Bahrain, the island country in the Persian Gulf east of Saudi Arabia, has a population of 1.702 million. It has a subtropical climate and sandy deserts. And yes, you can find froyo there – lots of froyo. According to our research, froyo first appeared around 2011.
Several froyo shops opened in 2011. Bahrain was relatively late to adopt froyo. By 2011, froyo shops had opened throughout the Middle East. Since 2011, there have been a mix of home grown and international froyo chain shops in Bahrain. Several international froyo chains set up shop in Bahrain, including Fresh Berry, Pinkberry, Menchie’s, TCBY, Tutti Frutti, and Yogorino. Purple Swirl, started by a Bahraini entrepreneur, was the first locally developed self-serve froyo shop. There are a handful of froyo trucks. Non-froyo shops also serve froyo. Most of the froyo shops have been counter serve.
Froyo has done well. Many of the froyo shops that started in 2011 in Bahrain are still open.
In Bahrain, froyo shops commonly offer froyo, pancakes, waffles, crepes, and drinks. It’s common to cover pancakes and waffles in thick, sweet sauces like Nutella and pistachio sauce. Popular local froyo flavors include pomegranate, saffron, mango, pistachio, Lotus, Nutella, and dates.
We’ve compiled an alphabetical list of the shops that serve froyo in Bahrain. It includes shops that have closed.
Froyo Shops in Bahrain (opening year – closing year)
- Black Panda (2019 – present): Black Panda has two locations that serve froyo, desserts, and beverages.
- Blueberry Frozen Yogurt (2014 – 2020?): We’re not sure if Blueberry is still open since their last Facebook post was in 2020.
- Café Maybells (2019 – present): Café Maybells has one location in Manama that serves acai bowls, toasts, froyo, desserts, and drinks.
- Crepe Station (2018 – present): Crepe Station has a store in Sanad that serves crepes, waffles, pancakes, froyo, and beverages. They launched a food truck in 2018 but we’re not sure what the current status of the truck is.
- Fresh Berry (2013 – 2014): Fresh Berry was an American froyo chain that offered counter serve froyo. They carried four flavors a day. The last Instagram post was in 2014.
- Fruittelo Frozen Yogurt (2016 – present): Fruittelo has one shop in A’ali. The counter-serve shop serves froyo, waffles, pancakes, smoothies, and crepes.
- Frutto Gelato (2014-2021): Frutto Gelato was an Italian-inspired counter-serve gelato shop that also served froyo in Manama.
- Ice Cream House (2016 – present): Ice Cream House is a counter-serve soft serve ice cream shop that offers ice cream, froyo, and beverages. The first Instagram post was in 2016 and that’s also the same year they created a Facebook page.
- Menchie’s (2014 – ???): The world’s largest self-serve froyo chain opened at the Wadi Al Sail Mall in Riffa in 2014. There were plans to open two additional locations in Bahrain. We’re not sure if those locations opened but if they did, they’ve since closed. It’s unlikely that they were open long. None of them are listed on Menchie’s website today.
- Pinkberry (2011 – present): Pinkberry has been very successful in the Middle East with its counter-serve premium froyo model. There are Pinkberry shops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain. Pinkberry currently has 3 counter-serve shops in Bahrain. The earliest reviews are from 2011.
- Purple Swirl Café (2011 – present): Purple Swirl was started by a Bahraini entrepreneur who fell in love with froyo while living in Los Angeles. In 2014, Purple Swirl had four self-serve locations in Bahrain with hopes to franchise throughout the Middle East. Purple Swirl launched froyo truck that launched in 2018. The last Facebook post was in 2015 but there have been recent reviews, so they still seem to have at least one location open – the one in Riffa? The last Instagram post was in October 2020.
- Smoothie Factory (2020 – present): Smoothie Factory is a large international smoothie and juice chain that also offers froyo. Their first Bahrain Instagram post was in 2020.
- Taro Frozen Yogurt (2013 – present): Taro has three counter-serve locations. They also sell smoothies and waffles.
- TCBY (2011 – present): There are 2 TCBY locations: one in Budaiya and one in Isa Town, according to TCBY’s Instagram. The TCBY Bahrain Facebook page was created in 2011. TCBY serves soft-serve and scoopable froyo, juices, smoothies, cakes, etc. The froyo is counter-serve. There were other locations in Bahrain that have since closed.
- Toot (2019 – present): Toot is a counter-serve juice shop in Bilad Al Qadeem that also serves crepes, pancakes, yogurt ice cream, cake, ice cream rolls, etc.
- Tutti Frutti (2013 – present): The large international froyo franchise Tutti Frutti has two locations in Bahrain: the City Centre Mall and Bahrain Mall food court in Manama. The last Facebook update from Tutti Frutti Bahrain was in 2019 and the page was created in 2013. The last update on Instagram was in March 2020. These mall-based kiosks are counter serve, but they did have a self-serve location in Budaiya that closed.
- Yogberry (2011-2016): Yogberry was a counter-serve froyo shop that opened in 2011 in Manama. The last Facebook post was in 2012 when the new branch in Hidd opened. The last Instagram post was in 2016.
- Yogo Frozen Yogurt Truck (2018 – 2021?): Yogo claimed to be Bahrain’s first froyo truck, but if that’s true, it was only by a few months. The other two froyo trucks also launched in 2018. Yogo also bakes cookies to order. The last Instagram post was made in September 2021.
- Yogorino (2016 – present). The Italian counter-serve froyo chain is still at the Oasis Mall in Manama and at Dragon City in Diyar Al-Muhurraq. The Facebook page was created in 2016. They serve froyo, gelato, drinks, pancakes, and crepes.
- Yummie Yogurt (2018 – ?). Yummie Yogurt in Daih was last reviewed three years ago. The last Instagram post was made in 2018.
To see the froyo shops in Bahrain, visit our Pinterest board, Froyo Shops in Bahrain.
