Restaurants, cafés and cloud kitchens, Dubai
Restaurant and café websites in Dubai that take orders without the app's cut
A pickup order on your own site costs you the card fee, about 4% on an AED 90 basket.
From AED 2,200excl. VATSee pricing →
- Fixed AED quote, paid 40/40/20
- Your site behind Google's Order button
- Real test order at handover
- You own the code on final payment
- ★ 4.9 on Google (92 reviews)Lucknow, India profile
- 200+ projects since 2017
- Top Rated on Upwork, 100% Job Success
Founder-led delivery
Overview
On Talabat or Deliveroo it costs whatever share the app keeps. Menu-and-booking sites start at AED 2,900 (1–3 weeks); sites that take their own orders start at AED 5,900 (2–6 weeks). Prices exclude VAT. Send me three totals from last month's statement and I'll tell you whether ordering pays for itself before you spend anything.
By Ashish Sharma, founder · Updated 12 October 2026
Quick answer
When does a restaurant's own ordering site cost less than Talabat in Dubai?
Own ordering pays when your effective delivery-app rate, from your monthly statement, is well above the card fee (Stripe UAE 2.9% + AED 1.00) plus any rider cost. Run the sum on your own statement first. If it works, start with pickup for your regulars and keep the apps for new customers. Building it in Dubai costs AED 5,900–49,000 with its own online ordering (2–6 weeks), or AED 2,900–17,000 for a menu and booking site (1–3 weeks), excluding VAT.
- Menu and booking site: AED 2,900–17,000, 1–3 weeks
- WordPress menu site you edit yourself: AED 2,200–11,000
- Pickup-first ordering site: AED 5,900–49,000, 2–6 weeks
- WhatsApp order or booking bot: AED 4,900–59,000, 2–6 weeks
- Hypothetical worked example: a pickup order on your site saves about AED 18 on AED 90
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Before any quote: open last month’s Talabat, Deliveroo or Keeta statement
The first thing I'll ask you for is last month's delivery-app statement, or three totals from it. I've priced every project myself since starting Codingclave in 2017, and for a restaurant on the apps I won't quote before seeing them.
The Dubai Corporation for Consumer Protection and Fair Trade (DCCPFT) issued Circular No. 2 of 2025 under Dubai Law No. 5 of 2023. As Gulf News reported on 2 Sep 2025, it expects delivery platforms to:
- send restaurants a monthly itemised statement of sales, commissions, refunds and deductions;
- keep advertising and promotion fees optional and disclosed;
- give 30 days' notice of contract changes;
- disclose how listings are ranked and share non-personal order data.
I read the press report, not the circular; it reported no effective date, commission cap or penalty.
Your effective rate is everything deducted in the month divided by gross sales. On hypothetical figures, AED 14,400 deducted from AED 60,000 is 24%. Work from that figure rather than the headline commission in your contract.
| Statement line | What to check | In the sum |
|---|---|---|
| Gross sales | Whether it includes VAT | Bottom of the fraction |
| Commission | On food only, or on the delivery fee too? | Top of the fraction |
| Delivery, card and cash-handling fees | Per order, flat or a percentage | Top of the fraction |
| Refunds and deductions | Which ones you funded, and why | Top; dispute where you can |
| Advertising and promotions | Optional and disclosed, as reported | Only those you would stop on direct orders |
| Subscription or free-delivery programme costs | Must not be passed on unfairly, as reported | Query the line |
| Payout | What reached your bank | Gross minus deductions, allowing for cash orders and payout timing |
If a line is missing, ask the platform in writing. If VAT appears on a platform or card-fee invoice, ask your tax adviser whether it is recoverable before using the total.
One trap: a rate worked out from total deductions already contains delivery and card fees. Don't add them again, or your own site will look better than it is.
