BLU Boy Chocolate Cafe and Cakery

This cute little store has chocolates to die for, decadent pastries, great coffee, and wonderful ice cream. What more could you want? The only problem is their chocolates have spoiled me because they are so much better than the cheap stuff at the grocery store. The staff is always very friendly and very knowledgeable. The best desserts in Bloomington and the best chocolates in the whole state!

We stopped in here after dinner Wednesday night. I had planned to order the chocolate cake based on reviews here, but couldn’t pass up the pecan pie. It was a small slice, but just right for a little sweet dessert after dinner. I had decaf café au lait and my husband had a decaf Americano. We sat at one of the little tables in front. It was perfect!

My experience at BLU (located a few steps off the square in Bloomington) was brief but packed just the punch I was needing in that little sea salt caramel. BLU Boy is the kind of pit stop where you forget your diet, go for the chocolates, splurge on the cake and order a froo-​froo coffee drink. Oh, and while you’re at it, go for their made-​in-​house ice cream (because your cake is lonely without it).
The space has a few tables if you’re looking to have a meeting or stick around.

The guys who run this place came to my chocolate class (you heard me) when I was still a student at IU. They really know their craft and I believe things have only improved. I always get the chocolate cake. The cake itself is dense, while the «frosting» is incredibly light. Neither is overly sweet and complement each other well. I consider it a culinary masterpiece and will have it at my wedding. Good job guys.

I’m dropping a star from my previous review because on this visit my brownie was pre-​packaged which is disappointing. Flavor was good but a lot of the brownie was stuck on the wrapper and frankly, if I wanted pre-​packaged baked goods I would buy them at a grocery store.

This place makes me glad that I don’t live here because I would be a fatty and the dangerous part would be that I wouldn’t care. hahaha… Well, my wallet would care. I guess I won’t be that much of a fatty.
I guess I’ll start from there. Most of their desserts are almost $ 5 (this ranges, of course… a cookie is around the $ 2 mark). Each chocolate is $ 2. It is not cheap. I got a cup of skim milk because I wanted milk and that was $ 2. I can get an organic gallon of milk for the same price as a slice of cake.
That aside… the shop is a cute, small little place in downtown. I walked by it before, but didn’t think much. It ‘s called «BLU Boy». Chocolates and baked goods did NOT pop into my mind. Then I saw the name again when I browsed on Unilocal.Then I read the page. Then I decided that I MUST visit. After all, the people behind the place had a thing for DARK chocolate. I LOVE DARK CHOCOLATE. I pretty much just love chocolate, but I don’t like desserts that are too sweet — so dark fits the bill. Too sweet desserts are always a concern for me in the States, where most desserts seem to be infused with sugar… and then coated in it with sprinkles on top for good measure.
I walked in as one of the employees finished wiping down the windows. It was around 4:30 PM. I think it was around shift changing time because people came in then out and then into the back. They didn’t have any uniforms so at first, I thought they were bringing in friends… but then they started talking about work, reminding each other what needed to be done still, haha.
The display area is small, but enough. There was a section just for chocolate to the left. Then there was a section for baked goods on the right ranging from crème brûlée to macarons (only 2 flavors offered… I only remembered one of them contained elderflower) and a ricotta cake (recommended to me) along with their usual chocolate cake. They also had a cheesecake, which she said they usually don’t have. The place even had ice cream! I decided to go «traditional»: a slice of chocolate cake with a cup of skim milk.
I placed my goodies on one of the tall «bar» tables. It was wobbly. As I moved, it moved and made my milk splash. That was when I found out they had a self serve station where I got napkins to wipe the spilled milk. At this point, the girl who helped me went somewhere and I was pretty much alone in the front. She actually came back as soon as I finished cleaning up, haha. The good thing is that most of my milk did stay in the cup. :) I was a little paranoid that I would need the milk to counter the sweetness of the cake.
The cake. The cake was amazing. Not sweet at all and it consisted of 3 layers of chocolate goodness. It wasn’t bitter, but it was dark. Moist and somewhat dense, but not brownie-​like. It wasn’t all that sweet. In fact, I could have passed on the milk and been okay. It was covered in this light whipped «frosting» cream that also used this bittersweet chocolate and was dusted with unsweetened cocoa powder. It wasn’t too chocolately and gave the perfect balance to the cake. The first ever cake I ever purchased that wasn’t too sweet and didn’t come from an Asian bakery! I never thought the day would come… It wasn’t the biggest slice so I wouldn’t say the portion fits the price, but if they use the good stuff (really good chocolate comes at a price), I guess I could let it go. From the taste, I wouldn’t be surprised if they did.
I sort of wish I could try their other goodies. I was tempted by that ricotta cake they had. They also had a somewhat steady stream of customers who bought cookies and ice cream… but all to go. I stayed there for a lot longer than I suppose most of their customers stay, because the girl kept on checking up on me while she did things in the back. I even started to feel like I HAD to leave, but I had come to try out the place, get my sugar fix, and waste some time, so I didn’t budge until a bit over 30 minutes (maybe even 40 minutes) later.
Service: Friendly but only just enough to get their job done. Helpful when asked for recommendations because everything looked divine.
Cleanliness: Appears to be pretty clean, so no complaints.
Place in General: Small but cute. Not good for large groups… Desperately need to fix that table.
Food: Stupendous. I would definitely try to drop by on occasion if I live here. As it was, I got my chocolate cake and after dinner, dropped by again ten minutes before they closed to grab a slice to-​go for my Hubby. He’s one of those «as long as it’s edible, I’ll eat it» kind of guys… but I’m sure he’ll appreciate it. If not, I will appreciate my second slice, two days in a row.
Drink: Milk is milk is milk. :)

They are beside theatre in downtown area, they have the best crème brûlée by far ! I’m a huge fan of crème brûlée!

