Why Menu Design Is a Compliance and Brand Issue in the UAE
\n
Restaurant menu design in the UAE must balance creative brand expression with hard regulatory requirements — bilingual Arabic/English presentation, Dubai Municipality allergen and calorie disclosure rules, and halal-status labelling. A poorly designed menu can draw inspection notices or erode customer trust before a single dish arrives.
\n
The UAE’s hospitality market is one of the most demanding in the world. With an 88% expat population and more than 16.7 million annual tourists passing through Dubai and Sharjah alone, a restaurant menu is simultaneously a legal document, a brand artefact, and a navigational tool for guests reading in two different directions. Getting the design right from the outset saves significant reprint costs down the line — and this article covers every layer of that craft, from typography to finishing materials to what UAE print suppliers charge in 2026.
\n
Note that this guide covers the design and production of menus. For the separate discipline of menu engineering — item sequencing, price psychology, and profitability analysis — see our companion article on restaurant menu engineering in the UAE.
\n\n
Bilingual Arabic/English Layout and RTL Typesetting
\n
Every UAE restaurant menu should present content in both Arabic and English, with the Arabic typeset right-to-left (RTL) and carrying equal visual weight to the English version. A translated copy that simply reverses text without mirroring the layout will read as an afterthought to Arabic speakers — and will fail to satisfy regulators who increasingly expect Arabic parity on food-facing materials.
\n\n
Layout Architectures for Bilingual Menus
\n
There are three proven approaches for physical menu spreads:
\n
\n - Side-by-side columns: Arabic on the right column (RTL), English on the left (LTR), meeting in the gutter. Works well for A4/A3 single-page and laminated menus in casual-dining formats.
\n - Mirrored spreads: Arabic version occupies the right-hand page of an open booklet; English mirrors it on the left. Ideal for premium bound or leather-cover menus in fine-dining environments.
\n - Stacked bilingual: Arabic text sits above the English for each item name and description. Compact but can feel dense; works best when descriptions are short (dish name + two to three adjectives).
\n
\n\n
Arabic Typography Rules
\n
Arabic is a cursive script where each letter can take up to four contextual forms. Font selection is critical. Recommended typefaces for restaurant menus include Noto Naskh Arabic (clean, highly legible, free), Amiri (classical elegance for fine dining), and Scheherazade New for decorative headings. Sans-serif Arabic options like Cairo or Almarai suit fast-casual and café formats.
\n
Set Arabic body text 15–20% larger in point size than the equivalent English body copy to achieve equal optical weight on the page — this is not a stylistic choice but a typographic necessity given the density of Arabic letterforms. Always proof with real Arabic content; placeholder text will not reveal line-break and ligature errors. When typesetting in Adobe InDesign, switch paragraph direction to RTL at the frame level, and use OpenType fonts that support Arabic ligature substitution automatically.
\n\n
Image Placement and Visual Flow
\n
In a mirrored bilingual spread, food photography and illustration placement must be reconsidered for each side. An image anchored in the bottom-right corner of an English spread should move to the bottom-left on the Arabic spread, because RTL readers begin scanning from the right. Failure to mirror image positioning creates visual flow disruption that makes the Arabic version feel like an afterthought.
\n\n
Dubai Municipality Allergen and Calorie Labelling Rules
\n
Dubai Municipality’s Food Safety Department mandates disclosure of twelve allergen categories on menus and food-service materials for unpackaged food, alongside an evolving calorie-display requirement tied to the National Nutrition Agenda — both of which directly constrain how a menu must be designed.
