Mörk Chocolate Brew House

Despite Mörk Chocolate’s concept store and brew house in North Melbourne being a coffee-free zone, its story is linked to the coffee bean.

Co-founders and partners Josefin Zernell and Kiril Shaginov come from a specialty coffee background, and the brew house is all about chocolate reigning supreme.

The warehouse attached to the concept store will make chocolate on site. The intricate process of importing, roasting and then refining is reflected in the cafe’s attention to detail – from the modern interior featuring bleached wood, clean grey tiles and gold accents, to the custom-made beakers and imported Japanese Arita porcelain. Even the sparkling water is infused with vanilla bean as a delicate palate cleanser.

While the space is intimate with 18 seats, the communal bench is inviting and the drinks are worthy of being sipped slowly. The Campfire Chocolate is a signature dish: a stemless Bordeaux glass filled with smoke from beech wood, a beaker of chocolate, smoked salt and a house-made toasted marshmallow.

There’s a Chocolate Soda, made with single-origin Madagascan milk chocolate (complete with bubbles and a straw), and the richer Layered Chocolate, with chilled dark chocolate topped with vanilla and orange Crema Catalana.

The menu offers small savoury items such as a Gruyère scroll, but all the food is designed to complement, and bring the focus back to, the chocolate.