Pierre Marcolini

Excellent. Les financiers were gorgeous and tasty and the chocolates were delicious. #belgian

Pricy chocolates but oh so good. Need to try their chocolate gelato but that’s on my to-​do list. Chocolates are so good.

Ordered a cacao bowl. If you don’t like sweet too much, then this may be the good one for you. If you are soft ice cream lover, you may not like this. Just like some people says, it filled with a lot of granola, banana and dry fruits. You get a half the portion filled with the dark chocolate soft cream with sprinkles of cacao nibs. If you don’t care for granola, I recommend to get something else like smoothed as I heard that their smoothes are super good! This bowl works for me as I love crunchy granola and dark chocolate, also I prefer lass sweet for the desert. The taste of the ice cream was extremely satisfying! Again, For my taste… I don’t like sweet desert much…
— 1 star for the price. Considering that the half of the cup is filled with the granola, I would not pay $ 10. The cacao nib is pretty expensive, but I would be happy to pay for $ 7 for the portion.

Super pricey ice cream that is worth the trip!
I went with a friend to try the Cacao bowl (for $ 9.50ish). It’s like an acai bowl but instead of healthy smoothie, picture smooth, velvet dark chocolate soft serve. YUM. I think what made this Hawaii exclusive bowl so awesome was the collection of textures and flavors. Just the dark chocolate soft serve is decadent but might feel like too much.
The cacao bowl was topped with crunchy cacao beans– bitter for some but I loved it! There was also homemade granola and banana slices hidden at the bottom. Call me crazy but the best contrast was the sour flavor of dried cranberries with the sweet dark chocolate.
Needless to say, it was perfect to share with a friend. Let’s be honest– what isn’t better with a friend?!

I had to get some favors for a dinner party and decided to try this place out. I purchased a 2 piece chocolate box which was actually very classy looking but the chocolate itself wasn’t anything special. I got a dark chocolate piece and red heart combo. I’ve had better tasting chocolate but maybe it’s just me. FYI a piece a chocolate will cost you 2.5 bucks.

Really disappointed with the cacao bowl ($ 9.95). It looks gorgeous but included a disproportionately small serving of chocolate soft serve with almost triple the amount of granola and dried fruit. It was chewy and hard to finish and I had to ration my soft serve. I’m not sure if it was the person who made it (it took a very long time to come out with only one other person in the store after me) but at that price, I’ll wait a while to try it again. For those craving a chocolate dessert here, a better choice may be the chocolate soft serve in a cone ($ 7) since the soft serve itself is good.
Not the best experience, but here’s what I really like about this place. Boxed chocolates are understandably expensive but you can buy individual chocolates for about $ 2.50 per piece. They make great surprise gifts (two fit in a cute box) and the chocolates are luxurious.

After reading Rod U’s review I had to check out Pierre Marcolini! I’ve try to curb my sweet tooth but when I become fixated on something I’ve found it’s best to feed my inner dessert monster. After much thought I ordered the cacao bowl for $ 9.50. It’s a Hawaii exclusive and their version of an acai bowl. The bowl is soft serve chocolate on a bed of sliced bananas and granola, topped with roasted cacao beans. I shared with a friend and it was the perfect size for two people. I’m glad that I chose the cacao bowl as opposed to a cone with soft serve chocolate because I enjoyed all the textures and flavor of the ingredients. Roasted cacao nibs might not be for everyone’s palate but I looooove the crunchy bitterness which contrasts the sweet soft serve and bananas. We sat out on the small patio right outside the store and it’s a great way to take a break from life.

I’ve had my share of expensive chocolate, but this place is no doubt the most expensive chocolate shop I’ve been too so far. The prices did scare me a bit, which is why I don’t know if the chocolate is worth these prices because I didn’t buy any. What I did buy was some kind of dark chocolate drink. Though very pricey for the size purchased (it looked more like a sample cup), this had to be the most refreshing dark chocolate drink I’ve ever tasted. Loved the rich flavors! This mini and expensive drink has made a big enough impact where I’ll surely find myself back here again.

