UAE's Hidden Gems: A burger place for all Money Heist fans

Dubai - In Episode 12, we visit El Professor Burger in Al Mamzar area to find out if Dubai’s first Money Heist-themed café is worth a visit.

If you have spent Covid-restriction days at home binge watching Money Heist — the superhit crime drama on Netflix —then this is for you. El Professor Burger stands out in a line of restaurants dotting Al Mamzar Open Beach for its blood red décor and men waiting tables masquerading as Salvador Dali in red jumpsuits (Reason why the video is worth a watch!).

For those who haven’t seen or are blissfully oblivious of what Money Heist is, this should be just another brand-new all-day dining Dubai café serving some juicy steaks, creamy pasta and yes, incredibly great tasting beef burgers. (We can vouch for that!).

But if you are one of those sold on The Professor and his razor-sharp team that pull off the incredible Money Heist like clockwork, then this is nothing short of a little dream where you could be sinking your teeth into a Nairobi’s Shrimp Burger or a Moscow’s Grilled Steak. All of this could be served to you by Berlin, the terminally ill jewel thief and the Professor’s older brother, his second-in-command. In real life, he is Samuel, an affable gentleman from Cameroon and a self-proclaimed Money Heist fan.

The Emirati owner who goes by the name of El Professor, says there’s more to come — both in terms of branches and spin-offs of the café. For now, there’s plenty to fuel you up on an evening after a hard day’s work — five types of burgers to pastas to a special steak, everything just the way you want!

What is Money Heist? (If you didn’t know already…)

Money Heist, originally La casa de papel or “The House of Paper”, is an award-winning Spanish heist crime drama television series on Netflix. It showcases two well-oiled, edge-of-the-seat heists performed by a crack team of outlaws in red jumpsuits and Dali masks, all codenamed after cities like Rio, Berlin, Nairobi, Tokyo, Moscow. They are led remotely by the Professor (Álvaro Morte) as they go about completing two heists — one on the Royal Mint of Spain, and the other on the Bank of Spain, often humming to the tunes of the Italian anti-fascist song Bella ciao, also, a summer hit across Europe (and pretty much rest of the world!) in 2018.

Three things that you won’t get anywhere else

1-A seat inside one-of-its-kind café in Dubai and plenty to keep your Instagram handle buzzing

2-A chance to relive your favourite Money Heist moment with waiters posing as characters

3-A bite of Berlin’s Burger made with a patty of fresh ground A-grade beef, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles in a sweetbread you haven’t tasted elsewhere.

What you need to know?

An all-day diner, El Professor Burger in Al Mamzar is open most days of the week until 1:00am

The great Dali mystery

Many see the masks as a satire on Salvador Dali’s political leanings. The Spanish surrealist artist who supported Francisco Franco’s authoritarian regime actually opposed the resistance represented by the Gang corporation. So, for many, the characters masquerading as Dali is an ironical reminder of an ideology that hurled Spain into a crisis lasting more than three decades. Yet, some believe the mask embodies the resistance itself or perhaps Dali’s own eccentricities. But while the mystery of the masks remains, they sure are turning heads in this Dubai café.

reporters@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai