Deciding to start a restaurant business can be a fruitful endeavor. But there are considerations to be aware of. Without careful planning, your restaurant can be a financial drain before it becomes a success.

As a restaurateur, or even food blogger, you may know your way around food. But a restaurant isn’t just about food. It’s about location, inventory management, guest experiences, marketing, and much more.

Many new restaurant owners turn to the internet, reading how-to guides, deep dives, and opinion pieces. But there’s only so much you can do on your own. It’s why it’s important to consider working with a food and beverage or restaurant consulting firm.

In this article, we’ll look at why restaurants fail and what food and beverage consulting is. We’ll also highlight the top restaurant consulting firms in the UAE and the Middle East.

Why work with F&B consulting companies?

Create an efficient business plan

A business plan isn’t a long, detailed plan that you throw in a drawer and never look at again. It’s a plan that comes with financial projections, revenue targets, a SWOT analysis, and opportunities for the future.

Open your first restaurant

There’s a lot that goes on in launching a restaurant that many restaurateurs don’t consider. It’s not just about the food. A restaurant business and management consultancy can help you manage those various aspects, including pre-opening and post-opening needs.

Expand your restaurant business

A restaurant consulting services company can help you decide which location is best, where you can stand out, where your guests are, among others.

Rebranding your F&B concept

A restaurant business consultant can guide you through the rebranding process.

Improve efficiency

Restaurant consulting firms can help you increase the efficiency of your restaurant so you can boost your profits.

Top restaurant consulting firms in the UAE

1. Gates Hospitality

Another leading food and beverage consulting firm is Gates Hospitality. The company was founded by leading F&B consultant and hospitality expert Naim Maadad, who alone boasts 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry in Australia, Asia, and the Middle East.

Since its establishment in 2010, Gates Hospitality has expanded from a single-unit venture to having six venues in the UAE alone. The company also boasts an international presence with an office in London.

The company has contributed to the launch of 23 restaurants, 11 hotels-and-resorts, 28 spas, and 26 new concept developments.

Learn more about Gates Hospitality via their website and by following them on LinkedIn and Instagram.

2. Food Forward

Dubai-based Food Forward is one of the top restaurant consulting firms in the Middle East. With a clientele spanning the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Lebanon, and Egypt.

Food Forward’s services include branding and concept creation, menu development, restaurant training, market research and feasibility studies, dark kitchen development, and restaurant management.

Learn more about Food Forward by visiting their website and by following them on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.

3. Glee Hospitality

Established in 2010, Glee Hospitality Solutions is an F&B consultancy and management solutions company offering pre-opening and post-opening management services.

This Dubai-based F&B consultancy’s services include: F&B strategy, business planning, concept development and refinement, market research, financial feasibility analysis, among other services.

Learn more about Glee Hospitality by checking out their website and by following them on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

4. Swissknife Co

Swissknife is another leading food and beverage consulting firm. This Dubai-based restaurant consulting firm offers feasibility studies, creates restaurant business plans, concept design and branding, interior design and kitchen layout, and “menu engineering.”

Learn more about Swissknife Co via their website and by following them on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

5. Restaurant Secrets Inc

This restaurant management consulting firm offers an array of services to new and existing businesses.

For current F&B concepts, Restaurant Secrets Inc (RSI) offers F&B recruitment and KPI setting, staff training, and menu engineering. For new restaurant businesses, RSI offers feasibility studies, interior design services, menu development, among others.

Learn more about Restaurant Secrets Inc by visiting their website and following them on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

6. Lincoln Hospitality

Led by one of the UAE’s top F&B entrepreneurs, Ralph L. Homer, Lincoln Hospitality is an award-winning F&B consulting company with operations spanning the Middle East, Europe, and the United States.

Lincoln Hospitality specializes in finding prime locations for restaurants, kitchen design, branding, menu engineering, and talent acquisition for F&B concepts.

Learn more about Lincoln Hospitality by visiting their website and following them on Instagram.

7. M Management Company

Founded by hospitality experts Alexander and Fay Economides, The M Management Company is a hospitality group with 5 award-winning F&B destinations.

Established in Dubai in 2013, the M Management Company offers F&B consultancy services to hotels, restaurants, and nightlife and event management establishments in the MENA region.

Learn more about M Management Company by following them on LinkedIn and checking out their website.

Restaurant consulting firms in the MENA region

8. Melon Minds

Describing themselves as a “different kind of F&B universe,” Melon Minds offers various food and beverage consulting services to restaurants in the Middle East.

The company has offices spread across Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the UAE.

Learn more about Melon Minds via their website and by following them on LinkedIn and Instagram.

9. Morison Qatar

Morison Qatar is a financial advisory firm with an F&B consulting arm. Primarily operating out of Qatar, this company is on a mission to “empower aspiring restaurateurs in Qatar to launch and sustain profitable food ventures.”

Learn more about Morison Qatar by visiting their website.

10. KAZA Consult

This Saudi-based restaurant management consultancy offers a wide range of hospitality consulting services, from concept creation to pre- and post- opening operations.

They also offer interior and kitchen design, menu development, F&B recruitment services, food safety training, and franchising services.

Learn more about KAZA Consult via their website and LinkedIn.

Final words

You don’t have to do everything on your own. Working with F&B consulting firms helps you overcome many of those getting-started challenges. They can also support your business when you want to expand by adding new locations or new services.