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Oban Chocolate Company on its corner of the Corran Esplanade, people on benches outside its long windows.
Argyll and Bute

Oban Chocolate Company

A chocolate factory, cafe and shop on Oban's Corran Esplanade, started in 2003 by Stewart and Helen MacKechnie, where you can watch the chocolates being made.

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Welcome

On the Corran Esplanade, looking out over Oban Bay, a little purple-trimmed shop has been making chocolates since 2003, when local couple Stewart and Helen MacKechnie started the Oban Chocolate Company.

Visited and photographed by Jack Cairney

Everything is still made in the small factory on site, and you can watch the chocolatiers at work.

The range runs from classic truffles and pralines to more daring flavours: the fiery Chilli Chuffle, Pear William, and a famous Marmite chocolate that divides opinion. Inside, the counter sits under branches hung with blossom and fairy lights, and the cafe serves rich hot chocolates, fresh coffee and homemade cakes, with stools along the window facing the bay.

The shop opens from ten until five every day except Wednesday. It is a lovely stop on a walk along the front, and a good place to find a present to take home.

Before you go

Open 10am to 5pm; closed Wednesdays.

Where
34 Corran Esplanade.
Since
2003.
Watch
Chocolates made on site.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
10am–5pm
Tuesday
10am–5pm
Wednesday
10am–5pm
Thursday
10am–5pm
Friday
10am–5pm
Saturday
10am–5pm
Sunday
10am–5pm

Eaten here? Tell others what to order and when to go, and the best go on this page with your name.

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Did you know

A chalkboard of coffees and hot chocolates, from rich milk to single-origin Venezuela 72 per cent.
Did you know

A Marmite chocolate.

Among the Oban Chocolate Company's handmade chocolates is one flavoured with Marmite.

A latte and a slice of lemon tart topped with meringue and a raspberry sit on plates beside a small selection of chocolates on a slate board.
Did you know

Award-winning cafe.

The chocolate company's cafe was named best in the north-west at two Scottish awards in 2015.

Ben Lerwill

From our guide to Argyll and Bute

At this innovative family-owned chocolatier on Oban seafront you might find chocolate truffle varieties such as marmite, Horlicks ganache or caramel-mint.

Read more
01 / 04
Where it is

At 34 Corran Esplanade, on Oban's seafront, PA34 5PS.

Close byOban.
  1. A seafood platter at Ee-Usk in Oban: langoustines, oysters, mussels, a crab claw, scallops and smoked salmon on a white plate, with a glass of white wine.Ee-UskA seafood restaurant on Oban's North Pier, run by the MacLeod family, with local shellfish and windows over the bay to Kerrera and Mull.Under a mile as the crow flies
  2. Fishing boats Kyrene and Dorus Mor moored in Oban harbour, McCaig's Tower above the townOban BayUnder a mile 1 min by road
  3. Sorcha Bakery, ObanSorcha Bakery, ObanVegan baking up the road.Under a mile 1 min by road
  4. The Jetty Gallery, ObanThe Jetty Gallery, ObanA contemporary art gallery at 100 George Street, Oban, showing painting, sculpture, ceramics, glass and jewellery, open Monday to Saturday.Under a mile 1 min by road
  5. Hinba, ObanHinba, ObanSpeciality coffee on George Street.Under a mile 2 min by road
  6. The Oban InnThe Oban InnOban's oldest pub, by the old pier.Under a mile 2 min by road
Directions
A large abstract painting and framed works in the white gallery.AttractionsPassing Place Gallery0.5 miles
Oban Whisky and Fine Wines, Argyll and ButeShoppingOban Whisky and Fine Wines0.5 miles
The dark stone front of the Oban Distillery and its sign, Estd 1794.AttractionsOban Distillery0.5 miles
RestaurantsCuan Mor, Oban0.5 miles
Harbourfront buildings and a red-roofed pavilion along the bay.AttractionsOban Harbour0.5 miles
The Drury from the lawn below: a grey granite Victorian villa with sandstone bay windows, dormers in the slate roof and tall chimneys.ObanThe DrurySleeps 22 · 0.6 miles
The Modern Croft, ObanShoppingThe Modern Croft, Oban0.6 miles
Piazza, Argyll and ButeRestaurantsPiazza, Oban0.6 miles
George Street Fish Restaurant & Chip Shop, Argyll and ButeRestaurantsGeorge Street Fish, Oban0.6 miles

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The Daily for 22 October, from Scotland with love. An aerial view of the Kylesku Bridge curving across a sea loch at sunset, Sutherland

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the shop, and when each is next free.

The Drury from the lawn below: a grey granite Victorian villa with sandstone bay windows, dormers in the slate roof and tall chimneys.The Drury
  • Sleeps 22
  • In Oban
  • Under a mile from the Oban Chocolate Company
Free 29–31 OctGlencruitten House, Argyll and ButeGlencruitten House
  • To stay
  • In Oban
  • 2 miles from the Oban Chocolate Company
Check datesTimber cabin with copper roof beside a loch, shaded by oak treesUisge Bothy
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Oban
  • 4 miles from the Oban Chocolate Company
Check datesBlack timber-clad cabin with corrugated roof and stove flue, set among trees and long grassBeatha
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Oban
  • 4 miles from the Oban Chocolate Company
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in Argyll and ButeAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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