Sweet Decadence, Ballarat

I eat at Sweet Decadence about once a week and the food is aways great. The menu is not huge but it is varied and they do not do chips or fried stuff, than goodness! Everything is made fresh daily and served with a fresh well dressed salad. The staff are friendly and make you feel special every time you visit. The hot chocolate is to die for.

Our family of chocolate connoisseurs have purchased goods from this company's Daylesford store on several occasions and was thrilled when they finally opened a store locally.

The Ballarat store has a lovely interior, with beautiful lights and ambiance. They serve a minimal range of light lunches and have a delicious looking vegetarian foccacia. They also offer ‘coffee and cake’, or perhaps I should say ‘hot chocolate’. Although you will find your ‘regular’ style hot chocolate, you will also find the ‘white’ and ‘chilli’ varieties as well; however at $9- for a hot chocolate, you may not desire a refill.

The Chocolates: They all have a professional appearance and are well displayed. The chocolates are considerably larger than the ones found in other chocolate shops and generally of better quality. However their range is not as extensive as the Daylesford store which we found a little disappointing.

They also sell a small quantity of prepackaged chocolate coated nuts (including cashews and pistachio) and chocolate coated coffee beans. There are also chocolate freckles available and white chocolate ‘lollipops’.

We found the staff friendly and respectful. The shop was neatly (and beautifully) presented, clean and tidy.

Personal Taste Testing Results (From the four of us):

Cherry & Almond: Had a ‘melt in the mouth’ texture (not unlike that of a Christmas pudding), dense and delicious. The almond was in no way over powering as first feared. Amazing mouth-feel. Perfect for people who love their cherries! Rating: 9/10, 7/10, 7/10, 9/10.

Peppermint Cream: Perfect texture and not over powering like many others. Perfect for any peppermint lover. Rating: 8/10, 6/10, 7/10, 9/10.

White Truffle: Certainly very rich and creamy, not for the faint hearted. To enjoy this particular truffle, you must literally have a sweet tooth. We found it far too overpowering and sickly sweet. Rating: 1/10, 5/10, 3/10, 1/10.

Strawberry Cream: Perfectly creamy consistency, smooth and delicate. A must for those who enjoy this combination. Rating: 7/10, 6/10, 7/10, 8/10.

Chilli: Unfortunately this was a huge disappointment. While the ‘heat’ component was superb, unfortunately there was very little chilli flavor. Far more disappointing however was the ‘grainy’ texture, which totally ruined the experience. Perhaps this was just a ‘bad batch’. Rating: 5/10, 8/10, 6/10, 7/10.

Soft Caramel: A simply divine concoction, slight chewy texture. Caramel enthusiasts will not be disappointed. Rating: 9/10, 7/10, 9/10, 8/10.

Cookies & Cream: Far too sweet and sickly for all of us. Loads of ‘cream’, but limited ‘cookie’ flavor or texture. Rating: 2/10, 6/10, 5/10, 7/10.

Hazelnut Stick: Well presented; lovely, gentle texture. Perhaps a little too gentle, not as distinctly flavoured as we would have liked. A little ‘grainy’, gentle liquefaction. Rating: 8/10, 9/10, 8/10, 7/10.

Overall, an enjoyable and interesting experience.

I have eaten at Sweet Dec. several times now and I have had exceptionally good meals. The menu is a light lunch menu maybe 15 items plus the chefs always make extra menu items. I really love the pastries and cakes they make and you can watch the chefs cooking.

Before I go I always buy some chocolates and they have not only a great selection of their own but other products as well. I am sad to see however that a few other shops in Ballarat, that I have visited, have started to copy some of their products. I cant believe that others are lacking in such imagination and prepared for others to know their coping others ideas.

One other great thing about this store is that a high percentage of their products, in fact, I think all, are local products. Their chocolates are made in their Daylesford store (not OS, no China lollies for my kids!). I notice the've even dumped Italian mineral water for a local product. Good on you Sweet Dec. Finally, love how clean this store is!

The lunch menu was a little overpriced and small to choice from, their reasoning was because they make their own bread. But the homemade chocolates are the big winner of this cafe and are worth a look.