Skinny Burger – Za’abeel

Skinny Burger is a burger joint near the Goldstate Hotel, itself not far from the Al Jadaf metro station, in Za’abeel. The general area around this small fast food eatery looks very much like a dusty construction site, and that’s because there is still a lot of construction going on in the area. Once inside however, the minimalist interior, highlighted by an open kitchen, is inviting, clean and cool.

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The concept behind Skinny Burger is to serve healthier fast food. Their website boldly claims, “…we give people REAL Fast Food without the bitter aftertaste of a high calorie intake, indigestion, heartburn and other health related issues”. Really? I don’t get any of those things after a juicy Shack Stack. Their next claim is not entirely true: “We do not use any oil and no frying takes place… Not even for the French Fries!”. In fact, that’s absolute poppycock because I saw my burger being fried with a splash of what I could swear was oil right in front of me. Yes, the fries weren’t fried. Like Griller opposite MOE in Barsha, these boys use something like an air-fryer or that sexy looking UNOX oven to cook their fries and their chicken but NOT their meat burgers – those suckers are 100% fried.

I tried their BBQ Burger which is a single beef patty in an ordinary bun loaded with caramelized onions and smothered in BBQ sauce. The result? Near dessert levels of sweetness (no wonder I didn’t feel like going to Freez next door after). Over-sweetness didn’t stop me from eating the whole thing though. Tone down the sweetness and I think they have a pretty good burger there. The non-fried fries, however, looked like fried fries and they smelt like fried fries, but by golly they sure didn’t taste as good as fried fries…even after I clicked the heels of my Birkenstocks three times.

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The cash counter, where I placed my order, was manned by a smiley young Filipino who then proceeded to cook and construct my burger – talk about multi-tasking.

All-in-all I was unimpressed by my burger at Skinny. It was too dominated by the sauce and the fries were simply not yummy. With so many amazing burger joints in Dubai I don’t think I will go back. Unless you are in the immediate vicinity, I recommend you consider other options carefully before deciding.

Hey! Now read this –
Xerxes physically dines at, or orders from, each and every venue he reviews. He pays in full for whatever he and his companions eat, drink, take away or occasionally throw at each other. Xerxes accepts no money, gifts, discounts or free meals in return for reviews or favouritism. What you have read was NOT influenced in any way by the venue. Join me on Instagram @ravenousxerxes or email me on xerxes@dellara.com.