Naked Chocolate Cafe

My favorite café by far.
I had their hot dog wrapped in pastry puff and it was absolutely delicious. The chocolates here are also wonderful.

I remember when a Naked Chocolate location opened right across from UPenn campus. It meant that I had to close my eyes walking past from Starbuck’s nearby. The café is a quaint little shop with an intricate display of chocolates and cupcakes. You can see them baking from the street, as they lure you in.
Most of the time I have come here for the truffles alongside hot chocolate. Their sandwiches are nothing to brag home about. But they are a step up from what you can get re-​heated at the Starbucks location nearby. In my opinion, you are better off getting hot beverages from the numerous coffee shops in the vicinity.
As for the baked goods, I wasn’t over-​the-​moon with the cupcakes. To me, they look better than they taste. Several of my friends would order the chocolate peanut butter cupcake. So that might be a good one to try.
Overall, it’s a nice spot to relax with some coffee and truffles. I had some meetings here, but the tables were few and far in between.
UPDATE: I heard that they are relocating to a different location.

I really miss the Naked Chocolate Café (they have been closed a while). They had really good cold chocolate drinks but my favorite was their Aztec hot chocolate that was about as thick as motor oil. It was really good but almost too intense.

Positive: Delicious European chocolate drinks open later than other similar cafes.
Negative: Somewhat pricey for the sizes of the drinks.
Overall: Great place to try if you love chocolate, and if you especially like hot chocolate drinks.

After not having chocolate for almost 3 weeks I caved because I was «on vacation» and went for a drinking chocolate here. Not a bad place to break my rule at all!
I got the «Classic» which is supposed to be a blend of milk and dark chocolate. You can choose between American style (with some milk to thin it out) or European style (straight up chocolate, very thick and rich). I picked the Euro style and got it in a to-​go cup just in case I couldn’t handle all the choco.
The wafer is a MUST HAVE. I even went back to ask for extras for my friend because we both decided that the wafer dipped in chocolate is heavenly and they don’t give enough wafer. I tried using it as a straw which worked for a sec and then I realized it was coating the inside of the wafer into a delicious tube which I promptly devoured.
Afterward you may feel a little sluggish and satiated but it is a good, good feeling.
They also sell some pretty chocolates (chocolate art boxes with chocolate inside of them!) and have a variety of desserts. So much fun!

This place is so awesome, I don’t know why I haven’t reviewed it already. I came here again yesterday with a group of 6 friends and we settled into the couches in the very back (awesome for large groups!).
Hot drinking chocolate — Awesome, awesome! Highly recommend the bittersweet and the Aztec (quite cinamon-​y). The Hawaiian with lava salt was very salty (be forewarned).
Frozen hot chocolate — They used to serve these almost as a chocolate mousse in a large glass. Now they come in a plastic cup and aren’t mousse-​y at all. Not sure what happened to this one…
Mousse cakes — The Oreo was Fabulous. Actually all their mouse cakes are fabulous. A bit too indulgent to eat in one sitting — either find a friend to share or take half home and savor it on another day.
Cupcakes — Very dense cake but if that’s how you like your cupcakes, then go for it!
All in all, this place still has fabulous chocolate, even though they may have changed some of their menu items. Highly recommended if you’re ever in Philly!

Frozen hot chocolate $ 6
Milk Chocolate Fondue served with pound cake, fresh strawberries, bananas, rice crispies, marshmallows and piourettes $ 8.
A chocolate lover’s dream come true!

I really enjoy this place. It’s a nice café with plenty of chocolates and desserts, frozen drinks and hot chocolate shots. Pretty amazing all year round. The desserts change from time to time (maybe they sell out, I don’t know) I’ve been a couple of times, I’ve tried the mocha fudge cake, I believe. The cake was ridiculously chocolately and the middle felt like it was filled with a chocolate bean paste (hard to finish between 2 people). white/​milk chocolate mousse cake which is always easy to devour along with the various cheesecakes they have there. I really enjoy their fruit tarts too and their gigantic frozen drinks. Their drinking hot chocolates taste like drinking melted chocolate haha. Its very rich. The cashiers can be a bit impatient so that’s annoying.
Anyway, I like it here and I’ll be back from time to time, especially since i have a $ 20 groupon to use lol.

I have to give it five stars because anytime I am in the area I think, «Wouldn’t it be good to go to Naked Chocolate?»
They have plenty of great desserts. The pumpkin truffle is wonderful. The tiramisu, the cupcakes, you can’t go wrong.
They also have hot beverages. I love the Café Mocha.

