved the sea salt and that you could actually taste it, rather than it being more mellow compared to the chocolate. Love the caramel too. it was perfect consistency, not too thick or thin. I decided to purchase two pieces of the salted caramel as a sweet treat this evening. read more

I went for Bobby. If Bobby Flay praises Frans as having the best thing he has ever eaten, I want, no need to try it while in Seattle. Very close to Pike Place. Walkable. Super clean, organized. Eye catching displays. Down right fancy. The nicest chocolate shopping have ever been to. I settled on Bobby's coconut and I also went for peanut butter. DELICIOUS! Decadent. Worth the trip and always trust in Bobby. read more

Fran's Chocolates - Chasing Bobby Flays favorite - Chocolatiers & Shops Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Tasted the caramel sauce when I walked in and it was so good I bought a jar to bring home! Also picked up some Easter chocolates and a little box of the truffles for myself. The staff were all so friendly and informative of the products and even their recommendations. It's such a cute shop and I loved the Easter decor in the window too! read more

I'm a chocoholic and have eaten chocolate throughout Europe and the United States. Fran's is the best. First found out about them via Starbucks which in the good old days sold local Seattle products. This was before we were eating chocolate with sea salt. They were delicious then and they are delicious now. I'm low income but I do without other things so I can have some Fran's now and then. read more

Ran across this place when walking the streets of Downtown Seattle. This place was amazing! We were greeted with a great staff member who gave us a sample piece of chocolate to try while we looked through the store. As we were looking through the selection, we had many questions to ask about the different chocolates, and we were thoroughly impressed with her knowledge and recommendations. We left very happily with the items that we bought for our friends and family to bring back home. Definitely get the salted caramels, and the gold bars! Those were our favorites to get. If you're in the area, pay a visit by there, they are definitely worth it! read more

Cute shop, friendly staff,yummy chocolate. We tried a couple in store and got a small variety box. They all tasted delicious but our top two was the hazelnut crunch and sesame. Omg I can eat 100 of those everyday! read more

Fran's Chocolates - Chocolatiers & Shops Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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One of my friends asked if I could stop in on my trip to Seattle and bring her back some chocolate, so how could one say no! I mean...it's chocolate!! Haha Anywho, tucked away inside the Four Seasons is this beautiful shop! You walk in and it smells just amazing! Everything looks soo good and IS good! I knew what I was here for, but that didn't stop me from looking around, and as we looked we were greeted by all of the staff and got to try a few little treats, which prompted a purchase not just from me, but all my friends! We couldn't not get something bc everything looked and tasted soo good!! My friend also bought me some chocolates for my birthday, which I brought back to houston with me, and I'm so sad I didn't bring even more back! They are sooo good!! There's a variety pack we purchased that has milk and dark chocolate sprinkled with salt and...chefs kiss! I'm not a huge fan of dark chocolate, but with Fran's, I can eat and eat and eat!!! read more

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Perfection....EVERY TIME!! My favorite chocolatier! The milk & dark chocolate caramels with smoked sea salt are my favorites!

Tasty Chocolates and close to Pikes Place Market so if you are in that area just walk a few minutes and you will hit this delicious chocolate store named Fran's. Once you walk in you can smell the sweetness and the ladies are super nice and also let you try a piece of chocolate while deciding on the choices you want. Got a selection of different gold bar chocolates and also some different chocolates like the salted caramels were amazingly good!! read more

Fran's Chocolates - Chocolate - Chocolatiers & Shops Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Delicious chocolate and the sweetest staff. I come here often, and I'm always greeted so warmly and typically also given a sample. Their display case is beautiful. I highly recommend the dark chocolate truffle with oolong! Their classic salted caramel is also delicious. Their gift boxes are lovely, and the chocolates keep well as long as you store them at the right temperature. I'll be honest: once I was gifted a box and forgot about it for literally 9 months. I still ate it, and it was still great! read more

Stopped in to grab a present/sweet treat for family. Great service, great recommendations, and very friendly. They clearly explained the different choices and put together a beautiful box of delicious chocolates. I know it's not going to last long!!! Always a must stop when in the area. read more

Great chocolate treats. But never again. I have ordered the Coconut Gold Bars since long before Bobby Flay reported on them. At one time, there was no better chocolate confection. But, my most recent order is observably different. Something has changed in the amount and character of the chocolate coating. The white chocolate and coconut ganache interior has lost its smooth texture and the tasty bite of coconut. It's gritty and dull. Not what I have been endorsing for well over a decade. In addition, customer service is now run by hypersensitive, uselessly whiny, woke children. Long time - last time. Sad. read more

Delicious, next level chocolates! The sales team was helpful and friendly. I'll be back!