\n\n
The Twelve Mandatory Allergens
\n
Under the Dubai Food Code 2.0, menus for unpackaged restaurant food must clearly flag the presence of:
\n
\n - Crustaceans and their products
\n - Peanuts and their products
\n - Soybeans and their products
\n - Tree nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, macadamia, pecans, pistachios)
\n - Sesame seeds and their products
\n - Fish and fish products
\n - Eggs and egg products
\n - Milk and milk products
\n - Gluten-containing cereals (wheat, rye, oats, barley, spelt)
\n - Celery and its products
\n - Mustard and its products
\n - Sulphur dioxide and sulphites
\n
\n
Practically, most menu designers accommodate this through a dedicated allergen icon system placed alongside each dish name. A grid of twelve standardised symbols (printed in a single spot colour to keep costs down) allows diners to cross-reference a legend at the top or bottom of each page. The icons must also appear on any QR/digital menu version to maintain consistency across channels.
\n\n
Calorie Display
\n
Dubai Municipality’s calorie-labelling rollout runs in two phases: Phase 1 came into effect in November 2024 requiring calories per menu item (not per 100 g), and Phase 2 applies from July 2025 to a broader class of establishments. Mall management companies often impose stricter deadlines than the regulatory minimum. The calorie figure must be consistent across all menu formats — printed, QR, and third-party delivery platforms — so the design system must accommodate a calorie count field that can be updated without a full reprint each time nutritional calculations are revised.
\n
Design tip: reserve a fixed typographic slot — typically 10–11pt, set in a secondary colour — immediately after the dish description. Avoid burying calories in footnotes; inspectors expect them to be visible at a glance.
\n\n
Halal Status
\n
The UAE’s Halal National Mark programme requires restaurants to clearly indicate halal status by dish and maintain supplier documentation. Menus must flag any alcohol content in sauces, marinades, or desserts. A small halal-certification badge, placed consistently in the top corner of the menu or per-category, satisfies this requirement without cluttering the layout.
\n\n
Physical Menu Materials, Finishes, and Durability
\n
The UAE’s high humidity and heat accelerate paper degradation, making material selection a functional decision, not only an aesthetic one. Choosing the wrong substrate means reprinting every few months rather than every season.
\n\n
Paper and Lamination
\n
Standard uncoated bond paper is unsuitable for a high-traffic restaurant environment in the UAE. The minimum practical specification for a single-page or folded menu is 170gsm gloss-coated stock with full lamination — the specification used by most Dubai print shops for their entry-level menu product. Gloss lamination extends menu life from days to several weeks under table service; matte lamination is preferred for premium environments where glare is a concern.
\n
Soft-touch (velvet) lamination adds a tactile premium finish at modest extra cost and is increasingly used in the mid-market café sector across Dubai. UV spot varnish — a clear gloss applied selectively over photography or logo marks — creates contrast against a matte base and is visually effective for brand reinforcement without requiring a more expensive substrate.
\n\n
Synthetic and Waterproof Substrates
\n
For poolside dining, rooftop venues, and beach clubs — all common formats in the UAE — standard paper is impractical. Synthetic polypropylene menus (often marketed as “waterproof menus” or “TerraSlateTM-style” stock) are printed with UV-resistant inks and can be wiped down with sanitising spray between covers. They cost more per sheet but typically last six to twelve months under heavy use, making them more economical over a full year than reprinting paper menus monthly.
\n\n
Menu Cover Formats and Costs
\n
\n \n \n | Cover type | \n Typical UAE cost | \n Best suited for | \n
\n \n \n \n | Laminated card (A4, 100 copies) | \n AED 275–420 | \n Casual dining, cafeterias, fast-casual | \n
\n \n | PU leather cover + insert sheets | \n AED 35–80 per cover | \n Mid-range restaurants, hotel F&B | \n
\n \n | Genuine leather cover (branded) | \n AED 150–350 per cover | \n Fine dining, premium hotels | \n
\n \n | Synthetic/waterproof single sheet | \n AED 8–18 per sheet (100-unit run) | \n Beach clubs, poolside, outdoor | \n
\n \n | A-board pavement display | \n AED 120–400 per board | \n Street-facing café, mall kiosk | \n
\n \n
\n
PU (polyurethane) synthetic leather covers offer 70–80% cost savings versus genuine leather while delivering comparable visual quality and superior wipe-clean durability — making them the dominant choice in Dubai’s mid-market restaurant sector. Genuine leather develops a desirable patina over two to three years and remains the standard in fine dining and branded hotel restaurants.
