What's the best brand of chocolate in Belgium?
 

Is there a specific brand of chocolate in Belgium that is said to be the best?<BR>Thanks.<BR>

Hi<BR><BR>most towns have independent chocolatiers.<BR><BR>There are a few "chains".<BR>Leonidas is throughout Belgium, but they are also worldwide .......... I've seen them in USA and Singapore.<BR><BR>Neuhaus is reckoned to be good.<BR><BR>Peter<BR>

Not really. There are many good brands. Leonidas is sold everywhere, Neuhaus is a more upscale chain, and then there are the "boutique" chocolate places like Pierre Marcolini (although he is expanding) and lesser known brands like Tasse Cafe. All of them are good. The only Belgian chocolate I dislike is Cote d'Or, sold in supermarkets. Their dark chocolate gives me heartburn. <BR>Buy the chocolate that you like. <BR>BTilke (Brussels)

NEUHAUS is the best as known but you can visit small shops on every street and taste some delicious chocos....

I would stay away from the big national brands: Leonidas, Neuhaus and especially Godiva. The best chocolatiers in Brussels are the small ones: Pierre Marcolini and Wittamer in the Sablon, Irsi on Rue Bailli off Avenue Louise and (my favorite) Laubach in Parvis St. Pierre in Uccle.

Pierre Marcolini is widely known as a premier artisan chocolatier in Brussels. You will find it difficult to get his stuff outside of Brussels which also makes it special. Fortnum and Mason in London only carries his choc. bars, not the other stuff in his line and I don't think he sells in the States. It's great chocolate and worth the price.

I'd have to say that you won't go wrong with any chocolate brand in Belgium as the chocolate is so good there. That and it's inexpensive also. I bought alot of chocolate at a very small store near the Grand Place and it's geared towards tourists, but the chocolate was better than the chocolate in France (just my opinion) and it was alot cheaper. However, the quality was excellent.

FYI: Godiva is owned by Campbell Soups here in USA.

Callebaut is THE name in imported chocolate here in USA for baking,etc. I checked it out on website, and it seems that it is now owned by a large conglomerate in Europe now, too. I think your best bet is the small chocolatier that you find while walking along the streets in Belgium. Maybe not well known back here but probably better than the mass produced stuff we all recognize.

Hi,<BR><BR>I do not know of a specific brand, but the chocolate is fabulous and it is inexpensive. We were there about 4 years ago and it was around $7.00 USD a pound. We could not eat enough. We brought back as mcuh as possible. Eat and enjoy. Also, Belgium has the best french fries.

As BTilke says, there isn't really one top brand of chocolate, but there are many good brands and local chocolate shops. When in a new Belgian city, I usually ask people (hotelkeeper, waiter, the nice person who stops to ask if I'm lost...) if they can recommend a local shop. Ask two people and I'm likely to get two answers -- too bad, that means I have to try both. One brand I like is Daskalides, based in Gent but now available elsewhere -- better and more expensive than Leonidas, but not as expensive as the really up-market brands.

Try Mary's. It's also a boutique, more expensive than Leonidas or Neuhaus, but very good.

Sue, Godiva is Belgian in origin -- and no one recommended it. <BR><BR>

Camille Bloch Ragusa or Lindt Spr&uuml;ngli pralines in Switzerland - that's where it's at...

For chocolate bars, try GALLER.<BR>For pralines, I prefer the cheaper Leonidas over the more expensive Godiva or Neuhaus. Pierre Marcolini has very good quality but their store in Antwerp is more specialized in gateaux decorated with chocolate rather than in the chocolates itself.

In Brugges,"The Chocolate Line" was wonderful! The chocolate covered cherries were full of a great liqueur! I am not sure if this store is elsewhere in Belgium but it was great!

Dumon's chocolates in Bruges are the best I have ever had.

If you go to any store that makes chocolates on the premises (Brussels has many such stores), the chocolates will be wonderful, especially if you buy chocolates that are freshly made.

Chocolate lover, I was not meaning to knock Godiva; it's just that it is now owned by a lg. American conglomerate. It indeed did originate in Belgium and is certainly good candy, but not the best, as many think.