This is one of the most welcoming places I've been. The people working here are always extremely friendly and seem to really enjoy themselves. They hand out samples so you can try something before buying. It's a great marketing strategy because I've never walked out here without something sweet. The chocolates are decadent. And if you want something warm to walk with, get a drinking chocolate. Delicious! read more

Fran's Chocolates - Love this chocolate turkey! - Chocolatiers & Shops Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Wow I stopped in Fran's chocolate for a quick surprise gift for my friend and Phedora, Woods, Leslie(?) and Melissa we're so kind and helpful. Thank you guys for the great tasty chocolate and friendly experience. read more

Came for the chocolate, fell in love with the matcha. Seriously one of the best, if not THE best matcha lattes I've ever had. I think it was only a 6oz cup but that was perfect because it was so rich and creamy you could only take a small sip at a time. Dreaming of the day I can get a matcha here again. Their chocolates were also amazing! I love high quality chocolate and this was up on my top 5. They let my sister sample their vegan chocolate which was nice of them. It's pricey but absolutely worth the money for a little treat! read more

Fran's Chocolates - Chocolatiers & Shops Near Me - Seattle, Washington

This chocolatier can be accessed from within the Four Seasons hotel, as well as outside. I was warmly greeted with a sample of one of their truffles and chatted with the associate who made delicious European style drinking chocolate to order. The drinking chocolate is served with regular milk by default, but it can also be made with oat milk instead for an additional $1. Their sampler box of 4 salted caramels and 6 truffles was wonderful. There's no seating here, so I took my goodies to the Four Seasons lobby and finished my drinking chocolate there. read more

Fran's Chocolates - Chocolatiers & Shops Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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This is the best chocolate and hot chocolate. Everyone is very nice very helpful. Very clean everything is on display really pretty.

They give you samples of their chocolate as you enter and I bought some chocolates to take home, but this review is for their matcha latte. It's my favorite that I had in Seattle - who knew it would come from here? The flavor comes through well, not too Foamy which is often the case for matcha lattes, and piping hot! I'd come back just for their matcha latte - $7 for a 12 oz. read more

Very very pricey, but the chocolates are delicious!! We finished our purchase within the day. . Don't forget to get your free sample. Store was so clean and all the counters organized beautifully. It's definitely like walking in a museum. read more

I have nothing to complain about here. The chocolate was delicious (I had the coconut gold bars and the peanut butter cups). The packaging was beautiful. If I was to nitpick I would say the packaging should be protected in plastic wrap. It was a very raining day when my package was delivered and the inside wrapping was a bit soggy but it didn't affect the chocolate. read more

Fran's Chocolate, you just played yourself. I came here for overpriced chocolate, not a latte-shaped betrayal. But the moment you slapped a nearly six-dollar price tag on an 8oz cup of brown disappointment, you earned yourself a full-blown coffee review. Congratulations. Let's start with the espresso. Actually, let's not. That sad little shot oozed out like it had given up on life. I've seen more strength and character in instant coffee. Then came the milk. And I use the word "milk" loosely because what you served was steam-blasted lava in a cup. Not frothed. Not textured. Just volcanic dairy dumped on top like someone was angry at both me and the cow it came from. No latte art. No balance. No love. It tasted like burnt sorrow and sour ambition. I made it two blocks before launching it into a trash can like it was radioactive waste. Fran's, your chocolate is couture. Your coffee is cafeteria. If you're going to charge luxury prices for it, expect luxury expectations. And baby, this wasn't it. read more

My mom wanted me to bring back from chocolates from here for her, so we went to the one by Pike Place! The place was pretty big with the walls lined with various chocolates and assorted boxes. The people working were super nice and greeted us with some samples to try while we look around! We ended up getting the small purple boxes of the assorted chocolates (each $30 that came with 9 chocolates). When we went, we happened to be there while they tested their new alarms LOL. I saw that they also sold coffee, and I wished I tried their White Chocolate Matcha Latte because that sounded really good. read more