Yesyesyesyesyesyesyes!
I need to construct a jacuzzi in my apartment, fill it with their sipping chocolate, and turn on the bubbles. Perhaps this is why they call it Naked Chocolate Café. Oh yes.
The sipping chocolate is NO JOKE. It’s so rich and indulgent, the tiny espresso sized cup is more than enough to bring you to chocolate ecstasy.
Oh wait, I had their Chocolate Fondue too. :)
My only regret is not staying in Philadelphia long enough to try the rest of their menu! Their cupcakes, chocolate truffles, and FROZEN hot chocolate looked delightful. Next time…

If you love chocolate you can’t go wrong at this café… Their hot chocolate is European inspired, served like an espresso shot. It is straight melted chocolate goodness. Extremely rich, but not too sweet.
My wife had the chocolate/​mint tea and raved about it. One daughter had a white chocolate milk shake that was exceptional, not too milky with a lot of white chocolate flavor. We also had a glazed lemon poppy-​seed scone, which was right on.
This café, was a dry chocolate cupcake away from five stars. The tasty peanut butter frosting on top of the cupcake almost made up for it though.

Love the European style hot chocolate — they use a blend of semi-​sweet and bitter-​sweet chocolate. The best part is the consistency which is more like a thick creamy syrup than the milky versions you get at most places.
They sell lots of chocolate and baked goodies as well. I love the oatmeal cookies.

ok, i don’t really like sweets and rarely eat them, but their hot chocolate is just ridiculous. Super thick dark chocolate that’s not too sweet and just amazing to eat with the whipped cream and cracker on the side

Was the first spot I was taken to upon arrival by my good friend Melissa W. who is a chocolate fiend.
me: «I just landed»
Melissa: «Good, I just got back from a long workout at the gym… We’re going to a chocolate café. I’m only going to have a little.»
She didn’t
And good thing, because we had the Pumpkin mousse, a light pumpkin and cinnamon mousse, piled on top gingerbread crumbs. Just like Thanksgiving pie. Also the obligatory raspberry bar. Wish it could have been warmed though. Finally, the European hot chocolate, which is more like Jello pudding, its so thick. It comes in an espresso cup and served with a spoon. You honestly could not drink the thing, it was so thick. I could almost hear Bill Cosby egging me on to try! «J-​E-​L-​L-​O»
Everything was delicious, and this is one of about zero places in DT philly that stay open past 6PM. We stayed till they kicked us out past 11PM. We even got left-​over cupcakes on the way out! Awesome. NC Café.

Updating my review for Naked Chocolate Café.
I visited Philadelphia again recently and knew I’d have to make the trip back to NCC. Since the last time I visited, it was featured on some Rachel Ray show and it reminded me how good it was!
This time around I went «All-​out» so to speak and ordered one of their chocolate drinks and a citrus cheesecake! Both items were totally awesome and reinforced my previous 4 stars! However, I was a little bummed that my cupcake tasted a little old. I have a feeling my cupcake had been sitting out for quite some time– a few hours maybe.
I’m not too mad, lol. This place still rocks. 4 stars.

Did I see the Liberty Bell on my first ever Philly trip? Barely.
Independence Hall? Ummmm, no.
Have the raved Philly Cheesesteak? No.
Hear naked and chocolate in the same sentence and drop everything to find a place where they coexist? YES!
Nothing naked here (maybe a good thing, can’t say the place was radiating with hotness from too many people…). Chocolate in abundance though— from chocolate Easter bunnies and croissants, to fondue and enormous basins of hot chocolate.
And those single little chocolates (those darn little buggers wouldn’t stop jumping in my mouth!)… were perfect with my plain black coffee– which I’m glad I had ordered to balance out the sweet sweet sweeetness.

Naked chocolate is a very good pancreas buster. If you want to impress your date with a tasty dessert that isn’t capogiro, this is the place to go.
A word of warning– their drinking chocolates drink like a meal. Though the cup sizes look small, they pack one hell of a punch. All of the varieties I’ve tried are exceptional. One sip=chocolate assault on your mouth. You will like it.
The various special chocolates and cupcakes are as of yet unrivaled in Philadelphia. This previous sentence can probably be attributed to the fact that this is the only specialty chocolate establishment in Philadelphia that I’ve been to.

