SUGOi Sweets

Hand-painted bonbons by the piece

Bonbons are the reason to stop: each shell is hand painted, no two alike, and the case is arranged so you choose by color, filling and design as much as by flavor. SUGOi Sweets is a small-batch chocolate and confection shop in West Town, closer to a working kitchen with a shop attached than to a café with a dessert case. Alongside the bonbons are soft caramels, chocolate bars, dragees and malt balls, plus limited runs that change with the season.

A kitchen and a store

The shop describes itself as a kitchen and store, which is the most accurate summary of how it works: production at the back, retail at the front, boxes made up for gifts, and pickup orders moving through. That makes it a stop for taking sweets away rather than sitting down with them, and it explains why the case is presented like a display of small objects. Custom and seasonal work is part of the business, with holiday runs and pieces made for corporate events, weddings and parties.

What to take home

Start with the bonbons, in a small box if the visit is for yourself and a larger one if it is not; the recurring signatures are the place to begin, and the experimental flavors are what makes a second visit different. The caramels are the other defining category, all natural, soft and chewy, made with good dairy and real fruit rather than the sticky commercial kind. From there the shelves widen into chocolate bars, including a curated selection from other makers such as Fu Wan, plus dragees and malt balls for something smaller. For something cold, the vegan matcha soft serve is the counter's own draw, and the tea side runs to a selection of leaf teas and accessories.