At CheeseburgerMe.com, we are primarily looking for the best cheeseburger in London, but that does not stop us from looking out for the best cheeseburgers around the world too.
On a recent trip to Dubai, I had a chance to get out for a couple of memorable cheeseburgers which I will cover here in the blog. First, I want to talk about Black Tap (https://blacktap.com/) which is a small but highly regarded burger and beer chain out of NY City. I had a chance to try it a few years ago at the Marina Sands Mall in Singapore where it was the top-ranked burger in town at the time, although it is now #2 (https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurants-g294265-zfd10907-Singapore-Hamburger.html)
I was impressed then and so was excited when I saw that Black Tap has now expanded to the Middle East. It is worth pointing out right away, that the Dubai versions (https://blacktapme.com/) do not include the craft beers so is a slightly muted experience compared to the original, but hey this is CheeseburgerMe.com, not a craft ale site!
Beer or no, the place seems popular with the burger-loving public as it was ranked #1 and #2 when I was planning my trip with one at each of the mega-malls. (https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurants-g295424-zfd10907-Dubai_Emirate_of_Dubai-Hamburger.html)
We went for lunch after a morning of shopping, and I must say it was nice to be seated and not have to wait in line to place an order. I ordered the All-American Burger, which is their standard beef burger with cheese, although the fries had to be ordered as a side. Also grabbed a very refreshing raspberry lemonade and a classic pistachio shake, as shakes are one of their specialties.
We got our drinks quickly but the food wasn’t far behind. Cooked to order, but cooked quickly. The burger comes in a lightly toasted potato bun. The size was perfect, with great texture and a good flavour, although a little butter might have made it even better.
For condiments, the burger comes with “special sauce”, which is really just Thousand Islands dressing, albeit maybe a little heavier on the relish in the mix than others. It was very creamy, but no spicy kick like many other special sauces where paprika seems to be a popular add-in. There was ketchup and hot sauce on the table, but no mustard.
The veggies are simple: one piece of crisp butter lettuce and one tomato slice, along with a giant crisp quartered pickle. My pickle experts at the table say it was “amazing”, “10/10” and “why can’t all pickles taste like this”. They also all agreed that it was a little impractical as it didn’t fit on the burger without being cut up, but based on how fast they were eaten, it doesn’t appear anyone minded very much.
The cheese was excellent…a generous portion of American cheese and cooked to perfection. Perfectly melted to the point where it was creamy, but not running all over the place or turning the burger into a slip and slide.
The beef was very good. As one other member of the group said “it tastes like a really good homemade burger”. Fried to order from a fresh patty and with that lovely “smashed burger” patina, it was delicious.
As a kicker we ordered one of the Crazyshakes, which are versions of the classic shakes served with a coated glass and a dessert topping that triples the number of calories. Great fun if you are with a group, or with kids. Certainly made us forget any desire for a beer when we first sat down.
Overall, this is a really good cheeseburger. If this was an official review, it would have shown up in the low/mid 80s. I did feel there was a strong similarity to Shake Shack from the outset. Both come from NYC, both use potato buns, fried US beef, American cheese and specialize in shakes of a sort (concretes at Shake Shack of course). But the option to be seated and have your order taken does offer a nice change of pace, particularly as I have had some long lines at the Dubai Shake Shacks on previous visits. If you can get to one of the Black Taps elsewhere in the world that has their craft beers, there is a different angle as well.
