How to open a restaurant or café in Dubai: the real sequence

A food business in Dubai mainland holds a commercial licence from the Department of Economy and Tourism. Restaurant, cafeteria, coffee shop and catering are different licensed activities, and the one you choose should match how you will prepare and serve food: full kitchen or light preparation, dine-in, takeaway, delivery or events. The choice affects what Dubai Municipality expects from the premises.

With the activity fixed, your consultant reserves the trade name and applies for initial approval. Initial approval is the no-objection that lets you move on to premises and external approvals. It does not allow you to trade. Think about the name carefully, because the same name goes on the shopfront sign.

Most trouble in restaurant projects starts with a lease signed too early. Before you commit, check that the landlord and the building allow food use, and that the unit can physically support a kitchen. If it cannot, no amount of fit-out will get the layout approved.

Once the unit passes these checks, you sign the tenancy contract and register it in Ejari. The registered contract is part of the licence file, and its address is the one every later approval refers to. In a mall or a managed building, the landlord's own fit-out rules apply on top of the government ones.

• A route for kitchen exhaust and fresh air
• A drainage connection that can take a grease trap
• Enough water and electrical capacity for your equipment
• Space to separate storage, preparation, cooking and washing
• Access for deliveries and waste removal

The Food Safety Department of Dubai Municipality regulates food establishments in the emirate. Its rules require the layout of a new or renovated food premises to be approved before construction starts, and it runs a layout assessment service for food establishment licensing. If you build first and ask later, you risk taking the kitchen apart.

The layout shows how food moves from receiving to storage, preparation, cooking, service and washing-up without clean and dirty paths crossing. The food safety rules also expect a handwash station in each preparation area, mechanical ventilation, properly trapped drains with a suitable grease trap, storage raised off the floor and openings protected against pests.

After fit-out the premises are inspected. From then on the municipality expects a food safety programme based on HACCP principles, and the business keeps its food safety records, staff list and training details on FoodWatch, the digital food safety platform of the municipality.

Dubai Civil Defence applies the UAE Fire and Life Safety Code of Practice to commercial premises. For a restaurant fit-out that normally means the fire safety drawings are submitted for approval, the works are carried out by contractors that Civil Defence has approved, and the premises are inspected before a safety certificate is issued.

What you need depends on the size of the unit, the cooking equipment and fuel you use, and the building you are in. Decide the kitchen equipment before the drawings are prepared, because changing it afterwards can mean a new submission. Your Caliph consultant confirms what applies to you and coordinates this approval with the municipality layout.

When the tenancy is registered and the external approvals are in the file, the Department of Economy and Tourism issues the trade licence. Only then can the business open to customers. Keep the licence, the approvals and the inspection reports on site, since inspectors ask to see them.

The shopfront sign needs its own permit from the Department of Economy and Tourism. The signage rules in Dubai allow a single trade name per shopfront, in a horizontal layout with Arabic above English, and they do not allow animated or changing content. Send the design for approval before the sign is made.

Some plans need a separate permit from Dubai Municipality: kiosks, food trucks and food stalls at events each have their own, and non-halal food is permitted only in certain types of premises. Outdoor seating, shisha and alcohol are regulated separately from the food licence, so raise them with your consultant before you design the space.

After the licence the company opens its establishment card and can sponsor staff. Each employee needs a work permit and a labour contract through the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, followed by the entry permit, the medical fitness test, the Emirates ID and the residence visa.

Food businesses carry extra duties. Every food establishment must have a certified Person in Charge of food safety on site, and staff who handle food are trained in food hygiene before they start work. Food handlers also need an occupational health card, which confirms they are medically fit for the job.

Put together, the full sequence looks like this. The steps overlap in practice, and your consultant gives you a timeline for your own unit, but the order matters: each step depends on a document produced by the one before it.

• Choose the food activity, reserve the trade name and get initial approval.
• Shortlist premises and check that they can take a kitchen.
• Sign the tenancy contract and register it in Ejari.
• Get the kitchen layout approved by Dubai Municipality.
• Fit out the unit to the approved layout and the Civil Defence requirements.
• Pass the inspections and collect the trade licence.
• Get the signage permit, then bring in staff with visas, health cards and training.