Brookline has a new source for all things chocolate. In December, L.A. Burdick opened its third Boston-area location in Coolidge Corner. Located in the former Allium Market space on Beacon Street, the cozy café serves its famous hot chocolates, baked goods, espresso, handmade truffles, and more.
“It’s being utilized just as we hoped,” says Fraser Currie, director of retail operations at L.A. Burdick. “People come to enjoy themselves. Take a seat. Bring the family and friends. Have a good natter. Enjoy a cake and a drink.”
The Brookline location is spacious and airy. Longtime L.A. Burdick lovers will recognize that the café’s signature stripes have been updated to brighter colors. The design has a slightly chicer, more contemporary feel compared to the older locations in Harvard Square and Back Bay.
“In Brookline you’ve still got the independent shops, you’ve still got so much diversity,” says Currie. “It’s really still community-oriented with great people, great personality as an area. I think it’s absolutely perfect.”
Chocolate lovers can order at the counter or enjoy table service for cups of steaming hot chocolate, slices of cake, or morning croissants. The shop also offers a substantial retail section for picking up birthday and hostess gifts.
Currie, a cake traditionalist, recommends sampling the Burdick cake, a layered creation of almond japonaise and dark chocolate ganache with a hint of rum. The cake is one of several gluten-free options offered at the café.
The brand is best known for its gourmet drinking chocolates, which come in light, milk, dark, and spicy dark chocolate flavors. They’re hard to beat on a blustery Brookline day.
L.A. Burdick has seven locations in the United States. The brand launched in 1987 when Larry Burdick, a chocolatier trained in the Swiss tradition, decided to bring the art of fine chocolate to the United States. In the European style, the chocolates made at L.A. Burdick center on the cocoa bean as the primary ingredient rather than added sugar.
All of the chocolate for the Massachusetts cafes is handmade by a team in Walpole led by head chocolatier Michael Klug. The details on Burdick’s beloved chocolates (they’re famously known for the chocolate mice) are all done by hand. Currie says the small team makes tens of thousands of chocolates in the weeks leading up to major holidays like Christmas and Valentine’s Day, but the commitment to quality is strong.
“People are doing a labor of love in Walpole with respect to the creation of what is an artistic endeavor,” says Currie. “The least we can do in the cafes is try and measure up to that in how we serve people in the environment we protect and maintain.”
