Z Cioccolato

The best candy store ever… the staff is very friendly… chris & priscilla are awesome. Free samples of fudge that they make there and a good assortment of sweets. I will always go back!

I’m all about the fudge. Wisconsin girl and proud. No surprise that I all but threw myself against the glass display case housing the delicious squares of sugary goodness.
A lot of peanut buttery options, all good, but of course I have to have my maple.
They have a great assortment of other candies as well. I couldn’t see anything past the fudge which is a shame because they had some good stuff. But hey, I have a reason to come back
My husband and I loved the candy themed Italian artwork lining the walls. For instance, Mona Lisa enjoying a lollipop.

This candy shop is absolutely adorable and for making a purchase, I was given a free bag of freshly popped caramel corn. I do enjoy popcorn so that was a nice treat. Why am I giving Z Cioccolato only two stars? The cashier made fun of me for buying a pound of the same taffy they sell in every souvenir shop San Fran. Yes, I was a tourist. Granted at the time I didn’t know that this taffy was ubiquitous but I was bringing it back for my co-​workers! It’s a tradition in my office to bring back sweets for everyone to enjoy. There’s no reason to be rude.

I wish I was commenting on the fudge that everyone raves about, however this review is on their gelato. I was casually walking and I saw their gelato sign so I decided to go in. Their gelato selection is pretty limited and more of ice cream like consistency.
I only tried 2 different flavors, the almond flake which was a chocolate based ice cream and the cookie though. The two flavors I tried were just ok. I ended up getting 1 scoop of almond flake in a small cup (due to the fact that they don’t have cones, arggg) and man it was the tiniest scoop of ice cream i’ve ever gotten.
With all that said, I would probably not come here for ice cream, however I may come back to try that fudge that everyone loves, and hopefully I can update the review accordingly.

Great candy shop I stopped in during my stroll through North Beach. Bought around $ 7 of
candy and received a free bag of caramel corn which was delicious (all purchases over $ 5 were offered one).
They also offered free fudge samples and had a large array of chocolate. I’m more of a candy person rather than chocolate, but I have to admit the selection looked incredible. Staff was super friendly.

I have the sweetest memories of fudge.
Seriously…no pun intended.
That definition of rich, creamy decadence. And it’s just so old school.
Z Ciocolleto takes your traditional fudge, & turns it up a dozen notches. Mint swirl, rocky road, peanut butter, caramel… just to name a few.
There’s even an M&M one.
There’s a huge assortment of other candies, all arranged on the floor in giant barrels. But it’s the fudge that brings me in, & it’s the fudge that is the star of the show.
It’s about 5 bucks for a square, but there are a few pre wrapped pieces for only $ 2.99.
Service is hit or miss. It can be pretty impersonal. My last visit, after not engaging me at all & demonstrating zero personality w short, business like answers, the cashier took it upon herself to count her tips right in the middle of our transaction. That’s not only seriously unprofessional, but extremely tacky as well. It did occur to me that perhaps this was in reaction to the 2 grade school kids that walked in & may have swiped some change when they walked past, but still. Inappropriate.
It would be great if they had a regular & neighborly sales associate. That really makes all the difference.
The sweet spot in NB.
4 stars.

I feel compelled to write this review as I’m moaning in bed in Hawai’i … whilst eating a square of salted caramel fudge that my friend brought back for me as omiyage from San Francisco last night. This fudge is impossibly decadent, dear lord! I have no superlatives for it. It’s ironic that «fudge» is a euphemism for the word I wanted to use when I first tasted it. After opening my box of treasure, I had earnestly cut off an inch slice to taste, and now the whole square of fudge is residing happily in my tummy.
Been eating kale and cold-​pressed juice and oatmeal for the last week? Just forget it. Give up. Abandon ship. There is no rationalizing away the fat and sugar and caloric content of these little chocolate monsters. I’m no dietician but I know by taste when there are no corners cut in making something as rich-​tasting as this. Buy a box of fudge and let the death knells to your diet ring loud and true.
Or, if you don’t live in CA, ask one of your more magnanimous friends who do to bring you a box the next time they come to visit you.
Fudgey-​Wudgey was a bear.
Fudgey –Wudgey was one very satisfied, diabetes-​riddled bear.