I ordered a cake for my roomie’s birthday, and IT WAS AWESOME!!! Tastes sooooo good!!! The vanilla and coconut buttercream are fantastic, not sweet as hell like some bakery does… LOVE IT!!! I definitely will order another in the future~

Cute little chocolate factory that serves some nice chocolate drinks, coffee, dessert and various fresh chocolate pieces. Good service and lots of stuff for chocolate lovers…

I have been here a few times before and today stopped in on a Thursday afternoon around 4:30 p.m.
The previous times that I have been here I have always gotten something to go, but today I decided to sit awhile at one of the four small tables available.
The shop is small, but it definitely is cute with large windows that allow you to look out at the street. It’s location is also pretty ideal as well since it’s right on Kirkwood and near many other cool attractions if you are spending the day or evening walking around.
Today I got a pistachio macaron, which was pink for some reason, even though I associate pistachios with the color green. I would give it 3 stars – it was a bit too sweet for me and I prefer the macarons at Feast.
I have sampled the chocolates before though which were pretty good and in general this place has a lot of local charm which makes me want to overlook the sugariness of my macaron.
Come check it out and see for yourself.

Great food, great people. Excellent place to sit and enjoy a coffee or tea on a cold day.
Don’t complain about the price, you’re getting what you pay for.

This place has such fabulous French Macaroons that for a while, I would stop by here every single day to buy some. Unfortunately, one day I suddenly ‘maxed out’ on them, and I can’t eat them anymore now, but this is the place to get them, they’re the best. They also have beautiful chocolates that are hand decorated and which make the perfect host-​gift. Downside is that they’re pretty overpriced. I wouldn’t buy them for myself to eat. If you’re staying for drinks, try a pastry and a salted caramel latte. Mmm.
However — I don’t get Blu Boy’s response to another Unilocaler here. They most definitely used to sell a pear tart, I’ve had it several times myself. And as for their claim that they don’t sell tarts at all, other reviewers here also mention tarts, as does their own website.

One of my favorite hot chocolates I have ever had. I loved the richness, and that it wasn’t too sweet. I want to go back to try some of the desserts!

No visit to Bloomington is complete without a stop at BLU Boy. I love that they use local ingredients. I love that they make real buttercream. I love that they put thought into everything they create. I have been so impressed with this store, that my husband and I ordered our wedding cake from them four years ago.
Today my husband and I both had the honey ice cream and friends (adults and children) had the mudslide ice cream. There were no complaints, just the regular praises BLU Boy always gets from us.

The crème brûlée is delicious. Price is pretty steep for such a small serving (maybe ½ cup) at about 5 bucks after tax. I’m still trying to decide if it is worth the price. All I know was it tasted pretty darn good.
My sister got their cheesecake and it was good, less sweet and more of a cream cheese taste but good.

These guys did our fantastic wedding cake back when they were working out of what’s now the House Bar. And the occasional truffle over the ensuing five years have kept our marriage happy. So glad to see they’re doing well at their Kirkwood location. These guys know how to make the chocolate the star.

This place seems to create a lot of divided opinions. I suppose it may depend on your taste in desserts.
I personally love dark, not-​very-​sweet chocolate, at which Blu Boy excels. I have never had any of the cakes, although a salted caramel brownie transported me to heaven for a solid hour or so. The truffles are perfect — bitter, sweet, just the right amount of rum, amazing texture. This is a place that knows to use real butter and not to oversweeten their desserts. Best chocolate I’ve ever had? I can’t say for sure, but absolutely the best chocolate anywhere NEAR Bloomington.

Sweet baby Jesus, BLU Boy is amazing. Their mudslide cookies and chocolate chip cookies will keep me coming back forever. They have great coffee, the handmade chocolates and truffles are a treat for the eyes as well as the nose and taste buds, and their house-​made ice cream is some of the best I’ve ever had.
They also have some of the consistently friendliest staff anywhere in Bloomington.

I ordered a chocolate cake for a kid’s birthday, the service was good and since i have never been to the bakery, the person who took my order over the phone described in details what the cake was like and made of, so i had a pretty good idea what it would be.
Though I asked if i can use ganache in place of the buttercream, but the guy didn’t seem to understand what i said… =/​
But I thought it was a bit pricey for the quality/​size of the cake.
Don’t get me wrong, the cake is good, but it wasn’t outstandingly spectacular that I could justify the price, nor the quality of the chocolate used in the cake was all that out in the world.
I would say they are good quality ingredients like you would find from cakes from other good bakeries. but i don’t think other good bakeries charge you as much. Not too sure if it was the lack of competition in Bloomington that drove up the price…
have the regular french roast dripped coffee here as well when i picked up the cake. it was kinda water down in my opinion. but may be i am used to darker coffee (but isn’t french roast a dark roast?!)

Great chocolates and pastries. I’ve enjoyed several of the chocolates they offer and was recently impressed with two cupcakes (can’t remember exactly, I think it was a chocolate/​peanut butter and a blueberry). In either case, both were fantastic.
Would definitely recommend it.