Lviv Handmade Chocolate, Lviv

Lviv Handmade Chocolate at 3 Serbska Street is where one of Ukraine's best-known sweet brands began. In August 2009 a small café-shop opened here with a few tables and a big display window behind which chocolatiers made bonbons right in front of the guests. Today the workshop occupies a townhouse a few steps from Rynok Square: a shop with dozens of chocolates and chocolate by weight on the ground floor, cosy café rooms upstairs and a rooftop terrace overlooking the Old Town roofs and the Town Hall tower.

The story started with a gift: founders Natalia and Volodymyr Dubovyi received a bar of chocolate from the Netherlands and decided Ukrainian chocolate could be just as good. After months of experiments Natalia created the first recipes and on 8 March 2009 presented them at the Chocolate Festival in Lviv, having made about four thousand bonbons at home by hand. Some of those flavours — "Franz and Joseph", "Bernardynka", "Lviv Amour" — are still sold today.

What to see and do

People come here above all for handmade chocolate craft. The chocolatiers temper chocolate, pour bonbons, figures and bars, and experiment with fillings. In Lviv the workshop offers several ways to get hands-on:

• "Signature Recipes" masterclass — about 1.5 hours in which every participant makes a box of 16 bonbons, choosing praline, vanilla or chocolate ganache fillings, milk, white and dark chocolate and plenty of toppings. It ends with a tasting and cocoa. Recommended age: 5+.
• Themed masterclasses ("Sweet Leisure", "Strawberry", "Dubai Chocolates", "Chocolate Cake Pops", "For Lovers") — schedule and price vary by season.
• "Chocolate World" mini-tour — an hour on the history of chocolate and its path from cocoa tree to bar, with a tasting of three chocolates and making your own bonbon.
• Chocolate production tour — a look behind the scenes of the Lviv production and a chat with the chocolatiers.

Masterclasses run for open groups (5–20 people formed from pre-registered guests), private groups of friends, families or colleagues (from 3 people) and in a personal format. For children's and school groups of 10+ the published price is UAH 600 per person (2–4 accompanying adults free), for a smaller group UAH 6,000 per group, with discounts for eligible categories. For other formats the workshop advises checking prices by phone.

What to taste and buy

In the shop you can build your own box of bonbons by weight or choose ready gift boxes — "Lviv Collection", "Trufeliada", "Chocolate Cupboard", a no-added-sugar line — as well as bars, dragées and figures. Gift sets on the website cost roughly UAH 490–2,400; individual bonbons by weight are much cheaper. In the café try the hot chocolate, chocolate desserts and coffee. The workshop uses Belgian chocolate, and its packaging is designed by Lviv artists and illustrators, which is why a box of bonbons from here has long been a favourite Lviv souvenir.

The workshop takes part in charity and cultural projects, supports Ukraine's Defence Forces and works with Plast, Ukraїner and the Lviv Heritage Bureau.

Practical information

• Address: 3 Serbska St, Lviv — a minute's walk from Rynok Square.
• Opening hours: Mon–Fri 10:00–21:00, Sat–Sun 10:00–22:00.
• Phone: +380 50 430 6033; brand hotline 0 800 50 8338.
• Masterclass booking: by the café's phone or via chocolate.lviv.ua; book ahead for weekends and holidays.

Getting there: from the railway station take a tram to the "Ploshcha Rynok" or "Pidvalna" stop, then walk a few minutes. Central Lviv is pedestrian, so leave your car in a paid car park outside the Old Town. In high season and on holidays there can be queues — mornings are the most comfortable time to visit. Google Maps rating: 4.7 from over 23,000 reviews.

At a glance

• Address: Lviv
• Opening hours: Mon–Fri 10:00–21:00, Sat–Sun 10:00–22:00
• Season: All year round
• Prices: Masterclass for children's groups of 10+ — UAH 600 per person (group under 10 — UAH 6,000); other formats by phone. Gift sets ≈ UAH 490–2,400
• Phone: +380504306033, +380800508338

Website and social media: chocolate.lviv.ua · instagram.com · facebook.com

Photos: lh3.googleusercontent.com.