Amazing selection of candy and very nice staff here. An especially large range of taffy and hard candy. Definitely worth checking out!

I’m trying to be objective. I think I just don’t like fudge. It’s too sweet. The flavors of fudge were unique and interesting though! :) The store also smelled the way I imagine heaven smells, a heaven paved in caramel!

Fudge! Lots and lots of fudge! I think that had about 15 different flavors of fudge when hubby and I were there. Best of all, they let you sample the flavors, just like at an ice cream shop.
Here are some of the flavors I remember:
Chocolate
Vanilla
Salted caramel chocolate (yum!)
Butterscotch (more yum!)
Pecan pie
Pumpkin spice
Butterscotch swirl
The store also had some handmade chocolates as well as lots of taffy and individually wrapped candies.
I will say that the fudge is not cheap, however, it was worth every penny (and calorie). Personally, I don’t mind paying a bit extra for such a quality product.
The next time I’m in San Francisco, I will be glad to return here and get more fudge.

Chocolate shop on Columbus in Russian Hill. Huge selection of taffy and fudge. Free samples of anything you want to try.
Rocky road fudge — ⁴⁄₅
Pumpkin graham cracker fudge — ⁵⁄₅
Overall, this is probably the best specialized fudge shop in the city with the largest variety. If you’re looking to buy some fudge, this is «as good as it gets.»

It’s the kind of service that customers receive here that makes me realize how cold relatively New York was.
I wandered into the store one late night not too long before closing and the lady behind the counter offered to let me try the salt water taffy for free and even gave me a free bag of caramel popcorn.
That would never happen in New York City.
P. S. the popcorn was crisp, sweet and delicious.

My friend and I were lured in by the sign for free fudge samples. We stayed because of the vast amount of candy and the great service.
I tried the California Earthquake, which has peanut butter, marshmallow whip, and lots of chocolate. I definitely recommend this. My friend ended up buying fudge and received a free bag of kettle corn with his purchase! We stayed a bit longer to chat with the guy at the counter who was from Dublin. He was very hospitable.
This is a cool candy shop that I recommend checking out if you find yourself in North Beach.

This place is awesome! We went on a Tuesday around 2p and the guy working was awesome! He was very friendly and talkative. Also, he gave decent sample sizes and wasn’t annoyed at all the flavors we wanted to try. He also told us that if we bought a box of four, he’d throw in a fifth for free! We ended up choosing chocolate mint, turtle cheesecake, creamy caramel peanut butter cup, tiger butter (white chocolate, milk chocolate and peanut butter) and caramel pecan cheesecake. I’ve never seen cheesecake fudge before, but more people need to be making this stuff because it’s delicious! Check this place out for some fantastically inventive fudge and great service!
Now that I’ve had time enjoy the fudge I would give this piece of advice. The cheesecake flavors are very sweet and you quickly get your fill of them. However, I could eat the Tiger Butter all day long. Keep that in mind depending on what you want.

It is so hard not to want to fall in love with this place, when the staff is so openly cheerful and friendly.
This was one of my last stops before heading out of San Francisco, and I was trying to figure out a good old fashioned candy store to fill up on sweet things for the flight home.
The good thing about this place is that it’s open early from what I’ve seen for San Francisco Retail — in comparison to the retail stores in the city — they’re open at a 10 am, which is great, because that gave me an hour to get there and back to Union Square, with just enough time to pack in the rest of my other errands before packing up the rest of my stuff and going; as well as grab a lunch to go.
They have a HUGE selection of salt water taffy and in house homemade fudge. The fudge was really good, but a touch too sweet, but could be just the flavored I sampled. They, also, make their own caramel corn, but it wasn’t up and running yet, when I went.
Overall, if you’re in the area — not a bad place to indulge your sweet tooth.
Extra bonus — you can sample any of the salt water taffy in the barrels and their in house made fudge.
Also, they are open late as well, which mean early and late catches the sweet gummi worm and owls.