Cacao bowl for around $ 8, give or take–
Underneath: granola, bananas. Lotsa air. Felt like filler, as if the size of the cup deceived me.
Atop: cranberries, various nuts, some errant granola flakes.
Inside: Dark chocolate ice cream (around 2 scoops, if this were a 31 flavors or the like), a little grainy from the ice, not too bitter, not too sweet.
Not too… sure, frankly.
Could be, I got lazy, and had been waiting by the balcony in front of the store, spacey from the crush of holiday crowds that enervated the mall at this time of the year, progressively becoming grossed out by the droppings/​drippings of chocolate remains splattered upon the tiled floor, chairs, and table tops. How hard is it to consume chocolate ice cream without dribbling the high-​end stuff all around you, tourist brahs and beyotches? Geez.
Normally, I’d be pushing my husband to rush on out after purchase, making sure the ice cream didn’t have that much time to melt, before we engaged it with the plastic spoons, taking turns. He tends to amble about, taking his time, like the tortoise in the bunny-​hare race. Maybe that’s why its mouthfeel, while pleasant, felt a little, I dunno, softened and warmed up, not that interesting, even with the various ingredients for added texture and crunch. Should it have been ice-​blast, polar-​bear-​ass cold?
Maybe the dark chocolate flavor lacked the bite I’d hoped for? Or my country-​girl palate’s too crude for high-​end cacao creamed with white sugar and bovine breast milk and nitrogen (or whatever they use to mix the stuff)? Not sure.
When the store first opened, I walked in and asked the staff which chocolates were created from non-​GMO or organically grown beans, which were made without dairy, etc. The young clerk looked at me as if I had grown tentacles out of my butt, and, after I explained to her what that meant several times, had to consult her supervisor, a Japanese or Asian national who apologized profusely before saying they don’t do that sort of thing. Really? At a newly upscaled section of the mall, no employee training for such questions? Then I realized I’d actually taken a trip back in time, to before people had thought about such things as sustainable farming methods and vegan cooking techniques. Woo-​hoo, EuroAmerica of the 1950s!
Maybe I’m such a fan of locally or organically sourced, Latin-​American-​indigenous-​culinary-​tradition-​influenced, largely vegan, eco-​friendly, small-​farm-​based, single-​origin chocolates. [Hiya, Madre and Manoa and co.!] They don’t rely upon being drowned in mass-​agriculturally drawn cow milk or processed white sugar for flavor – these flatten the spicy regional taste of the beans into creamy-​sugary blandness. The so-​called «old-​school,» European stuff leaves me cold. Belgian choco is colonialist, First-​World, last-​century sh*t. Like Precious Moments ceramics dolls, it’s an art form, yes, but there’s a reason the rest of the world – the 99% – is returning to older, sustainable forms of chocolate making. Those versions are tastier, cleaner, and healthier in every way.
At any rate: M-​E-​H.

I tried the white chocolate pineapple drink. It was in a small cup and it was more like softserve ice cream. It was ok. I want to try the dark chocolate drink next time.

I finally got to check out the new Ewa wing at Ala Moana today and I finally got to try the chocolate at Pierre Marcolini. I first heard of Pierre Marcolini from Rod U’s review and ever since then I’ve been eager to visit the store.
First off, this place is expensive for chocolate. However, you can taste the quality and I was happy to pay a premium for this. Since I went on a weekday the store wasn’t too crowded and the employee was able to go over the different types of chocolates and what makes them so unique. There is a limited shelf life of the chocolate (about two weeks) so the earlier it’s eaten the better. I was originally going to give chocolate to my parents for Christmas… but I decided to just give it to them early to make sure they got to taste the chocolate at its freshest… while also eating some of the chocolate haha. I tried the chocolate piece with the Pierre Marcolini name on the top, the white chocolate heart, and shared the Frozen Chocoramble. The chocolate was so rich and was very satisfied after just one piece, but I had to try the white chocolate as well. The Frozen Chocoramble was really good and had a great dark chocolate bitter taste as the employee told us they use pieces of dark chocolate and just blend it with ice!
Pierre Marcolini has some of the best tasting chocolate I’ve had. This store is also special as it’s the only one in the United States! This is a great place to satisfy any chocolate cravings.

