Cheetos Crunchy, cheese flavour – 2/5
Classic, but we wonder whether it’s worth the cheese dust disaster zone… Or the smell.
Purchased from allday minimart.
Harvest Snaps Green Pea, Hot & Garlic flavour –2/5
We don’t care that they’re low carb, baked or made from “whole pea”.
Give us deep-fried potato, and give it to us now.
Purchased from Zoom.
Angry Birds Stella, Thai Style flavour – 4/5
A bizarre spin-off crisp from the video game franchise. We don’t know why these crisps exist, but they do, and like the game you can’t stop playing, we can’t stop eating them.
Purchased from Carrefour.
Doritos, Spicy Nacho flavour – 4/5
Prepare to emerge with your fingers and face coated in scarlet dust, and a vague recollection of not sharing a single salty triangle from your family-sized bag.
Purchased from Carrefour.
Burts British Hand Cooked Potato Chips, Sea Salt & Crushed Peppercorns flavour – 4/5
They’re British, so that means they’re not always the most well turned-out. They taste good though, so keep ’em coming.
Purchased from Zoom.
Chips Oman, Chilli flavour – 5/5
A regional classic, stuffing lunchboxes and Kraft cheese sandwiches/ka’ak/manakish for generations.
Purchased from Carrefour.
Eat Real Quinoa Chips, Sour Cream & Chives flavour – 3/5
A light, melty, munchable and not totally unhealthy snack. Well, that’s what we’re telling ourselves while we eat an entire bag.
Purchased from Zoom.
Funyuns, Flamin’ Hot flavour – 2/5
Crunchy, fiery, ring-shaped fun – although, handle with care.
Purchased from allday minimart.
Hunter’s Gourmet – 4/5
Hand Cooked Potato Chips, Sweet Chilli Chutney flavour
Continuing the trend of chunky, fat, home-made crisps, we’re big fans of these gourmet crisps – a real treat of an eat.
Purchased from Circle K.
Herr’s Cassava Popped Chips, Chipotle Mango flavour – 1/5
Jury is out on this one. The flavour sounds promising, but it’s too heavy on the mango-flavour dust and feels like an odd, savoury dessert. It’s unsettling.
Purchased from Carrefour.
Jacob’s Crinklys, Cheese & Onion flavour – 5/5
Cousin to Jacob’s Cream Crackers, there’s no need for cheese with these moreish little bites – just grab a pack of these and fill your face.
Purchased from allday minimart.
Junglee Jack Banana Chips, Hickory Barbecue flavour – 3/5
Quite who thought it would be a good idea to toss banana crisps in barbecue flavouring, we’ve no idea. However, these are suitable for vegans, which might explain a few things.
Purchased from Carrefour.
Lays Max, Mexican Chili flavour – 3/5
Nothing says “Mexican fiesta” more than crying through the pain of a chilli-induced fever. One for the asbestos-mouthed among us.
Purchased from Choithrams.
Lays Stax, Sour Cream & onion flavour – 5/5
A Time Out favourite, we’re regularly stocked up with Stax. A thicker version of other familiar tube-packaged snacks, they’re chunkier and more generously flavoured.
Purchased from allday minimart.
Marmite Rice Cakes – 2.5/5
You’ll either love them or hate them – and you might question their qualification as crisps. In fact, we probably shouldn’t have included them on this list…
Purchased from allday minimart.
Kettle Chips, Sea Salt & Balsamic Vinegar flavour – 5/5
Another brilliant British crisp – stick them in a bowl when you have neighbours round and you’ll look right posh.
Purchased from Choithrams.
Kettle Chips, Sweet Chilli & Sour Cream flavour – 5/5
We reckon more of these have spilled off pub tables than have actually been eaten, but they’re great, and they are a British pub classic.
Purchased from Waitrose.
Lay’s Forno, Black Pepper flavour – 4/5
These are some seriously moreish crisps, we’re pretty sure after a couple of multipacks we’ll get bored, but it’s not happened yet.
Purchased from Carrefour.
