Craving that perfect cup of hot cocoa to beat the Milwaukee chill? Look no further!
Here’s a quick list of the best spots for a warm, chocolatey pick-me-up:
- Joy Ice Cream in Tosa: Locally owned ice cream shop offering hot cocoa flights.
- Blüm Coffee Garden in Greenfield: Cozy up in this plant-filled café with a mug of Colectivo coffee and reader-approved hot cocoa.
- Goddess & The Baker in Brookfield: Enjoy glittery, Instagram-worthy hot cocoa and a rich, European sipping chocolate.
- Vintage Grounds Coffeehouse in Muskego: Family-friendly space with hot cocoa bombs on offer.
- Kilwins in Glendale: Indulge in a dark chocolate delight, melted to perfection with hot milk.
- Dia Café in Greendale: Sip on the traditional Chocolate Caliente or the spiced-up Mayan Mocha.
- La Reve in Wauwatosa: Savor the classic European steamed chocolate with whipped cream.
- Allo Chocolat in Waukesha: Treat yourself to a rich sipping chocolate on the weekends.
- Gingerbread House in Muskego: Homey vibes with Ghirardelli hot chocolate and seasonally designed cocoa bombs.
- Cocoa Tree Confectionery in Mequon: Home to a dazzling array of hot cocoa bomb flavors.
- It’z My Party Cakery in Milwaukee: Customizable cocoa bombs from a Food Network-featured cakery.
- Hillside Coffee House in Oak Creek: A historical spot with a lending library and delicious cocoa bombs to go.
- Chocolate Falls in Menomonee Falls: Seasonally themed cocoa bombs that are a hit all year round.
- Style Up Group in Milwaukee: The mobile bar brings the hot cocoa party to you, with customizable options.
- Better Together Café in South Milwaukee: Known for specialty milkshakes, but don’t miss their traditional hot cocoa.
For the full scoop on each location, including special touches and seasonal specialties, dive into our article and warm up with the best cocoa in town:
Hot Cocoa Spots
Joy Ice Cream Social
📍 8334 W North Ave, Wauwatosa, WI 53213
🍫 Hot Chocolate Flights – A Sweet Twist!
Tucked away in Wauwatosa, Joy Ice Cream Social is not just about ice cream anymore. They’re stirring up some serious cocoa creativity with their unique Hot Chocolate Flights.
You’ll sip on mini 4oz cups, each offering a distinct flavor – Classic, Peppermint, Brûlée, and Gingerbread. This delightful quartet is paired with three ice cream flavors of your choosing, merging the joys of cold and warm treats.
Perfect for those frosty Wisconsin days when you crave a bit of warmth and a dash of sweetness.
Blüm Coffee Garden
📍4930 W Loomis Rd, Greenfield, WI 53220
🪴 Cozy plant-filled cafe
Surrounded by plants and beautiful brick hardscapes, Blüm Coffee Garden offers serenity and tranquility right next door to Bluemel’s Garden & Landscape Center. This café serves Colectivo coffee, and it comes highly recommended by our readers and trusted hot cocoa connoisseurs.
Goddess & The Baker (The Corners of Brookfield)
📍340 High St., Brookfield, WI 53045
✨Cocoa with a side of glitter
Serving up Instagram-worthy pours and scrumptious breakfast and lunch fare, this Chicago transplant will make you feel like royalty. Some of their drinks even come dusted with edible glitter!
Besides traditional hot chocolate, their menu also includes “liquid chocolate” – a rich and creamy European sipping chocolate topped with whipped cream, cocoa powder and a wafer.
Choose from flavors like salted caramel and chai, or order a flight to share with your crew!
Vintage Grounds Coffeehouse
📍S74W16825 Janesville Road, Muskego, WI 53150
❤️ Reader favorite!
Hot cocoa sippers of all ages will feel welcome at this Muskego café. They have board games and seasonal kids’ crafts, as well as a children’s area with coloring, a tea set and old-fashioned trains.
Seasonal drink specials can be ordered with or without coffee, and they also try to keep hot cocoa bombs from Glory B’s Sweets in stock.
Kilwins
📍5758 N. Bayshore Dr., Glendale, WI 53217
🌟 Savor the Dark Chocolate Dream
Bayshore’s locally owned chocolate, fudge and ice cream shop does hot chocolate a little differently.
Kilwins uses hot milk to melt their own shredded dark chocolate, then top it with whipped cream and more shredded chocolate for the ultimate indulgence.
Can’t get enough? Buy a bag of their chocolate shred so you can make it at home too!
Dia Café
📍6601 Northway, Greendale, WI 53129
🔥 Try the Mayan Mocha!
Located in Historic Downtown Greendale, Día Y Noche is a café by day and a restaurant/bar by night. On the day side, Día Café is a daytime coffee shop and bakery that aims to provide the best coffee blends and authentic pastries that Latin America has to offer.
