Mink Chocolates Cafe

Update: 22: 16 Sunday Jan14,
The owner requested that I remove the photo I had uploaded featuring the staff. I complied, deleting it and uploading an edited version. The owner is aware of the particular staff member who provided poor service to my daughter and me. Will they take action? Probably not. Will I return to that place? Definitely not. Despite being regular customers, my daughter and I will not be going back due to the unpleasant experience with that staff member.

Original review:
My daughter and I rushed to get here (Hastings Downtown location) before they closed at 5pm on a Sunday. Looking forward to the Hot Chocolate Festival specials they got. Made it at 4: 35pm. Ordered and last told us she can't serve us the special anymore since it was half hour until closing. I'm like what? It's a long time from now. What's the difference? We came all the way here for that and she denied us the special drink. She looked really unhappy and unenthusiastic to serve us. So disappointed! No customer service skills at all! The person that served us is shown in the pictures.

Had both the milk and dark drinking chocolate. Both were like drinking a chocolate bar. Will be hard to go back to regular hot chocolate.

What an amazing place! The perfect combination of coffee, chocolate and humour! This place really made my whole day better with their yummy coffee and warm smiles and service. Highly recommend.

One of the worst hot chocolates I ever had. From a chocolate shop you wish to have a velvety creamy hot chocolate that is different from any packaged version you buy at stores but it is as bad and disappointing as one could imagine. Would NOT recommend it!

Always friendly. Get 1/2 dark 1/2 milk chocolate in the cocoa.

No change and it is still good.

Perfect place for morning breakfast n coffee with beautiful ambience n kind n caring staff.

In Vancouver, you must stop by Mint Chocolate Cafe for a real "drinking Chocolate ". This is thick European style Chocolate, the kind unknown in North America. And since a brownie would be redundant, I recommend the poppy seed roll a.k. A.giant Rugulah.

Fondue was overpriced and underwhelming. Seemed about equal in quality to one of those fondue packets you can get as a cheap Christmas gift. Included waffle (not cake as advertised) was not good and they added mandarins and apples as fruit which is certainly a choice and felt cheap.

Delicious. That's all I have to say.
If you had tried their hot chocolate you'll know what I mean.

Good place to take a break. The hot chocolate was okay, not as thick as we had hoped for. The mighty leaf tea was good. Clean place with some outdoor seating, friendly service.

This has become my once a week joy when we're docked in Vancouver, a bit expensive if you calculate exchange ratesbut worth it, my favorite is the frozen milk chocolate and they always have a variety of edibles The spot is perfect on a summers day just sit outside and enjoy the music too. You'll always get free chocolate too

I used to go to this place so often for anything chocolate - specifically their fruit yoghurt parfait. Even their coffee is good. But my last visit after being away for a year was pretty disappointing. The parfait had very little fruit. I felt I could have easily made this at home. I still love the place so will go back and give feedback on the spot if I needed to

Very friendly and professional service. The chocolate is fantastic. Not cheap but I am worth it. Their pouring chocolate and espresso shot is to die for. Highly recommended.

Their service is like 0 star and unfortunately the quality of their product is far from making up the score.

Yummy chocolate drink! We asked if they could serve it iced (even though it was not on the menu), and they gladly did!

The chocolate was so delicious! I didn't take photos! The cafe has an awesome location right in front of a small park and the staff is super friendly. I had milk iced chocolate it was so tasty! And a waffle that was fresh and with a great sweet flavor. The place had the AC on so it was perfect to sit for a while and enjoy my chocolate on these hot summer days.

I loved the cappuccino while I was visiting Vancouver. I dream to "drink the chocolate" one day again!

The drinking chocolate is like nothing I’ve ever tasted before. I’ve been looking around for years, but nothing comes even remotely close. I’m glad to be visiting Vancouver again so that I can briefly satisfy my Mink craving!

Good place for desert, I always ordered coffee and tea and for the first time we ordered becus we had coffee right before. I ordered fruit parfait, Ice cream with dark chocolate ganache and hot chocolate.
It was better than I expected. I recommend people who love chocolate and deserts. There are more options for derserts and chocolate bars.

Absolutely love the place. Got there the best late I could find in Vancouver so far. Really nice people working there

I love how theres cherry blossoms near by and its near the station. Not bad hot chocolate. But the barista and casher are not so welcoming. They were talking non stop. No welcome greetings. Nice place though. Interesting place.

Stopped by during the hot chocolate festival and was blown away by how creative and delicious their flavours were!

I really loved this little chocolate shop and cafe. It is such a lovely mix. I had a hot chocolate as well as one of the waffles on the recommendation of the barista and it was an excellent decision. The drinks also come with a small chocolate which was delicious. I thought the hot chocolate was one of the better ones I’ve had in my life. Overall, it was a great experience and recommend the shop to chocolate lovers.

Came here for hot chocolate. I'm a big fan of milky sweet hot chocolate and the 35% cacao drinking chocolate really hit the spot. My mom got the 70% cacao drinking chocolate and it was smooth, creamy and just the right amount of slightly bitter. Im a Mink fan now!

