With some additional time to kill and some chocolate cravings, we decided to head to Union Square to try out Max Brenner’s. I’d heard about them in Sydney, and saw the store last time I was in Manhattan but couldn’t quite justify having a meal there. It’s location near Union Square is fairly large and definitely popular and even at 4pm seemed to be heaving with people having late lunches or just there for dessert.

Looking around, one of their most popular dishes seemed to be the fondue that included a flaming pot to allow you to “roast” marshmallows and other items that arrive with the hot chocolate pot. The two of us tried half a chocolate pizza (pictured above), though a quarter of it (for both of us) would have been enough. Imagine a light pizza base, smothered with chocolate sauce and then topped with hot chocolate marshmallows. Indulgent? Absolutely, and it was far too sweet for me.

They have some funky mugs like the hug me, and for iced drinks, the bizarrely shaped Alice mug with the words “drink me” on them. They also do other foods that you can follow up with the chocolate menus but given the desserts, they’re probably rich enough by themselves.

Name: Max Brenner
Location: 141 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003
Website: http://www.maxbrenner.com/
The Good: Lots of interesting flavour combinations involving tons of chocolate. A nicely decorated store, airy with plenty of tables. Our waitress was excellent, even informing us that our pizza was still taking some time. Even have some cafe tables for those just wanting a dreamy hot chocolate.
The Not So Good: The round shapes of the room make for some very awkwardly positioned tables. Many of them crammed in right next to each other where you have to shift the table to the left or right unless you’re stick thin (which you definitely won’t be at the end of the meal)