5 Dubai Chocolate Bars Ranked From Worst To Best

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Dubai chocolate is a trend that has very clearly taken over the internet. It seems like everything has gotten the Dubai chocolate treatment recently, from coffees and pizzas to ice creams and fast food shakes. That makes it easy to forget about the roots of this fan favorite confection: the humble chocolate bar. There are three ingredients that every knafneh chocolate bar has to have — pistachio cream, tahini, and kataifi (a kind of shredded phyllo dough used in knafneh, a Middle Eastern dessert) — encased with a layer of chocolate. Aside from that, though, brands can add their personal spin on the confection or play with the ingredient ratios to make it uniquely their own. 

As you can assume based on the ingredients and their own respective prices, Dubai chocolate bars aren't cheap; they range from $10 to nearly $30 each. And if you're dropping that much money on a chocolate bar, you want to make sure it's a pretty good one. That's where I come in.

I purchased all the sub-$20 Dubai chocolate bars that I could find at my local grocery stores and on Amazon, tasted them, and ranked them from worst to best. While I wouldn't call myself a Dubai chocolate aficionado, I still have a good idea of what I want from these treats: a balanced mixture of the respective components, creamy, high-quality chocolate, and an overall cohesive-tasting chocolate bar that would make me want to buy (and eat) it again. 

Prices are as of the date of publication and may vary based on region.

Reddit users have indicated that the Dubai chocolate bar isn't a hit due to its lack of pistachio flavor. And based on my experience with it, I have to say that I agree with them. 

I purchased this bar for just around $15 at my local Stop & Shop; it was the only one that I could find in a grocery store rather than on Amazon. It appears larger than the other chocolate bars, but much thinner — which didn't give me hope for its ratio of pistachio filling to chocolate. When I opened the wrapper, it revealed a decadent-looking, albeit thin, chocolate bar. After I cracked it open, I couldn't help but notice that the ratios were very much off; the bar was mostly milk chocolate, with a paltry amount of filling inside. It wasn't as bold and bright as I expected something made with pistachio paste to be, and the color was slightly too dull for my liking.

The chocolate was, as I expected, sweet, creamy, and high quality. It tastes like the exact same shell used for the brand's signature chocolate truffles: smooth and milky, rather than bitter and heavy on the palate. There was very little pistachio in the center of the bar, and I wouldn't say its flavor was strong enough to distinguish it. There was clearly something crunchy (likely the crushed kataifi), which added some uniqueness to the mouthfeel, but it wasn't as much as the higher-ranked brands. The tahini also wasn't present. Overall, this bar missed the mark for a high-quality Dubai chocolate. I'd expect more from a renowned chocolate brand like Lindt.

I am a sucker for a good box, and I will be happily keeping the cute, ornate packaging that this Eastanbul Dubai chocolate bar came with. But that's about all I will be keeping, seeing as this was one of the worst Dubai chocolates I sampled for this ranking. When I pulled it out of the container, I was horrified to see what appeared to be a blooming layer of mold on the top. But on closer inspection, it just seemed to be a surficial blemish on the outside of the chocolate. 

This relatively small and compact bar, at first glance, was also stuffed full of bright green pistachio cream and kataifi filling. However, the chocolate on the exterior of the bar was much too dense for the light filling inside. The bite was almost entirely taken over by chocolate that was far too sweet and cheap-tasting, rather than rich and balanced with a subtle bitterness. Theoretically, the bitterness would have balanced the heaviness and sweetness of the chocolate. This might be a bar better consumed in very small doses, but I just know I was left gasping and searching for a glass of cold water after finishing just a few bites. It was just way too sweet.

I was considering whether to place this bar or Lindt's last, but I think that ultimately, Eastanbul had more kataifi in the center, which gave it a better texture and made me like it just a little bit more. I'm still waiting on the pistachio cream to show its face, though. 

I tried the Ceres Gourmet Dubai chocolate bar immediately after Lindt's bar, and all I could say was, "Man, what an improvement!" This bar was about three times as thick, meaning it really packed in the filling. The pistachio flavor itself wasn't very prevalent (and neither was the tahini, if I'm being honest), but there was a ton of crunchy, crispy kataifi in the center. It almost felt like I was eating sweetened, chocolate-covered phyllo dough — which is a much more pleasurable experience than I thought it would be. While it was harder to discern the pistachio and the tahini in the center, there was something nutty about it that made it tantalizing and interesting to eat. 

