How to Choose a Restaurant Feasibility Study Consultant in Dubai and the GCC (2026)
The short answer. Hire the consultant who will put five things in writing before you pay: a restaurant specialist who has opened and run restaurants, a fixed scope and a fixed price, a delivery date in days, a model built from your own menu, seats and site, and a statement that they gain nothing if you sign the lease. Any firm that cannot give you all five is selling you a report, not a decision.
Three kinds of firm do this work
In Dubai and across the Gulf, restaurant feasibility studies come from three places, and they are not the same product.
- Large accounting and advisory firms. Strong on audit-grade financial models and on projects of every kind, from hotels to factories. Restaurants are one sector among dozens. Pricing usually follows a scoping call, and timelines run in weeks.
- Business setup and accounting service companies. They will register your company, open your bank account and sell you a feasibility study in the same package. Useful for licensing; the study is often a template, and the firm is paid whether or not the restaurant makes sense.
- Hospitality specialists. People who have opened, run and closed restaurants themselves. They know which budget line goes wrong first and why a site that looks busy at noon is empty at nine. This is the category Praxis Model sits in.
The five things to get in writing
- Restaurant experience, not sector coverage. Ask how many restaurants the person signing the study has opened or worked on, in which Gulf markets, and what happened to them.
- A fixed scope and a fixed price. Know what you are buying before the first call ends. A study priced only after discovery tends to grow with the discovery.
- A delivery date. In days or weeks, in writing, counted from a clear starting point. Your landlord and your partners will not wait for an open-ended report.
- Your numbers, not a template. Sales should be built from your menu, your price points, your seats and your dayparts. If two clients with different concepts could receive the same revenue line, it is a template.
- Independence. The consultant should earn nothing from your lease, your fit-out contractor, your franchise or your licence. A study written by someone with a stake in your yes is a sales document.
What to expect from a good study
| Question | What to expect in the Gulf, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Price | Most published UAE price lists run from AED 10,000 to AED 90,000, and most firms quote only after a call. Our price comparison by provider type sets them side by side |
| Timeline | Ask for it in writing. Several weeks is common for large firms; a specialist with a built model per market can deliver in days |
| Deliverable | A financial model you can open and test, plus the written reasoning behind every figure |
| Verdict | A clear go, go with conditions, or no, and the reasons |
| Use | Fit to show a bank, an investor or a landlord without rewriting it |
The price matters less than what the study protects. A casual dining restaurant in Dubai costs USD 500,000 to 800,000 all-in (about AED 1.8 to 2.9 million), so the cheapest study is the one that stops a bad lease, not the one with the lowest fee. Our study cost guide walks through the arithmetic.
Ten questions to ask any consultant
- How many restaurants have you opened, run or studied in this city, and can you describe one that failed?
- What is the total price, and what would make it change?
- On what date will I receive the study?
- Will I receive the model itself, or only a PDF?
- How do you build the sales forecast: from covers, average spend and dayparts, or from a target?
- Where do your rent, wage and food-cost figures come from for this market?
- Does the study include a downside case if sales come in 20 to 30 percent below plan?
- Will you tell me not to open, if that is the answer?
- Do you earn anything from my lease, fit-out, franchise or licence?
- Can I show the study to my bank, my investors and my landlord as it is?
Red flags
- No price until after a "free consultation" that is really a sales call.
- A sample study with a different client's name barely changed.
- A revenue forecast with no covers, no average spend and no seasonality behind it.
- Rent shown as a fixed number rather than a share of sales.
- A study bundled free with your company setup or your fit-out.
- Every scenario ends in profit.
Once a study is in your hands, score it with our ten-point checklist. It works on ours as well as anyone's.
Where Praxis Model fits
We wrote this guide, so hold us to it. Here is how Praxis Model answers the five points.
| Praxis Model | |
|---|---|
| Specialism | Restaurant, cafe and hospitality feasibility studies only |
| Experience | Founded by Ralph Homer: 33 years in hospitality and more than 300 restaurant projects across the Gulf |
| Markets | UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman |
| Price | Fixed and published: one location from USD 3,999 at the founding price, two locations USD 6,999, three or more USD 9,999 |
| Timeline | Delivered in seven days from your completed questionnaire |
| Deliverable | The Study (a full financial model: capital budget, sales by daypart, cost engine, five-year view, break-even) and The Thesis, the reasoning behind every figure |
| Verdict | Go, or Go with Conditions, with the next steps; and a plain no when the numbers say no |
| Independence | No stake in your lease, fit-out, franchise or licence |
| Use | Built to show banks, investors and landlords; an Investor Edition is available |
You can read a full sample study before you pay anything, and see how we work in Dubai and the UAE or Saudi Arabia.
Frequently asked questions
Who does restaurant feasibility studies in Dubai?
Three kinds of firm: large accounting and advisory firms that cover every sector, business setup companies that bundle a study with licensing, and hospitality specialists. Praxis Model is a hospitality specialist for the six GCC markets that publishes fixed prices (one location from USD 3,999) and delivers in seven days from the completed questionnaire.
How long should a restaurant feasibility study take?
Ask for a delivery date in writing before you pay. Large firms often work in weeks; a specialist with a ready model for each market can deliver in days. Praxis Model delivers in seven days from your completed questionnaire.
How much does a restaurant feasibility consultant cost in Dubai?
Most published UAE price lists run from AED 10,000 to AED 90,000, and Praxis Model publishes a fixed USD 3,999 for one location at the founding price. Our guide to what a restaurant feasibility study costs compares every published price band.
Can my business setup company do my feasibility study?
It can, but it is paid to set up your company whether or not the restaurant makes sense, and its studies are often templates. Use an independent specialist who earns nothing from your lease, licence or fit-out.
What should a restaurant feasibility study include?
A capital budget, a sales forecast built from covers, average spend and dayparts, operating costs line by line, a profit and loss, a five-year view, break-even, a downside case and a clear verdict with its reasons.
Is a cheaper feasibility study a lighter one?
Not necessarily. Price follows how the firm works, not only depth. Judge the deliverable: a full model built from your own menu, seats and site, a downside case and a written verdict. Score any study against a checklist before you rely on it.
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More answers
Praxis Model is a financial feasibility specialist for GCC hospitality and the author of this guide. Market price ranges are drawn from published UAE price lists checked in October 2026; Praxis prices are founding prices in US dollars and may change.