Kids will dig the Chocolate Caliente (hot chocolate with whipped cream), and adults will get a kick out of the Mayan Mocha (espresso, milk, chocolate, cayenne, cinnamon, and whipped cream, served hot or iced).
Le Reve
📍7610 Harwood Ave, Wauwatosa, WI 53213
🇫🇷 Parisian Winter in a Cup!
This french bistro in Tosa offers a classic European version of your favorite winter drink.
The pastry kitchen grinds the fine chocolate, steams whole milk and half and half, and tops each rich cup with whipped cream.
Allo Chocolat
📍234 W Main St, Waukesha, WI 53186
🍮 Velvety Sipping Luxury
Waukesha’s local candy shop offers a decadent sipping chocolate on Fridays and Saturdays. It is a small cup of rich, thick chocolate for $2.00.
Hot Cocoa Bombs
Gingerbread House
S63 W16147 College Ave., Muskego, WI 53150
(414) 422-9601
gingerbreadfarmhouse.com
You’ll feel right at home when you step inside this 1885 farmhouse turned bakery and café. Order a cup of Ghirardelli hot chocolate, or make it a “Zebra” by adding some white chocolate. We dare you to look inside their bakery display case without taking one or two items home.
They also happen to make some of the prettiest and yummiest hot cocoa bombs around, with varying designs to match the current season. The bombs are individually packaged and make great holiday gifts or party favors. Pre-order yours over the phone, then pick them up at the convenient drive-through window. Don’t forget to stop and say hi to the chickens outside!
Cocoa Tree Confectionery
1330 W. Mequon Rd., Mequon, WI
(262) 643-4692
cocoa-tree.com
Owned and operated by a former stay-at-home mom, the Cocoa Tree Confectionery is renowned for its colorful bonbons and delectable chocolate treats, but their hot cocoa bombs are “bomb”!
Traditional or flavored varieties (French Vanilla, Dark Chocolate, Mint Truffle, Peppermint, Salted Caramel) are available. They have coffee and tea bombs as well.
It’z My Party Cakery
Based in Milwaukee, WI 53228
414-257-9777
itzmyparty.com
Once featured on Food Network, this home-based cakery creates custom edible works of art, including cake, cookies, cake pops, truffles, brownies, and – of course – hot cocoa bombs!
The bombs can be customized to virtually any theme you like, including non-traditional shapes like a zombie grenade, a football, or a snowman made out of two stacked hot cocoa bombs.
Hillside Coffee House
237 E. Ryan Rd., Oak Creek, WI 53154
(414) 304-5559
Facebook Page
Located inside an old building that has served as a schoolhouse, photo studio, city hall and police department, Hillside Coffee House has been in business since March 2020, about a week before all indoor dining was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Grab a cup of coffee and a yummy pastry before grabbing a few hot cocoa bombs to go. A reader who recommended this café also tipped us off to the onsite lending library.
Chocolate Falls
N88W16748 Main St., Menomonee Falls, WI 53051
(262) 415-5808
Website
This Menomonee Falls-based bakery and chocolate shop creates different hot cocoa designs for every season – Christmas, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter and more. They sell fast, so be sure to pre-order yours a couple of weeks in advance. Also available in 4-pack gift sets.
On The Go
Style Up Group
Based in Milwaukee
(414) 241-0441
styleupgroup.com
This Hot Cocoa Pop-Up is basically a ready-to-go party, and it’s the perfect solution for those hard-to-plan winter birthdays. Style Up Group handles the details and logistics from their Zara mobile bar trailer, including complementary seasonal décor. We speak from experience when we say this company always goes above and beyond to wow everyone! Their Hot Cocoa mini package is two hours or less, and you can order the hot cocoa to be served “Traditional” or “Styled Up” – featuring customized toppings like colorful sprinkles, flavored syrups and two kinds of marshmallows.
Better Together Café
1301 N. Chicago Ave., South Milwaukee, WI 53172
(414) 376-3800
bettertogether.cafe
This café started out as a food truck launched by a husband-and-wife team in August 2018. Last summer, they enlisted the help of their three young children to renovate the old Dairy Queen in South Milwaukee.
You can now visit them at their new brick-and-mortar location, or you can still book the truck for an event. You’ll find traditional espresso drinks and hot chocolate on their menu, but this place is more well known for its specialty milkshakes (with or without coffee).
These dreamy shakes have beautifully sweet toppings like candy, cookies, fancy cakes, sprinkles and – of course – whipped cream. Besides menu mainstays like oreo, s’mores, fruity pebbles, cinnamon toast crunch and unicorn, they offer a monthly special in the “Better Shake” (January’s Blue Moon is pictured above).
Where do you get your hot chocolate? Email us at hello@mkewithkids.com!
