By Hamiyan Alqubaisi
ABU DHABI — If you are looking for a new experience in eating outside your home, then Parker’s Restaurant in Umm Al Emarat Park is the destination for you.
Innovation is the least that can be said about this place. Indeed, innovation is the key to Parker’s as a fast food restaurant. Many restaurants these days try to compete with superior locations, new food concepts, fancy decorations, cool ad campaigns and/or quality of service.
Parker’s does not reach for all the above that all other competitors in the restaurants market are trying for. Rather, Parker’s created a challenging adventurous experience that leads in the end to eating in its restaurant and trying new innovative food as well.
The concept depends on trying to find a metal key with a rope attached to it and a message on it. The keys are scattered around the park, and it’s a hoot trying to find them. Parker’s puts clues about where the keys are on Snapchat and Instagram, and then you go looking for them in Abu Dhabi’s beautiful and centrally located park. (Entering Umm Al Emarat Park is Dh5 per person, although little folks are free.)
Without the key, customers are not allowed to enter the restaurant. A customer wanting to eat in the restaurant must get through this adventure of trying to solve the clues about the location of the key. In addition to the Parker’s in Umm Al Emarat Park in Abu Dhabi, there is another one in Dubai Mall. Parker’s hides the keys around the mall in Dubai.
Adding to this rule, if a customer finds the key, he or she is allowed to bring along another friend or a group of friends into the restaurant. And the key can be used for unlimited number of times after that.
OK. So that is how you get into the restaurant. What’s it like once you enter? Well, after finishing the adventure of finding the key, you will be surprised by the food presentation. The meals are creative in how they present the food and by the new kinds of food cooked in new ways.
The atmosphere of a restaurant can make or break the success of the place. The atmosphere of Parker’s is playful and cheerful. On the day I ate there, songs were everywhere, which makes you happy.
Parker’s is located in the northwest end of the park. From the main entrance you turn right directly ahead till reaching the end of the park, and then the restaurant will be facing you.
Eating hamburgers that are all about creativity and new ideas — this is what Parker’s brings to the table with its new Choco Coffee burger with coffee infusion. Adding to this is the Sea Salt Chocolate Chips that are very rich.
The service that customers receive from Parker’s staff is highly professional service. The staff welcomed me and the customers on the day I visited in a friendly way. This made me feel good about my dining experience from the start.
There is a difference between Dubai Mall branch and Umm Al Emarat Park branch. There are more dishes in Dubai’s branch and more choices to choose maybe because the branch in Dubai is bigger than Abu Dhabi’s branch. It also was the original restaurant.
Innovation is the secret of success for this restaurant, giving customers a new experience. Parker’s is attracting customers by using social media in a creative way to advertise about the restaurant and by solving the clues to find the key. Give the owners credit for making dining out an adventure. I had a blast looking for the key, and the food was good too. I highly recommend it for ZU students.
So get out there this weekend and find those keys.
For more Parker’s, follow the restaurant on social media …
Instagram: byparkers
Snapchat: byparkers_ad
This story was originally published on Nov. 24, 2016. It was re-uploaded on Dec. 31, 2020.
