Review: Last Exit in Dubai

This Dubai food stop won't be your Last Exit

DUBAI - Out of Dubai’s many food concepts, this one got me excited. Food trucks. Drive-throughs. Diners. 1950s vibe. I was thinking something straight off the comic book pages of Archie’s. John Travolta’s Grease. Or even Cars (remember Route 66?). I wasn’t disappointed. This colourful food truck park off Sheikh Zayed Road before the Dubai-Abu Dhabi border offered all that plus plenty of brilliant spots to hang out or just enjoy the Disneyfied views. Entrance is free and it is open 24/7. Finding the place wasn’t as bad as I thought, thanks to the helpful red signs on the roadside, which obviously led to a long queue of cars heading towards THE exit, which was also lined up with colourful vertical flags. This basically marks the start of your foodie adventure. Where to eat There are about 12 food trucks here offering “gourmet” fast food like burgers, hotdogs, Mexican food, seafood, coffee and even karak chai: The Brass, Burger Pit, Poco Loco, Urban Seafood, Operation Falafel, Big Smoke Burger, Starbucks, The Hot Dog Stand, Clinton St. Bakery, Baja Fresh, Il Café Di Roma, All Day Minimart. Don't expect fancy dinner plates though. Everything is still served on paper containers that you can later throw, dunk or slam down the colorful garbage bins designed with basketball ring splash. Diners have three choices: They can pull up beside the food truck of their choice and order in the drive-through for food on the go; they can park and eat inside their car; or they can park their car first, order and then eat in any of the al fresco dining areas, or in the air-conditioned canteen. The best option I found is to park your car first (there’s more parking in the back), walk around, enjoy the views and then order food. Speaking of food, the long wait just to order food was a bit of a letdown when I visited. My companion and I ordered the Dh50 meal (by the way, this was the cheapest combo meal on their menu) at Burger Pit that included a burger, fries and a can of Coca Cola. The wait was between 15 to 20 minutes and there was a little bit of confusion from the staff who had to serve people who were driving through as well as the people like me who were just queuing up. It was a pretty long wait for what was supposed to be a quick order for fast food. The burger was good (the patty was extra juicy that the juice was dripping on my palm—but the staff forgot to pack in some tissues in the brown bag. Aargh.). Finding a spot where you can sit down and eat can also be a bit of a struggle, particularly on busy days, with a lot of people preferring to hang out with their gang or just hanging out to enjoy the ambiance (understandably). I guess if you are left with no option, you can just sit on the grass and eat picnic-style. What to see This place is definitely a selfie, twofie or groupies paradise. There are a lot of picturesque views, it’s almost like a mini theme park. I must have consumed half the storage on my iPhone taking pictures and videos. There are plenty of camera-perfect spots. First, you need to walk to the entrance where they have a stack of colourful cars next to the large Last Exit sign. With the right camera angle, you could look like Superman or Supergirl trying to lift the cars with your superhuman strength. Don’t miss a panoramic view of the entire place, complete with food trucks and colourful road tracks. Head to the picnic area where you can sit with your friends on the colourful outdoor tables and chairs, including old tyres and oil barrels repurposed into chairs and bar tables. Even the ashtrays resemble engine chains and a small wrench. Go inside the main hall (the one with the blue Beetle on top) to check out the really cool interior décor, which screams mechanic’s paradise. Everything is repurposed, from the door handles that look like petrol pump noozles, industrial art designs on the walls and ceilings, to the colourful graffiti art and posters on the wall. Even the toilet was super cool. The washbasins were repurposed tyres, and to turn on the water you need to step on the gas pedal. The hall links to the canteen area where people can eat in air-conditioned comfort. It was packed when we came in and looked like a military mess hall, so we skipped that place and opted to dine al fresco instead. When are they open? They are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Basically, the food truck park is open all day and all night, whether you are in the mood for breakfast, lunch, dinner or anything in between. How to get there If you are coming from Abu Dhabi heading towards Dubai, take the slip road towards the E11 Exit. There will be red signs by the roadside along the way, and some colourful vertical flags (plus you can’t miss the queue of cars). If you are coming from Dubai or Sharjah and heading towards Abu Dhabi, take Exit 403, which would take you to the overpass. From here take a right towards the small roundabout and take a full U-turn so that you can cross the overpass to the other side of the Sheikh Zayed Road. There’s another roundabout there. Take a full U-turn and then a right turn, which would take you to the other side of Sheikh Zayed Road. Then take the slip road towards the E11 Exit.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