We Tried Trader Joe’s Viral Dubai Chocolate Bar — and Yes, It’s Worth the Hype

Ever since the “cronut” transfixed foodies in 2013, we’ve borne witness to a seemingly endless cycle of viral food trends. And as a food writer, I can confidently say the Dubai Chocolate Bar is easily 2025’s version of the Starbucks “Pink Drink,” unicorn desserts, or that Olympic Village chocolate muffin. 

My social feed has been saturated with this crunchy, nutty chocolate over the past few months, and I’d be willing to bet your Instagram looks the same. The pistachio-based treat, created by Dubai-based Fix Dessert Chocolatier, has inspired numerous iterations — many of which retail for $20 or more. So when I caught wind of an affordable spin on the viral bar at Trader Joe’s, I couldn’t resist tracking it down for myself. 

We’ve been here before: Viral items sell out fast, and I could easily spend an afternoon bopping around New York City in search of the $3.99 treat. (The preferred task over answering emails, but far less productive.) 

On Wednesday, I called 13 of the nearest locations — 12, if you count the ones that picked up — for intel about the Trader Joe’s Patislove Dubai-Style Chocolate Bar. And dear reader, nearly every notoriously friendly crew member could rattle off the exact time they’d receive the shipment, including how long it’d take for employees to stack them on shelves. Perfect. 

Meanwhile, across the country, the imported chocolate bar began rolling out late last week. Some employees told me that they couldn’t internally order it until Wednesday, so it seems many stores jumped at the chance. A Trader Joe’s representative tells Food & Wine via email that the “exact date of its arrival in stores may vary.” 

Tasting the Trader Joe’s Dubai-style bar

Patislove, a brand owned by the Turkey-based Patis Food Group, imports its Dubai chocolate bars from Turkey. It’s around 50% dark chocolate, which makes this bar creamier than other dark chocolate options.At my usual Trader Joe's in Brooklyn, they were stacked high in the treat section with a five-bar limit per customer. Printed signs at every checkout register reminded shoppers of the purchase limit, so this Trader Joe’s certainly wasn’t messing around. 

As I hopped in line on Thursday morning, I spotted another like-minded shopper juggling four Pastislove bars. Self-doubt began to creep in: Would this be a chocolate-drizzled version of the viral mini totes? Was I foregoing a fortune in the resale market by grabbing just three? Pushing those cart comparisons aside, I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into the crunchy dark chocolate and pistachio cream. 

This bar was certainly designed for an Instagram-trained eye, as the thin layer of dark chocolate gives way to a vivid green filling. It easily falls apart, spilling kataifi — shredded phyllo dough — onto your fingertips. While Trader Joe’s HQ claims the creamy filling constitutes 30% of the entire bar, I did notice a bit less crunchy kataifi than in other versions. That might be due to the thinness of Patislove’s version, which some content creators describe as perfectly balanced. 

Trader Joe’s approach is more refined than the thick bars we’ve seen online, but that’s easily to the brand’s advantage: After all, it’s tempting to make an approachable chocolate bar a weekly treat rather than a one-time indulgence. 

Fair warning: It’s a sellout risk 

I made it out with three bars, but other shoppers across the country weren’t so lucky. Nothing halts the churn of the secondary market: A two-pack of the chocolate bars is currently priced at $26 on eBay, for those wondering. 

After hearing rumors about sold-out shelves on the Trader Joe’s subreddit, I made a few calls—and it turns out, they were true. On Friday morning, one Manhattan location confirmed they wouldn’t receive another shipment until Sunday afternoon. However, across the East River, outposts in Brooklyn are still offering the sought-after treats. Reddit commenters also report limited availability in Southern California and Phoenix. SFGate agrees, confirming that San Francisco-area stores sold out within the day.

The Monrovia, California-based grocery retailer is keeping tabs on the hype. While the Trader Joe’s website says it’s only available through July, that deadline isn’t set in stone. 

“We believe that customers ‘vote’ on what they love — and what they want to see more of — with their dollars,” a Trader Joe’s representative tells Food & Wine. “In other words, if our customers really love this product, we can certainly get more.”

Is the Trader Joe’s Dubai-Style Chocolate Bar worth your hard-earned $4? Almost certainly. As for the time it takes to track it down — you’ll be the judge.