More people across the UAE are ordering food to their doors than ever before, even as the number of physical restaurants declines. This seemingly contradictory trend reveals a fundamental shift in how the region eats — and how the food industry is responding.
The UAE’s online food delivery market is expected to grow from USD 2.5 billion in 2024 to USD 3.9 billion by 2030, driven by a sharp rise in mobile-first ordering and changing consumer dining habits.
The numbers tell a clear story. Over half of UAE residents order food delivery a few times a week, while nearly one in ten order daily, with Talabat, Noon Food, and Careem Food leading the market. Speed remains the top reason consumers choose one platform over another.
So where are fewer restaurants coming in? The growth of cloud kitchens — delivery-only operations with no dine-in space — is replacing traditional restaurant setups. The cloud kitchen segment is the fastest-growing among foodservice types, with the UAE now home to over 400 cloud kitchens operating across more than 80 locations. Many restaurants have simply converted their dining rooms into larger kitchen areas to handle the surge in delivery volume.
Food aggregator apps like Talabat, Deliveroo, and HungerStation handle around 75% of all restaurant mobile orders, with mobile delivery orders surging 30% year-on-year in the first half of 2025.
For restaurateurs and food entrepreneurs, the message is clear: the future of food in the UAE is increasingly digital, delivery-driven, and cloud-kitchen-first. Businesses that embrace this shift stand to capture a fast-growing, high-demand market.
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