Open a restaurant in Dubai —
licensed, inspected, opening day clear.

Total typical cost AED 35,000–55,000 fully delivered including Dubai DED licence, Dubai Municipality food permit, Civil Defence approval, DHA health cards for 4 staff, MoA notarisation, Ejari, and YABS service fee plus 5% VAT. Premium restaurants with full liquor service or large kitchens cost AED 65,000–90,000 due to additional permits and capacity-driven Civil Defence requirements.

Standard restaurant: 30–60 working days from initial Dubai DED application to final trade licence and opening permission. The longest step is Dubai Municipality kitchen layout pre-approval (7–21 working days), followed by Civil Defence inspection (5–10 days) and DHA health card processing (2–5 days). Cloud kitchens skip the front-of-house inspection and complete in 21 working days.

Yes. Dubai Municipality Food Safety Department requires pre-approval of every commercial kitchen layout before licence issuance. Submission includes ventilation drawings, refrigeration spec, three-compartment sink layout, separate handwashing station, waste disposal scheme, and food storage plan. This is the #1 cause of restaurant licence delays — most rejected applications fail here. YABS's pre-screen catches issues before submission.

Yes. Dubai DED added activity code 561011 (cloud kitchen) in 2022 to recognise delivery-only food businesses. Cloud kitchens require Dubai Municipality food permit and Civil Defence approval but skip the front-of-house customer-facing inspections, reducing setup to 21 working days. AED 28,000 typical total. Talabat, Deliveroo, Careem aggregator partnerships are post-licence steps.

HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) is a food safety management system. Dubai Municipality recommends HACCP for all food businesses but mandates it only for high-risk categories: hotel kitchens, hospital catering, school catering, and large-volume cloud kitchens. Standalone restaurants under 200 sqm are not required to be HACCP-certified but benefit from voluntary certification (improves Dubai Municipality risk rating).

Yes. Every food handler in a Dubai restaurant — chef, sous chef, kitchen staff, dishwashers handling food contact surfaces, and waiters touching plated food — must hold a current DHA (Dubai Health Authority) health card. The card requires a medical fitness test plus a 1-day occupational health and food safety course. AED 450 per staff member. Renewable annually.

No. Restaurants require dedicated physical premises that pass Dubai Municipality kitchen inspection and Civil Defence safety review. Virtual office addresses are not eligible for restaurant or food service licence activities under post-2023 Dubai DED policy. Cloud kitchens require dedicated kitchen space (can be in shared cloud kitchen facilities) but still need a physical address registered through Ejari.

Dubai Municipality requires every food service establishment to designate a Person-In-Charge (PIC) — a staff member with current food safety certification. The PIC completes a 2-day course covering food handling, temperature control, allergen management, and Dubai Municipality reporting requirements, then passes a written exam. AED 850 fee. PIC certification is a precondition for restaurant licence issuance.

Restaurant visa quota depends on premises size. Dubai DED applies a square-footage-to-visa ratio: 200 sqft typically supports 4–6 visas, 500 sqft supports 12–18, 1,000 sqft supports 25–35. Quota allocated by MOHRE in tiers. Cloud kitchen quotas are lower (typically 3–8) due to smaller premises footprint. Family visas are sponsored separately by the principal visa holder.

Not by default. Restaurant licence permits food service only. Alcohol service requires a separate Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) liquor licence — a category restricted to specific premises types (hotels, licensed restaurants in approved zones) with additional fees AED 30,000–80,000 annually plus per-establishment quota approval. Most standalone restaurants in residential or non-tourist commercial areas cannot obtain alcohol service permits.

Yes — Dubai Civil Defence approval is required for any food premises with cooking equipment regardless of size. A small café with espresso machine and minimal cooking still requires fire suppression review and emergency exit clearance. Approval AED 1,800–2,400. Inspection scheduled within 5–10 working days. Cafés without any cooking equipment (pre-packaged food only) face simplified review.

Yes. Once your cloud kitchen has Dubai DED licence (activity 561011), Dubai Municipality food permit, and DHA health cards for staff, you can register on Talabat, Deliveroo, Careem, and Noon Food directly. Aggregator commissions range 20–35%. Some aggregator-only cloud kitchens negotiate dedicated cloud kitchen partnerships with reduced commissions in exchange for exclusivity.