Review: Crumbl's Decadent Dubai Chocolate Cheesecake Is Missing One Crucial Thing

Dubai-style chocolate, desserts, and drinks have made the rounds throughout the world. It blends chocolatey goodness with the rich, nutty notes of pistachio and the crunchiness of kadayif (or kataifi), which is shredded, crisp phyllo dough. It's a marvelous creation, so it makes sense that it transcended beyond the initial chocolate bar iteration created by Sarah Hamouda and became a total phenomenon. You can make a chocolate bar at home, but brands took advantage of the flavors, too. Shake Shack made a chocolate pistachio shake, companies in the U.S. created their own chocolate bar iterations to sell to loyal customers, and even Crumbl brought the flavor combination into its stores more than once.

The dessert chain launched the Dubai Chocolate Brownie across its locations in August 2025, and as of November, it brings a new Dubai dessert into the fold: Dubai Chocolate Cheesecake. I rushed to my local store to give it a taste to tell you how I truly feel about it — as a long-time food writer (and someone with Middle Eastern roots), I'm pretty difficult to impress. I am, however, a lover of chocolate and pistachio, so can this win my heart and taste buds? Let's find out.

Upon opening the pink Crumbl box, the appearance of this chilled treat is beautiful. It comes wrapped in a little paper that you can easily remove. But how does it taste? I took my first bite and well, yes, it is a rich and moist chocolate cheesecake. The chocolate graham cracker bottom is crumbly, if not a bit dry, with a cocoa flavor that isn't inherently sweet. The chocolate cheesecake is decadent and mousse-like without being too tangy. The pistachio filling with kataifi is wonderfully crunchy and brings the otherwise soft texture of the cheesecake to new heights.

There's really nothing negative to say about the actual flavor. But ... where's the pistachio? While the cheesecake contains what Crumbl calls a pistachio filling and pistachio creme, the nutty profile is otherwise lost in the chocolate profile of the dessert. Come to find out, the creme is only made up of 15% pistachios, according to the ingredients list. So it makes sense that it's so slight in flavor. Moreover, there are no crushed nuts on top to offer any added texture or lingering nuttiness.

The pistachio is muted when paired with the richness of the chocolate-infused cream cheese; you can taste a smidge of pistachio flavor, but not much. I had to dissect my dessert, trying each layer individually to truly get a grasp of the flavor. And the pistachio is mild, no matter how you eat it.

Before I dive into my deep thoughts, I can certainly start by saying this dessert has a solid flavor. The elements work, and if you're not someone who's used to critiquing foods and finding flaws, then it's sure to be a hit. It's creamy, rich, and chocolaty. The balance of smooth cheesecake and crunchy kataifi creates a memorable and fantastic mouthfeel that makes Dubai chocolate so scrumptious. But I have some suggestions so Crumbl can really nail the flavor, should it re-release it. (I have a feeling it will because it did so with the Dubai Chocolate Brownie back in October 2025.)

First off, the dessert needs more pistachio filling and creme, more pistachio in the filling itself, and ideally, actual crushed or chopped pistachio on top. That's my biggest gripe. As you can see from the cross-section, there's only a thin layer of the pistachio filling, followed by the cheesecake and crust. Then there's the price. I was a little skeptical based on the price alone. In my San Diego area, cookies are priced at $4.99, but this had a $2.99 upcharge, making the Dubai Chocolate Cheesecake $7.98 (and almost doubling the price). That's nothing to scoff at. So, I think a sprinkle of real pistachio, knowing that the nut is expensive, would help qualify that cost a bit. While totally delicious, at its core, it needs more pistachio to deliver on the Dubai-style moniker plain and simple.