Lorenz’s Monster Munch, Original flavour – 3/5
Ghoul-shaped, salty, crunchy bites that aren’t your foot-shaped, pickled onion friends. Decent nonetheless.
Purchased from allday minimart.
Mega Monster Munch, Pickled Onion flavour – 5/5
Now THIS is what we’re talking about! A crisp that’s like eating a whole monster’s foot in one go, and that’s too good an opportunity to pass up.
Purchased from Spinneys Market.
Mr. Krisps Cheez Balls – 5/5
An old friend to anyone who spent a happy childhood on Abu Dhabi’s birthday party circuit, stuffing their orange fingers into bowling balls.
Purchased from Carrefour.
Mr. Krisps Corn Tortillas, Pizza flavour – 1/5
Mexican tortilla chips, Italian flavouring, made in the UAE. A truly international gift – ideally you’d get more than what feels like five in a packet, though…
Purchased from Carrefour.
Pomsticks, Paprika flavour – 4/5
Far too moreish for their own good, these classic stick-like treats have stuck with us through life. Still no idea what the word Pom means though.
Purchased from Choithrams.
Pringles, Ketchup flavour – 4/5
When you’ve given up dunking your crisps in ketchup, this is the next best thing. The tomatoey tang keeps us poppin’, no stoppin’.
Purchased from Carrefour.
Signature Snacks Mini Snaps, Hot & Spicy flavour – 3/5
A fiery version of its cheesier sibling, we prefer the kick of these hot and spicy crunchy, cracker-esque treats.
Purchased from Carrefour.
Nik Naks, Nice ’n’ Spicy flavour – 4.5/5
Nik Naks taste amazing, and the big ones are incredible, but those pesky little ones drive us berserk. Go big or go home, we say.
Purchased from allday minimart.
Pom-Bear, Original flavour – 4/5
If you go down to the woods today, you’d better take a packet of Pom-Bears with you, because they’re jolly tasty.
Purchased from allday minimart.
Raja Potato Crunchies, Ketchup flavour – 3/5
A local classic, these puffed wheat crisps remind us of playground days, and thankfully, there’yre mostly happy memories…
Purchased from Carrefour.
Safari Grills, Ready Salted flavour – 3/5
They look a bit like a garden trellis, or the top of a traditional mince pie, and they melt like a dream. Tricky ones these Safari Grills, keep an eye on them.
Purchased from Carrefour.
Simply 7 Hummus Chips, Roasted Red Pepper flavour – 4/5
Who knew that the humble chick pea was so versatile? These crisps are a delight for anyone seeking a lighter way to indulge, and we’re big fans.
Purchased from Choithrams.
Salt & Shake – 2/5
One of the UK’s original crisp brands (formerly Salt ’n’ Shake before a relaunch 80-or-so years later in the noughties), why these still exist, in a time of limitless flavours and possibilities, is one of life’s great mysteries.
Purchased from Spinneys Market.
Smith’s, Salt & Vinegar flavour – 5/5
These crinkle-cut Aussie classics may throw you with their pink packaging (SALT & VINEGAR IS GREEN OR BLUE, GUYS), but if your idea of a good snack is a tangy kick in the taste buds, you’ve met your match.
Purchased from Spinneys Market.
Taytos, Cheese & Onion flavour – 4/5
Crunchiest among those crisps that aren’t kettle-fried, these are a taste of Ireland for homesick expats. Stuff into a cheese toastie for maximum points.
Purchased from desertcart.ae.
Simply 7 Lentil Chips, JalapeÑo flavour – 4/5
Proving almost anything can be turned into a crisp, these lentil bites have a fiery kick behind them, and it’s hard to only ever have one. Good job the bags come large as standard…
Purchased from Zoom.
Sohar Chips, Original flavour – 5/5
There’s something so satisfying about these crisps from Oman. They melt in your mouth, but sort of feel like they shouldn’t. Either way, they’re a local classic.
Purchased from Carrefour.
