Life is like a box of chocolates: it ends quickly when it tumbles into lava. Enjoy the transient experience of sweet pleasure while you can with today's Groupon: for $12, you get $24 worth of savory fare, including Wonka-worthy sweets, from the restaurant at Max Brenner, Chocolate by the Bald Man. This Groupon is only good at the restaurant, not the retail shop.

With an empire covering the globe like so much oozing fondue, Max Brenner’s one-of-a-kind chocolate wonderland recently opened an outpost in Las Vegas. The focus is on chocolate, but the menu also offers a slew of savory sandwiches, salads and pastas, as well as breakfast and brunch options. Turn any power lunch into an awkwardly sensuous encounter with a burger selection, such as the standard, veggie, or turkey burger, all of which come with waffle fries dusted with chili and cocoa powder ($13.25–$13.95). The eclectic lineup covers everything from a Southwestern Caesar salad ($12.95) to fish tacos ($12.25) to the really cheesy, really crunchy mac ‘n’ cheese, which oozes with marinara sauce, fresh tomatoes, and bacon ($13.95). Soothe a sweet tooth by delving into a dessert, such as the chocolate-chunk pizza topped with melty double chocolate chunks and a choice of hazelnut bits, bananas, peanut butter, or roasted marshmallows ($8.75 for half; $15.95 for full).

Take the sweet stuff straight to your face with frothy hot chocolate ($4.40–$5.25). Available in dark, milk, white, and Swiss varieties, it comes served in a Hug Mug, a cacao-bean-shaped mug designed to warm hands after a long day of massaging stressed-out snowmen. A full bar serves beer, wine, and cocktails, plus dessert concoctions such as a tiramisu-inspired blend of Courvoisier, Kahlua, fresh-brewed espresso, and milk chocolate ($11.95).

Housed inside the palatial Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace, the bi-level restaurant spans more than 9,400 square feet. The restaurant’s aggressive chocolate ethos permeates its whimsically decorated space, from the pleasant tidal wave of cocoa-based smells, visuals, and tastes that engulfs and immerses diners upon entering to the propeller blades mixing chocolate in white vats to the network of interlinking pipes along the ceiling labeled "100% chocolate."

Dine-in only.

Reviews

Max Brenner, Chocolate by the Bald Man has received extensive local and national press, including features in O, The Oprah Magazine, Las Vegas Weekly, and The Best of Las Vegas. OpenTable reviewers and Yelpers give it four stars:

• The mastermind behind Max Brenner: Chocolate by the Bald Man, Brenner is Willy Wonka with less hair and a slight Israeli accent. – Sarah Feldberg, Las Vegas Weekly
• absolutely amazing and chocolate heaven! if you love sweets and chocolate this is the place for you. my friends and i came here for breakfast on saturday. the staff is friendly and knowledgeable about all their drinks and food. – stella j., Yelp