Dubai: In Dubai, a city whose urban landscape is constantly evolving and whose markets expand with each generation, some traditional restaurants occupy a place that goes beyond taste, becoming part of the city’s collective memory and the stories of its people.
Among them is Bin Eid Al Shaabi Restaurant, considered one of Dubai’s oldest traditional restaurants. Its story has been closely associated with Hamad Bin Eid Al Marri, known as Abu Saif, since 1978, when he entered the food business with modest resources and no previous experience. What began as a small venture would eventually become a familiar landmark for generations of citizens, residents and visitors.
Nearly half a century later, Abu Saif remains convinced that the success of his business is closely tied to the place where it began. He has even turned down opportunities to open branches outside Dubai, preferring to keep the restaurant connected to the emirate where he took his first steps.
He said: “I received an invitation from a brother in Qatar to open a branch of the restaurant there, and I also had a similar opportunity in Ras Al Khaimah, but I did not prefer to expand outside this city, because Dubai is blessed, and there was and still is much good and blessed in it.”
The beginning
Restaurants were not Al Marri’s first career path. Before retiring, he worked for a Dubai government agency and also tried buying and selling cars. Finding that business exhausting, he began looking for another opportunity.
It came in 1978, when he owned a shop on Naif Street, near the mall, in the Obaid Balawadh building. The premises had been rented to a butcher’s shop called Nahash. When the tenant told him he intended to close the business, Al Marri decided not to rent out the shop again. Instead, despite his limited experience and financial resources, he ventured into the food business himself.
It was a calculated risk, but one that opened the door to a career that would span decades.
Shawarma, both meat and chicken, along with boiled eggs and fried foods, were among the most popular items at the time. As the financial returns improved, Al Marri began buying essential equipment and gradually expanding the business, reinvesting the profits and gaining confidence to continue.
A place in people’s memories
Abu Saif’s move to the Al Hamriya area brought another opportunity. He happened to see a shop for rent and decided to open his traditional restaurant there. The venture, however, was short-lived, as the site was later closed because of urban development projects in the area.
Al Marri considers his restaurant to have been among Dubai’s early examples of an integrated traditional restaurant. Small restaurants and kitchens existed at the time, he said, but his business took a different approach to serving dishes and welcoming customers.
For him, the restaurant was not intended to compete with home cooking, but to complement it. Many customers found meals that closely resembled the flavours of home to be a convenient alternative, particularly when families were too busy to cook.
It was not simply about providing a takeaway meal. The aim was to offer a familiar flavour that recreated something of the home-cooked experience outside the home.
An Emirati identity
Throughout its history, Bin Eid Al Shaabi Restaurant has welcomed customers from a wide range of backgrounds and nationalities, including Emiratis, residents and visitors from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq and many other Arab and international countries.
Despite this diversity, Al Marri has remained committed to what he considers the restaurant’s defining identity: authentic Emirati flavours.
He said some Syrian and Iraqi customers had suggested adding new dishes to the menu, but he declined, preferring to preserve the restaurant’s established character. For him, having customers of many nationalities was not a reason to abandon its identity, but an opportunity to introduce local cuisine to a wider audience.
He also noted that one of his cousins had a similar experience in Saudi Arabia, opening a restaurant based on the same approach and achieving considerable success. He stressed, however, that the business is independent and is not a branch of Bin Eid Al Shaabi Restaurant.
When customers become part of the story
For Al Marri, the restaurant’s history is not defined only by its dishes and locations, but also by the people and relationships formed around its tables.
Traders and community figures from within the UAE and abroad regularly visited the restaurant, helping its reputation spread, although he prefers not to reveal the names of its most prominent guests.
The restaurant also developed links with sport. Many former Al Ahli players and administrators, as well as current Al Ahli youth team members, would visit after matches for a meal. Its sporting connections extended to Al Wasl Club, with the restaurant providing and delivering meals for special occasions and celebrations, particularly following victories and championships.
Yet the relationships Al Marri values most are not based solely on famous names. They are rooted in the everyday interactions that built trust between the restaurant and its customers.
Some customers would call to complain that their food was too cold, too salty or insufficient in quantity. Al Marri would promptly send replacement meals at the restaurant’s expense, even when the customer had not asked for one.
Recalling those experiences, he said: “We knew our customers and where they lived, and if someone complained about the food, we would go and offer them a replacement because we didn’t want them to go to sleep upset with us.”
The remark encapsulates a business philosophy that goes beyond simply resolving complaints. It reflects a personal relationship with customers in which their satisfaction is considered part of the restaurant owner’s responsibility, built through familiarity, mutual understanding and a commitment to ensuring that every experience ends positively.
A pandemic that changed the business
Over the years, the restaurant expanded to five branches across Dubai. The repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic, however, forced the business to reduce its number of branches, while the growing popularity of food-ordering apps and delivery services changed the way restaurants reached their customers.
Al Marri also participated twice at Global Village in Dubai with a mobile cafeteria called Zad Zone, which was well received by visitors. He said the initiative was motivated less by profit than by a desire to take part in a global event hosted by Dubai that brings together diverse cultures and experiences.
Through periods of expansion and contraction, Al Marri’s attachment to the place where his story began has endured. He still visits the Naif market area on most days of the week, returning to the neighbourhood that witnessed one of the defining stages of his early business career.
Credibility in advertising
Al Marri believes social media has become an influential way of introducing restaurants to the public and broadening their reach. At the same time, he is wary of influencers and advertisers who excessively praise certain establishments when their endorsements may not accurately reflect the quality of the food or service.
He warned that exaggerated advertising could undermine fair competition between restaurant owners and weaken public trust in published reviews. In his view, honesty in advertising is essential, and followers should not be misled in pursuit of commercial gain.
His perspective reflects a different measure of fame. In his experience, a restaurant’s reputation is not built through a fleeting advertising campaign, but through what customers experience for themselves and what they subsequently share with others.
The secret to longevity
Abu Saif attributes the restaurant’s longevity to constant attention to the business, including his personal presence to oversee food quality and service standards. Although developments such as surveillance cameras and modern technology have made it possible to monitor some aspects of the operation remotely, his focus on detail has remained unchanged.
Despite owning a restaurant, Al Marri prefers to have lunch at home with his family. He also emphasises the importance of exercise in maintaining good health.
His sons chose to remain in jobs and fields they enjoy rather than pursue careers in the restaurant industry, despite the potential financial returns.
For young people hoping to establish their own businesses, his advice is to have patience and not give up when difficulties arise, particularly given the competition across different professions and sectors.
He believes entering the market alone does not guarantee success. It requires hard work, perseverance and the ability to maintain high standards of service.
Profit, he says, is not his primary concern. Quality remains the basis of a restaurant’s longevity, from choosing good, authentic livestock to selecting ingredients and ensuring meals are properly prepared and presented.
“I don’t look for cheap ingredients, but for quality, because it’s the basis of restaurant success. Those who commit to quality, patience, and customer satisfaction will have a very high chance of success,” he said.
Nearly half a century of memories
Nearly half a century on, the story of Hamad Bin Eid Al Marri is about more than a business that began with limited resources. It reflects a relationship between a restaurant and a city, between familiar flavours and social memory.
Above all, it illustrates its founder’s conviction that success is not measured simply by the number of branches a business operates, but by its ability to retain people’s trust from one generation to the next.