Pure Dark

It is a shame that this store is no longer located at Bleecker. I like their chocolate and it is definitely a great place to go if you want some quality chocolate for either a gift or for your own needs. Being a big chocolate fan I know how hard it is to find real good chocolate especially here in the states. Hersey is NOT a good option sorry to all you Reese’s pieces fans and Hersey fans out there but to me it tastes like… not like pure dark, who specializes in DARK YUMMINESS.
If I have to choose between dark and light chocolate I would go dark any day but that does not mean that the darker the better. I like the 65−80% cocoa ratio and Pure Dark is definitely the place to go for that.
I also like that you can mix your chocolate however you like it and they will make it for you then and there.
The price is a little steep but you know you get the good quality if you just enter the store which had a great atmosphere. Hope to see you at Food Emporium one day.

This place is ridiculous. Only two words are needed to describe it: PRETENTIOUS and OVERRATED.
It’s all hype. They jumped on the chocolate bandwagon and don’t have the product to back it up.
That’s probably why it closed. They had all that space and absolutely no customers. Good riddance.

Walked by here today and it is cleaned out and locked up! Gone. Yes gone. Good thing the economy is on the rebound. *sarcasm*

It is O-​so nice in this jungle-​ess, cool, downtown contemporary chocolate shop. I feel bad for saying this but I have yet to buy anything from this store. I just enjoy the free samples of chocolate. My friends and I stop here on the way to Marc Jacobs. I convince one of them to buy a piece and split it with me. «Have you ever ate the chocolate here? OMG you haven’t? Oh yeah, you gotta try it.» Muah ha ha ;-)
They have ranges of chocolate from semi sweet, very sweet, very dark, etc. I didn’t quite know how intricate chocolate lovers can be. They make a trail mix which is what I always get and you can even make your own mix. They have chocolate drinks as well. They have some packages in there theat would also make great gifts for someone «special».
Against the wall in the back are different products made with real cocoa. Very interesting.

Just the words «Pure Dark» (referring to chocolate of course) on the outside of the store were enough to draw me inside. The aroma and earthy, cavernous, inviting interior full of free samples and friendly staff were enough to keep me in for a while! Everything I tasted was rich, full-​flavored, and high quality. I bought a nice-​sized chunk of their «slab» of dark chocolate with roasted cacao nibs. It had amazing crunch and taste. I loved it… every last bite of it… and unfortunately it’s long gone by now! ;-p

So, I have said this in other reviews, but I think it’s an important disclaimer: I don’t really like chocolate.
I wandered into this store looking for stocking stuffers for Christmas. They had a few samples out, so I thought I would indulge. I was surprised that I enjoyed the dark chocolate pieces I tested out. They were really pretty good! I decided to randomly pick anything there (as I am not a chocolate connoisseur and therefore didn’t know what was best) and head home.
I didn’t think anything of it until Christmas morning when my mom found one of their «Slabs» in her stocking. Being a chocoholic, she ripped into it right away. She looked like she loved it so much that I had to try it for myself. It was really good. Better than I had remembered. I had gotten her the Slab, dark chocolate with caramelized and roasted nibs and coarse sugar. Really tasty. I had about 3 bites and had had enough (again, not a chocolate lover), but my mom loved every bite.
Since even I liked the chocolate, I went back to get some for myself and my boyfriend (another chocolate lover). The store was clean and minimalist. The focus was on the chocolate and rightfully so. They also have a bar where you can mix whatever you want into your chocolate and get a hot chocolate or some other chocolatety treat and eat it there in their small seating area.
I recommend this place for chocolate and non-​chocolate lovers. I am case in point. They also have a ton of different ingredients to mix with the chocolate, so you will never be bored, no matter how many times you go back.

Haven’t yet been o the store, but I had the opportunity to sample treats from Pure Dark yesterday at USQ’s wine tasting.
Spice covered dark chocolate disks are out of this world. Dipped dried fruit were delicious as well. The chocolate was earthy and dark and just a touch of sweet.

The retail space is minimalist, elegant, and smells like heaven. There’s a couch in the back to enjoy your hot cocoa, and a display of photos and artifacts about the chocolate-​making process.
The chipotle hot cocoa is so fierce, you’ll feel like a fire-​breathing dragon (Don’t worry, there’s a watercooler in the back for situations like this).
We took home some «Island Bark» — dark chocolate bars with dried mango, macadamia, and roasted crushed cocoa beans with caramelized sugar. A nice mix of flavors, not very sweet, with a unique crunchy-​creamy-​nutty texture.
Pure Dark’s products are made with «natural ingredients» (but they’re not certified organic). The chocolate is «pure dark» (but not vegan, as there’s milkfat). I saw no mentions of fair trade in the store or the website, unfortunately.