5 stars for their hospitality!
Free water taffy and fudge samples!!! I stumbled upon this venue, and came out with a handful of treats.
I highly recommend checking out this place if you love fudge and/​or water taffy. Personally, I am not a fan of water taffy, but you can def tell their water taffy is fresh.
Favorite water taffy: Apricot and coffee (or was it Tiramisu)
They also give you a free bag of kettle corn with purchase!

Peanut butter pie fudge… amazing. Seriously, the most delicious thing ever. I also got the pomegranate taffy, which is also incredible and the caramel apple taffy. The carmel apple taffy is good, but I do prefer the tangy taffies.
I ordered online and had everything shipped to me. It came extremely fast and was in perfect condition. If it weren’t for the thousands of calories I consumed in minutes, I’d be ordering from her weekly. :D
Seriously tasty stuff. Plus, shipping is totally reasonable!

Great candy shop with all of the old school classics. They had my favorite air heads which I had to get a couple of.
This was a nice place to browse when we were trying to kill some time before going to see beach blanket Babylon.

I have to say one the coolest candy stores I ever been too. It’s located in Little Italy in heart of San Francisco. This store has a lot of candy you don’t see around a lot. Who does not love candy. If you are visiting or living in the area this is a cool place check out.
They numerous candies from all over the world. If you just looking for assorted candies or chocolate you are in for a real treat. The plus about this place is located near all the great pizza places.
Whenever I am in town I will be back here again. Hands down one of the best spots in town.

The 3^rd stop of the North Beach food tour. I have had the fudge here from before and it is good. A little too sweet though. But in the tour we got to speak to the fudge maker.
The fudge maker did a Q&A with us on anything we wanted to ask. She did ask for suggestions on what to do for Halloween and the fall season. After providing her a suggestion, her response was a bit not receptive, though her point made sense. Thus I got a feeling that why ask for suggestions if you are not going to even consider it.
We ended the tour tasting 3 types of fudge. The raspberry, maple, and tiger butter. Out of all 3, the tiger butter tasted the best.

We were walking around North Beach and saw this sign Free Fudge Samples. Got to try it.
Anyways the place is huge with barrels of candies and soft water taffy, counter of chocolate, and of course one counter of fudge. This guy helped us out and told us they make it themselves in the back. You can tell cause the fudge is still in the baking pans not decorated all fancy but just looking at the different fudges makes your mouth water. Anyways, we tried it and my son went crazy for it. It was crazy good. We were deciding which ones to buy then my text went off for our table at Tony’s pizza. We only had 5 minutes to grab out table. Rushed out and didn’t have a chance to buy any fudge. Anyways, next day our son was still talking about the sweetness heaven so we went back and bought the rainbow and some peanut butter s’mores fudge. They give you decent pieces of fudge but you have to buy at least two pieces for $ 8+. Little on the expensive side but what do you expect for sweetness heaven. Also, when you buy $ 5 worth of sweetness at this store, you get a small bag of fresh caramel popcorn. It had a little burnt flavor to it but was really good. I just couldn’t stop myself, it was that good.
Anyways, if your around Columbus and Stockton then you got to stop in to this place. So good. It’s sweetness heaven.

After our delicious dinner at a nearby restaurant, our group sought out sweets and made its way to Z. Cioccolato. Just getting close, you have the aroma of sweet caramel corn emanating from the shop.
The counter displays various chocolates and fudge while barrels of various types of candies line the shop floor. But that sweet smell of caramel popcorn from their popcorn machine fills the air from the fresh popped corn. Some of us were here at the right time and were able to get bags of the freshly popped corn. (
)
(
)
Overall, a nice candy shop with a huge offering of various types of candies. Also, remember to ask for free small bag of caramel popcorn if you make a $ 5 purchase.
(
)

This place looks pretty darn neat. If you have an inflatable unicorn head hanging on the walls of your window display, you’re bound to get me through your doors! I made it a guilt-​free walk-​in for my two friends who were actually tempted by the candy, haha
Once in there, I felt like I was walking through memory lane. All these candies we grew up with were sold there! Pop rocks, baby bottle pops, ring pops, pixi stix… and there were barrels of taffy! The staff said we can taste test them too, yumm.
One of my friends ended up buying some brittle and got free salted caramel kettle corn with her purchase. AND it doesn’t close until 12am. What a wonderful place this is.