Very poor customer service. Yes, granted that the ingredients might be a little on the high end, you would think that the workers would actually care about their job and their reputation. Girl never smiled, don’t remember if she even said ‘thank you’ once. Also, it seemed like there was one person in the back making all the orders and while workers were waiting outside… they we just leaning against the table like they didn’t care if there were customers in the store or not. I guarantee you this, if you continue to act like that, no one will buy anything from this place.
we order the chocolate yogurt with the dried fruit and granola. it had a lot of crunchy pieces of dried fruit that made it hard to eat. They don’t you or describe it… in the picture, it just looks like soft serve ice cream with chocolate pieces.
then we also had the white chocolate with pineapple. it was an interesting combination. For $ 7, i’d expect a little more than a tiny 10 ounce cup.

I love French desserts, so when I found out there was a chocolatier shop that just opened in the ewa wing, I had to try it out for myself. First of all, the shop is clean and pristine. The chocolat displayed was pieces of art, and looked like masterpieces framed on a wall in a museum:) It just looked too beautiful to eat.
Well I had to try the soft serve that people were raving about. I was given the option of it being in a cup or house made waffle cone. Duh! Waffle cone!!! Ding!!!Ding! Ding! I believe it was about 7.50. That sounds steep, but that’s the price for quality ingredients… perhaps shipped from France.
Ok people don’t be upset with me… I thought it was overly sweet, and the chocolate was just too intense for my taste buds. The flavor may not be a bother to someone else, but for me, I felt I had to stop fifty percent into my soft serve. However, the waffle cone was divine with a great crunch factor and buttery taste. I’ll try their cacao vanilla option next time.
I’ll come back to purchase their chocolat. They make wonderful gifts as Christmas gets closer.

OR. GASM: A climax of sexual excitement, characterized by feelings of pleasure centered in the the thing that starts with a GEN and ends with LS and in men experienced as an accompaniment to the thing that starts with the letters EJ and ends with ION…
CHOC.ASM: That arousing feeling you get when you walk into a high end Chocolaterie and see definitions of Chocolate that you never knew existed and then see a Dark Chocolate Soft Serve on the menu that will cost you almost eight dollars and after the first lick gives you this feeling that will curl your toes knowing that this was by far the BEST TASTING Chocolate Soft Serve I had ever had in my entire life.
Pierre Marcolini is a high end Chocolaterie that had just opened a few weeks ago in the new Ewa Wing of the Ala Moana Shopping Center. For all you Chocolate Lover’s out there, this is place you have to experience if you are willing to shell out the big bucks for perhaps the finest Chocolate you will ever taste here in The Aloha State.
There are only a handful of the Brussels Based Pierre Marcolini Chocolaterie’s around the world such as London, Kuwait, Tokyo, Kuwait, Luxembourg, and a few other places to mention which makes Hawaii one of the few lucky places to even have a place of this caliber and that is very unusual to say the least.
I can actually admit that I am no Chocolate Expert but I really love how they use Cacao Beans from around the world to make the best Chocolates possible for people to enjoy but I find the prices for these Chocolates to be a little too rich for my budget.
But if there is something you have to at least try here is the Dark Chocolate Soft Serve here at Pierre Marcolini. It is pretty steep at seven dollars but all I can say is that after you try this, you will never look at another Soft Serve the same way again. The Dark Chocolate Flavor of this Soft Serve is so pronounced and intense it’s hard to believe they could make something so amazing in a Soft Serve.
It’s kind of like eating a Soft Serve in Japan or perhaps in Paris France where something this good fits the surroundings. It was so damn good that I had to come back here a few days later and make sure that this Soft Serve was just as good as the first time and you know what?
I had a CHOC. ASM not once but TWICE!!!
All I can say is that if you got pockets as deep as the Pacific Ocean then you have got to come to come to Pierre Marcolini and experience this once in a lifetime Chocolate Encounter.
As for me, I’m going to have to recycle two more full garbage bags of empty water bottles to get my CHOC. ASM fix once again…