\n\n
A-Board and Exterior Menu Displays
\n
A-boards (pavement signs) function as external menus in the UAE’s mall and street-dining environments, particularly in areas like Jumeirah, Al Barsha, and Sharjah’s Al Majaz waterfront. The graphic panel insert must withstand direct sunlight and occasional wind, so UV-resistant vinyl print on a rigid substrate (Dibond or foam-PVC) is the correct specification. Chalk-effect boards are popular in café concepts but fade quickly under UAE sun and should be considered décor props rather than practical menus. Ensure any A-board panel displaying pricing includes VAT-inclusive figures per UAE law.
\n\n
QR and Digital Menus in the UAE Context
\n
Approximately 70–80% of UAE diners now regularly interact with QR or digital menus, driven by high smartphone penetration, an expat population comfortable with digital-first services, and widespread adoption accelerated through the contactless habits formed after 2020. For multilingual markets, QR menus solve a structural problem: one QR code can serve the full Arabic and English menu from a single database, with language switching at the guest’s tap.
\n\n
Design Considerations for QR Menus
\n
A QR menu is not simply a PDF of the printed menu. Effective digital menus are designed mobile-first, with dish photography at a minimum resolution of 1200px wide, font sizes of at least 16px for body copy, and clear allergen icons that render legibly on a 6-inch screen. The Arabic version must be a true RTL implementation — right-aligned text, mirrored navigation, and Arabic numerals or Eastern Arabic numerals (٠١٢٣) depending on your brand’s target audience.
\n
Calorie figures and allergen information must be synchronised between the printed and digital versions of the menu; inspectors now cross-check QR menus against printed copies for consistency. A menu management system that updates both outputs from a single data source is strongly recommended for any restaurant running more than thirty-five to forty items.
\n\n
QR Code Placement and Hygiene
\n
QR codes on physical menus should be printed at a minimum size of 2.5cm × 2.5cm and positioned in the top-right or bottom-right corner of the cover — the natural resting point for a guest’s eye when picking up the menu. Avoid placing QR codes inside laminated pockets where reflection reduces scan reliability. For table tents and A-boards, a 4cm × 4cm code is more reliable at reading distances above 25cm.
\n\n
The Printing Process: Working with UAE Suppliers
\n
Dubai and Sharjah support a competitive print ecosystem, with turnaround times of three to ten business days for standard runs. When briefing a local printer, the following specifications should be confirmed in writing before production begins.
\n\n
File Preparation
\n
UAE print shops work in CMYK (not RGB). All artwork must be submitted as CMYK PDFs with a minimum resolution of 300 DPI at final print size, and with a 3mm bleed on all edges. Arabic text should be embedded as outlines, not live type, to eliminate font-substitution errors that produce garbled character rendering — a common source of costly reprints. Confirm with the supplier whether they require ICC profiles (typically ISO Coated v2 300% or equivalent).
\n\n
Proofing for Bilingual Accuracy
\n
Always request a physical proof (not a screen PDF) before approving the print run. Screen colour calibration varies enormously across devices and is an unreliable guide to how spot colours and photography will appear on laminated stock under restaurant lighting. For bilingual menus, have a native Arabic speaker review the physical proof specifically for line-break errors, hyphenation artefacts, and any characters that have reverted to LTR orientation — all three issues appear in InDesign-to-PDF exports when Arabic OpenType support is misconfigured.
\n\n
Integration with Concept and Fit-Out
\n
The menu should be designed as part of the restaurant’s broader visual identity, not as a standalone print project. Typography, colour palette, and finish materials must align with the restaurant concept design and carry through to signage, packaging, and staff uniforms. A menu that looks mismatched against the interior fit-out undermines the brand cohesion that drives repeat visits. If the fit-out is still in progress, review our restaurant interior design principles and our restaurant branding and signage guide for the UAE to ensure all visual touchpoints are briefed from a unified design system.