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Talabat commission for restaurants in the UAE: what has been reported, with dates
Talabat publishes no UAE commission rate card that I could find. Reported figures run from 25–30% (2020) to 15–30% (a 2026 agency estimate), so your own monthly statement is the only reliable number.
For Deliveroo, Careem Food, noon Food and Keeta I found no published or credibly reported rate. Who operates in the market now is on the food delivery app page. Sources read 12 Oct 2026.
| Source and date | Who said it | Figure | Status today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Khaleej Times, 26 Apr 2020 | Gaurav Varma, CEO, The Royal Orchid Group of Restaurants (Abu Dhabi) | 25–30% per order | Six years old; context only |
| Khaleej Times, 26 Apr 2020 | Bhanu Pratap Rathore, GrowthX Advisors | Up to 35% | Six years old; context only |
| Khaleej Times, 26 Apr 2020 | Rathore (Careem NOW); Varma (Talabat) | Careem NOW to cut Dubai commission by 15%; Talabat one-month 50–100% waiver | Covid-era measures |
| Wistech guide, 6 Apr 2026 | A Dubai agency, citing Developer Bazaar and Meridian | 15–30% of order value | An agency estimate, not a Talabat figure |
| Talabat, Deliveroo, Careem Food, noon Food, Keeta | No published UAE rate card found | No figure | Use your own statement |
These figures put your statement in context; they don't replace it. A common question is whether Talabat or Careem is cheaper. I can't say: their deals with restaurants are private. If you're on both, compare the two effective rates.
03of 9
The per-order sum, with the direct channel’s own costs left in
Most savings models count the commission you stop paying and nothing you start paying. This one keeps both sides.
What you stop paying per order = order × effective platform rate, plus any promotion co-funding not already in that rate.
What you start paying per order = order × 2.9% + AED 1.00, plus 1% on a card issued abroad, plus your delivery cost (zero for pickup), plus any first-order discount.
Saving per order = the first minus the second. Monthly saving = orders moved × saving per order − running costs. Payback = build price ÷ monthly saving.
Card terms are Stripe's UAE pricing, read 12 Oct 2026. Near the hotels, ask your bank what share of your card payments are on foreign cards. Hypothetical inputs: an AED 90 basket including VAT, a 24% effective rate, AED 15 rider cost, and a repeat customer.
Only count the orders that move
Moving an app customer to pickup changes a habit; it isn't a setting. Count only repeat customers willing to collect, never new ones you can't point to.
What the sum leaves out
Stripe's AED 60 dispute fee. Refunds, which don't return the original processing fee. And the new customers the app finds you: check new versus repeat orders, because that share is what leaving would cost.
| Per order | Through the app | Your site, pickup, UAE card | Your site, pickup, card issued abroad | Your site, delivered, UAE card |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platform cost (24% of AED 90) | AED 21.60 | Not charged | Not charged | Not charged |
| Card fee | Inside the 24% rate | AED 3.61 | AED 4.51 | AED 3.61 |
| Delivery | Inside the 24% rate | AED 0 | AED 0 | AED 15.00 |
| Saving against the app | Baseline | AED 17.99 | AED 17.09 | AED 2.99 |
A hypothetical month: 300 pickup orders moved × AED 17.99 = AED 5,397, less AED 600 for hosting, domain, WhatsApp messages and upkeep (a placeholder; use your own quotes) = AED 4,797. On those numbers a build at AED 20,000 pays back in about 4.2 months, and one at the AED 5,900 floor in about 1.2 months. A delivered order saves only about AED 3, which is why pickup comes first. Worked examples, not a promise of savings. Telr, N-Genius, PayTabs, Tabby and Tamara fees are on the e-commerce development cost page.
Want the sum run on your numbers? Send me your statement totals on WhatsApp, not the PDF, and I'll run it.
Want a fixed AED price for this?
Tell us what you need and get a quote in writing, excluding VAT.
