Dubai chocolate is going viral, but you can still manage to find it in Charlotte
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Dubai chocolate gains global popularity despite its origin in UAE shops only.
- Charlotte vendors offer imitations with pistachio, kataifi, and milk chocolate.
- Limited availability and high demand drive local sales and product variations.
Oh where, oh where can Charlotteans find the elusive, viral, coveted Dubai chocolate?
Without hopping on an Emirates or Etihad flight, you’ll be happy to know you can indeed get your hands on a version of the authentic Dubai chocolate bar right here in the Charlotte area.
Be advised the places mentioned below offer only a version of the authentic chocolate bar, because the original “Dubai viral chocolate” can only be acquired from Fix Dessert & Chocolatier in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
The options available in the Queen City, however, come very close.
How Dubai chocolate was born
Legend has it the chocolate bar was created in 2022 by Fix’s British-Egyptian owner Sarah Hamouda to satisfy her pregnancy cravings.
A few years and millions of social media impressions later, the chocolate is officially a thing.
It’s especially shared on TikTok, where mega influencers have gone viral, like when model and homemaker Nara Smith’s Dubai chocolate TikTok racked up 3.3 million likes.
It has made its way through popups, markets, food stalls and groceries around the world, driving global pistachio shortages and inspiring artisan chocolatiers, pastry chefs and bakers to imitate and reinterpret the recipe for themselves.
And not a moment too soon.
Sweet treat aficionados were ready for something new; pastry chef Dominique Ansel’s cronut (half croissant, half donut) turned 12 this past May.
While Ansel has created many more pastries since the cronut and launched additional bakeries in New York City and Las Vegas, nothing since has quite captured the attention of the dessert zeitgeist — at least not until Dubai chocolate.
Perhaps sweet treats trend in 12-year waves?
What makes the Dubai chocolate special?
Dubai chocolate is known for its signature vibrant green, crunchy inside.
The crunch comes from crushed bits of a thin, noodle-like phyllo pastry called kataifi (also spelled kutaifi), also referred to as knafeh, hence the original Fix chocolate bar’s name, “Can’t Get Knafeh Of It.”
This crunchy, shredded phyllo is then blended with pistachio cream or paste and a hint of tahini, which combine to create the lime green color.
The ASMR-ready mix is then enrobed in a light milk chocolate.
Even those who prefer the semi-sweetness of dark chocolate revel in how light and semi-sweet the Dubai milk chocolate tastes.
Note the ingredients themselves aren’t derived from Dubai — they’ve long featured in Middle Eastern and Turkish pastries and desserts, like knafeh, which incorporates the phyllo with cheese, and tel kadayif, which is phyllo with peanuts or walnuts.
“The experience of a Dubai chocolate should be chewy, crunchy, creamy and crunchy. And in that order,” says Shannon Turrell, head pastry chef and co-owner of Cupcake Delirium in Pineville, who studied the ingredients for her shop’s Dubai Brownie, which has garnered a loyal following.
“I always intended to go the brownie route,” Turrell says.
Where to find Dubai chocolate in Charlotte
So, where can you find Dubai chocolate in Charlotte?
Even if you can’t get the authentic chocolate bar, you can get a taste of Dubai chocolate from these establishments offering their renditions or incorporating Dubai-style chocolate in cakes, brownies, cheesecakes and specialty desserts.
Costco
Location: 500 Tyvola Rd, Charlotte, NC 28217-3504
Location: 2125 Matthews Township Pkwy, Matthews, NC 28105-5766
Location: 392 Talbert Rd, Mooresville, NC 28117
Costco offers versions of Dubai chocolate, but with extremely limited availability and from multiple suppliers and prices.
Cupcake Delirium
Location: 219 Main St Suite E, Pineville, NC 28134
Cupcake Delirium, a bakery on Main Street in Pineville, offers a changing roster of buttercream frosted cupcakes Tuesdays through Saturdays, but also a Dubai Brownie. The dense, rich, rectangular chocolate block ($6) is topped with pistachios.
Haraz
Location: 1204 Central Ave, Ste 100, Charlotte, NC 28204
Location: 3441 South Blvd, Unit C, Charlotte, NC 28209
With two locations in Charlotte,the Yemeni coffee house offers house-made petite Dubai chocolate bars in delightful gold wrappers for $8. It also offers a Dubai Chocolate Cheesecake for $8.
Lidl
Location: Multiple
Lidl grocery store recently offered its Dubai chocolate bar in stores for $9.99, however it sold out fast. If you get lucky, you may be able to see it restocked on shelves.
Qahwah House
Location: 1318 Pecan Ave, Plaza Midwood, Charlotte, NC 28205
The Yemeni coffee house chain in Plaza Midwood offers a “Yemen Chocolate” dome dessert at around $7, decorated with gold dust. When cracked open, it reveals Dubai chocolate’s crunchy, green pistachio interior.
SouthPark Mall
Location: 4400 Sharon Rd, Charlotte, NC 28211
A Dubai Chocolate kiosk is set up at SouthPark Mall, where the bars can be purchased for $15 plus tax. A warning, however: The actual chocolate bar inside is smaller than the box, making it appear as if some of it were missing. But it’s thick, heavy and tasty.
Super G Mart
Location: 10500 Centrum Pkwy, Pineville, NC 28134
Location: 7323 E Independence Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28227
With two Charlotte locations, the massive international grocery store offers quite possibly the closest contender to the real Dubai chocolate bar in size (the actual bar is quite hefty) and ingredients, with a version from Turkey priced at $14.99.
Trader Joe’s
Location: 1820 E Arbors Dr, Charlotte, NC 28262
Location: 6418 Rea Rd, Charlotte, NC 28277
Location: 1133 Metropolitan Ave, Charlotte, NC 28204
When not sold out, you may be able to locate the popular grocery chain’s version of Dubai chocolate at $3.99, which utilizes a dark chocolate shell, instead of a milk chocolate, though reviews according to Reddit are mixed regarding taste and texture.
Vavela Cafe
Location: 440 E McCullough Dr #210, Charlotte, NC 28262
This Turkish coffee house in the University City area offers a “Pistachio Kutaifi Chocolate” cake, where the green pistachio blend is sandwiched between chocolate cake layers, for about $8.
Zaytuna Halal Market
Location: 10227 University City Blvd B, Charlotte, NC 28213
This university area grocery store offers a “Taste of Dubai” chocolate bar from Turkish confectionary Elit, which goes on sale for $5.99.
Tracking down Dubai chocolate in Charlotte may feel like a scavenger hunt for a golden ticket, but it’s worth discovering new tastes and textures, especially for chocophiles and pistachio lovers.
You be the judge whether it’s worth the hype.
Heidi Finley contributed.
This story was originally published July 29, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