\n
For operators undertaking a complete launch, Make My Restaurant coordinates menu design and print procurement as part of a restaurant turnkey fit-out, aligning the menu brief with interior finishes and signage specifications from day one. You can explore the full range of design and fit-out services at our services overview.
\n\n
Frequently Asked Questions
\n\n
Is Arabic mandatory on UAE restaurant menus?
\n
There is no single federal law mandating Arabic on restaurant menus for all establishment types, but Dubai Municipality and mall operators increasingly expect Arabic parity on food-facing materials. Bilingual Arabic/English menus are effectively the market standard and the practical requirement for any UAE restaurant serving a broad audience.
\n\n
How many allergens must I show on a Dubai restaurant menu?
\n
Dubai Municipality’s Food Code 2.0 mandates disclosure of twelve allergen categories for unpackaged restaurant food, including gluten, dairy, eggs, nuts, sesame, and crustaceans. Allergen information must be visible on the menu or available upon request, and should be consistent across printed and digital menu formats.
\n\n
What does menu printing typically cost in the UAE?
\n
Entry-level laminated A4 menus start at around AED 200–275 for fifty copies from Dubai print shops. PU leather menu covers cost AED 35–80 each for mid-market use. Waterproof synthetic single-sheet menus for outdoor venues run AED 8–18 per unit at a hundred-copy run, and A-boards range from AED 120–400 depending on size and panel material.
\n\n
Do I still need a printed menu if I use a QR code?
\n
Yes, for most UAE restaurant categories. Dubai Municipality guidelines and many mall operator rules require a physical menu to be available upon request. QR menus complement rather than replace printed formats — they excel at multilingual switching, calorie-data updates, and contactless interaction, but printed menus remain required as a fallback and for accessibility compliance.
\n\n
How should calorie counts appear on a UAE restaurant menu?
\n
Dubai Municipality requires calorie counts to be displayed per menu item (not per 100g), in a visible position alongside the dish description, consistent across printed, QR, and delivery-platform menus. Phase 1 took effect November 2024; Phase 2 expanded the requirement from July 2025. Reserve a fixed typographic slot after each dish description, and ensure your menu management system can push calorie updates to all formats simultaneously. For full guidance on nutritional and allergen management, see our article on restaurant allergen management in the UAE.
Related guide: This article is part of our complete restaurant design and fit-out guide.
Quality Assured
Budget-Friendly
Reliable
Why Menu Design Is a Compliance and Brand Issue in the UAE
\nRestaurant menu design in the UAE must balance creative brand expression with hard regulatory requirements — bilingual Arabic/English presentation, Dubai Municipality allergen and calorie disclosure rules, and halal-status labelling. A poorly designed menu can draw inspection notices or erode customer trust before a single dish arrives.
\nThe UAE’s hospitality market is one of the most demanding in the world. With an 88% expat population and more than 16.7 million annual tourists passing through Dubai and Sharjah alone, a restaurant menu is simultaneously a legal document, a brand artefact, and a navigational tool for guests reading in two different directions. Getting the design right from the outset saves significant reprint costs down the line — and this article covers every layer of that craft, from typography to finishing materials to what UAE print suppliers charge in 2026.
\nNote that this guide covers the design and production of menus. For the separate discipline of menu engineering — item sequencing, price psychology, and profitability analysis — see our companion article on restaurant menu engineering in the UAE.
\n\nBilingual Arabic/English Layout and RTL Typesetting
\nEvery UAE restaurant menu should present content in both Arabic and English, with the Arabic typeset right-to-left (RTL) and carrying equal visual weight to the English version. A translated copy that simply reverses text without mirroring the layout will read as an afterthought to Arabic speakers — and will fail to satisfy regulators who increasingly expect Arabic parity on food-facing materials.
\n\nLayout Architectures for Bilingual Menus
\nThere are three proven approaches for physical menu spreads:
\n\n- Side-by-side columns: Arabic on the right column (RTL), English on the left (LTR), meeting in the gutter. Works well for A4/A3 single-page and laminated menus in casual-dining formats.
