In 2010, restauranteur Leon Ellis decided to open up Chocolat Restaurant and Bar located on Frederick Douglas and 120th street. There is no doubt that this is a location with an eclectic and diverse crowd that truly represents Harlem. Chocolat serves a delicious array soul food and contemporary American cuisine—with some international favorites thrown in here and there! I noticed a few Mediterranean influencers and a couple of Southern Italian classics that can’t be passed up!
Chocolat was opened in 2010 and quickly became a popular establishment known for its beautiful design and incredible food. It is often used for private parties as well and has plenty of room for a deejay and dancing. I got to visit yesterday for a filming of a commercial that included both food influencers and VIP customers. This was my first visit and I enjoyed every morsel that I put into my mouth.
From doing research online, you can see that many people love the fried chicken and waffles and this is a choice you cannot go wrong with. You get four pieces of chicken and four waffles, and just so you know, you can also get your chicken with Chocolat’s well-reviewed red velvet waffles. This is as good as fried chicken is going to get, and I was lucky enough to get all white meat without asking, which is my preference. This fried chicken is just so extremely juicy on the inside and golden and crispy on the outside!
I have no shame in eating two entrees so I also had to have the short ribs served over mashed potatoes and sided with sautéed spinach (topped with crispy onions). This is the dish that gets the most praise on Yelp after the chicken and waffles and rightfully so! It’s a huge slab of cognac soaked beef and it can satisfy even the hugest of appetites. There is extra brown sauce on the plate to dip your meat in, too!
We shared a couple of sides at my table which included the amazingly moist cornbread! This is some of the best the city has to offer and the side of melted maple butter makes you wish that you had 100 pieces to dip all day.
The wings, oven roasted in a sweet honey based BBQ sauce, are total “fire” as they say. The meat inside is juicy and falls right off the bone. These are amazing and are up there in my NYC’s Top 10 Best Chicken Wings list now!
We also shared the remarkable arugula salad which featured organic grape tomatoes and red onion. I strongly recommend this salad with one of Chocolat’s great pieces of grilled steak or salmon as the ultimate keto or Atkins meal. I personally went off my Atkins diet plan as you can tell from all my photos here, LOL!
Desserts are only served at night so to fill up that void we also shared the amazing beet salad which is full of delicious organic soft beets, pears and amazing farm fresh feta cheese—and then topped with a classic fresh lemony Greek EVOO dressing! I will be back for this on its own once I go back to healthy eating! I would want to eat this filling and soil satisfying salad whether I was trying to be healthy or not!
The commercial shooting went well without a hitch and you might just find me in it saluting my two foodie blogger pals with an Asian Pear Martini! This is both strong and fruity, and if you are a martini lover, I cannot recommend it highly enough! Chocolat is also famous for its chocolate martini and that seems to be the #1 pick of people reviewing Chocolat all over the internet.
To learn more about Chocolat Harlem, go to chocolatharlem.com. (By the way, Mr. Ellis is shown above mixing and mingling with blogger guests after our luncheon and you will probably meet him on your visit!) Prices at this classy eatery are medium to expensive but plates are big enough to share. This is one place you will never go hungry even if you just order an entree and nothing else. Reservations are recommended but not necessary and family dining is welcomed. This would be a lovely, light leisurely dining space to take long lost family members and out of town guests to because it has something for everyone!
