When a chef on IHOP’s culinary team noticed Dubai chocolate trending on social media over a year ago, he thought, Why not pancakes? So he played around with a couple of variations, but the team didn’t think the timing was quite right for family-dining guests.
“We’re a large brand [over 1,800 restaurants worldwide], and we weren’t sure there was an appetite for this,” said Art Carl, VP of culinary at Pasadena, California-based IHOP. “Plus it takes time for purchasing to bring in those ingredients. We banked the idea but thought it might have legs.”
Then in March, an IHOP franchisee in New Jersey crafted a pancake version of the Dubai chocolate bar and posted it on TikTok. It generated a ton of social buzz and went viral. Carl and his team were ready to “meet the speed of culture” and revisit their “banked idea.”
Building the pancake stack
In just two months, they created two elevated versions, merging the two original ideas. “Our culinary, marketing, and social teams are consistently listening to social and trends and immediately noticed that guests were craving something more, so we took it up a notch in the test kitchen to deliver an exciting new stack,” said Carl.
The crunch and creaminess of the Dubai chocolate flavor profile works well with pancakes, he added, but to make it authentic, IHOP had to bring in several of the ingredients that were missing from its pantry.
The basic build starts with two of IHOP’s classic buttermilk pancakes, but the batter has the addition of crisp, toasted kataifi made from very finely shredded filo; that is one of the new SKUs. More kataifi is then sprinkled on top, creating layers of lacy texture and flavor both inside and outside. Kataifi is what gives the Dubai Chocolate Bar its TikTok-famous crunchy sound effects.
Pistachio cream, a Middle Eastern and Mediterranean staple, was imported from Italy to layer on top. Initially, the IHOP franchisee used Nutella, but the pistachio cream more closely mimics the chocolate bar.
Carl pipes the rich, velvety cream from a pastry bag, and IHOP’s kitchen teams do the same for the pancake build. Piping bags are not new to the back-of-house, he said. Two more pancakes go on top, then a chocolate glaze is spooned over, followed by more kataifi, crushed pistachios and chocolate shavings.
IHOP Original Dubai Chocolate Pancakes. | Photo courtesy of IHOP.
The result is a multi-layered pancake stack with several contrasting flavors and textures called the IHOP Original Dubai Chocolate Pancakes. Starting Monday at noon, one restaurant location in Los Angeles, New York City and Austin, Texas, is offering this version for $13, while supplies last. There are enough ingredients on hand at each of the three locations to make 500 Dubai chocolate stacks.
Taking it over the top
But the team developed an even more exclusive version it’s calling IHOP Luxe Dubai Chocolate Pancakes. This stack starts with the same kataifi-enriched buttermilk pancakes piped with layers of pistachio cream, glazed with chocolate and sprinkled with crushed pistachios. But then gold dust is applied all over “up, down, sideways, everywhere,” said Carl.
The crowning touches are even more elaborate. A whole Dubai chocolate bar is cut in half and decorated with pieces of 24-carat gold flake. The halved chocolate bar is placed on an angle on top of the pancakes, more gold dust is sprinkled over and the stack is embellished with freshly whipped cream flavored with imported Madagascar vanilla. More gold dust completes the build.
VP of ulinary Art Carl demos the two versions of IHOP's Dubai chocolate pancakes. | Photo by Pat Cobe.
“This version should sell for $100 with all the expensive ingredients, including real gold,” said Carl.
But it’s not for sale, Instead, the first 25 people who show up at one of the three participating restaurants on Monday will have the chance to taste the IHOP Luxe Dubai Chocolate Pancakes for free. Innovation chefs from IHOP’s culinary team will be stationed at each location to make sure the pancakes are executed at the highest level.
“We asked ourselves, ‘how do you become distinctively IHOP?’ and this is it,” said Carl. The creation of the Dubai chocolate pancakes really delivers the “unexpected” to those familiar with IHOP, he added.
What’s next?
IHOP expects the limited-time pancakes to sell out in the first two days, but some of the ingredients may stick around longer. “We’re playing with pistachio in other applications and our chefs are always playing around with global ingredients,” said Carl.
IHOP has restaurants in 13 countries along with the U.S. and two locations in Dubai, and ideas percolate from those parts of the world. Plus, the company has a global conference coming up in December. Carl hinted that more global flavors may be coming down the pike in 2026.