In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The chocolate makers named by the most of the publishers counted are Neuhaus (17), Pierre Marcolini (16), Wittamer (12), Frederic Blondeel (11) and Laurent Gerbaud (10). None of Neuhaus, Marcolini, Wittamer or Mary is on the independent top ten that Tartine et Boterham named on 16 March 2026. Choco-Story Brussels is €16 for an adult, open every day from 10:00 to 18:00, and closed 4 to 15 January 2027. A workshop with the museum visit is from €45. Prices are in euros. Or book a tour: the Choco-Story ticketad is €16 (GetYourGuide).
📊 The evidence behind this guide. Nothing here is ranked on one visit. This pass read 524 list pages from 2022 on and counts the publishers that name each chocolate maker: newspapers, magazines, guidebooks, broadcasters and travel writers, in English, French and Dutch. Brussels-only guide sites without a named newsroom, tour operators, directories and the makers’ own sites are not counted. Counts are publishers, not pages. How the guides are made
The chocolate makers named by the most sources
The count is the number of publishers that name the maker on a list of Brussels chocolate, with the split between English and French publishers. The total includes any Dutch-language publishers.
| Maker | Sources | English | French |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neuhaus | 17 | 13 | 3 |
| Pierre Marcolini | 16 | 13 | 2 |
| Wittamer | 12 | 9 | 3 |
| Frederic Blondeel | 11 | 7 | 4 |
| Laurent Gerbaud | 10 | 7 | 3 |
| Mary | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| Choco-Story Brussels (museum) | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Jérôme Grimonpon | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Godiva | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Arthur Amblard | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Passion Chocolat | 3 | 2 | 1 |
The independent top ten
Tartine et Boterham, a Belgian guide to sweet artisans working with the City of Brussels, named the ten best chocolatiers of the Brussels-Capital Region on 16 March 2026, chosen by a jury of independent experts on quality, craft, taste and commitment. They are Frédéric Blondeel, Laurent Gerbaud, Bomma Flora, Arthur Amblard, L Chocolat, Xocolate, La Maison du Cacao, Jérôme Grimonpon, Yasushi Sasaki and Concept Chocolate. Arthur Amblard won the Révélation 2026 prize, and Frédéric Blondeel the prix d’honneur. Neuhaus, Pierre Marcolini, Wittamer, Mary and Godiva are not on it: it is a list of small makers.
Slabs of chocolate in a Brussels shop window. Photo: Zorro2212, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The shops
Neuhaus
Galerie de la Reine 25 · Cited by 17 sources (13 English, 3 French, 1 Dutch)
Filled chocolates in glass bowls in a Brussels shop. Photo: Alter Fritz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Visit.brussels credits Jean Neuhaus with the praline, which he named in 1912, and his wife Louise Agostini with the ballotin, the gift box, in 1915. The shop is in the Royal Galleries of Saint-Hubert, in the Galerie de la Reine, on the site of a pharmacy that opened in 1857. It is the shop to visit for the history, and it is under cover on a wet day. See the Grand-Place for the galleries.
Pierre Marcolini
Place du Grand Sablon and Rue des Minimes 1 · Cited by 16 sources (13 English, 2 French, 1 Dutch)
Visit.brussels says Marcolini masters every stage of chocolate production, from the bean to the bar, and travels each year in search of cocoa beans. The Sablon shop is on the square, where the antiques market runs on Saturdays from 9:00 to 17:00 and Sundays from 9:00 to 15:00.
Wittamer
Place du Grand Sablon 12 · open seven days, with hours that vary by boutique · Cited by 12 sources (9 English, 3 French)
A patisserie created in 1910 that has sold chocolates on the Sablon since 1985, and describes itself as a supplier to the Royal Court. It sells pastries, quiches, salads and sandwiches as well as chocolate.
Frederic Blondeel
Rue de Ganshoren 39, Koekelberg · Cited by 11 sources (7 English, 4 French)
A coffee roaster and chocolatier from a family of coffee roasters, with a chocolate factory, shop, roastery and open workshop, and a coffee and ice-cream bar. It is outside the centre, in Koekelberg, so it needs a metro or tram ride. It won the prix d’honneur in the 2026 independent list.
Laurent Gerbaud
Rue Ravenstein 2D, Tuesday to Sunday 12:00 to 18:00 · Rue de l’Etuve 19, Tuesday to Sunday 11:30 to 19:30 · Cited by 10 sources (7 English, 3 French)
An artisan chocolatier and ice-cream maker who combines chocolate with spices and fruit, and makes vegan chocolates. The Rue Ravenstein address is a shop, tea room and kitchen by the Mont des Arts, with a hot chocolate at 72 per cent cocoa. The Rue de l’Etuve shop is a minute from the Manneken Pis. Gault&Millau named him Brussels’ chocolatier of the year for 2021.
Mary
Rue Royale 73 · also in the Galerie de la Reine and on the Grand-Place · Cited by 8 sources (8 English)
Founded in 1919 by Mary Delluc, a Belgian Royal Warrant Holder since 1942, according to the maker. Visit.brussels describes vintage boxes and a boutique and tea room in an Art Deco style.
