The oldest continuously run chocolate factory in the United States dates back to the Gold Rush, though it’s now owned by Lindt, a massive international company. Their chocolate is contestable at times, but it’s the destination chocolate company in San Francisco. A warm day spent at Ghirardelli Square with the iconic hot fudge sundae is tough to top.

This North Beach truffle shop has supplied 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, and as of 2021 three vegan options, too.

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.

Topogato’s buddy comedy-in-the-making owners Simon Brown and Beau Monroe keep dishing out delectable delights. Brown’s talent shines through their creations, like coconut passionfruit bars that look more like art pieces than candies, and Monroe’s keen eye for design makes them thoughtful gifts for the Valentine’s and beyond. The business is entirely online, but pickup is available at Lower Haight shop Her Urban Herbs. They also ship nationwide.

Kokak is the newest addition to this list, opening post-pandemic in 2020. And thank goodness — the Castro could use a fresh new storefront, especially one with such sweet treats. Kokak means “ribbit” in the Filipino language, and chocolatier Carol Gancia plays up childhood nostalgia with chocolate frogs and pond leaves in her tropical designs.

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 his 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.

Recovering tech worker Julia Street wants chocolate lovers to remember two things: chocolate is a fermented food, and chocolate farmers deserve more than they’ve got. Her bars are tinkerings in chocolatiering gone right, incorporating ingredients from miso to beer, and are available at Gratta Wines or for delivery. Address is for scheduled pickup only.