Shake Shack is not leaving the Dubai chocolate trend in 2025.
The Dubai Chocolate Pistachio Shake has returned to the chain restaurant’s menus nationwide for a limited time, with Shake Shack posting on Instagram that “your summer fling is back” and is “turning heads,” referencing the hit show “Love Island.”
The shake is inspired by the viral chocolate bar and is made with pistachio custard and toasted kataifi-shredded phyllo, coating the top in a crackable, dark chocolate shell and pistachios. It brings the viral Dubai chocolate bar to life, joining Starbucks, Tim Hortons and Baskin-Robbins in the Dubai-shake craze.
“This changed my brain chemistry last summer and I’m ready for it to be changed again,” one user commented on Shake Shack’s Instagram, with someone else proclaiming it was the “best news ever.”
“I cannot wait to get one,” another said. “A great shake to cool off this summer!!!”
Shake Shack first released the limited-edition treat back in April 2025 as the first fast-food chain to introduce a Dubai chocolate item to its menu, for $9.24 and 1,080 calories. It originally was only available at select restaurants in NYC, LA and Miami, but after customer feedback, the chain brought the shake nationwide in June 2025.
The creamy beverage went viral last summer when different food-review influencers posted their take on the shake, filming themselves squeezing the cups to break the hardened chocolate lining the cup. One NYC TikTokker said it was the “best shake they’ve made to date.”
TikTokker Alex Mutammara, who described himself as a “Dubai Chocolate Skeptic” and uninterested in the viral trend, still proclaimed that it was “one of their best shakes” ever because “they’re not trying to do too much.” He said the pistachio cream is simply mixed with vanilla custard, and the kataifi and chocolate add crunch.
“As a dubai chocolate skeptic I appreciate your honesty,” a user said in the comments.
The Dubai chocolate bar was created by Fix Chocolatier in the United Arab Emirates in 2021, but went viral on social media in 2023, leading U.S. brands to recreate the product and incorporate it into pastries, parfaits and milkshakes. Before reaching the US, chocolate lovers were traveling to Dubai from various countries.
The original name of the chocolate was “Can’t Get Khanafed of It” by the Fix Dessert Chocolatier company, and was sold for $20 a bar.
Fix Founder Sarah Hamouda started the candy company in 2021 as a side hustle, inspired by her pregnancy cravings. Hamouda said she started getting video responses from customers in Canada and Argentina, before the chocolate bars ended up worldwide.
Once TikTok creator Maria Vehera posted a 15-second ASMR video of her eating the bar and received 149 million views, Dubai chocolate took the world by storm.
The Shake Shack-inspired drink joins other new summer menu items, including a BBQ Boneless Baby Back Rib Sandwich and Mac & Cheese.