Bonjour! Quoi de neuf?
What is up with…
PIERRE MARCOLINI!
«All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.» — Charlie Brown
The above quote pretty much summarizes the premier confections of this fine chocolatier shop, with origins from Brussels, even though it sounds so French, Oui, Oui! Pierre Marcolini is the award winning pastry chef that is known world-​wide by chocolate aficionados everywhere!
The secret of the success is in the fantastic creativity by this master chocolatier. In his chocolates you find not only more unusual fruit, such as apple, pear, blackcurrent and melon but also ingredients such as pepper, chestnut, tonka beans and even patchouli, sandalwood and oak. Apart from a wide variety of chocolates, sweets and cakes, which often come in the form of seasonal collections, Pierre Macolini also offers a very rich soft-​serve chocolat’ (in cone or cup) that would make even Juliette Binoche drool in envy. I came in here specifically for this treat…
It is located on the 3^rd level of the brand-​spanking new Ewa wing of Ala Moana Shopping Center, a couple doors down from Bloomingdale’s. I came in on the 2^nd day they were open, so many patrons were more curious than anything. Many not knowing anything about this «European See’s Candies». The place is clean, straight, and almost OCD-​ish in décor. After a minute of staring at the chocolates I find the tail-​end of the line. It seems that 3 of the 4 in front of me are also getting the soft-​serve chocolat’… My turn! I order the Euro chocolat’ in a crisp waffle cone and the order taker goes to the back to scoop/​pour it. I then pay the $ 7.33 for my fancy schmancy cone! In a couple minutes it is brought to the counter on a chrome stand for my visual enjoyment! I have to admit it was a tad steep for a simple ice cream cone, but once I saw it I knew instantly this was no Meadow Gold! After a few photo op moments I claim my cone and dig in! Lick, lick, lick, nibble, lick. Silky smooth! Done! Oui! Not much in terms of quantity, but if you’re into supreme quality, you will notice how rich the Pierre chocolat’ really is… Oui, Oui… I recommend…
PIERRE MARCOLINI!
It’s definitely more high-​end, but a nice treat for those willing to try something different, once in awhile. It’s delicious, trust. Just don’t expect Hersey’s Kisses prices… Like I said, once in awhile. I’ll be back when I’m feeling down and just need some extra chocolat’ lov’n! Remember my mantra for a good life comes from Charlie Brown: «All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.» Oh, how true! Next time I might try one of those chocolat’ shakes though, or maybe splurge a little on a hand-​crafted chocolat’ piece, or a dozen. Mmm.
À tout à l’heure! Au revoir!

La révolution de chocolat est arrivée! (The chocolate revolution has come)
Finally, Hawaii has been blessed with having its first luxury chocolate store from master chocolatier and World Class Pâtissier, Pierre Marcolini. This new store is located in Ala Moana Center’s new Ewa Wing, 3^rd floor, next to Gloria Jean’s Coffees.
I am a chocoholic and have been fortunate to have my tastebuds delighted by the works from other master chocolatiers such as Jacques Torres, François Payard, Vosges, Teuscher and La Maison du Chocolat. So, when I heard that Belgium’s Pierre Marcolini was opening a store I rushed down to check it out. Well, on the Ewa Wing’s Grand Opening Day, pretty much all of the new stores were jammed packed with people trying to sample or explore so I waited a couple of days before trying to go into this shop or perhaps I should refer to it as a «Chocolate Boutique».
The chocolates are exquisite as they represent the highest quality, use carefully selected and tasted cacao beans and blends them with other fine ingredients to produce creative confectioneries. Pierre Marcolini features single-​origin cacao «caraques» from 7 cacao regions, soft serve cacao bowl (ice cream), limited-​edition sables (French shortbread), and various creative chocolate collections that are sold by weight. Because this is a «Haute Chocolaterie», expect that your wallet may be in for a shock. The sales associates are all very polite and helpful.
We ended up buying a box (12) of the French sablés which were out of this World buttery rich, delicate, melt-​in-​your-​mouth cookies that paired well with its half-​dip of fine chocolate. They killed any efforts of dieting but our tastebuds could only exclaim joy.
#469

