Throughout the year, Dubai’s viral desserts have repeatedly found their way into Hyderabad’s food scene, shaping menus and sparking social media trends. From pistachio kunafa chocolates to indulgent, chocolate-heavy creations, the city has embraced these Gulf-inspired sweets with enthusiasm, as cafes continue to experiment with globally trending formats.
As the year draws to a close, Hyderabad is ending it on a sugary high, once again with an inspired concept from Dubai. The latest to join the trend is a chocolate shawarma, recently introduced at Etsi Cafe, which reimagines a savoury street-food favourite as a dessert, blending visual theatrics with indulgence and adding another Dubai-inspired sweet to the city’s growing list of viral offerings.
What is the chocolate shawarma?
Available at Etsi Cafe, the chocolate shawarma draws inspiration from a dramatic dessert concept that made waves in Dubai. At Indikaya, a fine-dining restaurant, Chef Hemant Oberoi introduced a theatrical chocolate shawarma in July 2025, where dark and milk chocolate ribbons are prepared on a vertical rotisserie and carved tableside, turning dessert into a performance.
At Etsi, the Hyderabad version mirrors the savoury shawarma format, except that a rich chocolate cake rotates on the vertical spit instead of meat. As it spins, the warm cake is shredded right off the rotisserie, creating soft layers of chocolatey goodness. That is then placed on a bed of crepe and lavishly finished with chocolate sauces, pistachio spread and fresh strawberries, blending indulgent sweetness with visual appeal.
Hyderabad’s love affair with global desserts
The chocolate shawarma at Etsi is the latest addition to a growing list of Dubai-inspired desserts that Hyderabad has embraced over the past year. Viral creations like the pistachio kunafa chocolate bar, popularised by Dubai-based Fix Dessert Chocolatier, sparked a citywide wave of recreations, with bakeries and cafes rolling out their own versions of the crunchy kataifi-and-pistachio-filled chocolate. Similarly, Dubai’s indulgent Matilda chocolate cake found its way onto Hyderabad menus, along with other Gulf trends such as karak chai-inspired desserts and rich chocolate-forward treats.
These adaptations point to a larger shift in the city’s cafe culture, where globally trending desserts are quickly localised, balancing visual drama with flavours that resonate with Hyderabad’s sweet-loving crowd.
