Dubai chocolate: What is Lindt’s Dubai Style Chocolate and where to buy as stores bring in limits

If you love chocolate and you love pistachios then the latest viral TikTok trend will be right up your street.

What is Dubai chocolate?

Dubbed Dubai chocolate, the trend started on social media with an influencer showcasing a pistachio bar made by a chocolate company in Dubai in 2024. Fix Dessert Chocolatier in Dubai sells a pistachio cream and knafeh (shredded filo pastry) filling, and since then, chocolatiers and chocolate companies in the UK have been creating pistachio chocolate to keep up with this craze, which isn’t dying down.

AFP via Getty Images

Where to buy Dubai chocolate

Currently the hottest pistachio chocolate flying off shelves is Lindt’s £10 Dubai chocolate bar. Waitrose has introduced a two bar limit for customers buying the chocolate with a spokesperson for the supermarket explaining: “Due to the incredible popularity of this product, we want to make sure that as many customers as possible have the opportunity to try it.”

As well as Waitrose, you can buy the Lindt Dubai chocolate in Sainsbury’s and at Livingston Designer Outlet as well as at the Lindt online store.

As well as selling bars of Dubai chocolate, Lindt have recently announce that their highly sought-after Lindt Lindor pistachio truffles, will be available in supermarkets nationwide. Initially launched in Tesco in 2024, these chocolates quickly gained popularity and are now available in all supermarkets with an RRP of £7.50.

Lindor pistachio truffles | Lindt

Lindt are also selling a Lindor pistachio Easter egg, which comes with a selection of pistachio truffles. The seasonal treat is available now in Tesco stores priced at £13.

If you can’t get your hands on the Lindt Dubai chocolate, or want to spend a bit less, Lidl has their own version and it’ll be on sale this weekend (from Saturday 29 March). The J.D. Gross Dubai Style Chocolate, the launch of which sold out on the supermarket’s TikTok shop almost immediately, will be in stores nationwide.

After frenzied fans of Dubai Chocolate sold out the 6,000 bars in just over an hour, they took to TikTok to give their review with raving comments like: “So good! Please stock this all-year round”; “Absolutely delicious, 10/10” and “Sensational, absolutely loved this, please please please bring this to stores now!”

Lidl’s new J.D. Gross Dubai-Style Chocolate | Lidl

Landing on-shelf as the cheapest Dubai Chocolate in UK supermarkets, Lidl’s own version of the treat is £3.99 for Lidl Plus customers - almost three times cheaper than Lindt's £10 offering.

But as with the Lindt bars, shoppers will only be able to buy limited quantities per shop.

Marks and Spencer is also home to another sought-after, sold out chocolate pistachio product - their pistachio rolled Easter eggs and the full sized Collection Extra Thick Pistachio and Milk Chocolate egg, which is sold out in stores across the country.

Kathryn Turner, director of product development said: "We've seen the pistachio trend explode in the past few months, both on restaurant menus and on social media, so it's a real focus for us as one of our top flavour trends this year.

M&S Extra Thick Collection Eggs | contributed

“For example our top-quality Collection Pistachio Crème is perfect for adding a touch of luxury to your day, whether you’re having a sweet snack, making an amazing dessert, or simply looking for something indulgent to top your pancakes.

“Given the popularity for pistachio, we knew our customers would be obsessed with pistachio-flavoured Easter treats – and we set out to develop the best in the business.

“Our viral Collection 5 Pistachio Rolled Eggs have now been joined by a full-size next level Collection Extra Thick Pistachio and Milk Chocolate Egg with a hidden layer of smooth pistachio truffle, scattered with whole pistachios and presented in a gorgeous box.”

If you’d rather support a small business, Scottish chocolatier Chloe Oswald, owner of Chocolatia has been making a Dubai chocolate bar for months now.

She said: “We love using pistachio in the kitchen. I make my own praline by roasting and grinding vibrant green Iranian pistachios with Isle of Skye sea salt. It’s delicious! We used to make lots of pistachio flavours at Christmas time and they are always popular. I like to pair pistachio with cherry or raspberry in my bonbons, and have done pistachio praline bars and egg shaped bars for Easter.

“Last year we launched our take on the Dubai pistachio bar, we had a similar crunchy pistachio bar made with caramelised wafer flakes but for this bar we use toasted katifi pastry instead.”

These have sold well, with Ms Oswald adding: “We’ve sold a lot of our take on the bar since we launched it. It’s not the same as the viral one as we have a crunchy and firmer filling rather than it going a bit soggy and staying wet, I’d say ours plays with the savoury side too as we use a generous amount of sea salt and a dark chocolate for the shell. It’s not as sweet as some of the more commercial alternatives.”

Ms Oswald will also be selling a pistachio Easter bar, she said: “We usually do a pistachio praline Easter egg shaped bar, but this year I think we will launch a crunchy Dubai inspired one as well, the customers are keen for it after doing a poll on Instagram.”

For something a bit different, Aldi is selling Dubai Chocolate Ice Cream (£3.99, 500ml). Landing in stores from 14 April, the frozen sweet treat is the first of its kind to be available in any UK supermarket.