Our spirits high from the Alpine Bakery, we continue on our downtown Whitehorse café crawl. A short walk away, we find The Chocolate Claim sitting in a rectangular building amongst other shops. A glass door entranceway displays posters of cultural interest, and immediately the style of this café is recognized. While the northern, log-cabin style Alpine Bakery emits a warm, rustic, natural beauty, The Chocolate Claim contains art and culture against modern decor. This feels a little uppity and artificial, but had we visited The Chocolate Claim first, I would be excited to see such cultural sophistication in Whitehorse. There are quite a few people here, with only a couple tables free. This place is a café hangout, a place to stay and work with a coffee, or relax between errands. It’s a usual, pleasant, artsy café, and often exactly what I’m looking for.
The only thing unusual (and severely lacking) is the bathrooms, the discovery of which involves leaving the café and walking around the entire rectangular building to a set of industrial double-doors at the back of the building, left open a crack. Through these doors I enter a dimly lit, white-painted hallway, and notice the door with a haphazardly hand-written sign, “Public Washroom”. The washroom itself, though otherwise acceptable, has about as much charm as the hallway. It probably shouldn’t bother me, but I really appreciate when the style and artistic detail found in the café makes its way to washrooms which don’t involve a hike to the building’s loading zone.
I cannot speak one way or another about the food here. Already satisfied by my coffee and scone from the Alpine Bakery, I opt for only an apple juice and ginger cookie. The apple juice comes in a bottle, though I assume the cookies are made on-site. I expect the ginger cookie to be soft with rich flavour, but instead discover that it is only a crumbly ginger cookie, the kind you would make in your own oven then pack away in a cookie tin. It’s nothing special, especially given the price (which I don’t exactly recall).
This is not a fair review of The Chocolate Claim, apparently known for their chocolates (and not ginger cookies). And how can you review a café without even trying the coffee? Next time I am craving the usual artsy café atmosphere in Whitehorse, I will give their coffee and chocolate a chance.
You pay more at The Chocolate Claim, but maybe it’s worth it. Come here for a modern, clean and sleek feeling café, a cozy section in the back, and perilously inaccessible washrooms.