In terms of chocolate quality, it's clear that Ceres Gourmet was putting its effort elsewhere. This chocolate is very sweet, though not as milky as Lindt. I would have liked the filling to act as more of a salty, nutty check for the sweetness of the chocolate, because as it stands, this bar registers as "sweet, sweet, and more sweet." Texturally speaking, I do think that Ceres Gourmet has something going on here that I want to be a part of, but I can't say that I absolutely loved this chocolate bar and would buy it again based on its texture alone. But it's certainly still more palatable than some of the lower-ranking brands.

I didn't know that chocolate could be an art form until I opened this BeeMax Dubai chocolate bar. This one is like the main act of its own show; the milk chocolate is splattered with a green, paint-like substance that I assume is supposed to be pistachio. And, unlike many of the other bars on this list, it feels like the pistachio flavor was much more thought-out and deliberate here. While the chocolate is creamy and sweet (though not as sweet as Ceres Gourmet), the main flavor that I get here stems from the nutty pistachio and tahini filling. Tahini is usually a very light, very soft flavor, but BeeMax put it center stage in its chocolate bar. Aside from the sweetness of the chocolate and the nutty, almost-floral notes of the grassy pistachios, my mouth was filled with the delectable crunchiness of the kataifi. How BeeMax kept the phyllo intact under such a hefty layer of pistachio and tahini filling, I do not know. But, maybe it's like Santa Claus — it's more magical the less you know about it. 

This is a chocolate bar fit for a special occasion. It's weighty, especially compared to the paltry and thin Lindt bar. If you had told me that this chocolate was made in an artisan chocolate shop, rather than sold by a shady merchant profile on Amazon, I would have believed you. I had very few critiques or qualms about it overall; however, it didn't have the same to-die-for texture as my top pick. 

Consider me a Dubai chocolate convert — or at least I was after trying this Zestix Dubai chocolate bar. The packaging was a little excessive, as I would have thought there was a trip to Willy Wonka's factory hidden inside its golden wrapper. But eating it did feel like I was taking a bite out of something only Wonka himself could have conjured up. This Turkish-made Dubai chocolate bar is excellent because it almost entirely skips over the "chocolate." While other brands on this list were concerned with creating super milky, decadent, and sweet confections, Zestix kept its head down and focused instead on the authentic and — dare I say, bold — pistachio filling. The flavor was nutty and decadent, and when combined with the crunchy, ample quantity of kataifi in the center, it was absolutely heavenly. 

Realistically, both BeeMax and Zestix could have taken the No. 1 spot on this list, but I felt more inclined to give it to Zestix due to its density, balance of flavors, and ample crunchy phyllo filling. When I opened this bar, I honestly didn't expect to be confronted by such a flavorful and well-endowed chocolate bar. It doesn't look like much is going on the outside, and it's clear that Zestix focused all its efforts on engineering a chocolate bar that is remarkable, heavy, and decadent, rather than just trying to make something that looks good. It's a prime example of the expression, "it's what's on the inside that counts," and I'm glad I got a chance to experience it in all of its glory. 

I tried these chocolate bars on the day that they arrived (or in Lindt's case, when it was purchased from the store) to ensure peak freshness. Since Dubai chocolate has three primary elements — pistachio cream, tahini, and kataifi — I looked for bars that had a good expression of all of these flavors. Pistachio cream and tahini can be kind of light, especially when paired with heavy and overtly sweet chocolate, so I wanted to see which brands could balance out that richness and offer the fullest expression of the flavor. The amount of kataifi was another big linchpin in this ranking. The crushed phyllo is what gives Dubai chocolate its unique texture, so I ranked bars that had a better balance between the crunchy pastry and creamy chocolate higher than those that did not. 

Chocolate quality was also a significant consideration, as these are all, at their core, chocolate bars. The highest-ranked bars on my list were able to balance a show-stopping exterior, creamy (and not overtly sweet) chocolate, and flavorful add-ins. I would easily recommend my top two picks on this list to Dubai chocolate enthusiasts and newbies alike.