“The guilty pleasures of the glitz and glam, Black Tap rules the crazy shake scene in the US.” Black Tap NYC
Are you a fan of craft burgers and crazy sweet laden milkshakes served in an authentic New York style burger joint? Yes? Well look no further than Black Tap right here in the UAE, tucked away under the stunning five-star Jumeirah Al Naseem hotel in Dubai. The open-plan restaurant has graffiti covered walls, vibrant pop art, neon signs and old school hip-hop just like the NYC original that was opened by Michelin-starred chef Joe Isidori.
Craft burgers and beers is a winning combination. The menu has a whopping fourteen different New York style burgers to choose from along with wings, tacos, fish and chips, fries, salads and sides. You can order from the wide selection of craft beers, beers on tap, cocktails served in on-trend mason jars including the Black Tap Mule presented in a traditional copper cup and of course the infamous crazy shakes.
Naturally I selected The Veggie Burger, a tasty black bean patty topped with pickled onions, salsa verde and coriander. My fellow diners went for The Falafel Burger, a burger with a Middle Eastern twist, the falafel patty is combined with tahini, pickled onions, feta and hummus and The Mexico City, a tangy prime Greater Omaha USA beef burger served with jack cheese, pickled jalepeños, chipotle mayo and a large crispy onion ring. There are also five other varieties of beef burger including The All-American and The Pizza Burger, a wagyu burger named after a golfer – The Greg Norman, the more unusual bison burger as well as lamb, spicy chicken, turkey and salmon options.
All the burgers are served with french fries or sweet potato fries and can be substituted with onion rings, house salads or any side at an additional cost. Four craft burger salads, four signature salads and Fish and Chips are also available, honestly I challenge anyone not to find something they like on this busy menu.
The calorific towering shakes defy gravity and are sugar rush central. Huge, colourful and overflowing piled high with cream, sweets and cookies, they taste as indulgent as they look and definitely perfect for a cheat day. They are certainly taking social media by storm in this day and age of the perfect instagram shot. While people are queuing for hours for the chance to sample the milkshakes at one of the NYC restaurants, here in the UAE you can just rock up, grab a table and order.
There are five to choose from, we shared a Sweet N’ Salty peanut butter shake that was A M A Z I N G! The chocolate frosted rim was covered in multi coloured M&M’s and Reese’s peanut butter cups, the smooth shake was topped with a Sugar Daddy lolly, pretzel sticks, chocolate covered pretzel, whipped cream and chocolate drizzle. It was off the scale, sweet and filling and probably a week’s worth of calories in one glass (I read an estimated 1,600 calories per shake), my advice don’t give to your kids just before bedtime!
The other candidates look equally as tempting, the strawberry flavoured Cotton Candy topped with candy floss, the black cherry Sour Power, the Brooklyn Blackout chocolate shake that has brownie on top and the one I have my eye on for next time, The Cookie Shake, a vanilla cookie shake topped with crumbled cookies.
This waterfront gem has an additional outdoor terrace that overlooks a lagoon filled with turtles which is part of the Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project (DTRP), everywhere you look there are turtles of all shapes and sizes gliding through the water. Jumeirah has built the region’s first purpose-built lagoon for rehabilitating rescued turtles, the reptiles are looked after here until they are deemed well enough to be returned to their natural habitat.
I thought Black Tap was going to be one of those box ticker places where I would go because of the hype, order a burger and a crazy shake and share it on Instagram, job done. It’s all of those things and more, I would go back because the food and service was good and how much I enjoyed it, the teenager is already asking to go on her next visit. Burgers, beers, cocktails, shakes and a turtle lagoon, Black Tap you have a winning combination and a thumbs up from me.
Black Tap Craft Burgers and Beer
Location: Jumeirah Al Naseem Hotel, Dubai
Telephone: 04 422 9904
Opening Hours: Daily from 11:00am
E-mail: HELLO@BLACKTAPME.COM
Website: www.blacktapme.com
The views in this post are all my own based on my experience. Unless otherwise stated all photos © Jo Brett 2017. All rights reserved. First two photos used courtesy of Time Out Dubai and third used courtesy of broadwayinteriors.com. Additional shake photo used with courtesy of www.blacktapme.com and turtle lagoon photo used courtesy of experiencejumeirah.com
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