Review: MoRoCo Chocolat

Don’t be fooled, MoRoCo Chocolat is more than a posh chocolate boutique, and has absolutely nothing to do with the country Morocco. Enter at 99 Yorkville, walk through the store and you’ll see the beautifully-decorated restaurant lounge. With deep purple and grey velvets, French damask prints and plenty of mirrors, MoRoCo screams chic.



Tucked away (literally...you can barely see it from the street) in the heart of Yorkville, MoRoCo Chocolat is a hidden gem. I’ve been to the restaurant twice: once for Sunday brunch and once for dinner. Here’s the lowdown on both.

I have to say that my brunch experience was far superior. With a combination of light and hearty brunch dishes, MoRoCo offers quality food and service in a chic, trendy atmosphere: the perfect combination for a morning out with the girls. From fresh omelettes, to quiches, a delicious yogurt parfait and more, MoRoCo has a bit of everything to satisfy every appetite. Beware: the cheesy French toast is a dieter’s worst nightmare! (but totally worth the calories)

Dinner, on the other hand, was disappointing. The food wasn’t great, and the service was very slow, even though the restaurant wasn’t busy. Rather than going for dinner, I’d recommend going later in the night for drinks and dessert. Two words: chocolate fondue. For a fun treat or something a bit different, try the tabletop s’mores. Directions on the menu are as follows:

Torch to taste: 6 steps to S’mores
1.Turn on faux campfire
2.Place dark chocolate on graham cookie
3.Impale a fresh marshmallow on stick
4.Hold marshmallow one inch away from flame and rotate until toasted to your liking
5.Slam marshmallow on graham cookie and chocolate
6.Eat and repeat.

And voila! It’s just like camping...sort of.

All in all, MoRoCo Chocolat is definitely worth checking out for Sunday brunch or dessert and cocktails. Weekends are the busiest, especially Sunday brunch, so if you’re planning on going I’d recommend making a reservation so that you’re not disappointed. Or, if you don’t want to go for a meal, check out the boutique. They have delicious macarons in pretty pastel colours (made fresh daily) that would make the perfect Easter gift!




For more info, visit www.morocochocolat.com or follow them on Twitter @morocochocolat

Hotels + Twitter = ?

There’s no question that hotels have suffered over the past decade, particularly due to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York, as well as the 2003 SARS epidemic that plagued Toronto and many other cities. Hotel occupancy rates plummeted around the world, and though the situation has improved, the tourism industry has yet to fully recover.

It comes as no surprise that hotels are doing whatever they can to get back on track and encourage guests to visit their properties. Many hotels have turned to Twitter as a business tool, with the goal of reaching potential guests and creating an open-dialogue.

Better yet, hotels are using Twitter to generate general interest in their respective properties by giving away free stays and offering promotional deals to their Twitter followers. Last summer, Marriott International (@marriottintl) ran a “Deal of the Day” promotion solely via its Twitter account and website, offering one deal per day for a Carribbeam, Hawaiian or Canadian hotel from June 1-12.

Starwood Hotels and Resorts (@StarwoodBuzz) offers similar promotional rates via Twitter, and focuses on two-way communication with its followers. If a guest tweets about a bad experience at a Starwood property, they can expect action to be taken to rectify the situation. I wouldn’t expect anything less from Starwood! After all, there mission is to consistently exceed guests’ expectations.

It seems that people are consistently seeking lower prices and better deals from their favourite travel destinations. But they also want better service, and communicating via Twitter (or other social media outlets) is a great way for hotels to reach potential guests.

So if you like to travel and love to find great deals, try following some hotels on Twitter. You never know what kind of deal you’ll find!

Hotels + Twitter = deals

Toronto restaurants embrace social media

It seems like every month there is a new restaurant popping up in Toronto. How some survive among the competition, I have no idea... With high capital costs and heavy competition, it’s no surprise that 60% of restaurants fail within the first 2 years of starting out.

To attract new customers, maintain loyal patrons, and even just to inform the public, an increasing amount of restaurants are turning to social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook. I love going out and discovering new restaurants around the city, and there are mobile applications like UrbanSpoon that can help food lovers (like myself) find hidden gems, right in the palm of their hand!

So what Toronto restos are using Twitter and for what purpose?

• Ossington hot spot @PizzaLibretto tweets about daily specials and menu changes.

• @mildredstemple advertises their lunch “quickies” (and no, it’s not what you think.)

• @Jack_Astors has recently joined Twitter and provides updates on promotions, VIP events and menu additions. The company also shows their commitment to quality service: a couple of users seem to have posted negative comments about their visits to certain Jack Astor’s locations, and @Jack_Astors responded to each of them asking for specific details so that they can follow up. Nice touch, if you ask me!

According to a recent BlogTO post,

“restaurants are just scratching the surface of capitalizing on social media tools to build their following and attract new customers.”

More and more restaurants will jump on the Twitter bandwagon, especially with the busy patio season just around the corner. Bring on the promos!