Who doesn’t enjoy an evening getting Naked with good company?!
First off, kudos to the clever name. Its something you’ll never forget and will never get sick of making an inappropriate yet TOTALLY appropriate comment/​joke about getting Naked. Come on you agree don’t you?
The Drinking Chocolate is a MUST if you’re going to Naked you have to enjoy these pure «naked» cocoa hot chocolates. They are so delicious and on a cold day in Philly it does wonders. I HIGHLY suggest the indulgent size AZTEC with a shot of expresso! It has just the right amount of cinnamon + spices to give your hot chocolate a wonderful surprise. They come in 3 sizes «Petite» which is a cute expresso size mug; «Indulgent» which is about a normal size mug; and their wit continues with the large size being called «We’ll never tell». Perfect for sharing or for someone who can scarf down 5 chocolate bars and be okay…
The line is against this huge counter of all their chocolates and desserts but make sure before you order, check out the fridge past the cash register or else you’ll miss the best desserts! The Chocolate/​Butter Pecan mousse I just had the last time I was there was a great contrast to the Aztec and gave my palate a beautiful balance.
On any occasion or non-​occasion at that, I make it a point to get Naked with my girlfriends whenever we can find a time when we’re all free. It’s heaven for chocolate lovers or anyone with a sweet tooth. It may be a bit small (the original location) however it calls for a great atmosphere. A few nights a week they have live music (quartets, singers, mini orchestral groups) that just make your café experience that much more memorable.
Great news for Philadelphians they opened up second location in the Duane Morris building on Market Street between 18^th + 19^th. I’ll be visiting that one tomorrow when my girlfriends and I go for our Valentine’s Day outing. It has 2 floors with a seating area that overlooks the first floor and a mini grand piano. Beautiful. I can’t wait.
For all you Philly people if you love chocolate and have yet to visit, do so ASAP. And if you’re an out of towner make this a definite stop!

Note: do not leave cupcake in fridge to eat for later. Eat it as soon as you can. I know I know — how does one NOT eat a dessert right away? Well, I did resist the urge to not eat my cupcake and made the mistake of putting my one and only chocolate cake with chocolate icing in my hotel fridge so I could devour it the next day. Um, the top part (or the icing, my favorite part of a cupcake) was hard as a rock! Booo! I guess if I had wrapped/​stored it properly, it would’ve been better. I wish I had a microwave to warm it up because I just didn’t have the patience to «defrost» it. Well, the cake part was delicious and still a bit moist for having sat in the fridge overnight. I was able to taste as much as I could tolerate the icing. Wowsa — very sweet but good!
How can you not go into a place with «chocolate» and «naked» in its name? Heh! I bookmarked this place before coming to Philadelphia and managed to leave work in time to try this place. The store was pretty crowded on a late weekend afternoon. First off, the store is very well lit (bright lights bright lights!), but it smells quite lovely inside = chocolate! Because it was crowded, I skipped the option of sitting in so I took my cakes to go. It was fine because I ended up browsing through Borders nearby while munching on my first cupcake: the vanilla with chocolate frosting. I didn’t get a chance to look at everything in the store; there was such a line and way too many people standing around for no good reason. From what I could see, the chocolate display looked quite tasty as well as the cupcakes.

I wasn’t going to leave Philly without tracking down cupcakes. Trusty Unilocal pointed me in the direction of Naked Chocolate Café. This bustling dessert café is super cute, replete with small chairs and tables.
I love the concept of a third place that is open late (until 11p on most nights) that doesn’t revolve around coffee. Naked Chocolate is all about drinking chocolates, desserts, truffles and tea. Upon first sight of the bakery’s cases, I wanted to place the side of my cheek up against the glass, close my eyes and extend my arms out in an embrace.
We each got a cupcake ($ 2.25 each) and I went for the chocolate-​frosted chocolate cupcake. We also ordered a pot of Harney & Sons English Breakfast tea ($ 3.00). Once we got to the register to pay, I realized I was totally oblivious to the case to the left of the register which had supersized, «stuffed» cupcakes and a cupcake sundae. I had to have the strawberry shortcake stuffed cupcake ($ 4.50 each).
I give the chocolate cupcake a 3. My chocolate cupcake was dense but dry. The buttercream was smooth, not overly sweet and the amount was proportional to the amount of cake. The strawberry shortcake stuffed cupcake gets a 3.75. The cake was again dense but too dry. The whipped cream was heavenly and the strawberry preserve jam in the middle was a nice complement.
I probably wouldn’t get the cupcakes again but here’s what on the short list for the next visit:
— Chocolate Truffle Tea
— Sipping Chocolate
— Aztec Hot Chocolate
— Frozen Drinking Chocolate
— Chocolate Fondue
— Cupcake Sundae
— Apple Lemonade
— Truffles
— Hyperglycemia (that’s not a menu offering but my condition after gorging on these treats)