Signature Snacks Mini Snaps, Cheese flavour – 2/5
Verging dangerously close to cracker territory, these crispy and crunchy minis make a great pre-dinner nibble next time you’re hosting.
Purchased from Carrefour.
Supereats Kale Crisps, Hickory BBQ flavour – 0/5
NO! No, no, no, no, no! Just because it’s crispy doesn’t mean it’s a good crisp. Kale is NOT a crispable vegetable.
Purchased from Circle K.
Skips Tingly Prawn Cocktail flavour – 5/5
Skips are amazing, and we won’t hear a bad word about them. Fizzy, melty, prawn cocktail brilliance.
Purchased from allday minimart.
Tostitos, Hint of Lime flavour – 2/5
The jury’s still out for us on these – we just can’t work out whether to dip them in guac or rub them around the edges of a glass.
Purchased from Spinneys Market.
Tostitos Oven Baked Scoops!, Original flavour – 4/5
What could be niftier for your nightly salsa binge in front of the TV than what are, essentially, crisp spoons?
What indeed.
Purchased from Spinneys Market.
Waitrose Crisp & Crunchy Sea Salt Hand Cooked Crisps – 4/5
Crunchy, salty and one heck of a big bite. Actually, if anything, they’re too big. Seriously, you’ve got to break it in half to even stand a chance.
Purchased from (surprise!) Waitrose.
The Real McCoy’s, Salt & Malt Vinegar flavour – 3/5
Man crisps, allegedly. Enough vinegar to make your silver sparkle and salty enough to keep you reaching for the water. What more could you want?
Purchased from Choithrams.
Tyrrell’s, Sweet Chilli & Red Pepper flavour – 5/5
Another classy British bite, you’ll find Tyrrell’s chips ripped open for sharing on pub tables across the UK.
A cracking bite.
Purchased from Carrefour.
Walkers Bugles, Southern Style BBQ flavour – 4/5
We bet you can’t eat these without putting them on your fingers for a bit of mid-snack fun.
Purchased from allday minimart.
Walkers Squares, Salt & Vinegar flavour – 2/5
An absolute classic crisp. Although, sadly, nostalgia seems to treat them more favourably than time has. Not as mouth-burningly good as we remember.
Purchased from allday minimart.
Tostitos, Original flavour – 5/5
Behind every great plate of nachos is a mountain of sturdy, salty tortilla chips, and they don’t come much more of either than these. They’re also giant, which helps if, like us, you’re unimaginably greedy.
Purchased from Spinneys Market.
Walkers French Fries Salt & Vinegar flavour – 5/5
Classic chips. Wait, crisps. Wait, fries. Well, whichever they are, they’ve got one of the most satisfying crunches in the crisp world.
Purchased from allday minimart.
Twiglets Original –2.5/5
Ah, another entry into the “love it or hate it” category. Twiglets remind us of awkward family parties in the ’90s, but at least we got to keep the tub to stash our coins.
Purchased from allday minimart.
Walkers Prawn Cocktail flavour – 4/5
The real pink crisp. Do they really taste like prawn cocktail, that ’70s starter no-one really eats anymore? Probably not, but that’s not a bad thing.
Purchased from Spinneys Market.
Walkers Sunbites, Sour Cream and Cracked Black Pepper flavour – 5/5
Why do the packets have to be so darn small? These crisps are amazing. Multipack-devouringly amazing.
Purchased from Zoom.
Present when our interest in food was first piqued (crisps and ketchup sandwich, anyone?), and at those ’90s birthday parties where three flavours in a bowl was considered haute cuisine, crisps have always been a safe, staple snack lingering in the background. They’re there in lunchboxes, on lazy Saturday afternoons, at picnics and split open on pub tables.
If man’s most reliable friend were a food, it would be the crisp.
One of the many brilliant things about Abu Dhabi is its multicultural society, and that has opened us all up to a whole world of varieties and flavours. European crisps, North American crisps, Middle Eastern crisps – all in any flavour you like, here on our doorstep.
So we’ve rounded up 50 of the best (and some of the most dubious) purchased in shops across the city.
Tuck in.
