Review: Shake Shack's Dubai Chocolate Pistachio Shake Gets Luxury Right

Shake Shack is no stranger to Dubai tastes. The city is actually the site of the fourth-ever Shake Shack location, one which has been serving a special shake since February 10. Now, this latest shake innovation is arriving in select U.S. Shake Shack locations on April 7, riding not only on viral acclaim but also a successful test run in its hometown. It's the Dubai Chocolate Pistachio Shake!

Shake Shack put the work in to replicate a real Dubai chocolate bar. John Karangis, Shake Shack's executive chef and VP of culinary innovation, notes, "It isn't a revenue generator for us," comparing it to the brand's frequent (and present) truffle burger offerings, where the main goal is to "bring something elevated" into the fast food space. While the burger chain isn't necessarily losing money on these drinks, it definitely opted for costlier quality over more profit and is limiting the distribution to ensure freshness and satisfaction. You're buying yourself a nice little indulgence.

I headed to Shake Shack's innovation kitchen in New York City's West Village, where the team of recipe developers and quality controllers proudly debuted their creation. I could tell from the description in the press release that this shake would be decadent, but is it worth seeking out? I resolved to try it for myself, drinking as much shake as required to fairly assess it, and then drink a lot more if I liked it, because I am a glutton.

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

The Dubai Chocolate Pistachio Shake recreates the viral Dubai chocolate bar, which debuted around 2021, according to Shake Shack, but became famous worldwide around the spring of 2024. If you're not familiar, a thick chocolate shell houses a network of crispy knafeh phyllo dough suspended in pistachio cream. Often, the bars are topped with visual garnish, like chunks of crushed and chopped pistachios or even gold. You can now find many accurate, if not original, editions of the bar all around the country and even online if there isn't an option to buy it locally. However, it's still not cheap, and you might be better off enjoying the mixture of flavors at your local Shake Shack ... if you live in the right city.

Shake Shack's Dubai Chocolate Pistachio Shake is made by coating a cup with an emulsification of dark chocolate and coconut oil, to replicate the candy shell. Inside, Shake Shack's famous vanilla custard is blended with "a very high-grade pistachio pure," according to John Karangis. The custard is also blended with toasted kataifi, another name for knafeh, the shredded phyllo dough that gives the candy its wonderful crispiness and which also tops the shake alongside chopped pistachios. These pistachio elements, Karangis adds, "are not cheap, and we're very unwavering in our desire not to use anything other than top-quality."

Only 30 Shake Shack locations in the U.S. will serve the Dubai Chocolate Pistachio Shake until April 28 or supplies run out, and each outpost will only make 25 of them per day. That's because it's crafted by hand from start to finish. Toasting the kataifi, coating the cups with chocolate shell for freezing — a lot goes into this shake, and it can't just be served up on demand. That's why it's only available in New York, LA, and Miami, and not even at every location in those areas. Find it in NYC at 630 Lexington, Astor Place, Columbus Circle, Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO, Flatbush, the Lower East Side, the Meatpacking District, the Upper East Side, and the West Village. In Los Angeles, it's in Beverly Hills, Century City, El Segundo, Glendale, Hollywood, Long Beach, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Studio City, and WeHo. In the Miami area, head to Aventura Mall, Boca Raton, Coral Gables, Dadeland Mall, Ft. Lauderdale, Mary Brickell Village, Miami Beach, Sawgrass Mills, The Falls, or The Gardens Mall.

With all that work, and the cost of the candy bar, you might expect this drink to break the bank, but it starts at just $8, depending on your location. That would have been a semi-pricy milkshake not too long ago, but right across the street from where I tried this gilded order, McDonald's is selling a chocolate shake for $5. Plus, Shake Shack's your cheapest bet to experience these flavors and textures short of making your own Dubai chocolate bar.

Every Shake Shack limited-time offering I've reviewed has rocked my socks, so it's no surprise that the Dubai Chocolate Pistachio Shake was phenomenal, but I think even in that company, it stands out for its successes. Given what makes the original article such a sensation, I had my doubts that the textures would translate into shake format, either sogging up or becoming impossible to drink through a straw, and I'm happy to report that neither is true. The design of this drink demands you engage with it, and while you will need a spoon to scrape and scoop all of it, the sipping part's a lot of fun and will keep the ingredients intermingled.

It also gets better the deeper you go, with all of the shattered chocolate and sunk toppings gathered at the bottom like a nice Dairy Queen Blizzard. You'll want to give it a good squeeze to shatter the chocolate bits, which delivers the fun of breaking things without getting in trouble. The tastes and flavors slap, but I also dig that you have to eat it actively, not just sip it up. By the end, I was scraping the bottom of my cup like some calorie-starved animal from the woods, trying to ensure that not a piece of pistachio or phyllo fiber went unconsumed. That's probably the highest recommendation I can give. It's the luxury experience made affordable so that I can consume it as a savage. What a ride!

Shake Shack thoughtfully gave us a piece of the real-deal candy bar to try alongside our shakes, and there are indeed some differences. While both have manifest pistachio flavor, the bar tastes nuttier, and I'm not sure how I'd differentiate pistachio flavor from nuttiness itself. If you live in the right area, try it at your local Shake Shack and see if you don't experience the same.

Additionally, the vanilla and coconut elements pull the Dubai Chocolate Pistachio Shake further away from being 100% identical to the bar, but also, who cares? You can get an actual Dubai chocolate bar if you want a perfect experience, but if you want a milkshake that perfectly encapsulates everything that's amazing about that candy, this is the way to go. It's authentically Shake Shack and devotedly Dubai. If you're looking to drink your chocolate, you could do a lot worse. I got paid to drink it, yet I'd take part of that income and pay the $8 to do so again. It's luxe, but baby, you and I are worth the extravagance.