Pizza Hut's latest offering - a cheeseburger and pizza hybrid - is available only in medium (Dh34) or large (Dh48). The company seems to have deduced that anyone willing to combine two different fast food favourites in one sitting just won't be interested in sampling the small version.
The Cheeseburger Crown Crust Pizza that was delivered to my door a couple of days ago looked rather more dishevelled than the one in the advert. Lifting the lid on the takeaway box revealed a messy mass of gloopy cheese, nuggets of beef, lukewarm lettuce and slices of listless tomato surrounded by a border of mini burgers (12 in total).
Even if you are able to banish thoughts of fat content and calorie count to the back of your mind, the simple truth is that the Crown Crust just doesn't taste very good. Given that it features so many ingredients, it is remarkably bland and certainly does both proper pizza and decent burgers a disservice.
Beneath the blanket of toppings, the doughy base was pale, wan and decidedly soggy. The crust (in which the beef patties are suspended) was slick with grease and the overall effect is more pie than pizza. As you might expect, the cheese topping was synthetic and plasticky, the pale grey burgers were all texture and no flavour and the lack of tomato base and addition of "special sauce" made for a sickly mouthful, with not exactly pleasant pickle undertones.
The Crown Crust's parting gift is to coat the mouth in a fatty film and leave you with a vaguely ominous knot in your stomach. I called it a day after just the one slice; may Gaviscon be with you if you attempt any more.
* Emily Shardlow
