Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery is a tasty and accessible spot to stop when driving the Great Ocean Road. We liked it so much we visited twice.
On our drive south on the Great Ocean Road we popped into the chocolaterie and ice creamy for morning tea, chocolate lollipop making and a chocolate tasting. It may have only been 9:15am but we game for trying it all. It turned into the most delicious stop of our drive and also one of the most accessible. And don’t think it’s not worth the stop if you have dietary requirements, because we discovered Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery caters well to those too.
Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery
If Willy Wonka lived in Victoria, his address would be 1200 Great Ocean Road, Bellbrae, home of the Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery. This site is overwhelming to the senses but in the best possible way. The walls lined with chocolate are inviting and visually appealing.
I was reduced to being a kid in a candy store as I selected gifts for family members, a treat or two for us and even some doggie treats for a family member’s fur-baby. Everything is presented beautifully and the items suitable for gifts are really well priced.
My inner child was totally unleashed when we each had the opportunity to make our own chocolate lollipop. Fresh chocolate was poured and an array of lollies (candy/sweets) lined the table ready for us to choose and use to decorate our lollipops. The bench height allowed Braeden to assist from his wheelchair and to be involved in the process.
Everyone enjoyed this activity and I found it amusing to see the different decorating styles and the chocolate load Hubby managed to squeeze onto his lollipop. It was the heaviest of all the lollipops by a mile.
Lollipop making is available on set dates and bookings need to be made. You can read more on the Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery website.
A spacious cafe and outdoor dining area offers visitors the chance to fuel up for the drive. Braeden indulged in a delicious piece of carrot cake and Hubby loved his decadent hot chocolate, complete with mini-whisk for mixing. We had quite a large breakfast before arriving so I couldn’t squeeze in any food, but there was an array of great choices. Trying an ice cream is on my list when I visit again. Visitors can enjoy breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea at the cafe.
Pets are welcome to accompany you to the cafe but must remain on a lead and in the outdoor area of the cafe.
For families looking for a place to break up a road trip, Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery is ideal. With a large outdoor area to burn off steam, cute animals to admire and a little chocolate or ice cream, everyone will get back in the car refreshed.
We were treated to a chocolate tasting and even I reached my chocolate limit after what I considered a generous amount of chocolate to savour. Critzie, was our tasting host and she dazzled us with information about the various chocolates, cocoa beans and varieties of chocolate produced by Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie. As much as I am a chocolate-lover, I wouldn’t say I’m a connoisseur, so I was interested to hear about single origin cocoa from Papua New Guinea which is popular because of its smokey flavour. The volcanoes in the area contribute to the smokey flavour of the cocoa beans.
Chocolate tastings occur throughout the day at set times for a small fee ($4 per person at the time of writing). It’s both an interesting and tasty experience.
Dietary restrictions are well catered to with diabetic friendly chocolate, vegan chocolate, no added sugar and dairy intolerances. There’s a chocolate for just about everyone.
With such an overwhelming number of products and varieties of treats on offer, the tasting was a great way of identifying our favourites and items we felt would be popular with family members too. It was also just a delicious way to start the day.
If you don’t have time for a dedicated tasting with multiple products, visitors are also treated to a small scoop of chocolate buttons of your choosing, including white, dark and milk chocolate. On our second visit I had the white chocolate buttons and they were delicious.
And through a window in the shop you can see the real life Oompa Loompas at work preparing the next fresh batch of deliciousness.
Clean bathroom facilities are provided including a unisex stand-alone accessible bathroom. This is the first place in Australia I’ve seen a squat toilet provided which I assume is catering to the many overseas visitors from Asia that take the Great Ocean Road drive and stop in for the cafe or chocolate gifts.
Accessibility is great throughout with step-free entry through automatic glass doors, wide aisles providing good circulation for wheelchair users, prams and walkers. Even when it was busy, we were able to move around with Braeden’s wheelchair with ease.
Four accessible parking spaces are available in the car park.
We were hosted for our visit at Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery, but as always, our opinions are our own and hopefully all the delicious chocolate pictured speaks for itself.
To plan your visit, check the events calendar or to indulge in an online purchase, visit the Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery website.
If you are travelling the Great Ocean Road you might like our other reviews –
Tips on visiting the Twelve Apostles
