Food delivery strengthens across UAE while restaurant visits continue to decline.

Food delivery continued to expand across the UAE during the first six months of 2026, despite softer overall demand in the restaurant sector. According to restaurant management software company Syrve MENA, delivery orders increased by 15.2 per cent compared with the same period last year.

The report also showed that delivery now represents 30.5 per cent of all restaurant orders processed through Syrve’s platform, up from 25.4 per cent in the first half of 2025. The increase reflects an ongoing preference among consumers for ordering meals to their homes rather than dining out.

The increase in delivery demand came even as the broader restaurant industry faced a slowdown. Overall restaurant orders declined by 4 per cent, while gross revenue dropped 5.5 per cent year-on-year, mainly due to a 10.5 per cent decrease in dine-in visits. Syrve said the comparison only included restaurants that were operating in both 2025 and 2026, indicating that the overall market downturn may be even greater than the data suggests.

Delivery demand boosts the sector

Restaurants that provided delivery services processed an average of 11,642 delivery orders during the first half of 2026, equivalent to nearly 1,940 orders each month. Although the average value of a delivery order slipped marginally from Dh77.35 to Dh76.97, the increase in order volumes resulted in higher overall delivery revenue. As a result, delivery’s contribution to total restaurant earnings rose from 18.6 per cent a year earlier to 22.5 per cent.

According to the report, the UAE’s online food delivery industry is expected to be worth $10.86 billion in 2026, with the market forecast to more than double to $22.19 billion by 2034. The expansion is being driven by wider smartphone usage and the increasing adoption of all-in-one “super apps” that combine multiple digital services.

Dine-in segment faces weaker demand

While delivery expanded, dine-in restaurants faced weaker customer traffic. Dine-in orders declined 10.5 per cent during the first half, although the average spend per visit remained broadly stable, rising slightly from Dh115.21 to Dh115.81. Overall average order value across dine-in and delivery slipped by just 1.5 per cent.

The report also identified a sharp reversal in trading conditions after Ramadan. During the first seven weeks of 2026, restaurant order volumes were running between 16 per cent and 26 per cent above the previous year. However, by mid-February, growth had turned into a 15 per cent year-on-year decline, deepening to around 30 per cent in April before recovering to roughly last year’s levels by late June. The slowdown affected 61 per cent of restaurants, with premium and tourist-focused outlets hit hardest.

“The H1 2026 numbers confirm what we’ve seen across our network: delivery is taking a bigger share of restaurant demand, even as the overall market faces lower volumes,” said Alex Ponomarev, CEO of Syrve MENA.

He said restaurants that closely monitor demand trends and adjust operations across different sales channels are better positioned to navigate changing market conditions.

Looking ahead, Syrve expects the wider GCC foodservice market to grow from $69.13 billion in 2026 to $122.19 billion by 2031, driven largely by rising demand for delivery services.write this in another words so that it will not look same or copied.