Iran war forces UAE restaurants to rely on home deliveries

• Q1 sees 33% fall in dine-in custom
• Deliveries up 18% year on year
• High-end dining takes brunt of fall

Restaurant delivery services increased their share of the UAE dining market in the first quarter of 2026, gaining ground as the Iran conflict weighed on overall demand and reduced dine-in traffic.

Orders rose 18 percent year on year to 1.9 million in the first quarter, according to restaurant tech company Syrve Mena, while delivery’s share of total orders increased to 29 percent, up from 25 percent a year earlier. The gains came despite a contraction in supply, with the number of restaurants offering delivery falling during the same period.

Delivery orders declined from 700,000 in January to 593,000 in March, but the number of outlets offering the service dropped faster, from 325 to 312. That left a smaller pool of operators capturing a larger share of demand.

Average orders per restaurant eased from 2,150 in January to just over 1,900 in March. However, revenue proved more stable. Average monthly delivery revenue per outlet held at AED154,000 ($42,000) in March after a sharper dip in February, while quarterly delivery revenue per restaurant rose about 18 percent to AED454,000.

“It doesn’t take long for people to decide they are not going to go for dinner tonight, let’s cancel,” said Stefano Mihalitsianos, managing director of hospitality company Tashas Group.

South Africa-based Tashas Group includes community restaurants going by the same name and high-end dining venues such as Flamingo Room by Tashas, Avli by Tashas, Galaxy Bar, Le Parc by Tashas and Bungalo34.

The relative strength of delivery contrasts with dine-in performance. Total UAE dine-in orders fell 33 percent, from 1.845 million in January to 1.233 million in March.

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Mihalitsianos said revenue at the community restaurants in the UAE has dropped by as much as 20 percent since the start of the conflict, while the high-end venues have taken a far greater hit. Delivery orders at the former are up 15 percent. 

“That’s essentially like having another restaurant with the amount of revenue that accumulates,” Mihalitsianos said. 

Tashas began to list its high-end establishments with delivery platforms during the conflict. This resulted in up to five additional orders per day Mihalitsianos said: “That’s perhaps an extra table or two in the restaurants that we wouldn’t have had.” 

Syrve Mena’s analysis is based on the data collected from 6.4 million orders in the UAE.