With a name like Pure Dark, I had high hopes for some good chocolate. The retail space is very sparse, with not a lot of product. However, I spotted a hot chocolate bar that looked promising.
I went with the 57% with cocoa nibs and made with water. It was surprisingly rich and creamy, even though it didn’t contain a drop of dairy.

I rushed into Pure Dark, running very late for a date and needing a last minute gift. Quickly realizing I knew nothing about chocolate, the staff took care of me completely, suggesting the perfect gift, and packaging it beautifully. They even scrambled around to find me a little card, so I could jot a note to my date.
I was in and out, completely satisfied, in about 6 minutes.
Great staff, beautiful store, and most importantly– wonderful chocolate.
You can guarantee I’ll be back.

In the last couple of years there’s been a lot of buzz over dark chocolate being the healthful sweet. Even Nancy Pelosi said her secret weapon of climbing to the top of the Democratic ladder was chocolate. So with all this hype it is only appropriate that a new dark chocolate boutique graces NYC’s SoHo area.
A plethora of different varieties of dark chocolate is what you’ll find a Pure Dark. Their dark chocolate comes in many forms from cocoa (flavors like chipotle cinammon and sea salt), trial mix blends, to large meaty chunks of pure chocolate. No matter what form you choose you’ve pretty much abandoned any concerns over texture in pursuit of the lovely taste.
A selection of dried fruits, chocolate nibs and nuts is used to make your own trial mix. My own creation is that of crystallized nibs combined with ginger and cherries.
Or try their slab of chocolate. The higher the percentage of chocolate the bolder and more striking the flavor. 65% is the way I roll.
The sampling and staff will make sure you get your fix for stopping by to visit.
A suggestion, if you’re going to sit and eat a lot of this dark chocolate at once, have a glass of water handy; this chocolate does make you thirsty.

Purely dark chocolate!
Upon arriving, we were greeted by a nice gentleman asking if it was our first visit. And since it was, he offered us many different samples of chocolate. Gosh were they scrumptious! Almost to the point where I’m stuffed with chocolate!
And since this was such a hot and humid day, I asked if they made cold chocolate beverages, which they did! Yay, cause I really needed one.
And soon enough when I brought it up front to pay, it was $ 6 for the chocolate drink. Something I didn’t expect because it wasn’t on the menu in the back at all, but what the heck, I’m thirsty!
Boy did the beverage taste good, like a chocolaty sensation!
Not too sure if I’d purchase the drink again, but definitely a couple chocolate products this place has to offer in the future.

I heart this place. Who can’t love a place full of chocolate?
Not only does it have the most amazing chocolate ranging from almond covered to chipotle cinnamon chocolate. But it goes through the history and process of making chocolate. delish. I LOVE their bark with the bits of coco shell tastes like a gourmet crackle bar.
Perfect for little kids or kids at heart.

I am conflicted about my visit to Pure Dark. The chocolate is DAMN good. I love, love, love dark chocolate. I don’t even bother with milk chocolate, and don’t even get me started on the revoltingness that is white chocolate.
So I was pretty excited to find a store that specialized in dark chocolate, so I made a point to stop by during my day visit to NYC a few weeks ago. The chocolate itself is very good, as I said. But holy god, is it expensive. I got two pieces of bark, a package of rounds, and a personalized mix.
The rounds were dusted with chipotle and cinnamon. That may sound gross, but it is so effin good. Trust me. SO GOOD. Spicy chocolate is one of my favorite things ever. And since it was just dusted, it wasn’t too overwhelming. The mix was chocolate covered raisins with dried cherries – tres tasty. I haven’t actually eaten my bark yet, but I bought a piece to give to my mother and she said hers was amazing.
OK, but these four things were MORE THAN $ 40. Really??? If I had any idea how much that mix was (half a pound, mind you), I would have said peace out, see yo later. I didn’t want to say no when I went to pay so I paid, but very unhappily.
So just a heads up to everyone – yes it’s very good chocolate, but it is extremely pricey.

I stopped by here on my way to dinner. I didn’t have as much time to look around as I would like but I did go home with some nice chocolate. The atmosphere is mellow with a slightly jungle feel. I was a little intimidated by being one of the few customers amongst the many employees and the experience seemed a bit confusing somehow. There are different counters for different purposes. You can order your own mix at the ‘chocolate bar’ in the back and order chocolate bark at another. There’s a display in the back where you can touch some of the ingredients used in making chocolate. I ended up picking one of the pre-​prepared little bags of ’rounds’ in a raspberry acai flavor. I like little pieces… the bark would have been too much for me I think. The berry flavor is subtle because the pieces are dusted rather than filled.
Compared to some of the other chocolate specialty stores in ny, ie, Jacques Torres, Vosges, Chocolate Bar, etc, I would say Pure Dark is ok but wont surpass them. However, it’s always nice to have more options for good quality chocolate and I think it’s great that there’s more of a demand for it. I wont let the fact that they are owned by the Mars Co. prejudice me against them.