Decadent and wonderful. Frans is located near our hotel and I overheard a passerby mention that Fran's is Obama's favorite chocolate shop, so when I heard that I knew I had to pop in. Thee shop is fancy, but not stuffy. They have a variety of boxes and bars to go, but you can also purchase individual chocolates as well. The kind gentleman gave us a sample of their salted caramel which was amazing! I then asked for his personal favorites and my friend and I got the following: malt whiskey, almond trio and the hazelnut crunch. Each chocolate was flavorful, rich and worth the cost. 6 chocolates set us back about $16. We'll worth it and I would definitely go back. read more

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By far the best hot chocolate(drinking chocolate) I have had in seattle. This looks like a luxury chocolate shop and definitely on a little pricier side, I have passed by a few times and never cared about it much. I went to the store for the first time on a food tour and was quite impressed. Went in again to get some drinking chocolate. It was sublime. Tried a couple of truffles too, they were amazing as well. They gave us some samples too. The ambiance of the store is chic and sophisticated, the staff are very friendly and helpful. I highly recommend coming to this shop if you like chocolate, you won't be disappointed. Definitely one of the best I have been to so far. read more

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This was the last stop on our chef-guided tour with Eat Seattle, and it was divine! We had walked past, but thought it looked a little expensive for us. We were right, but got 4 truffles to try that were delicious. I scarfed two right there and saved the others for later. Beautiful truffle mural inside, and near the Harbor Steps for an amazing view. Not far from Pike Place Market. read more

This is a good chocolatier and we were greeted warmly upon entry which I really appreciated. They gave us some samples and I ordered some chocolate, but it was very fancy and good. The kids didn't like it so much, but they are hershey loving kids, so this place was too fancy for them. But we adults loved it. They are super pricey which was hard to justify. But I did get a few pieces. They had some Easter candy on sale, but it was still very expensive, so I had no idea to purchase them. That would have been ideal. The store was nice and clean and quite open. I really liked it and we weren't the only customers in there, but they were able to talk to and entertain all of us. It was nice and refreshing to be treated like a regular customer for once. I would come back here if in the area. It was that good. read more

This is one of my favorite places to get gifts for people because everyone likes chocolates, and the chocolates here are super tasty and look fancy! The service is also really nice and helpful. The custom chocolate boxes they make are beautiful and they always try to fill up the box as much as possible. What I really like about the chocolates here is that nothing is too sweet. Usually I don't like caramel because it's sickeningly sugary, but the caramel here has a nice balance of sweet with a touch of bitterness and a deep toasty complex flavor. I love the caramel in the sea salt caramel truffles and also the candy bars like the almond gold bars and the park bars. Although this place is on the pricier side, I think it's still worth it if you get the truffles. They do sell solid chocolates molded into pretty designs like hearts during Valentine's days or pumpkins during the fall, but I would steer clear from those since it's like $30 for solid chocolate which is a bit of a scam. read more

Fran's Chocolates - Chocolatiers & Shops Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Deeelicious! Great staff and store. Highly recommend for gifts...for others or yourself.

Some of the best caramels I've ever had. Although you can find them in stores around the city, it's so fun to stop by this store because they give free samples and have a ton of variety. The employees are helpful, and this is a great place to pick up a gift. read more

This is my go to place for chocolate when I'm in Seattle, and I always go out of the way to make it here. Some of the best chocolate in the world. Clean little place with a staff who is happy to chat. read more

My experience here was rushed, but that was purely because I had a time constraint. I wanted to chocolate truffles as a souvenir and decided last minute to find a place that had them available before my flight. Fran's came up and I miraculously found parking right in front. I rushed in and I almost wanted to turn around and just give up. I thought it would be too snooty for me-I was dressed super casually; that was immediately alleviated when I was offered a free truffle. Free chocolate goes a long way to set me at ease and I went to work to pick out a box of chocolates to take home. I was told that there are pre-packed boxes that I could take but the young lady behind the counter was so nice and assured me that we could pick a box of six in no time at all. She was right! She helped me pick through my options and it was easy. I paid, got a final smile from the young lady and was out before my car engine got cold. read more