04of 9
Three builds, and which one your numbers point to
Saving only a few hundred dirhams a month? Build the menu site and stay on the apps. A clear saving on repeat pickup orders means adding ordering. Regulars who already message their order on WhatsApp may suit a bot first. Delivery comes once riders are sorted.
Pickup first, delivery once riders are settled
Your own riders bring in RTA rider and bike rules and a Dubai Municipality delivery-means permit, or you contract an RTA-licensed fleet; the rules are on the food delivery app page. A mobile app (AED 17,000–108,000) can wait until website ordering is proven.
Several brands from one kitchen
One ordering back end can sit behind several storefronts, each with its own menu and domain. I price it after discovery, because a second brand's menu, modifiers and hours change the build.
What these builds don’t replace
They take orders and bookings. They do not replace your till or POS. Pulling Talabat, Deliveroo, noon or Careem orders into one screen is outside every band; if your project needs it, we agree it in writing before you sign.
| Build | Fits when | Includes | AED band (excl. VAT) | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Menu and booking site | Dine-in led; low app share | HTML menu, Arabic-ready, your booking tool's link or widget, map, Ramadan hours, Google set-up | AED 2,900–17,000 | 1–3 weeks |
| Pickup-first ordering site | The sum shows a saving on repeat orders | Cart, modifiers, Stripe or Telr on your account, pause and sold-out controls, gateway pages, live test order | AED 5,900–49,000 | 2–6 weeks |
| Delivery added to ordering | Riders or an RTA-licensed fleet contracted | Delivery zones, fees and slot caps | Same band as pickup | 2–6 weeks |
| WhatsApp order or booking bot | Customers already order by chat | Menu answers, bookings, payment links | AED 4,900–59,000 | 2–6 weeks |
Delivery is scoped inside the ordering band, so tell me your zones before I quote. Arabic is quoted separately for every build.
Tell me which row is yours on WhatsApp, with your weekly order count, and I'll give you a band.
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Why Dubai restaurant site quotes run from AED 850 to AED 25,000
Ring five Dubai agencies and you'll hear anything from AED 850 to AED 25,000. Of six pages I read on 12 Oct 2026 that rank for this search, two publish prices: an AED 850 one-page template with a PDF menu, and an AED 25,000 ordering build. Different products, not different margins. HGD Media, Marketvelli, Auronix's restaurant post and Tessella Studio's restaurant page show no AED price.
When Wix, Canva or a template is enough
A café with a fixed menu, no ordering, a booking link and an owner who will edit it doesn't need a custom build, and I'll tell you so. Before paying for any builder, check for Arabic right to left, a text menu, licences in your name, and a gateway that pays out in the UAE.
Test other restaurants’ sites in a minute
Try to select a dish name; if you can't, it's a PDF or an image, which is hard to keep current and can't feed ordering or sold-out flags. Then try ordering on your phone in under a minute.
Food photography sits outside every band
You supply the photos or hire a photographer. We compress and size every image for phones, aiming for a Largest Contentful Paint of 2.5 seconds or less, which web.dev rates good.
| Seller | Published price | What it covers | Running costs stated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai Website Company (template) | From AED 850 | One-page WordPress template with 6 sections and an uploaded PDF menu, 12 months' hosting | Hosting AED 400 a year; .ae domain AED 180 a year from year two |
| Wistech (guide, 6 Apr 2026) | AED 15,000–25,000 for direct ordering | Ordering site | Maintenance AED 800–1,500 a month; photography AED 3,000–8,000 |
| Codingclave | AED 2,900–17,000 menu site; AED 5,900–49,000 ordering; AED 2,200–11,000 WordPress | See the builds table above | Hosting and domain in your name at the provider's price; optional care plan, AED 600–1,800 a month |
Whatever you pay, the site needs a text menu, a way to book or order, opening hours (Ramadan included), a map pin, and Arabic if your guests read it. On the platform, see WordPress or custom for a Dubai site; for a band by page count, try the website cost calculator.
Want a fixed AED price for this?
