The Best Chocolate Shops in San Jose

Halloween is usually associated with giant bags of miniature candy bars, but San Jose has plenty of places to find something better.

Around the city, you can buy handmade truffles, caramel apples, chocolate-covered fruit, fudge, premium boxed chocolates, Japanese chocolate and candy-shop classics. Some shops are perfect for filling a Halloween dessert table, while others make more sense when you want special treats for a smaller party or something nice for the adults after the trick-or-treaters go home.

Here are some of the best places in and around San Jose to shop for chocolate this Halloween.

San Jose Chocolate Shops

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Mariette Chocolates

Mariette Chocolates is probably one of the first places to visit if you want locally made chocolate rather than ordinary Halloween candy.

The family-run Willow Glen shop specializes in handcrafted truffles and carries an unusually large selection of flavors. They usually have over 50 traditional truffles and 10-120 Euro-style truffles. They also have chocolate covered fruit, nuts, creams, chews and even some sugar free options if you are trying to cut back. You can also build your own box rather than settling for a preselected assortment. That makes Mariette particularly good for a Halloween. Buy several different flavors and let everyone pick one at the end of the night. It seems like everyone gets into the candy around Halloween.

This is a great place for handmade truffles and custom chocolate boxes. I would go with mixed box of truffles with flavors such as espresso, champagne, key lime, raspberry, dark chocolate, etc. if you are having trouble deciding.

Mariette Chocolates
1268 Lincoln Avenue
San Jose, CA 95125
(408) 295-9050

San Jose Candy Kitchen

I would recommend the caramel apples, chocolate-covered strawberries and fudge

San Jose Candy Kitchen feels more like an old-fashioned sweets shop than a formal chocolatier, which makes it especially fun for Halloween. The Downtown shop offers handcrafted chocolates alongside caramel apples, chocolate-dipped strawberries, fudge, English toffee, pralines and ice cream. It has also become known for pistachio-filled "Dubai chocolate" treats.

Caramel apples alone make this a good October stop. I absolutely love them and rarely get them anyplace but here. You can buy a few for a Halloween party and slice them into smaller pieces, or combine them with fudge and chocolate-covered fruit for a dessert table.

San Jose Candy Kitchen
200 S. First Street, Suite 60, San Jose, CA 95113
(408) 372-2639

See's Candies

See's is one of the most practical choices when you need good chocolate for more than a handful of people. Plus, it is kind of a Bay area staple. The West San Carlos location is particularly useful because it handles volume purchases in addition to operating a traditional See's candy counter. You can create custom boxes or buy familiar chocolates, nuts and chews, truffles, lollipops and other candies.

See's also releases seasonal Halloween products, making it an easy middle ground between supermarket candy and expensive artisan chocolates.

See's Candies
1675 W. San Carlos Street
San Jose, CA 95128

Sugarfina

Sugarfina is technically more of a luxury candy boutique than a dedicated chocolate store, but it belongs on a Halloween sweets list. The Santana Row shop is known for small candy cubes, gift boxes and unusual sweets presented in polished packaging. The location offers custom gift arrangements and a "Design Your Own Bento" option, making it useful if you're creating Halloween gifts or favors rather than filling a giant neighborhood candy bowl. You can combine chocolates with gummies and other candies to build a more colorful Halloween spread.

This is a great place for sampling a bunch of different flavors, so I would choose a custom candy box with chocolate mixed with sour and gummy candy.

Sugarfina
378 Santana Row
San Jose, CA 95128
(669) 222-1100

Lolli & Pops

If you need both chocolate and regular Halloween candy, Lolli & Pops is one of the easiest options.

The Westfield Oakridge shop carries chocolate, gummies, nostalgic candy, international sweets and bulk pick-and-mix options. Customers also regularly mention harder-to-find sweets, including Japanese candy and unusual Kit Kat flavors. This is a good place to build a Halloween candy bar because you can buy several completely different types of sweets without visiting multiple stores. Fill separate bowls with chocolate, gummies, sour candy and nostalgic favorites and let guests create their own mix.

Lolli & Pops
925 Blossom Hill Road
Suite 1553
San Jose, CA 95123
(408) 225-2723

The Celtic Tea Shoppe

For something a little different, visit The Celtic Tea Shoppe. The small San Jose store combines a tea shop and bakery with handmade confectionery. Its candy offerings include traditional sweets, brittle and chocolate-based treats, including whiskey-flavored confections.

This is not where you go when you need 400 miniature candy bars. It is much better for a small Halloween gathering where you want interesting sweets with coffee or tea after dinner. Or to just grab some delicious treats all through the year.

Try the handmade fudge or brittle alongside hot tea on a cool October evening.

The Celtic Tea Shoppe
4432 Pearl Avenue, San Jose, CA 95136
(408) 267-7090

Chocolate Shops Just Outside San Jose

Westfield Valley Fair straddles the San Jose/Santa Clara area and has become an unusually good destination for serious chocolate shopping.

ROYCE Chocolate

This is my favorite place to go for Japanese chocolate

ROYCE' is best known for Nama Chocolate, a very soft, creamy Japanese chocolate that is closer to a fresh truffle than a typical candy bar. The shop also carries matcha chocolates, boxed assortments and other Japanese sweets. This is definitely adult Halloween-party chocolate rather than trick-or-treat candy unless you want to spend thousands on trick or treating.

ROYCE Chocolate
2855 Stevens Creek Boulevard
Westfield Valley Fair
(408) 352-5335

Venchi Chocolate & Gelato

Venchi combines an Italian chocolate shop with gelato, making it a fun destination even if you are not buying for a party. The store carries boxed chocolates along with the brand's chocolate-forward gelato and Chocoviar confections.

Venchi Chocolate & Gelato
2855 Stevens Creek Boulevard
Santa Clara, CA 95050

Läderach

Läderach is especially known for FrischSchoggi, which is basically large slabs of chocolate that are broken into pieces and sold by weight. Flavors often combine milk, dark or white chocolate with hazelnuts, almonds and other ingredients.

Buy several varieties, break them into smaller chunks and pile them onto a platter instead of serving individually wrapped candy.

Läderach
855 Stevens Creek Boulevard
Suite B215
Santa Clara, CA 95050
(480) 801-7760

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