(February 2022)
Tried Vancouver hot chocolate festival special menu. It was really unique, 35% milk chocolate from a chocolate syringe. Served with a marshmallow truffle. Very sweet looks really fun.
DR. GUSTAV VON MINK'S BOOSTER SHOT FOR TRANQUILITY SEEKERS
(2022年2月)
バンクーバーホットチョコレートフェスティバルメニューをオーダーしました。特大注射器のような容器でホットチョコレートを飲むというとても面白いメニューでした。とっても甘いですが、面白いアイデアだと思いました。

(September 2021)
My favourite chocolate in town. Looks beautiful and tastes amazing!

Very disappointed with the Vancouver Hot Choc fest drink - overpriced, nearly tasteless and very poor presentation. Not coming back to try other things. I had high hopes from reading other comments.

This is a review based on my first experience at Mink Cafe and only on ordering the Hot Chocolate Fest.drinks, so it has nothing to do with the cafe as a whole. The reason why I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 because I thought the interior of the cafe and the outside patio is really nice. It feels like you walked into a high-end cafe with a really relaxed atmosphere. However, the hot chocolate I ordered was just plain ridiculous. As you can see the picture below, the hot chocolate was served in an injection needle toy. Not only was it unsanitary, but the hot chocolate itself was not even "hot". It was cold and mushy and it tasted too sweet. In the beginning I thought it was a joke and said to the barista, "am I supposed to put this in my mouth? " He replied, "that's the idea, " and just shrugged me off nonchalantly. I have never been so embarrassed in my life, carrying that thing around and trying to find a seat outside away from people while I drink it. I also went around to see if others ordered the same thing and had the same treatment but I have seen none. If this was a joke, I think this went too far. I thought probably because I'm asian and I look like an international student to them and they thought it was funny to do a prank. If that is so, then the service and the employees here are problematic and should get re-trained or fired even. Also, if you were to do this kind of thing, at least warn the customer beforehand. Also, the other hot chocolate drink wasn't so great either, although better than what I had ordered. Both drinks were $8 each which I honestly think it's overpriced for the amount and quality that we got. Truly disappointing. All those awards that they displayed outside their shop meant nothing. I will not go there for Hot Chocolate Fest.ever again.

Great chocolate and coffee is alright.
Doesn’t accept cash which is a bit of a downfall on their part.

I give it two stars because of the location. The service was okay, they forgot to bring out the desert. I had to wait to get the Barista's attention to bring out the sweet i ordered but never got after sitting for 20min. Also, my coffee was getting cold while waiting.

Hence, this was the only appealing looking pastry on their counter. It tasted horrible, the almond paste inside was bitter and old, maybe left over from days before. I couldn't get my self to finish this nor my friend. Plus, this isn't a cheap place, so I guess you're only paying for the location. If you want sour coffee and stale pastry, you may like it here.

A nice little chocolate shop downtown with a bug chocolate goods variety and very tasty chocolate drinks and coffees too. Smiley and polite staff.

Giving three stars because the pastries were well made. The milk drinking chocolate had a very strong taste of Carnation milk and Baby formula. Could barely drink. Gaggable.

I love this place. They have coffee beverages and desserts. They have a variety of there own brand chocolates that are delicious. Definitely worth checking out.

For sure The hot mocha here is something else. It is so good I never tried something like this, you can smell the chocolate and taste it. They have an amazing chocolate flavors and filling. The staff is nice and friendly specially Andria she was so helpful and she showed me which flavors have Alcohol and which I really appreciate as I don't eat those. Also, the box was beautifully wrapped by her. Thank you all and we wish to have a store in Sask.

The fact that I thought this place was called "Mint" Chocolates Cafe doesn't take away from how good the hot chocolate I ordered was.

It’s was 4: 55pm and mink closes at 5pm. We walked in as they were still open and doors unlocked. Immediately the young girl behind the counter says we’re not serving drinks because we close in 5 min. I looked around there was still customers in there enjoying their drinks. I said to the girl how can you not be serving drinks with customers in here and you’re still open for 5 min we know what we want and will take it to go. Very rudely she said I’m not serving drinks we close in 5 min. Should be 0 stars terrible customer service

I go here whenever I am in the area. The hot chocolate is delicious. It comes with a free piece of chocolate. Don't forget to the the belgian waffles. It has pearl sugar inside for crunchy, sugary bites.

I wouldn't praise this place for their chocolate, but overall this is a cute location to get dessert. One of the most picturesque locations in coal harbour, close to Canada place and Riise ship terminal.

Checking out their offering for the Vancouver Chocolate Festival, the Machu Picchu. Quite tasty, also quite strong (it contains Pisco). Delicious chocolate on the side.

Quite underwhelmed by the place for all of its hype and the appearance of an established chocolatier. Both the dark hot chocolate and the actual bite size chocolate that came along were barely impressionable. Might as well had been leftover chocolate from Halloween. But perhaps I am spoiled by my regular access to Mindy’s hot chocolate here in Chicago.

