Li-Lac Chocolates

Li-​Lac chocolates are absolutely delicious. I am a big fan of the Buttercream Patties and the Mint Patties, the almond bark, both milk and dark chocolate are made with whole roasted almonds and are truly exquisite. The reason I am not giving them 5 stars is because I think the prices are somewhat excessive. Li-​Lac is handmade chocolate, but there are other quality products of comparable quality for 40% less. I will always buy small amounts of these treats from time to time but won’t spend $ 60-​$ 70 on a small box of chocolate and no longer buy this chocolate as gifts.

This place has pretty good chocolate and it is super convenient to come here since its at GCM and right by the office, but holy cow, they are expensive. I get their dark chocolate covered espresso beans because that’s my weakness despite attempting to eat well most of the time (satiating my sweet tooth while simultaneously getting my caffeine fix is pretty great) and they come out to 10 bucks for an 8 ounce bag. I guess it’s not the end of the world. Their other stuff looks good too, but I have yet to try it. Godiva who?

The original shop was on Christopher St. between Bedford St. and Bleecker. Frequented that store often with my mom n sis when we lived down there. You could see them making the chocolate delicacies in the back of the shop. Not sure when they shut that location down. (sigh. old NYC is vanishing, now it seems they are quite commercial). Even though no longer made on site, the chocolate is divine. The chocolate covered cherries are some of the best you’ll ever have, as are the chocolate covered orange peels. Dark chocolate please, thank you ;)

Yay for places in Manhattan offering free perks! As a self-​diagnosed chocolate addict, I was craving some sugar after consuming a particularly salty German pretzel (irrelevant.)
Located inside Grand Central Market, this place is a cute little vendor that offers gourmet chocolate to the public. Definitely on the pricey side considering the portion size of each chocolate, but hey, 2 free truffles with any $ 5 purchase so no complaints!

I came all the way to Grand Central just to try their marzipan chocolate! I recently tried some that were brought over from Europe and fell in love with the sweet almond paste. A quick web search for nyc’s best marzipan chocolates led me to Li-​Lac. They have 2 locations: one inside the Grand Central Market and the other in the West Village.
I was hesitant to buy one finger-​size roll for $ 3.50 but I *had* to try it. The woman staffing the boutique gave me the impression that she didn’t want to be there and wanted our transaction to be over as quickly as possible.
But the marzipan dark chocolate roll? AMAZING. I was so happy that I ate it AFTER I walked out of the Grand Central Market. If I hadn’t, I’m pretty sure I would have bought more. Why are you so expensive?!

Is the variety great? Yes. Is it delicious? Yes. Is anything made of chocolate worth over $ 30/​lb. Hell to the no. Will I probably buy something again the next time I pass through? Definitely. Just not the items in that price range. Really ridiculous. They get four stars cuz I love chocolate and love the options, but definitely minus one for the price. As for taste, it was good, but nothing amazing. I would probably subtract another star, but that’s only after I try a handful more items.

if you’re like me, you don’t like to give the boring old box of chocolates as gifts. This place is a between Godiva and Maison au Chocolat in price and they have some very unusual and somewhat unique gift items like the solid chocolate santa or snowman (around $ 20) and their french mint chocolates make a great hostess gift, unevenly cut for that rustic look and who doesn’t want the edible chocolate treasure chest! In middle of GCT market. The staff is helpful and friendly and eager to please.

My friend goes to NY often, and brought me back a large chocolate egg from Li-​Lac around Easter, and it sat on my shelf for awhile because I thought, how am I possibly going to eat all this chocolate? Well, let me tell you, it was eeeeeasyyyyyy. I sliced off a small piece and after I took my first bite, I literally did not stop – I finished the whole egg in one sitting!
The chocolate was filled with the most incredible marzipan! I’ve had a lot of marzipan over the years, and this one is my absolute favorite. Not too sweet, great almond flavor, fun green color, and best of all, it compliments their chocolate just perfectly.
Fast forward… the same friend just got me another box of both dark & milk chocolate marzipan rolls – I am in heaven! Friendship is a good thing. =)

For $ 40 Per pound these chocolates should be much better. I just picked up a pound of chocolates from their Grand Central location (for Mother’s Day) and sampled one when I got home. It tasted old and flavorless. So, I tried another just to make sure and same thing. Seriously, these chocolates really should be much much better for the price. Very disappointing. Spend your money elsewhere.

OK. so I love this place and I love their chocolates. Highly recommend. I took off a star because nine our 10 times the staffers are on the their phone texting. Its not uncommon for me to stand there wondering if anyone is actually working. Then I look and see them texting. Management, do you read these reviews? People have to catch trains. They are nice young people who work there but they are too involved with texting especially during the rush hour. For that I took off a star. The chocolate and selection… incredible. Not cheap, btw.

