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Dubai, UAE, boasts a plethora of upscale restaurants. If you chose a different restaurant to eat at every day, it would take you nearly 50 years to explore them all. With such a vast array of culinary options from around the world, dining at home can sometimes seem rather unusual in this city.
However, many people in Dubai are spending money to eat at homes, but not their own, but at the homes of strangers. On average, diners spend over $80 to have complete strangers cook for them at "dining clubs".
The idea of dining at a stranger's home has been taken to a whole new level in Dubai with its unique experiences.
When participating in this experience, diners usually don't know the menu or the location of the dinner beforehand. People are encouraged to go alone or with just a few friends, creating the best opportunity to socialize and connect with new people. This isn't a new idea, but in Dubai, it has reached new heights with dozens of novel experiences in the past year.
“I wanted to bring people under one roof, sitting at the same table, so they could talk without distance and simply enjoy dinner and conversation together,” said Palestinian chef Ahmad Halawa, who founded his “dinner club” in 2019. Initially, only his friends and family came. But as word spread about Halawa’s delicious food, strangers began contacting him and making reservations to join the experience.
The people at the party connected and had a good time chatting.
People mostly know Halawa through word-of-mouth or Instagram, and dinners are usually booked two days in advance. Currently, he hosts up to 30 guests a week for two dinners in his backyard, arranged into an elegant table setting with flowers and soft lighting. He believes that finding community is one of the reasons customers want to experience this type of menu.
Finding the right community is one of the goals for experiences like this.
Dubai is a fast-growing city; people come and go, and some stay for a year or two. Clubs like this allow patrons to meet people beyond their current colleagues and friends.
A discerning diner named Dave Luis shared: “I enjoy dining out, but I was starting to get tired of the restaurant atmosphere in Dubai. The idea of having dinner at a stranger’s home felt so much more personal and memorable.” For Luis, the social aspect of the dinner was crucial: “It’s rare to have an evening out where the splendor of the food matches the sheer charm and joy of meeting people from so many different cultures, many of whom have become my friends.”
The joy of meeting and connecting with people from diverse cultures attracts many diners.
In an effort to standardize the industry and gain market share in the diner club market, entrepreneur Kevin Vaz co-founded Splidu, an app connecting diners with unique, underground dining experiences in the UAE. The app facilitates booking, payment, and legal procedures, allowing chefs to focus on creativity rather than operations. According to Splidu data, over 4,000 diners booked experiences on the platform in the first half of 2024, with an average of 41 experiences offered per month.
While good food is key to any dinner party, Halawa argues that the social aspect of dining clubs is driving their appeal in Dubai, where about 90% of the population is expatriate, far from home and family, and his dinners are served family-style at a shared table rather than individually as in restaurants.
The experience of dining with strangers has many different social implications.
Dining with strangers is a very popular idea in Dubai. This reflects the diverse needs of diners beyond simply enjoying a delicious meal, such as social connection, stress reduction, and making new and interesting friends. If you have the chance to visit Dubai, you can try this unique and exciting dining experience for a truly novel experience.
