Kitchens all across Abu Dhabi produce burgers in all sorts of tasty varieties – some restaurants dress theirs up with gourmet ingredients and charge a small (if richly deserved) fortune, while at the opposite end of the scale, others pay nimble teenagers to slap the meat between the bread, wrap it up and slide it over the counter in less time than it takes to shout, ‘Extra gherkins!’ And in between those two extremes there are plenty more venues that chuck in cheesy extras, let you build your own, squirt on signature sauces… the works. Frankly, we’re starting to get overwhelmed by all the choice, and so we’re inviting, no, begging you to help us find the absolute best.
So check out our list of Time Out Abu Dhabi’s favourite 20 burgers. Just reading through this should be enough to let you work up a hunger. Start eating your way through the list and taking notes.
Pretty soon we’ll be opening up a public vote and asking you to help us crown Abu Dhabi’s greatest burger.
Bel Mondo
Signature burger: Cheeseburger
A generous-sized burger with piles of salad, cheese, pickles and meat, all smothered in cocktail sauce.
Bel Mondo (02 676 3867)
Burger King
Signature burger: Whopper
Probably the second most famous burger in the world, the Whopper is the only serious contender to the Big Mac in the fast food giant stakes. The crucial difference, of course, is that there’s just one layer of flame grilled meat with salad and sauce.
Hamdan Street (02 635 4451)
Café Columbia
Signature burger: Angus Burger
Angus beef, gherkins, and salad are stacked tall and proud inside a thick sesame bun. Specify how you want the meat cooked (yep, it’s that kind of burger) and then splash it with ketchup before tucking in.
Beach Rotana (02 697 9000)
Chili’s
Signature burger: Big Mouth Old Timer
We’d prefer to describe this burger as ‘classic’ rather than ‘old’ (although we’re sure the marketing folks know what they’re doing). Anyway, it’s a simple, straightforward beef burger, served up with red onion, mustard and crisp, fresh salad. Nothing old about it.
Al Markaziyah (02 671 6300)
Cooper’s
Signature burger: Cooper’s prime beef burger
This bun is bursting with melted tallegio cheese, sun blush tomatoes, black truffle mayonnaise, tomato relish and, of course, a hefty patty of prime beef.
Park Rotana (02 657 3333)
Fuddruckers
Signature burger: The Works Burger
The primary selling point of Fuddruckers’ burgers is that they’re made with ultra-fresh ingredients – no frozen patties here. And, secondly, that they’re huge. If you’ve got a massive appetite, try the half-pound patty with thick-cut hickory smoked bacon, grilled button mushrooms and cheese.
Al Wahda Mall Food Court (02 443 7538)
Hardee’s
Signature burger: The Original Thickburger
A stonking third of a pound of charbroiled Black Angus Beef served with salad, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, dill pickles and American cheese. Everything about this burger from the packaging to the flavours just pumps its fist into the air and shouts: USA! USA!
Abu Dhabi Mall Food Court (02 645 4700)
Heroes
Signature burger: Quarter pounder
A build-your-own number, you can add stilton, jalapenos, onion rings and a whole host of other tasty treats to the already colossal piece of meat.
Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi (02 616 6132)
Hickory’s
Signature burger: California Burger
Does adding avocado to a burger make it a healthy choice? We think so. A stylish stack of lettuce, avocado, cucumber, cheese, Pommery mustard mayonnaise and beef burger.
Yas Links Golf Course (02 877 1111)
Jones the Grocer
Signature burger: Wagyu burger
The capital’s most popular gourmet café naturally has a suitably foodie take on the humble beef burger. It’s wagyu beef, with fresh salad and melted cheese. And served
on nothing so commonplace as a plate, of course, but rather presented artistically on a chopping board.
Al Muroor (02 443 8762)
McDonald’s
Signature burger: Big Mac
The iconic Big Mac doesn’t need any description, you’ve probably eaten hundreds of them. Suffice to say, this highly processed, double-patty affair has been singlehandedly responsible for expanding guts around the world since 1967.
Abu Dhabi Mall, Food Court (02 645 4969)
Mirabel
Signature burger: Mirabel burger
Prime Australian beef burger with caramelised onions, a home-made toasted sesame seed bun, and tomato-ginger ketchup. Fancy ingredients, looks very pretty, and tastes… well that’s up to you to decide.
Fotour Al Khair Mall (02 631 5111)
NRG
Signature burger: NRG burger
The burger menu at NRG is pretty lengthy, but the eponymous option is a no-nonsense affair served with lettuce, onion, tomato, cheese, egg and veal bacon. Did you bring your appetite?
Le Méridien Abu Dhabi (02 644 6666)
PJ O’Reilly’s
Signature burger: The PJ’s Beef burger
This hefty quarter-pound of minced prime beef is served with fried onions, veal bacon, fried egg and cheese, all packed inside the warm embrace of a toasted sesame seed bun.
Le Royal Méridien
(02 616 6132)
Rock Bottom Café
Signature burger: Old Fashioned Burger
The most unpretentious bar in the city serves its burgers to match. This is a stripped-down affair comprising meat, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and ketchup.
Al Diar Capital Hotel
(02 678 7700)
Shakespeare
Signature burger: Beef burger
A traditional combo of patty, lettuce, tomato, mustard and mayo, but it comes with a build-your-own element. You can ask to have eggs, blue cheese, mushrooms and other ingredients added, depending on how hungry you are.
Souk at Central Market (02 639 9626)
TGI Friday
Signature burger: Cheeseburger
An All-American classic. One fire-grilled Black Angus Beef patty, one slightly sweet brioche bun, melted American cheese and heaps of fresh salad and sauce. Thank goodness for that.
Electra Street (02 674 4500)
The Meat Co
Signature burger: Classic burger
With a name like The Meat Company, you’re entitled to have high expectations for the burgers. This is a back-to-basics option, comprising homemade patties, onion rings and salad.
Souk Qaryat Al Beri (02 558 1713)
The One Café
Signature burger: The Gourmet Burger
Slow roasted tomatoes, portobello mushroom, blue cheese and caramelised red onions, plus a generous splash of home-made ketchup. Oh, and a juicy burger that’s 100 per cent beef.
The One, Khalidiyah (02 681 6500)
Y- Bar
Signature burger: Y Burger
Oh the luxury. Everything on this burger is pimped up – the meat is wagyu, the bread is baked with parmesan, the mushrooms are porcini and the mayonnaise, oh boy, the mayonnaise is made with truffle oil. If a burger can be bling, this is it.
Yas Rotana (02 656 4000)