Truly delicious. I had the bark with blueberries, cranberries, cocoa nibs and nuts. It’s thin, so the fillings go a long way and you can eat more… or maybe i just eat more. My bro suprised me with some the other day, and now I am craving it. You can also make your own bar with choices of darkness and toppings.

On a cold, blustery winter day, there’s nothing I want more than a cup of steaming hot cocoa. So imagine my delight when, after stepping out of Westville, I saw the awning of Pure Dark. Immediately visions of decadent 70% cocoa dark chocolate started to swim in my head as I walked through the door and was greeted by friendly, unobtrusive staff. Tons of samples galore, from chocolate disks, nibs, and trail mixes so don’t be shy about sampling. Four stars alone, for that.
The place is primarily a shop but there’s a counter in the back where you can make your own chocolate/​granola mixes or have a chocolatey drink. I ordered my drinking chocolate plain (you can have it with nibs or add a shot of espresso) and it was probably about $ 4.50 for six ounces. Would have loved it with a dollop of whipped heavy cream or just cream but, even though there were two slightly-​out-​of-​place armchairs in a secluded corner, Pure Dark isn’t really a café. The store has a lot of space– too much, maybe– that isn’t really being used effectively. Still, it’s a nice place with OK prices. Nothing to come out of the way for but if you’re in the area and you’re in dire need of a dark chocolate fix, Pure Dark is a nice solution.

I now own a super secret member card that gets me five percent off of anything I buy in the store. A bit of a paltry saving, but it’s something.
And quite honestly, the chocolate isn’t that expensive to begin with. I got a plentiful ounce of ginger/​pecan/​nib bark for a little over 2 bucks. It was delicious, crunchy, and best of all: dark. Not only that, the amount of free samples they give away make you feel like you’re committing a crime… it’s a miracle they stay in business with their kind of generosity.
I’m especially found of these little chocolate disks they were sampling a few weeks ago, and the trail mix selections look better than Harry&David moose munch (and that’s saying something.) However, a word to the wise would be to stay away from their hot chocolate. A sample proved overly milky, chunky, and not very thick. With the likes of Jacques Torres and City Bakery, they’ll have to seriously, as they put it, «work on it.»
A bonus: Staff kisses your ass in a not-​so-​obvious way, making the service delightful.

Delish samples abound on the corner of West 10^th. and Bleeker Street down the corner from my fave Housing Works shop. This store is a little confusing as it is huge and ambitious with a seating area in the rear. Lots of barks with dried fruits and nuts. Soon to arrive will be hot chocolate and given the quality of the chocolate it should be yum.

Beautiful weather… walking through the west village and I see this store that I have never seen before. Which initially doesn’t mean anything, but this place looks pristine. Well… it only opened a week ago.
You enter and are welcomed by a scent of beautiful chocolate. I say beautiful because the chocolate itself just LOOKS as good as it tastes. This is a store for chocolate lovers. Although, the highest percent of cacoa I believe is only 65% sadly (even though it prides itself on being a dark chocolate store).
It’s kind of a mix of Vosges and the Rainforest café where you can taste whatever you want. There are mixes of chocolate and sugar, chocolate and macadamia nuts with fruit, cardamom. The difference here is that the focus is on the chocolate instead of unique creations (a la Vosges).
There is a nice little lounge area in the back with a water station… to cleanse the palate? The staff was very knowledgeable and willing to advise different combination’s for a stellar trail mix (macadamia nuts, cranberries and blueberries with one of their darker chocolates).
Along with their tasting stations is a «making of chocolate» station that gives a cursory yet educational look at the process of transforming the chocolate fruit pod into what we actually eat.
The reason that this gets only 4 stars from me is that they could have done more with their packaging. The whole store seems has a very natural and earthy feel… it works very well with a brown/​green theme. They have biodegradable/​recycled mini tasting cups, but that’s the extent of it. They really could have made a «green» store and used recycled packaging for their chocolates etc… I think it would have gone much better with their «back to nature» kind of vibe.
Great addition to the area and it’s spacious inside… feels nice and open. For somebody who is looking for a little less of an adventure within their chocolate, and are just looking for quality ingredients.