Arthur Amblard
Rue Lebeau 61, at the Sablon · Cited by 3 sources (1 English, 2 French)
Pralines and bars made with no added sugar, from ethically sourced ingredients, according to visit.brussels. The 2026 Révélation prize winner.
Jérôme Grimonpon
Avenue Coghen 2, Uccle · Cited by 4 sources (1 English, 3 French)
A French chocolatier who roasts and refines his own cocoa beans, with an open studio, a new praline every month and chocolate sculptures. It is in Uccle, in the south of the region, and is on the independent top ten.
Passion Chocolat
Grand Sablon (in the NH hotel), Marché aux Herbes and the Galerie de la Reine · Cited by 3 sources (2 English, 1 French)
An artisanal chocolate shop since 1998, with more than 70 varieties of pralines, filled and coated, and single-origin bars.
Godiva
Grand Place 21-22 · every day 10:00 to 20:00 · Cited by 4 sources (4 English)
The Belgian house’s shop on the square, open every day.
Choco-Story Brussels
Rue de l’Etuve 41 · every day 10:00 to 18:00, last entry 17:00 · closed 25 December, 1 January and 4 to 15 January 2027 · choco-story-brussels.be
The first chocolate museum in Belgium, over three floors, with a demonstration by a master chocolatier and a tasting of different chocolates and an artisanal praline. Visits last 60 to 90 minutes, and the audio guide comes in 11 languages. The museum is in the Brussels Card. The operator says booking online gives priority access through the “Tickets Entrance” line, and recommends it at weekends and in school holidays.
| Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| Adult, 27 to 65 | €16 |
| Youth, 12 to 26, and seniors, 65 and over | €14 |
| Child, 3 to 11 | €10 |
| Combined with the Frietmuseum, adult | €28 |
The operator takes 10 per cent off the combined ticket when you book online. GetYourGuide’s ticketad, a listing of the museum’s own, is also from €16, with 5,670 reviews at 4.3 stars. Brussels Frites has the Frietmuseum.
Chocolate workshops and tours
Choco-Story’s own workshop runs four times a day, at 10:30, 12:00, 14:00 and 15:30, for 45 to 60 minutes: you make a personalised bar, lollipops, mendiants and decorations, and take them home with the mould and an apron. It is for adults and children aged 7 and up, with children aged 7 to 12 accompanied by a paying adult, and places are limited. GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices are per person.
| Class | Operator | Length | GetYourGuide from | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chocolate Museum Visit with Workshopad | Choco-Story Brussels | 2.5 hours | €45 | The museum entrance, an audio guide, tastings, a praline demonstration and the workshop; 1,672 reviews at 4.7 stars |
| Bean-to-Bar Belgian Chocolate Workshop and Tastingsad | The Belgian Chocolate Makers | 1.5 hours | €56 | Organic cocoa of traceable origin, hot chocolate in winter or chocolate granita in summer; 1,801 reviews at 4.7 stars |
| 2.5-Hour Belgian Chocolate Making Workshopad | 1USUAL International | 2.5 hours | €59 | Meets at Rue des Foulons 30; all ingredients and equipment and a hot chocolate; 1,049 reviews at 4.8 stars |
Plan the rest
Brussels waffles and beer bars cover the other two, where to eat in Brussels lists the restaurants, and Brussels food tours compares the guided walks that stop at chocolatiers. 3 days in Brussels fits a chocolate stop to the sights.
Common questions
Which chocolate shops in Brussels do the most lists name?
Neuhaus, named by 17 of the publishers counted, then Pierre Marcolini with 16, Wittamer with 12, Frederic Blondeel with 11 and Laurent Gerbaud with 10. Mary is named by 8, all of them English-language.
Who invented the praline?
Visit.brussels credits Jean Neuhaus, who called his invention the praline in 1912. His wife Louise Agostini invented the ballotin, the gift box, in 1915. The Neuhaus shop in the Galerie de la Reine, at number 25, has been there since it opened as a pharmacy in 1857.
How much is the Brussels chocolate museum?
Choco-Story Brussels charges €16 for an adult aged 27 to 65, €14 for ages 12 to 26 and over 65, and €10 for ages 3 to 11. It is open every day from 10:00 to 18:00 with last entry at 17:00, and closed 25 December, 1 January and 4 to 15 January 2027.
Is there a chocolate-making workshop in Brussels?
Yes. Choco-Story runs four workshops a day at 10:30, 12:00, 14:00 and 15:30, each 45 to 60 minutes, for adults and children aged 7 and up. GetYourGuide sells the museum visit with the workshop from €45, and independent workshops from €56 to €59.
Are the big Brussels chocolate houses the best?
An independent jury did not rank them. Tartine et Boterham named the ten best chocolatiers of the Brussels-Capital Region on 16 March 2026, and Neuhaus, Pierre Marcolini, Wittamer and Mary are not among them. The list is of smaller makers.
Where do I buy chocolate near the Grand-Place?
Godiva has a shop at Grand Place 21-22, open every day from 10:00 to 20:00. Neuhaus is in the Galerie de la Reine, Laurent Gerbaud's shop is on Rue de l'Etuve, and the Sablon, a short walk up the hill, has Wittamer, Pierre Marcolini and Passion Chocolat.
