Izu Burger expands to the capital, with pop-up to celebrate UFC Abu Dhabi Showdown Week

Abu Dhabi residents can now tuck into the home-grown brand’s signature burgers

Chef Izu Ani is expanding his brand izu burger to Abu Dhabi. Photo: izu burger

After winning Dubai residents over with his “dirty, clean burgers”, Chef Izu Ani has set his sights on Abu Dhabi.

The chef has expanded his delivery-only burger brand, Izu Burger, to the capital is now available to order via Deliveroo. There are also plans to open an additional kitchen in Abu Dhabi in November, to cover a wider delivery radius.

The brand has also partnered with Abu Dhabi Culinary for the UFC Abu Dhabi Showdown Week to deliver fight fans a new experience for one weekend only.

From Thursday to Saturday, Izu Burger will launch the brand’s first pop-up in the form of a food truck on Yas Island. The food truck will be available at Yas Plaza, from 6pm to 10pm each day. It will feature a live DJ, a range of beverages and comfortable seating for diners.

On the menu will be Ani’s Wagyu potato bun burger, with a choice between Australian Wagyu beef or 150-day grain-fed Canadian beef, topped with melted Emmental Swiss cheese, and signature sauce, all within a potato bun.

To celebrate the Showdown Week at Fight Island, Izu Burger is also launching an exclusive UFC Big Box, which includes a Wagyu milk baguette, a choice of a Wagyu or chicken karaage potato bun burger, alongside the famous Izu fries.

“The response for the launch of Izu Burger in Dubai truly touched my heart, I am deeply thankful and grateful for all of the support the UAE has shown me,” Ani tells The National.

“When we create, we are expressing the contents of our hearts and our minds. The process forces us to consider our values, who we are, what we want to share with the world, and how we want others to feel. With Izu Burger, I wanted to teach people the importance of balance and show people that fast food can be enhanced with a slow approach and good quality ingredients.

“Abu Dhabi has a really beautiful community of foodies and people that are passionate about flavours. My kind of people. It was our natural next step for the evolution of the brand,” he says.

What is Izu Burger?

Ani launched Izu Burger earlier this year, with a goal to offer residents burgers made with “clean" ingredients.

“With Izu Burger, I wanted to make juicy, tasty burgers, with clean, conscious ingredients, so that we can trust what we are putting into our bodies,” he said in a post on Instagram.

The brand launched with only three burgers on the menu. The potato bun burger, the milk baguette burger, and a trip of sliders. There’s also Izu fries, and a passion fruit cheesecake.

While Izu Burger is primarily a delivery-based concept as of now, Ani has big plans in the pipeline, including brick-and-mortar stores in Dubai and beyond.

“We are so excited to launch the first brick-and-mortar Izu Burger joints," he says. "We are currently in the process of finding the right home for them in Dubai and in key markets around the world.”