What Is Dubai Chocolate? Ingredients, Taste & Where to Buy

If you’ve spotted a green-tinged chocolate bar trending across your TikTok feed, you’re not alone. The Dubai Chocolate Bar—a viral confection combining milk chocolate, crispy kataifi pastry, and pistachio cream—has spread from a single Dubai shop to supermarket shelves across the UK and Ireland. Here’s everything you need to know about the trend everyone’s unwrapping.

Filling: kadayif and pistachio-tahini cream · Outer shell: milk chocolate · Lindt version weight: 145g · Aldi price: £3.99 · Viral origin: TikTok trend

What is Dubai Chocolate?

Dubai Chocolate refers to a style of filled chocolate bar that combines a milk chocolate shell with an unconventional Middle Eastern filling. The filling typically features kadayif (also spelled kataifi)—shredded filo pastry—mixed with pistachio cream and tahini. The result is a bar with a gooey, flaky texture that contrasts with the smooth chocolate exterior.

The concept originated at Fix Dessert Chocolatier, a boutique chocolate shop in Dubai, UAE. The owner, Sarah Hamouda, developed the bar under the name “Can’t Get Knafeh Of It”—a wordplay on knafeh, the classic Middle Eastern dessert featuring melted cheese and syrup-soaked pastry. The bar earned its viral status in 2024 when TikTok creators began sharing recipe recreations, and the name “Dubai Chocolate Bar” stuck despite the bar being available only in Dubai.

Dubai chocolate bar basics

• Milk chocolate forms the outer shell
• Filling combines crispy kataifi with pistachio-tahini cream
• Green food colouring gives the interior its signature hue
• Each bar requires freezing steps during assembly

The combination of crispy kataifi against creamy pistachio cream creates a textural contrast that’s rare in Western chocolate bars. This contrast is what sets Dubai chocolate apart from standard filled bars—the filling isn’t uniform, and every bite delivers a slightly different ratio of crunch to cream.

Why is it everywhere

The spread happened fast. Once TikTok creators demonstrated how to recreate the bar at home using easily sourced ingredients, the recipe proliferated across platforms. TikTok Shop began listing Dubai chocolate pistachio bars for Irish customers, and supermarkets in the UK and Ireland raced to stock their own versions. The trend exemplifies how social commerce can transform a single boutique product into a global phenomenon within months.

What is Dubai Chocolate Made Of?

The original Dubai Chocolate Bar uses a handful of distinct ingredients that create its signature texture and flavour. According to Chocolates and Chai (a recipe blog specialising in Middle Eastern confections), the core components are straightforward but combine to create something layered and complex.

Key ingredients

• Milk chocolate for the shell (approximately 2 cups)
• Kataifi dough—shredded phyllo pastry that’s crisp when toasted
• Pistachio paste for the nutty, green-hued filling
• Tahini to thin the pistachio paste and add a subtle sesame depth
• Butter for toasting the kataifi
• White chocolate (sometimes used in layers)
• Green food colouring for the visual signature

Kadayif and pistachio cream details

Kataifi is the key textural element. Unlike standard filo pastry, kataifi is shredded into thin noodles that toast to a crisp golden brown in butter. The recipe involves toasting kataifi for 5–10 minutes until it achieves a nutty aroma and slight crunch. This crispy element gets folded directly into the pistachio-tahini cream mixture, creating pockets of crunch against the creamy filling.

The pistachio cream component is typically made from pistachio paste (available at Arabic specialty stores or online) mixed with tahini to achieve a spreadable consistency. Some versions incorporate additional white chocolate to sweeten and smooth the filling further.

What’s So Special About the Dubai Chocolate?

The Dubai Chocolate Bar succeeds where many viral food items fail—it delivers on the hype. TikTok Shop describes the experience as “a delightful combination of rich, creamy chocolate and the nutty crunch of pistachio.” That combination of textures is genuinely unusual in the chocolate bar space.

Unique texture

Traditional filled chocolate bars typically offer either a uniform ganache filling or solid inclusions like nuts or dried fruit. Dubai chocolate breaks this pattern by incorporating kataifi—shredded phyllo that maintains a crisp, flaky texture even within the chocolate bar. When you bite into it, the chocolate shell gives way to a filling that crunches, then yields to creamy pistachio. The knafeh-inspired combination echoes the classic Middle Eastern dessert where crispy pastry meets sweet, stretchy cheese.