\n - Mirrored spreads: Arabic version occupies the right-hand page of an open booklet; English mirrors it on the left. Ideal for premium bound or leather-cover menus in fine-dining environments.
\n - Stacked bilingual: Arabic text sits above the English for each item name and description. Compact but can feel dense; works best when descriptions are short (dish name + two to three adjectives).
\n
\n\nArabic Typography Rules
\nArabic is a cursive script where each letter can take up to four contextual forms. Font selection is critical. Recommended typefaces for restaurant menus include Noto Naskh Arabic (clean, highly legible, free), Amiri (classical elegance for fine dining), and Scheherazade New for decorative headings. Sans-serif Arabic options like Cairo or Almarai suit fast-casual and café formats.
\nSet Arabic body text 15–20% larger in point size than the equivalent English body copy to achieve equal optical weight on the page — this is not a stylistic choice but a typographic necessity given the density of Arabic letterforms. Always proof with real Arabic content; placeholder text will not reveal line-break and ligature errors. When typesetting in Adobe InDesign, switch paragraph direction to RTL at the frame level, and use OpenType fonts that support Arabic ligature substitution automatically.
\n\nImage Placement and Visual Flow
\nIn a mirrored bilingual spread, food photography and illustration placement must be reconsidered for each side. An image anchored in the bottom-right corner of an English spread should move to the bottom-left on the Arabic spread, because RTL readers begin scanning from the right. Failure to mirror image positioning creates visual flow disruption that makes the Arabic version feel like an afterthought.
\n\nDubai Municipality Allergen and Calorie Labelling Rules
\nDubai Municipality’s Food Safety Department mandates disclosure of twelve allergen categories on menus and food-service materials for unpackaged food, alongside an evolving calorie-display requirement tied to the National Nutrition Agenda — both of which directly constrain how a menu must be designed.
\n\nThe Twelve Mandatory Allergens
\nUnder the Dubai Food Code 2.0, menus for unpackaged restaurant food must clearly flag the presence of:
\n\n- Crustaceans and their products
\n - Peanuts and their products
\n - Soybeans and their products
\n - Tree nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, macadamia, pecans, pistachios)
\n - Sesame seeds and their products
\n - Fish and fish products
\n - Eggs and egg products
\n - Milk and milk products
\n - Gluten-containing cereals (wheat, rye, oats, barley, spelt)
\n - Celery and its products
\n - Mustard and its products
\n - Sulphur dioxide and sulphites
\n
\nPractically, most menu designers accommodate this through a dedicated allergen icon system placed alongside each dish name. A grid of twelve standardised symbols (printed in a single spot colour to keep costs down) allows diners to cross-reference a legend at the top or bottom of each page. The icons must also appear on any QR/digital menu version to maintain consistency across channels.
\n\nCalorie Display
\nDubai Municipality’s calorie-labelling rollout runs in two phases: Phase 1 came into effect in November 2024 requiring calories per menu item (not per 100 g), and Phase 2 applies from July 2025 to a broader class of establishments. Mall management companies often impose stricter deadlines than the regulatory minimum. The calorie figure must be consistent across all menu formats — printed, QR, and third-party delivery platforms — so the design system must accommodate a calorie count field that can be updated without a full reprint each time nutritional calculations are revised.
\nDesign tip: reserve a fixed typographic slot — typically 10–11pt, set in a secondary colour — immediately after the dish description. Avoid burying calories in footnotes; inspectors expect them to be visible at a glance.
\n\nHalal Status
\nThe UAE’s Halal National Mark programme requires restaurants to clearly indicate halal status by dish and maintain supplier documentation. Menus must flag any alcohol content in sauces, marinades, or desserts. A small halal-certification badge, placed consistently in the top corner of the menu or per-category, satisfies this requirement without cluttering the layout.
\n\nPhysical Menu Materials, Finishes, and Durability
\nThe UAE’s high humidity and heat accelerate paper degradation, making material selection a functional decision, not only an aesthetic one. Choosing the wrong substrate means reprinting every few months rather than every season.
