Dubai: Restaurants across the country are bracing for an expected influx of holidaymakers and regular customers this Eid Al Adha with many of them introducing some minor changes to deliver satisfactory service, including shortening customer waiting time, during the Eid rush.
Speaking to Gulf News, Marveen Dhoolee, assistant manager at Texas Roadhouse at the Dubai Mall, said that while weekdays are busy, this Eid, they expect to be “extremely busy but we are prepared for it mentally and physically.”
While the minimum waiting time at the popular steakhouse restaurant is five to 15 minutes and could extend to 50 to 60 minutes at peak hours, Dholee said they hope to cut this down by adding more tables and staff this Eid.
“Now that the weather is good, we’re putting tables outside to accommodate more people. Some six additional staff will come in during the busy times from 1pm to 10pm which we call the volume shift to help out,” Dholee told Gulf News.
Wafi Gourmet at Wafi Mall in Dubai welcomes more visitors than usual from November to April and during all the UAE official holidays, especially during Eid.
“Our expectation is that this Eid, business will grow up tremendously compared to previous years,” Ahmad Osman, general manager of Wafi Gourmet, told Gulf News.
“We’ve already prepared a well trained team to cope up with the expected rush of clients on this Eid in a way to keep all visitors satisfied,” he added.
In Sharjah, Gazebo Restaurant said they won’t be getting in additional staff but will be working faster than usual to keep their customers satisfied.
“The waiting time varies from 15 to 20 minutes. But we will try to work double time to give faster service, faster preparation, to cut on the waiting time,” Digambar Rane, restaurant manager, said.
A special menu will be ready for customers of Hafsah Restaurant, also in Sharjah.
“We are always busy during weekends so we definitely are expecting a large influx of people this week. People usually sit on tables outside until they get their table. But they can order their food while waiting,” Tasneem Amin from Hafsah Restaurant said.
For Alhan Restaurant in Abu Dhabi, accommodating huge numbers of people at one time won’t be a problem. But making reservations ahead of time would be helpful, Samer Eid, restaurant manager said.
“We can accommodate up to 300 people at one time and we have more than 75 staff, so we can manage this Eid. But this weekend, it would be better for clients to call and make reservations as this weekend will be very busy. We have 150 confirmed bookings already,” Eid said.
— With additional inputs from Noor Nazzal, Intern at Gulf News