Viral appeal

The bar’s visual presentation contributes significantly to its shareability. The green-tinted interior creates an eye-catching contrast against the chocolate shell, making every cross-section photogenic. The trend has made waves in Ireland, with specific TikTok Shop listings for pistachio bars targeted at Irish consumers. The visual distinctiveness combined with the Middle Eastern flair appeals to audiences seeking global flavours that feel exclusive yet achievable at home.

The recipe’s accessibility also amplified its reach. Unlike many viral food items that require specialised equipment or hard-to-find ingredients, Dubai chocolate can be assembled with a mould, basic kitchen tools, and ingredients available at Arabic grocers or online retailers.

The implication: the Dubai Chocolate Bar’s success hinges on that rare combination of visual novelty and genuine textural intrigue—something most viral foods sacrifice for shareability alone.

Why is Dubai Chocolate So Expensive?

If you’ve seen Dubai chocolate in UK or Irish supermarkets, you may have noticed prices that give pause. A Lindt Dubai Style bar weighs 145g, while Aldi has stocked a version at £3.99. These prices reflect several compounding factors that push Dubai chocolate toward the premium end of the chocolate market.

Cost factors

Pistachios rank among the most expensive nuts globally, and pistachio paste—used generously in the filling—commands a premium price. Tahini adds cost, though less dramatically. The kataifi component is cheaper by comparison but still represents an ingredient absent from standard chocolate production, requiring retailers to source beyond their typical supply chains.

Premium positioning plays a role too. The Dubai chocolate name carries associations with luxury and exclusivity, allowing retailers to price above comparable filled bars. According to recipe sources, the original Fix Dessert Chocolatier bar in Dubai sells for significantly more than mass-market alternatives—a pricing precedent that supermarket dupes can partially leverage.

Pricing examples

• Lindt Dubai Style (145g)—branded premium tier
• Aldi dupe—£3.99 for a similar format
• TikTok Shop listings—prices vary by seller, often including international shipping
• Fix Dessert Chocolatier original—significantly higher per-unit cost in UAE

The pattern: shoppers paying a premium for Dubai chocolate are partly paying for the novelty and the Middle Eastern ingredient complexity, not just the chocolate itself. Budget alternatives exist but typically use lower pistachio concentrations or substitute white chocolate for portions of the filling.

Where to Buy Dubai Chocolate?

The spread of Dubai chocolate to UK and Irish supermarkets has been rapid, but availability varies by retailer and region. Here’s where to find it in the UK and Ireland as of early 2025.

Lidl availability

Lidl has emerged as a key stockist of Dubai-style chocolate bars across both the UK and Ireland. TikTok Shop listings for Ireland specifically reference the pistachio bar format, and Lidl’s positioning as a discount retailer with premium-adjacent products makes it a natural fit for the trend. The Irish market has seen particular demand, with the trend described as “making waves among enthusiasts” according to TikTok Shop data.

Tesco and Aldi options

Tesco has listed the branded Lindt Dubai Style 145g bar, providing a mass-market option for shoppers preferring a known premium brand. Aldi has priced competitively at £3.99 for its own Dubai-style bar, undercutting Lindt while maintaining similar positioning. Both retailers have benefited from the trend’s reach, though stock can be intermittent as demand fluctuates.

Ireland stores

Beyond Lidl, Irish shoppers have additional options. TikTok Shop offers direct-to-consumer sales of Dubai chocolate pistachio bars with Irish delivery. Some specialty food retailers and gift shops—particularly those with a Middle Eastern or artisanal focus—have stocked the bars. The Ireland-specific listings on TikTok Shop suggest targeted marketing efforts, recognising the country’s demonstrated appetite for the product.

The catch: Dubai chocolate sells out. Given the trend’s volatility and irregular restocking, shoppers are advised to check supermarket websites for availability before making a trip, or explore TikTok Shop for direct-to-door options. The original bars from Dubai remain difficult to source outside the UAE.

Retail availability varies significantly by retailer and region. The table below summarises current stockists and pricing across the UK and Irish markets.

“The famous Dubai Chocolate Bar is a confectionary made up of milk chocolate combined with crispy kataifi (shredded phyllo dough) and pistachio cream.”

— Chocolates and Chai, Recipe Blog

“Indulging in a Dubai chocolate pistachio bar is a delightful experience that brings together the rich, creamy texture of chocolate and the nutty crunch.”

— TikTok Shop, E-commerce Platform

Related reading: What Is Sugar Alcohol – Benefits, Risks and Uses · Mexican Street Corn Salad – Quick 15-Min Recipe

Supermarkets like Lidl have embraced the viral pistachio-kadayif craze with their Lidl Dubai chocolate bar at £3.99 for 122g, fueling even more hype among shoppers.

Frequently asked questions