If you are in search for the best hot chocolate in Vancouver area, my advice would be to keep looking.

The coffee is really good, as much as the chocolates. When you blend both is the best. You must try the Mocha, any kind: regular, dark chocolate or dairy. You will not regret. I didn't try, but the founde sims to be marvelous. Bring a friend for this. Finaly, people that work there are so nice!

This is without a doubt my favourite coffee shop in Vancouver. Their frozen chocolate is the most sinful and delicious drink you will ever come across. It's phenomenal and a great alternative if you don't do tea or coffee. Their chocolate selection is awesome since they are a chocolate shop. They're hidden away so it's quiet (and easy to miss). Go find this place now. It wont' disappoint both for coffee meetings or a ration of emergency chocolate!

The foundee we tried is really good, I love the 70% chocolate here. But the customer service could be enhanced

Delightful drinks especially the chocolate varieties! Nice selection of small chocolate gift boxes, perfect for travelers. The hot chocolate was exactly what I was looking for!

Good place for dessert with award winning chocolate. I didn’t try it myself but I saw a lot of people ordering the personal chocolate fondu. I ended up ordering some ice cream with a dark chocolate drizzle for the kids. The ice cream isn’t made in house so it was pretty standard fare. I did buy a box of their 2014 award winning dark chocolate. Being a fan of dark chocolate, it was pretty good but the $7 price point was kind of high.

I had hot Dark chocolate and waffle with dark chocolate drizzle! It’s not too sweet. Their chocolate FONDUE looks amazing, too!
Next time for sure!

A must try if you come across one of these cafes. The chocolate moka coffee was just perfect! Topped off with a dark chocolate treat, hit the sweet spot perfectly.

I must say I passed by it a dozen times until the "Tourism Challenge brought me in. Great chocolate drinks, warm or cold. Looking forward to trying their Chocolate Fondue. Very clean restaurant and washrooms. Great service and both seating inside and out.

Loved it. Cozy and inviting space with heavenly chocolate all around. Try their parfait that I had with vanilla yoghurt, fruits, granola and I had mine with dark chocolate. Unforgettable. I am going to go and have it again soon. The ladies there are so helpful and nice. It is a quiet place to read, surf the net and sip coffee with something to munch. The interior is tastefully done and it is very inviting. When you leave do not forget to buy some chocolate that is unique and excellent to gift.if you can convince yourself to give a piece of heaven away.

Delicious mocha made with real chocolate - rich and creamy and nearly impossible to put down. My colleague ordered a dark hot chocolate and felt compelled to drink it in nearly one swallow. Dangerous location if you're a fiend for chocolate.

I dont get the reviews. The drinking chocolate was course and really not that great. I was told it was "gluten free" but had a severe reaction to it, so clearly it isnt! It is not uncommon for vendors to mix a bulking agent and thickener in with their hot chocolate but I dont expect to be lied to about it.

Mink is intended for the chocolate lover, ranging from hot cocoa to pure drinking chocolate and desserts, etc. A personal favorite is the dairy-free hot chocolate.

Enjoy all the different flavors of chocolate. Very close to the cruise ship terminal and waterfront skytrain. Barista crafted coffee and hot chocolate drinks are available as well.

Great coffee with couple table outside in a quiet area of downtown. Great service and really good pastries.

Prices a bit higher than other coffee shops in the area but the quality is very high and you pay for it. Love the chocolate you receive with your coffee!

Very good chocolate with very helpful and eager-to-please staff. I had an iced hot chocolate and the fruit/cake chocolate fondu, both of which were very yummy. My friend had the pavlova which was a little dry. The patio space is beautiful and the downtown location is perfect for a day of wandering. I’ll definitely return.

Not bad. The hot chocolate is very nice but other than that there isnt much variety. Especially for fruits in the fondue.

Love their 70% hot chocolate and that they give you a chocolate square! My favourite hot chocolate. Can't drink any other now.

Bought three bars to share with my honey in advance of Easter. He loved them all, especially Love Potion. Go visit and try for yourself, you won’t be disappointed.

Love this place! Especially the blended iced mocha and "The Maidens" chocolate bar (smooth chocolate ganache interior flavoured with vanilla).

The milk chocolate fondue was okay, would be better if it’s warmed up and they should have more variety of fruits for example strawberries! The hot chocolate was also really good, I recommend it alot!

Really good hot chocolate here - the high cacao one is my favourite. A bit on the pricey side, but still worth it for the occasional drink.

This is for sure some of the best chocolate in the country. Super friendly staff and great selection of amazing sweets.

The chocolate is good but very expensive. The staff is not very friendly. I could sense the tension between the Staff members.

Everything about this spot was amazing!

So glad we stumbled in after a wet walk along the sea wall.

I ordered a hot chocolate. It wasn't anything special compared to other coffee shops like Waves and Blenz. The drink was also a little cold. The desserts I saw there looked quite good though.