I am definitely a fan of chocolate. What woman isn’t it? I was excited to see this place although I had never heard of Pierre Marcolini before. Walking in, I immediately eyed out the soft serve chocolate ice cream. Got one of those and one Cacao Bowl plus an iced tea. For some reason the lady at the cashier made our order extra confusing. I really don’t know why. We just ordered 3 things. Well anyway when she finally did get our order down, we waited. Not too long as I’ve heard some others had to wait. But they did almost give our ice cream away to another customer! Place is still new so I understand but really it wasn’t that busy at the time we went.
The soft serve itself was delish! Perfect if you are having a chocolate craving. Only downside is that it’s pretty pricey for just ice cream. $ 7 for a cone. And it wasn’t a very big one. Oh well I enjoyed eating it! Haven’t tried their chocolate pieces yet but will have to go back and give it another chance!

Finally!!! I’ve been waiting for a premium chocolatier to open in Hawaii. I visited this store on their second day of business, and it was a great experience. The store is nice, modern and open. Their current merchandise include hawaii exclusive chocolate dipped cookie gift boxes, solid chocolate boxes, individual pieces, chocolate shakes and soft serve.
The quality is amazing. What I liked the most is the flavor of the cacao. The pieces I’ve had were not super sweet, sugary or creamy, but just right.
The sales associates were very polite. I believe the store manager, older gentleman was the one helping me choose pieces from their case. After I made my initial purchase, I sat outside and indulged in a few bites. Soon after, I returned to try their chocolate shake. Although very prices at $ 7.50, it is worth it. Every sip was so enjoyable. I will definitely be back to sample more of their offerings.
One thing I hope does change is their availability of individual peices. Currently they only offer a handful to choose from. I think their hawaii exclusive chocolate pieces would sell really well, if offered individually. Hopefully they get busy enough to expand their product line to offer more.

This chocolatier controls his product from start to finish with some exclusive sources. He is almost fanatical about his chocolate. The finished product is about more than novelty flavors — the pieces are small but intense in flavor.
Almond slivers in milk chocolate — Rocher Lait — were simple but good. Croustillant Lait — a caramelized almond nougatine covered in milk chocolate was a favorite. These items are sold by the gram — .25 per gram or about two dollars per piece.
There are also limited edition French shortbread cookies — called sables — that I wish were sold individually. They look really tempting.
Special chocolate. But not for everyone at their price points.

Oh yeah! Take that SF, LA, and Vegas. We got our’s first!
From the capitol of EU, headquarters of NATO, home of the greatest beers, chocolate, and the peeing boy (Manneken Pis — look it up if you don’t believe me) comes Pierre Marcolini.
Pierre Marcolini is simply put, one of the best chocolatiers in the world. His claim to fame, showcasing the terroir of cocoa beans from different countries.
Serious chocolate lovers know, it’s not about the delicate, decorated truffles and beautiful nutty creations but rather about pure, unadulterated bits of chocolate. Dark preferably. Contrary to established belief that the higher the percentage of cocoa the better the final product, instead Marcolini focuses on lower levels to bring out the different flavor profiles. 72% seems to be the magical number.
And what great chocolates they are. Sampled in Brussels a few years ago, the grand crus were unbelievable (I actually kept tasting notes). Those from Madagascar tasted different from those of Java. Flavors of citrus peel, apricots, bananas, a tartness to one, a bitterness to another, floral overtones to all. Mind blowing.
Drooling yet?
Sadly the Honolulu boutique does not yet have the entire selection of chocolate «tablets» but it does have an assortment of pralines, and wonderful chocolate filled ganache (the namesake is mind blowing with deep, brooding chocolate flavors touched by a bit of vanilla, the ganache with lime so vibrant, the acidity enhancing the citrus overtones of the chocolate). Do not pass on the best macadamia nut chocolates you ever will have. That’s all I’ll say about these little balls of heaven. Sweetness of all the chocolate is very well controlled.
Tip: Consume your purchases quickly and NEVER refrigerate them. The longer you keep them, the more the intensity and delicate flavors are lost. Place them in a wine storage unit if you must. Then again, I doubt they will last that long.
Prices are what they are at this level. Let’s just say, this isn’t Hershey’s.
Service is a little hurried but knowledgable. The number of customers trying this new location is overwhelming at the moment.
Once again, the world gets smaller. La belle vie!