Tell us what you need and get a quote in writing, excluding VAT.
08of 9
The switches your shift lead needs on a Friday night
An ordering site gets its real test at 21:00 on a Friday, with the pass full. Every rush control sits on your shift lead's phone, so nothing waits for a developer.
Pause ordering with one tap
When the pass is backed up, pause new orders; customers see a note until you reopen.
Auto-close outside kitchen hours
Ordering follows kitchen hours, with a separate Ramadan set.
Sold out, per dish, from a phone
Run out of short rib and one switch takes it off the menu and out of open carts.
Iftar pre-order slots with a cap
Each slot closes at the number your kitchen can plate. Ramadan 1448 is expected around early February 2027, subject to moon sighting.
WhatsApp confirmation to the customer
Each order can send the customer a WhatsApp confirmation. A full ordering bot is a separate build: see AI chatbot development.
When I’m reachable
Monday to Saturday, 08:30–17:30 Gulf Standard Time (10:00–19:00 in India), which shares 8.5 hours with a 9:00–18:00 UAE day. That covers menu changes and lunch. On-call Friday and Saturday evenings? We agree hours and price in writing before you sign.
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If you change developer next year, this is what you keep
Use this on any quote you get, including mine. Every account is opened in the restaurant's name, and we build on it.
Payment and price
40% when we start, 40% at the midway milestone we agree, 20% on launch day. Your price is set once we agree the scope in writing; only a scope change alters it. Customer payments land in your merchant account, never ours.
Who answers your WhatsApp
Codingclave Development LLP, which I founded in Lucknow in 2017 and still lead. We have no UAE office or phone line, so you deal with me directly on WhatsApp (+91 92771 84741), email or video. Top Rated on Upwork, 4.9 on Google (92 reviews), 200+ projects since 2017.
Proof you can check before the final payment
I'm not putting restaurant case studies on this page. Judge the work instead: your staff test the staging site on their own phones, and we place one live order together on your merchant account before the last 20% is due. After launch, I fix bugs free for six months. Past clients' comments are on the reviews page.
| Item | In whose name | At handover |
|---|---|---|
| Domain and hosting | Restaurant | Logins, plus a backup copy |
| Google Business Profile | Restaurant (owner role) | We are removed or kept as manager, your choice |
| Stripe or Telr merchant account | Restaurant; payouts go to your bank, never through us | Already yours |
| WhatsApp Business number | Restaurant | Already yours |
| Theme, plugin and font licences | Restaurant, or open-source | Licence list |
| Source code and IP | Restaurant, on final payment | Repository |
| Customer and order data | Restaurant | Export |
Pricing in AED
Restaurant builds in AED, from menu site to your own app
Most cafés start with the menu site. Prices exclude VAT; the two lines without a band are quoted after a short discovery call.
Business website
AED 2,900 – AED 17,000
Excl. VATBusiness website (custom design, Next.js or WordPress) · Typical timeline: 1–3 weeks
Menu and booking site in English, Arabic fields in the menu data, Google Business Profile set up. 1–3 weeks.
Get a quote for this plan
WordPress website
A menu site the owner edits, no checkout.
E-commerce store (Shopify, WooCommerce or custom)
Pickup ordering on your own gateway, delivery zones when needed, live test order before handover. 2–6 weeks.
AI chatbot (website or WhatsApp)
WhatsApp order or booking bot answering from your menu data.
Mobile app (iOS + Android, Flutter or React Native)
Your own app, once repeat ordering on the website is proven.
Arabic right-to-left version
Dish data and every screen in both languages, bilingual QA.
Connecting your booking tool or a second brand storefront
Priced once we know the tool or the second brand.
Website care plan (updates, security, backups, small changes)
Updates, security, backups and small changes like new photos, 08:30–17:30 GST; evening on-call is agreed separately in writing. Website maintenance in Dubai.