Li-​Lac Chocolates is Manhattan’s oldest chocolate house, since 1923. How did I not know this? Well, I didn’t, until I found them on my Grand Central Tour. Described as «stubbornly old fashioned», this chocolate company has been making their chocolates the old school way, not changing or conforming to trendy, new comers along the way. They have a range of classic truffles, fudges and caramels, something for everyone.
I tried a couple of their signature items. First, I had a Hazelnut Truffle Square. Holy mother of candy. This was incredible, maybe one of the best hazelnut candies I’ve had? Maybe? It’s decadent, rich, chocolaty, and an amazing nutty, hazelnut flavor. It’s pretty generous in size too, so, you basically get four pieces in one.
Then, I also got a Champagne Truffle. Another one that made me believe in Heaven. It’s silky, creamy, and melts in your mouth. You really get a nice champagne flavor as well, which, I mean, what goes better with chocolate than champagne? Champagne + Chocolate Truffle = Power Couple.

How about less talking with friends and more servicing real customers who are waiting to be helped? THANKS.

My mother has been a Li-​Lac fan since before she met my father. When I was a child, anyone who came into the city had to bring her back a piece of mocha fudge. So we’ve been Li-​Lac lovers for a long time around here.
I consistently love marzipan, particularly the little rolls. Their glacé ginger is lovely and soft and unlike any I’ve ever had. The little hazelnut squares are delightful. And the little kiddie pops are great for a tiny chocolate fix.
The one bad experience I had was with a trio of chocolate elephants that my husband bought for our anniversary. While I find their plain chocolate quite tasty on its own, these had obviously been molded quite a while ago, and they weren’t very fresh. They were so underwhelming, I ended up chopping them up and using them in cookies.
So stick to the stuff they make fresh.

One word; YUMMY. Located in the market in Grand Central Station, Hazelnut chocolates are to die for. A great place to get a gift for someone before going upstate.

The hospitality experience was night and day from the Village outpost, even despite a far more hectic scene. Knowledgeable staff member locked me into their WiFi to help redeem the Unilocal checkin offer for a free piece of fudge (of which they provided 2 squares of solid maple walnut) with the mouse roll (decent, $ 2.99). Unfortunately the warmth there still couldn’t help with the relative expensiveness for a mediocre product; despite my sweet tooth, I’d much rather direct my funds elsewhere in the Grand Central Market.

Fairly good chocolates. I tried the almond chocolate bark (sold by the pound) and thought it was good but not as good as the dark choc almond bark sold at Godiva’s.
Hubby had a piece of the chocolate brownie which I thought tasted better than the almond bark. They have 3 stores — the main office/​factory is in Brooklyn and the 2 stores are at Grand Central (this writing) and at the West Village. Handmade chocolates since 1923.

What I like: dark chocolate almond bark, dark chocolate almond solid bars, dark chocolate covered lemon skins, dark chocolate orange crème patties, chocolate covered pretzels, coconut drops with chocolate
What I don’t like: the woman that runs the place that always have a frown on her face like she doesn’t want to work there, the answer «I can’t give out samples» to me while a white dude was happily munching on a free sample next to me.

Ho-​hum. Everything looked soo good. But then you see the crazy high prices.
Great variety/​selection and all soo delicious looking.
The chocolate isn’t bad. But to me it wasn’t anything great at all that I would seek out again. In fact I prefer the taste of Lindt (but definitely not Godiva!) at ¼ of the price.

So what happens when a bunch of people go on a wine bus and need snacks? Someone needs to bring chocolate, that’s what happens!
I don’t know much about chocolate except that most kinds give me a headache. With that said, I had no clue where to find any in my neighborhood. Thankfully, the Unilocal app puled up Li-​Lac in Grand Central Market. So I strolled over to Grand Central, wandered down the stretch of goodies that is the market, and found a display of chocolate upon chocolate.
I’m pretty sure the employee that helped me thought I was nuts because I kept pointing at whatever looked pretty or big (that’s what she said ayooo) and saying «2 of those, 1 of those!».
Finally I walked out with $ 33 worth of chocolate. Not a bad price once you see the size of their bars. One plain chocolate bar was difficult to finish and I also ordered a few of the raspberry stuffed bars. Everyone loved them and kept asking where I got them and you do get your money’s worth. Plus they offer almost everything in dark and white chocolate, if you’re like me and hate milk chocolate. I will definitely return the next time I need some goodies or require a sugar boost.

My brain craves chocolate like a drug addict craves coke. I can go a few days without, and think I got clean, only to find that when the opportunity presents itself, I will glady sell all my possessions for a hit.
I haven’t had chocolate in awhile. Recent events in my life have prevented me from feeding my addiction. And I am the worst kind of addict. I don’t like my drugs to be adulterated or cut with anything.
I went to Grand Central in search of another chocolate place, but couldn’t find it, so I ended up here. The chocolates looked good enough to devour, but looks can be deceiving.
I have a thing for chocolate, nuts and raisins. But they didn’t have a cluster with both nuts and raisins, so I settled for the pecan clusters. I asked the lady to give me 4 clusters. That should last about a week with me. I like to savour my chocolate. Small morsels that allow my brain to release endorpins all day long.
The lady got my 4 clusters and told me the total was $ 9! I paid begrudgingly and prayed that they would be the best clusters in the world. Sad to report, they are just so-​so. The chocolate tastes bland and honestly, I could’ve gotten some Russel Stovers and wouldn’t have noticed the difference. Needless, there are still 3 clusters sitting in the fridge. I’ll have to be desperate to consume the rest, but since Irene is right around the corner, they will likely be the only food I eat for the next few days.
In conclusion, this place failed. And as a drug addict would say, «Man, that was a bad trip…»