By Charly SHELTON 

One part steampunk, one part chocolate factory, one part restaurant of savory delicacies and one part milkshake bar – the newest offering at Universal CityWalk Hollywood caters to all of these interests at once in a fantastic amalgam that is more than the sum of its parts.

Toothsome Chocolate Emporium and Savory Feast Kitchen is a mouthful of a title – and a mouthful on the plate as well. We were invited last week to taste some of the offerings at the new restaurant and were pleasantly surprised. One would think that in a place that had Chocolate Emporium in its name that you’d walk away talking about the chocolate. Almost right. The dish that captured our attention the most was the cocoa pork tenderloin – chocolate crusted pork tenderloin medallions, sweet potato mash, seasonal vegetables and a sherry white chocolate reduction. This is one of the finest dishes we’ve ever had, not just in a theme park but in all of Los Angeles. It’s sweet, it’s savory, it’s a truly unique plate that has haunted our dreams ever since.

In addition to the pork tenderloin, the cocktails are phenomenal. The root beer old fashioned is fantastic, something we’ve been raving about since trying it. With chocolate paint inside the glass and a healthy amount of root beer schnapps, this is a sweet and yet spirit-forward cocktail that is a new spin on an old … fashioned.

The most eye-catching offering from Toothsome, of course, is the milkshake. So much so that the shakes have their own bar and a separate entrance for those who just want to grab and go. From shakes with brownies shoved in the top to a chocolate-coated glass for a mint shake, these raise the concept of a milkshake to art form.

On the other side of the restaurant is the chocolate case and gift shop. This is the place to seek out chocolate truffles, coated marshmallows, macarons, chocolate shots and more. We tried several of the truffles and enjoyed them all, but the marshmallow nearly had us in tears. The milk chocolate marshmallow churro is about half the size of a baseball, and is out of this world delicious. The marshmallow is fluffy and soft, the chocolate is sturdy yet malleable, and the churro coating brings tons of sweet-spice flavors without overpowering the other two aspects of the treat. We thoroughly enjoyed all of the treats from the case but that marshmallow was really standout.

Toothsome Chocolate Emporium and Savory Feast Kitchen is much more than expected and somewhere we’d like to return as often as we can. Located in CityWalk at Universal Studios Hollywood, Toothsome is open now. For those who are just in for lunch or dinner, be sure to take advantage of the valet parking offer in which diners who visit a table service restaurant in CityWalk get 2.5 hours of valet parking for $10, rather than the regular $30 parking fee for the day.

For more information, visit UniversalStudiosHollywood.com.