\n\nPaper and Lamination
\nStandard uncoated bond paper is unsuitable for a high-traffic restaurant environment in the UAE. The minimum practical specification for a single-page or folded menu is 170gsm gloss-coated stock with full lamination — the specification used by most Dubai print shops for their entry-level menu product. Gloss lamination extends menu life from days to several weeks under table service; matte lamination is preferred for premium environments where glare is a concern.
\nSoft-touch (velvet) lamination adds a tactile premium finish at modest extra cost and is increasingly used in the mid-market café sector across Dubai. UV spot varnish — a clear gloss applied selectively over photography or logo marks — creates contrast against a matte base and is visually effective for brand reinforcement without requiring a more expensive substrate.
\n\nSynthetic and Waterproof Substrates
\nFor poolside dining, rooftop venues, and beach clubs — all common formats in the UAE — standard paper is impractical. Synthetic polypropylene menus (often marketed as “waterproof menus” or “TerraSlateTM-style” stock) are printed with UV-resistant inks and can be wiped down with sanitising spray between covers. They cost more per sheet but typically last six to twelve months under heavy use, making them more economical over a full year than reprinting paper menus monthly.
\n\nMenu Cover Formats and Costs
\nPU (polyurethane) synthetic leather covers offer 70–80% cost savings versus genuine leather while delivering comparable visual quality and superior wipe-clean durability — making them the dominant choice in Dubai’s mid-market restaurant sector. Genuine leather develops a desirable patina over two to three years and remains the standard in fine dining and branded hotel restaurants.
\n\nA-Board and Exterior Menu Displays
\nA-boards (pavement signs) function as external menus in the UAE’s mall and street-dining environments, particularly in areas like Jumeirah, Al Barsha, and Sharjah’s Al Majaz waterfront. The graphic panel insert must withstand direct sunlight and occasional wind, so UV-resistant vinyl print on a rigid substrate (Dibond or foam-PVC) is the correct specification. Chalk-effect boards are popular in café concepts but fade quickly under UAE sun and should be considered décor props rather than practical menus. Ensure any A-board panel displaying pricing includes VAT-inclusive figures per UAE law.
\n\nQR and Digital Menus in the UAE Context
\nApproximately 70–80% of UAE diners now regularly interact with QR or digital menus, driven by high smartphone penetration, an expat population comfortable with digital-first services, and widespread adoption accelerated through the contactless habits formed after 2020. For multilingual markets, QR menus solve a structural problem: one QR code can serve the full Arabic and English menu from a single database, with language switching at the guest’s tap.
\n\nDesign Considerations for QR Menus
\nA QR menu is not simply a PDF of the printed menu. Effective digital menus are designed mobile-first, with dish photography at a minimum resolution of 1200px wide, font sizes of at least 16px for body copy, and clear allergen icons that render legibly on a 6-inch screen. The Arabic version must be a true RTL implementation — right-aligned text, mirrored navigation, and Arabic numerals or Eastern Arabic numerals (٠١٢٣) depending on your brand’s target audience.
\nCalorie figures and allergen information must be synchronised between the printed and digital versions of the menu; inspectors now cross-check QR menus against printed copies for consistency. A menu management system that updates both outputs from a single data source is strongly recommended for any restaurant running more than thirty-five to forty items.
\n\nQR Code Placement and Hygiene
\nQR codes on physical menus should be printed at a minimum size of 2.5cm × 2.5cm and positioned in the top-right or bottom-right corner of the cover — the natural resting point for a guest’s eye when picking up the menu. Avoid placing QR codes inside laminated pockets where reflection reduces scan reliability. For table tents and A-boards, a 4cm × 4cm code is more reliable at reading distances above 25cm.
\n\nThe Printing Process: Working with UAE Suppliers
\nDubai and Sharjah support a competitive print ecosystem, with turnaround times of three to ten business days for standard runs. When briefing a local printer, the following specifications should be confirmed in writing before production begins.
