You might think you were stepping into a museum; in front of you are display cases filled with sparkling gold tones and glittering jewels topped with delicate embellishments. And as you walk through the doors, the scent of real cocoa wafts through the air. Wait- it’s all chocolate? Located at 165 Main Street in the heart of Westport, this chocolate shop is filled with an assortment of rich, nutty treats that melt in your mouth upon first bite. 

On Sept. 15, Bridgewater Chocolate arrived in downtown Westport. Bridgewater currently has multiple storefronts, two being in Brookfield, one in West Hartford and Westport making the fourth. 

Looking at the large variety of sweets that Bridgewater offers, we didn’t know where to start. Lucky for us, one Bridgewater employee had the perfect suggestion.

“My favorite would have to be the Soft A’ Silk caramel dark chocolate, [which is] a saucy caramel enroped in our milk chocolate and striped with white chocolate,” Assistant Store Manager Tanye Mills said. 

This chocolate ended up being the perfect starting place. The rich, if not slightly bitter, dark chocolate was perfectly evened out by a stretchy, light caramel filling. If all else fails, Bridgewater should just start selling caramel by the scoop because it was THAT good. If you’re into rich dark chocolate with a hint of sweetness, then this is for you.

A fan favorite, according to Mills, is the Crunchy Peanut Butter Patty. Similar to a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, we were told that this was a showstopper we absolutely had to try.  

Covered in decadent dark chocolate stripes with a crunchy outside layer, we had high hopes. However, upon first bite, we were sorely overwhelmed in the worst way by almost an inch of straight peanut butter on the inside of this chocolate disc. The sole saviors for this were the crunchy peanut bits encased in the peanut butter filling, as well as the milk chocolate shell. 

In addition, Bridgewater offers a variety of seasonal items such as cherry hearts, pilgrim hats and our favorite of the day: cinnamon-covered creamy caramels. These tiny but mighty snacks are perfectly shareable and made us want to pop over to Starbucks for a Pumpkin Spice Latte. A perfect start to Fall, the milk chocolate was neither too rich nor too light yet perfectly creamy and delicious. 

Bridgewater’s selection of toffee, caramel and nut-filled sweets is promising to customers of all ages, from chocolate-lovers to those who simply want a step up from your average Hershey bar. Overall, we rate Bridgewater a 4/5 stars.