What we serve
Kunafa in Northwood Hills
Kunafa is shredded pastry, and the reason it is everywhere at the moment is the Dubai chocolate bar that put pistachio and crisp pastry into the same bite. At Cha Cha Chai you can have it five ways. Dubai Kunafa Donut £2.95, Dubai Kunafa Chocolate £3.50, Loaded: Kunafa ice cream £4.50, Kunafa milkcake £7.50 and the Strawberry Kunafa Cup £7.95. All of it is halal, like the rest of the counter, and none of it needs ordering in advance. We are at 56 Joel Street in Northwood Hills, directly opposite the station on the Metropolitan line.
Strawberry Kunafa Cup, £7.95
The Strawberry Kunafa Cup is £7.95 and it is the full version. It is served in a clear cup so you can see the layers before you get to them, with strawberries through the middle and chocolate and shredded pastry on top.
It is on the customer favourites board. It is built to look the way it does, and it tastes the way it looks, which is sweet and heavy and worth sharing between two if you have already eaten.
Eat it with a spoon and go down through the layers rather than around the top, otherwise you get all the chocolate first and plain strawberries at the bottom.
At £7.95 it is the most expensive single dessert in this group, and it is the one to order if you are only ordering one.
A regular Karak Chai at £3.50 alongside is the right call. It is strong and unsweet enough to reset your mouth between spoonfuls. Sugar-free is available if you ask when ordering.
Dubai Kunafa Chocolate, £3.50, and Dubai Kunafa Donut, £2.95
The Dubai Kunafa Chocolate is £3.50. This is the format most people have seen online: chocolate with kunafa pastry inside it. At that price it is an easy thing to add to an order rather than a decision.
The Dubai Kunafa Donut is £2.95 and puts the same idea on one of our donuts, which are freshly prepared in store. You get the crunch of the pastry against something soft rather than against more chocolate, and it is easier to eat standing up.
Both are on the customer favourites board and both are available whenever we are open, which is 9:00 until 23:00 Monday to Thursday and Sunday, and until midnight on Friday and Saturday.
If you are buying for other people and do not know what they like, these two are the safe pair. Together they come to £6.45, less than the Strawberry Kunafa Cup on its own, and they give you both textures.
Everything is halal here and no alcohol is served, so nothing on this counter needs checking first.
Kunafa milkcake, £7.50, and Loaded: Kunafa ice cream, £4.50
The Kunafa milkcake is £7.50. Milkcake is sponge soaked in milk until it goes soft all the way through, served cold in a tub, and the kunafa version puts shredded pastry on top of it. Soft underneath, crisp on top. It is the most interesting of our four milkcakes, and the other three are Pistachio, Lotus Biscoff and Oreo at £6.95 each.
Loaded: Kunafa is £4.50 and comes from the gelato and loaded ice cream section. The other loaded options are Oreo, Lotus or Kinder at £3.50, so kunafa is the pound-more version.
If you want to build your own instead, gelato is £2.50 for one scoop, £4.50 for two and £6.00 for three, with a waffle cone at £1.00 extra.
Between the milkcake and the loaded ice cream, the milkcake is the sit-down order and the ice cream is the walking-out order. Both are on the counter all day.
For a table of people who each want something different, order across the five kunafa items and split them.
Which kunafa to order first
If you have never had it and want to know what it is, order the Dubai Kunafa Chocolate at £3.50. It is the cheapest honest introduction and it is the format the trend is built on.
If you are here for dessert properly and want one thing on the table, order the Strawberry Kunafa Cup at £7.95.
If you want kunafa but want it cold and light, take the Kunafa milkcake at £7.50.
If you are with children, the Dubai Kunafa Donut at £2.95 or Loaded: Kunafa at £4.50 will go down better than a cup they have to work through with a spoon.
None of it needs to be pre-ordered. It is all in the counter.
Alongside, the drink that works best is chai rather than anything sweet. Karak Chai is £3.25 small and £3.50 regular. Masala Chai is the same and is aromatic rather than strong. If you want cold, the Karak Chai Shake is £4.50 and the Pink Chai Shake is £4.50.
Finding the shop
Cha Cha Chai Northwood Hills is at 56 Joel Street, Northwood Hills, Northwood HA6 1PA. We are directly opposite Northwood Hills station on the Metropolitan line, about thirty seconds from the platform exit, which makes this an easy stop rather than a trip.
The H11 and 282 buses stop on Joel Street outside the door. If you drive, there is free and pay-and-display parking on Joel Street and the surrounding side roads.
We open at 9:00 seven days a week, serving until 23:00 Monday to Thursday and Sunday, and until midnight on Friday and Saturday.
Weekend evenings are the busiest time on the dessert counter. If you want to sit rather than take away, come earlier or be ready to wait for a table.
The room is built for staying, with velvet booths, big tables, and ludo and snakes and ladders printed into the marble.
All of it is on Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats too. The cup and the milkcake travel fine. The loaded ice cream does not.
Common questions
- What kunafa desserts do you have and how much are they?
- Five. The Dubai Kunafa Donut is £2.95, the Dubai Kunafa Chocolate is £3.50, Loaded: Kunafa ice cream is £4.50, the Kunafa milkcake is £7.50 and the Strawberry Kunafa Cup is £7.95. All five are on the counter whenever we are open and none of them needs ordering ahead. Those are in-store prices at 56 Joel Street; delivery apps price separately.
- Is the kunafa halal?
- Yes. Cha Cha Chai Northwood Hills is fully halal and no alcohol is served anywhere in the shop, so the entire dessert counter is halal, including all five kunafa items. A halal roundel is displayed on the entrance door. If you need to avoid a specific allergen, ask the team in store and they will go through the counter with you.
- Which kunafa should I try first?
- If you want to know what kunafa is, start with the Dubai Kunafa Chocolate at £3.50, which is the cheapest way in. If you want a proper sit-down dessert, order the Strawberry Kunafa Cup at £7.95, which is the fullest version and is on the customer favourites board. Order a regular Karak Chai at £3.50 with either.
- When are you open for dessert?
- We open at 9:00 every day and serve until 23:00 Monday to Thursday and Sunday, and until midnight on Friday and Saturday. Desserts are on all day rather than only in the evening. We are at 56 Joel Street, directly opposite Northwood Hills station on the Metropolitan line, roughly thirty seconds from the platform exit.
On the menu
- Strawberry Kunafa Cup£7.95
- Dubai Kunafa Chocolate£3.50
- Dubai Kunafa Donut£2.95
- Kunafa£7.50
- Loaded: Kunafa£4.50
Coming from nearby?
We are at 56 Joel Street, Northwood Hills, Northwood HA6 1PA, directly opposite Northwood Hills station.
While you are here
Other things worth ordering at the same time.