I was in need of a hit of chocolate to get me to my ride home from downtown. I stopped in and got two truffles. One was a macadamia nut topped caramel the other a triple hazenut truffle. While I was waiting for my gems they gave me a dark chocolate covered salted caramel truffle to try. I was in heaven! A bit decadent and so incredible. If you're visiting Seattle or just walking by this is a local institution you won't walk away disappointed. I'm still thinking about that hazelnut truffle.... read more

Google said this was the spot to grab truffles if visiting seattle and they weren't wrong! Tasted every truffle that had the word hazelnut in it and it was the best decision made on the trip. Can't go wrong with what you love! The cashier ended up giving me 2 extra chocolates upon check out too. Defs worth checking then out when in town! read more

Fran's Chocolates - Chocolatiers & Shops Near Me - Seattle, Washington

I was the lucky recipient of a box of chocolates from Fran's recently. I was not expecting the gift, and it was delivered to my door-packaged securely on the outside and beautifully on the inside. Opening it was half the fun! Once inside the box, I gasped with delight when I saw the lovely dark and milk chocolates lined up in little rows. They had just a touch of salt sprinkled on the tops and they were all kept separate from each other with individual dividers. The presentation is top-notch. Eating them was an indulgence! I started with two-I had to try one of each, right? I told myself that I would save the rest for later, but I kept going. After a few, I forced myself to put them away and spread out the joy across multiple sittings. They are delicious!! I look forward to visiting the store in person when I am in the area. For now, I'll bask in the delight knowing that they ship to me. read more

Fran's Chocolates - Chocolatiers & Shops Near Me - Seattle, Washington

My first visit was back in 2019 at the recommendation of a work colleague and I visited again a few weeks ago. While both experiences were quite different being pre-pandemic and during the pandemic, they are still serving the same great customer services and same delicious chocolate! On my first visit I enjoyed a cup of their drinking chocolate. It is a thick, rich, decadent treat that simply delights the taste buds of hot chocolate lovers like me! Once you've had European-style hot chocolate, you just have to get it again and again. It's thick, unlike your run of the mill hot chocolate, and Fran's version is not overly sweet. I just had to have it again on my most recent visit and it really hit the spot! The recipe seems to have changed since my first initial visit as it was made of 65% dark chocolate. On my most recent visit, the hot chocolate was made of 70% Peruvian dark chocolate and organic milk. Both versions tasted wonderfully. Their chocolates are also delicious and come in an array of flavors. The gray salted caramel was my favorite of the ones I tasted. They have a variety of gift boxes available from small to big and are also sold individually. I bought a few as gifts for family to enjoy and they also gave us a few samples upon checkout. Just a tip - it is located at the Four Seasons.... so it can be a little pricey (individual pieces are $2+ each), depending on what you get. It might also have you checking yourself if you're dressed up for the occasion, lol (you're fine). read more

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Gourmet chocolate shop across the Seattle Art Museum. Came here in the afternoon and there was no line. Masks are required. Credit cards are accepted. No public restrooms available. The store is connected to the Four Seasons lobby, so you can drink your hot chocolate in their lobby (you can't drink it in Fran's). Came here to buy some presents as well as try the drinking chocolate. The employee who assisted us was not particularly helpful - she didn't greet us when we walked into the store, didn't offer to answer any questions or provide any recommendations, and told us that the menu was "basic" when we told her that we wanted to take a look at the drink options. It made for a rather uncomfortable experience. The chocolate itself was good and you do get a free sample. The chocolate caramels seemed to be the most popular offering. The truffles I got did keep well over two days when I flew back to LA and gave them to my friends. Frans does offer online orders with shipping. read more

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Hot chocolate!! Last year I was so disappointed the hot chocolate was unavailable to order, as soon as I learned it was available I made sure to stop by one of the Fran's locations. There are multiple locations within the area, but this location is within the four seasons. Fran's is a tourist favorite, but it's an essential pick me up for locals simply put winter is here yielding nothing but cold, and gloomy days you deserve decadent chocolate. I highly recommend! read more

Fran's Chocolates - Chocolatiers & Shops Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Best chocolate experience ever. Definitely ordered a variety of styles and flavors of chocolate. I must say the caramel salted milk chocolate box is by far my favorite. The quality and flavor of the chocolates is amazing. I love the texture and variety of options available in store and online. The staff here are very outgoing and knowledgeable about recommendations if needed. read more