The Best Chocolate Dishes To Devour In Honor Of National Chocolate Day

With Halloween just around the corner, nobody necessarily needs another excuse to eat chocolate, but we’re giving you one anyway: National Chocolate Day is Saturday October 28. Here we share some of our favorite chocolate dishes.

At A16 the perennial Italian restaurant in the Marina, the chocolate budino tart has been on the menu for as long as we can remember. It’s a bitter chocolate mousse that’s drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt. It’s rich, delicious, and downright sinful.

Another classic chocolate dessert? Gary Danko’s chocolate soufflé. It comes perfectly puffed in a small white coffee mug. The soufflé is served with two sauces—chocolate and berry—which are presented elegantly table side. We’re warning you: it might be the best soufflé of your life.

Although it’s difficult to get a table at the always-packed Rich Table, a meal at the restaurant from husband and wife team Evan and Sarah Rich, is worth the wait. Sarah is in charge of desserts and her chocolate mint creation is incredible. It’s a thin chocolate cookie placed on a mound of iced milk. The cookie is topped with dollops of a velvety chocolate mousse (that look like Hershey’s kisses) and mint. It’s to die for!

Emily Luchetti has been crafting delectable desserts for some of the Bay Area’s top restaurants for decades. At Park Tavern, every month she serves a different kind of birthday cake. If it’s your birthday during chocolate cake month, you must order it. The double-layer chocolate cake is moist and satisfying. Want to learn how to make it? Book an experience through IfOnly to get a private lesson from Luchetti herself!

On a cold foggy night, there’s nothing quite as comforting as a mug of steaming hot chocolate. Dandelion Chocolate, in the Mission, is the best place for drinking chocolate. Although the menu changes with the season, there are usually three different kinds of hot chocolate to choose from. Our favorite is the European drinking chocolate, which it is Italian-inspired and super thick.

Need to impress someone with a box of chocolates? Head to Recchiuti in the Ferry Building. Michael and Jacky Recchiuti founded the brand in 1997 using traditional European techniques and the best quality ingredients. Shop for seasonal chocolates, different box collections, caramels, bars, sauces, and more.