The grill now runs until two

Double Stack has stayed open later on the weekend for a while now, but only in the way most places in Dubai do it — a short list of things that survive a slow hour. That has changed, and it is worth explaining what changed behind the counter to make it possible.

For years the last order went in at midnight and the grill was scraped down by ten past. From this month, Thursday, Friday and Saturday run until two in the morning, and the full board is on the whole time.

That last part matters more than the extra hours. Plenty of places stay open late on a cut-down menu — two or three things that reheat well and nothing that needs a station lit. We tried it that way for a fortnight and did not like it. If someone walks in at half past one wanting the crispy chicken melt, the fryer should be hot, and now it is.

If someone walks in at half past one wanting the chicken melt, the fryer should be hot.

Bilal Haq — Head of the grill

The reason we can do it is boring: a second late shift. Two on the grill, one on the fryer, one at the counter, all of whom chose those hours rather than had them handed to them. A tired kitchen at one in the morning makes slow food and short answers, and we would rather close than serve either.

A few practical notes. Delivery still stops at midnight even on the late nights, because the drivers finish then — after that it is counter and collection only. Breakfast opens at seven the next morning as usual, run by a different team entirely, so nobody is working both ends of that clock.

If you are coming after midnight, the side door onto the car park is locked and the front is the only way in. That is not a mysterious late-night policy, it is just that whoever is on the counter has to be able to see the door.

We will watch how the first couple of months go. If Thursday turns out to be dead by half one we will pull it back to Friday and Saturday, and we will say so here rather than quietly changing the sign in the window.

The board itself has not moved: same fifteen things, same prices, Open today · 11:00 – 02:00 on the days we are not running late. If you want the full list before you set off, it is on the menu page.