The oldest continuously run chocolate factory in the United States dates back to the Gold Rush, and even if it’s now owned by Lindt, a massive international company, it’s still a treat. The old-timey shop in historic Ghirardelli Square tempts tourists with hot fudge sundaes, and also sells conventional milk chocolate by the bar, bag, or box, along with adorable teddy bears. 

This sweet North Beach truffle shop has been supplying locals and tourists with chocolate since 1997, and owner Jean-Marc Gorce hands over any coffee or hot chocolate with a free sample. Fans love the dark chocolate dusted in cocoa, rolled toasted hazelnuts, soaked in cognac, or more than 26 other flavors.

Michael Recchiuti is a former musician turned confectioner, who set up shop in the Ferry Building in 1997 (the same year that his friend Scharffenberger blazed onto the local chocolate scene). He’s known for smooth and powerful dark chocolates inflected with fresh ingredients from the farmers’ market, from the lilt of lemon verbena to heady pink peppercorns.

This towering food emporium is six stories tall and 20,000 square feet, and from the cafe au lait and croissants to the fine dining cheese carts, everything is French. That includes a dedicated chocolate room, where, in healthy times, visitors can peek in on pastry chefs at work. For now, the retail shop on the ground floor is open, and it’s filled with a rainbow of confections.

Technically the one out-of-towner on this list, Christopher Elbow is based out of Kansas City, but these glittering luxury chocolates have a second home in Hayes Valley. Fancy chocolate fans love the handsome boxes and flavored “drinking” chocolates.

Dandelion is leading the new wave of craft chocolate, going beyond bean-to-bar claims, and digging into single origins — each bar of chocolate, wrapped up like a golden ticket, features one type of bean from one place. The dazzling new chocolate factory on 16th Street is closed temporarily, but the Valencia Street and Ferry Building outposts are still open, and they do offer online orders for local pickup and delivery.

This small shop in Noe Valley has been around since 1994, and has been wall-to-wall with craft chocolate ever since. Owner Jack Epstein doesn’t make chocolate, and he doesn’t shape chocolate, he just stocks chocolate, in an astonishing selection — he says that at any given time, he has more than 1,000 different bars from around the world. He also makes custom blue-and-white tins featuring SF street signs.

Shawn Williams is a former chef turned chocolatier, working out of a small operation in the Bayview. He’s known for the sea salt caramel, tucked into dark modern boxes, which can be spotted at many markets, bakeries, and coffee shops. But there’s also a retail shop attached to his facility, if fans want to go straight to the source.