\n\nFile Preparation
\nUAE print shops work in CMYK (not RGB). All artwork must be submitted as CMYK PDFs with a minimum resolution of 300 DPI at final print size, and with a 3mm bleed on all edges. Arabic text should be embedded as outlines, not live type, to eliminate font-substitution errors that produce garbled character rendering — a common source of costly reprints. Confirm with the supplier whether they require ICC profiles (typically ISO Coated v2 300% or equivalent).
\n\nProofing for Bilingual Accuracy
\nAlways request a physical proof (not a screen PDF) before approving the print run. Screen colour calibration varies enormously across devices and is an unreliable guide to how spot colours and photography will appear on laminated stock under restaurant lighting. For bilingual menus, have a native Arabic speaker review the physical proof specifically for line-break errors, hyphenation artefacts, and any characters that have reverted to LTR orientation — all three issues appear in InDesign-to-PDF exports when Arabic OpenType support is misconfigured.
\n\nIntegration with Concept and Fit-Out
\nThe menu should be designed as part of the restaurant’s broader visual identity, not as a standalone print project. Typography, colour palette, and finish materials must align with the restaurant concept design and carry through to signage, packaging, and staff uniforms. A menu that looks mismatched against the interior fit-out undermines the brand cohesion that drives repeat visits. If the fit-out is still in progress, review our restaurant interior design principles and our restaurant branding and signage guide for the UAE to ensure all visual touchpoints are briefed from a unified design system.
\nFor operators undertaking a complete launch, Make My Restaurant coordinates menu design and print procurement as part of a restaurant turnkey fit-out, aligning the menu brief with interior finishes and signage specifications from day one. You can explore the full range of design and fit-out services at our services overview.
\n\nFrequently Asked Questions
\n\nIs Arabic mandatory on UAE restaurant menus?
\nThere is no single federal law mandating Arabic on restaurant menus for all establishment types, but Dubai Municipality and mall operators increasingly expect Arabic parity on food-facing materials. Bilingual Arabic/English menus are effectively the market standard and the practical requirement for any UAE restaurant serving a broad audience.
\n\nHow many allergens must I show on a Dubai restaurant menu?
\nDubai Municipality’s Food Code 2.0 mandates disclosure of twelve allergen categories for unpackaged restaurant food, including gluten, dairy, eggs, nuts, sesame, and crustaceans. Allergen information must be visible on the menu or available upon request, and should be consistent across printed and digital menu formats.
\n\nWhat does menu printing typically cost in the UAE?
\nEntry-level laminated A4 menus start at around AED 200–275 for fifty copies from Dubai print shops. PU leather menu covers cost AED 35–80 each for mid-market use. Waterproof synthetic single-sheet menus for outdoor venues run AED 8–18 per unit at a hundred-copy run, and A-boards range from AED 120–400 depending on size and panel material.
\n\nDo I still need a printed menu if I use a QR code?
\nYes, for most UAE restaurant categories. Dubai Municipality guidelines and many mall operator rules require a physical menu to be available upon request. QR menus complement rather than replace printed formats — they excel at multilingual switching, calorie-data updates, and contactless interaction, but printed menus remain required as a fallback and for accessibility compliance.
\n\nHow should calorie counts appear on a UAE restaurant menu?
\nDubai Municipality requires calorie counts to be displayed per menu item (not per 100g), in a visible position alongside the dish description, consistent across printed, QR, and delivery-platform menus. Phase 1 took effect November 2024; Phase 2 expanded the requirement from July 2025. Reserve a fixed typographic slot after each dish description, and ensure your menu management system can push calorie updates to all formats simultaneously. For full guidance on nutritional and allergen management, see our article on restaurant allergen management in the UAE.
Related guide: This article is part of our complete restaurant design and fit-out guide.
Make My Restaurant is a UAE-based turnkey restaurant-services company — design, fit-out, MEP, compliance, cleaning and back-office support across all seven emirates.