- Fixed price in AED
- Free scoping call
- No obligation
Our AED invoices go from your restaurant's bank straight to our AED account; diners' card payments never pass through it and settle in your own merchant account.
Prices are in UAE dirhams (AED) and exclude VAT. Project prices are converted from our GBP price list at GBP 1 = AED 4.90 (11 October 2026) and rounded; monthly plans are set in AED. Codingclave is an India-based supplier and is not registered for UAE VAT. VAT-registered UAE businesses usually account for VAT on imported services under the reverse-charge mechanism; confirm with your tax adviser.
Fixed AED quote
What should your website do first?
Gross sales, total deductions and order count are enough for me to run the sum and give you an AED band.
Ashish Sharma
Founder, Codingclave
Ashish or the team replies on WhatsApp or email during our hours, Mon–Sat, 8:30am–5:30pm GST.
- ★ 4.9 on Google (92 reviews) · Lucknow, India profile
- 200+ projects since 2017
- Top Rated on Upwork, 100% Job Success
- Founder-led delivery
Prefer WhatsApp?
WhatsApp AshishYour totals and menu on WhatsApp
Gross sales, total deductions, orders and repeat customers from last month, plus your menu. Totals, not the statement: platform contracts may treat statements as confidential.
Your numbers on a call
We run the sum together and pick a build.
Quote, with on-call hours agreed or left out
Scope in writing, with support outside 08:30–17:30 GST and any delivery-app connection agreed or left out.
Accounts opened in your name
Domain, Google Business Profile, merchant account, WhatsApp number. Before you apply, you'll know what each gateway inspects; we write the pages it looks for, refunds and delivery included.
Menu data, then staging on your phones
VAT-inclusive prices, modifiers, optional calorie and allergen fields and any Arabic names, then testing on your staff's phones.
One live order, placed together
Together we test-order a dish on the live site, set your site as preferred on Google and hand over every login. For 6 months from then, bug fixes are free.
FAQ
Questions UAE businesses ask us
Can’t see yours? Ask Ashish directly — you’ll get a straight answer, not a sales script.
Ask Ashish directly
What's the cheapest restaurant website in Dubai that still does the job?
How much commission does Talabat charge restaurants in the UAE?
What do Dubai's 2025 food delivery platform rules mean for my restaurant?
Can my restaurant take online orders without Talabat or Deliveroo?
How do I add an Order online button on Google Maps for my own website?
Do restaurant menu prices in the UAE have to include VAT?
When should a Dubai restaurant add Arabic to its menu and website?
Can I price lower on my own site than on Talabat?
Ashish Sharma · Founder
Does your own ordering pay for itself? Three statement totals will show
Gross sales, total deductions and order count are enough for me to run the sum and give you an AED band.
- WhatsApp us or fill in the form
- Free scoping call
- Fixed AED quote, no obligation
- ★ 4.9 on Google (92 reviews) · Lucknow, India profile
- 200+ projects since 2017
- Top Rated on Upwork, 100% Job Success
- Founder-led delivery
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Ask for a written AED quote
Ashish Sharma
Founder, Codingclave · Updated 12 October 2026
Ashish founded Codingclave in Lucknow, India, in 2017 and still leads delivery on every project.
Sources (11)· public sources cited on this page
- Gulf News – Dubai cracks down on food delivery apps with new rules for fairness, transparency (Circular No. 2 of 2025)
- Khaleej Times – Commission rates by delivery apps proving costly to UAE restaurants
- Stripe – Pricing (United Arab Emirates)
- Google Business Profile Help – Manage online ordering options
- Mondaq – VAT inclusive displayed prices rule: exceptions and implications
- Gulf News – Calorie display in Dubai menus delayed for two years
- Gulf News – Dubai Municipality clarifies how Dubai eateries must display calories on menus
- web.dev – Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
- Schema.org – hasMenu
- Wistech – Restaurant and F&B website design Dubai
- Dubai Website Company – Restaurant website