Choosing a restaurant consultant in Dubai

What a restaurant consultant does in Dubai

An F&B consultant does the planning work between an idea and a trading restaurant. In Dubai that usually means some mix of five jobs:

• Feasibility. Is the concept viable at this site, at this rent, at this spend per head? A good feasibility study ends with a financial model you can take to investors or a bank.
• Concept and brand. Name, story, interior direction and how the menu fits the guest you want.
• Menu engineering. Which dishes earn their place on the menu, priced against recipe cost.
• Kitchen layout and fit-out. A kitchen that works on a busy night and can pass Dubai Municipality's layout assessment, plus managing the contractors who build it.
• Pre-opening and operations. Hiring, training, standard operating procedures and audits once you are open.

Few firms do all five equally well. Most have a centre of gravity. Pick the firm whose strength matches the stage you are at.

The 6 Dubai F&B consultancies compared

None of the six publishes its fees. The project counts and client names above are what each firm reports on its own website.

Which consultant for which stage

If you only need the kitchen drawn and built, you may not need a consultant at all. A turnkey kitchen contractor such as Falcon Professional Kitchen does kitchen design and MEP layouts in-house.

Where a consultant fits in Dubai's approvals

A consultant does not issue anything. The approvals come from government. A consultant's job is to get your drawings and documents right the first time, so each authority signs off without a resubmission.

For a mainland restaurant in Dubai, three bodies matter most:

• Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) issues mainland trade licences.
• Dubai Municipality sets food safety standards and inspects food businesses. Its food safety services include a "Request for Layout Assessment for Food Establishment Licensing". This is where your kitchen layout gets checked.
• Dubai Civil Defence is Dubai's fire and rescue authority and issues engineering drawing approvals. Ask your consultant or fit-out contractor which of your drawings need its sign-off.

The practical point: the kitchen layout sits in the middle of this process. Ask any consultant who will draw it, who will submit it, and who handles comments from the municipality if it comes back. If the answer is "your contractor", get that in writing too.

Free zones and the other emirates have their own licensing and food authorities. Check with yours before you plan the timeline.

How much does a restaurant consultant cost in Dubai?

We don't know. None of the six firms in this guide publishes a price. Fees depend on scope, so get a written proposal from at least two firms for the same brief.

When you compare proposals, look at how the fee is structured:

• A fixed fee for a defined deliverable, such as a feasibility study or a menu.
• A fee per stage, from concept through to opening.
• A monthly retainer for ongoing operations support after opening.

Ask what is excluded. Check whether interior design drawings, kitchen MEP drawings, government fees and recruitment are in the price or extra.

What to check before you hire a consultant

1. Recent Dubai openings. Ask for three projects opened in the last two years, in a format close to yours. Visit them as a guest.
2. Who does the work. Ask who will run your project day to day. Cornerstone 61 says its founder leads every project. At larger firms, meet the actual team.
3. The deliverables. Get a written list: a feasibility report, a financial model, a menu with recipe costs, kitchen drawings, SOPs. Vague scopes produce vague results.
4. Kitchen layout responsibility. Confirm who draws the layout and who submits it for Dubai Municipality's layout assessment. Swissknife Co lists kitchen layout in its scope. Glee Hospitality lists fit-out tender and contractor management.
5. Site and lease advice. If you haven't signed a lease, ask whether the firm will assess the site and negotiate terms. Glee Hospitality lists site selection and lease negotiation.
6. Conflicts of interest. Ask whether the firm takes commissions from contractors, suppliers or landlords it recommends.
7. What happens after opening. Some firms step away at launch. Others offer operations management and audits. Decide which you want before you sign.
8. Ownership. Make sure you own the brand, the recipes and the drawings at the end, in writing.

If you want advice before paying for a consultant, F&B communities such as The Food Connect bring together UAE founders, chefs, investors and suppliers for networking and mentorship.

Frequently asked questions

What does a restaurant consultant do?

A restaurant consultant plans the work between an idea and an open restaurant. That covers feasibility studies and financial models, concept and brand, menu engineering, kitchen layout, fit-out management and pre-opening hiring and training. Some firms also run operations audits for restaurants that are already open but underperforming.

How much does a restaurant consultant cost in Dubai?

There is no published price list. None of the six Dubai F&B consultancies compared here publishes its fees. Costs depend on scope: a feasibility study, a full concept-to-opening project and a monthly operations retainer are priced very differently. Get written proposals from at least two firms for the same brief.

Do I need a consultant to open a restaurant in Dubai?

No. Nothing we have found makes a consultant mandatory. You still need a trade licence and Dubai Municipality's food safety sign-off, which includes a layout assessment for food establishment licensing. A consultant is worth weighing when a rejected layout or a poor site would cost you more than the fee.

Which F&B consultants in Dubai work in Saudi Arabia too?

Glee Hospitality works across the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Food Forward works across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC. Swissknife Co, Cornerstone 61 Consultancy and Tribe Creators list Dubai as their base. Ask each firm about recent projects in the market you plan to open in.

Is there a restaurant consultant for hotels in Dubai?

Yes. Tribe Creators writes multi-year F&B strategies for hotel groups, along with market studies, concept development, interior design and operating guidelines. Its listed projects include Akira Back at W The Palm and work for Marriott International Middle East & Africa. Glee Hospitality also lists hotels among its clients.

Sources

• Dubai Municipality: food safety services for food establishments, including the layout assessment service.
• Partner and government details: each organisation's own website, summarised on its Run The Shift profile.

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Last updated: 14 October 2026. Partner details come from each company's own website, summarised on its Run The Shift profile. Partners are listed in alphabetical order. Some partners sponsor Run The Shift, and that does not change where or how they appear in this guide. Spotted something out of date? Use the claim link on the partner's profile.