Houston Is Still Cashing In on the Viral Dubai Chocolates Trend. Here’s Where to Find It.

Houston has kept the chocolatey, pistachio-loaded trend going with Dubai chocolate strawberries, crepes, ice cream, and more

Among the many food trends that have come and gone, Dubai chocolate seems to have staying power. The pistachio cream-loaded chocolate bar, which, as the name implies, originated in Dubai, has captivated American diners since its 2023 TikTok debut. Inspired by her pregnancy cravings at the time, British Egyptian entrepreneur Sarah Hamouda first created the chocolate concoction in 2021 at her Dubai shop Fix Dessert Chocolatier, encasing a filling made up of pistachio cream and kataifi, a crunchy, shredded phyllo pastry, in a colorful milk chocolate.

In 2023, TikTok influencer Maria Vehera propelled the eye-catching “Can’t Get Knafeh of It” bar into the stratosphere when she filmed herself eating it for her millions of followers. The video now has more than 6.8 million likes. The Dubai chocolate bar went viral, with chocolatiers and chefs around the world making fluffy pistachio butter-filled copycats, while others infused dishes with Dubai chocolate flavor to meet the growing infatuation. Even international burger joint Shake Shack jumped on board, with a shake version of the chocolate bar that appeared first in its Middle East locations, and, more recently, at U.S. outposts in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles.

Texas has also taken to the trend, with chocolate shops and chefs creating chocolates, pastries, and other treats inspired by the original bar that people willingly wait in line to buy. The Houston area, home to one of the largest Arab American communities in Texas, has gotten particularly inventive. With renditions of Dubai chocolate that go far beyond the bar, here are some of the best bakeries, restaurants, and shops offering pistachio cream-filled delicacies around Houston.

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The Crispy Dubai Knafeh Bar at Mostly Chocolate
1050 N. Post Oak Road, Unit 220, Spring Branch

Owned by Dany Kamkhagi, this talented, family-owned Spring Branch chocolatier offers a Dubai chocolate bar that has quickly become a Houston favorite. This premium-stuffed chocolate bar features a filling made with crunchy, toasted, and shredded phyllo dough cooked in rich brown butter, homemade pistachio paste, and tahini, all wrapped in a chocolate bar. Mostly Chocolate’s version also includes a fun design on the outside, with zig-zags of bright green chocolate that call back to the original. A $20 box includes three bars.

Mostly Chocolate

Dubai chocolate bars in all forms at Cacao & Cardamom

5000 Westheimer Road, Suite 602, Uptown

Houston chocolatier Annie Rupani has earned a reputation for making chocolates for any and every special occasion, with unique flavors like garam masala-pistachio and black sesame ginger, and presentations that are almost too pretty to eat. Thus, reimagining her own version of the Dubai chocolate bar was well within her wheelhouse. Rupani offers a variety of colorful versions of the Dubai chocolate bar, including a more traditional take with pistachio praline, kanafeh, and dark chocolate, along with variations like cerulean blue Biscoff and a purple-hued hazelnut Dubai chocolate bar. Try them all by ordering the trio pack. Keep it simple and selfish with the Dubai pistachio kanafeh snack bar, or offer to share the Knafeh Kisses, a set of eight Dubai Bites that come in the shape of red lips made with a luscious strawberry chocolate.

Dubai Chocolate Strawberry cup at Suzie’s Pastry Shoppe

8619 Richmond Avenue, Suite 800, Mid-West

Specializing in Mediterranean and European-style pastries and treats, this West Houston pastry shop has gone viral more than once for its Dubai chocolate-inspired indulgences. Diners can score a more traditional Dubai chocolate bar made with homemade pistachio butter. Or go for the Dubai chocolate strawberries, a cup filled with layers of strawberries, pistachio butter, ice cream, milk chocolate, and shredded phyllo dough. (Suzy’s also offers dark chocolate, white chocolate, and sugar-free chocolate options.) For a crowd-pleasing dessert, order the Dubai chocolate cake, a multi-layered treat featuring a slathering of pistachio butter with chocolate sauce drizzle and a Dubai chocolate bar for good measure.

Dubai Ice Cream Bomb at Royal Roastery USA

6467 Westheimer Road, A, Mid West

Known for serving coffee beans, nuts, and Levantine sweets, Royal Roastery USA takes the Dubai chocolate craze up a notch. It has a spherical dessert featuring booza, a stretchy, traditional Arab ice cream, covered in a layer of pistachio butter and a crisp chocolate shell, with milk chocolate and pistachio sauce drizzle, and sprinklings of edible gold flakes and phyllo dough. The Dubai Ice Cream Bomb also goes above and beyond, with an infusion of flavors including saffron, pistachio, and rose water. Diners can also try Royal Roastery’s Dubai chocolate bars, Dubai chocolate strawberries, Dubai chocolate baklava, and pistachio lattes. The options here seem endless.

Kanafeh crepes at ChocolatZeina

6100 Westheimer Road, Mid West

Located off of Westheimer, this chocolate shop was one of the first to serve the viral Dubai chocolate bar, offering bars in more personal, pyramid truffle shapes and 1-pound servings, featuring a pistachio sprinkle. At one point, Chocolat Zeina also offered a kanafeh crepe, a folded crepe stuffed with chocolate, pistachio, more chocolate, a pistachio sauce, shredded phyllo dough, and a chocolate waffle served with kanafeh cheese. The shop also sells Dubai chocolate strawberries.

Dubai Cake Bombs at Golden Roastery

3111 Fondren Road, West Houston

Any visit to this Mid West shop is guaranteed to end in a treat, thanks to its bevy of freshly roasted coffees, Turkish delight, and baklava. Golden Roastery also serves many newer but trending Dubai chocolate dishes, including strawberry cups laced with kanafeh and garnished with a Dubai chocolate bar and Dubai chocolate baklavas. The Dubai Cake Bombs might be the most novel. Golden Roastery surrounds ice cream with a combination of kanafeh and Turkish pistachio before it’s drenched in pistachio and chocolate sauces, and topped with more pistachio and phyllo dough for a decadent dessert.