About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

It's pretty simple: if you even remotely like chocolate, this place is a must. And if you leave the store with a box of edible souvenirs, it's likely they won't make it back home with you.

Pros

• Delectable chocolates come in both traditional and unusual flavors.
• Chocolate "accessories" like baking chips and coffee spoons are fun.
• Pretty boxes of delicious treats make great souvenirs.
• Both locations convenient to central Amsterdam sights.

• Clean, sleek interior makes shopping enjoyable.

Cons

• Sometimes service is a bit cold.
• These treats aren't cheap!

Description

• Addresses: Staalstraat 17 and Singel 184, Amsterdam
  
  
• Staalstraat hours:
  Tue-Sat 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  Sun & Mon 12 noon - 6 p.m.
  
  
• Singel hours:
  Mon 12 noon - 6 p.m.
  Tues - Sat 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  Sun 12 noon - 5 p.m.
  
  
• Staalstraat location: Old Centrum
  
  
• Singel location: Western Canal Belt
  
  
• Tram lines: 9 or 14 to the Waterlooplein stop (walk around Muziektheater building, then across bridge over Zwanenburgwal).
  
  
• Payment: Accepts major credit cards.
  
  

Guide Review - Puccini Bomboni - Unique Chocolate Shop in Amsterdam

Thanks to my sister's chocoholic tendencies, Puccini Bomboni is now on my list of guilty pleasures. The first time I tried the bomboni -- artfully shaped pieces of dark, milk and white chocolate hiding all manner of fillings inside -- I plucked a few from the assortment of 10 she ordered (€ 19).

The pretty purple package they came in is not your ordinary box of chocolates. Places like Puccini Bomboni are the reason for the wholly true declaration that American chocolate is not chocolate at all.

Call these sweet treats what you want (bonbons, truffles); they are each a little present with everything from traditional nuts, nougat, fruit and liqueur fillings to more unexpected flavors like pink pepper, ginger, thyme or Earl Grey tea. I recommend trusting them on their unique combinations; but if you prefer simpler sweets, pick up a bag of their signature chocolate chips and you're sure to make the best baked treats on the block back home.

Strangely, there's a café two doors down (from the Staalstraat location) called Puccini. Read the review to find out the relationship. And visit both!