Restaurant Manager - Arabic Concepts

Kitopi; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 300,000 - 540,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private Health Insurance

ESOP plan

30 days annual leave

Work from anywhere policy

Nutritionist access

Discounts on Kitopi brands

Job summary

Kitopi is seeking an experienced Restaurant Manager in Abu Dhabi to oversee daily operations, drive service excellence and profitability, and lead a high-performing team across a fast-paced, upscale dining environment.

You will coordinate with kitchen, central operations, and supply chain, ensure food safety, and deliver exceptional guest experiences while managing staff development and vendor relations.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8–10 years of experience in Arabic cuisine, fine-dining, or upscale dining/hospitality operations.
• Strong leadership and team-management abilities.
• Excellent communication in English and Arabic.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.
• Knowledge of food safety, hygiene, and health & safety standards.

Responsibilities

• Manage the day-to-day operations of the restaurant, ensuring smooth and efficient service.
• Lead, coach, and motivate the restaurant team to achieve operational and service excellence.
• Ensure consistently high standards of food quality, service, cleanliness, and guest experience.
• Monitor restaurant sales, costs, wastage, and overall profitability.
• Drive sales through effective team management, upselling, promotions, and customer engagement.
• Manage staff scheduling, attendance, performance, and manpower requirements.
• Conduct regular team briefings and provide ongoing training and development.
• Handle guest feedback and complaints professionally and ensure timely resolution.
• Ensure compliance with food safety, hygiene, health & safety, and company standards.

Skills

Arabic cuisine experience

Fine-dining operations

Front-of-house leadership

Team management

Customer service excellence

POS systems knowledge

Tools

POS systems

Job description

Kitopi is the world’s leading tech-powered multi-brand restaurant. With a mission to satisfy the world’s appetite, Kitopi operates a portfolio of both invested and franchised F&B brands, serving as enablers in the food market by helping brands to grow and scale, both in the delivery and dine-in space.

Launched in Dubai, UAE in January 2018, Kitopi has grown to become one of the greatest success stories in the cloud kitchen and food tech space. In July 2021, Kitopi announced its $415 million Series C funding round, led by the world’s largest technology-focused investment fund, Softbank Group Corp’s Vision Fund 2. This investment catapulted Kitopi to the prestigious Unicorn status, making it the fastest Unicorn to have emerged from the MENA region.

As a leading food-tech business, Kitopi’s growth has been largely fueled by its innovative and scalable software solutions. Kitopi’s kitchens are powered by its proprietary Smart Kitchen Operating System (SKOS) - an in-house suite of applications that optimizes cloud kitchen operations in real-time. As part of its growth roadmap, technological innovation, data science, artificial intelligence, and robotics will take center stage as Kitopi continues to reinvent the food industry as we know it today.

With over 4,000+ employees, Kitopi currently operates 200+ locations across the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar, and runs its engineering hub in Krakow, Poland, its robotics hub in Denmark, and its global customer experience center in Dubai, UAE.

We are looking for an experienced and customer-focused Restaurant Manager to oversee the daily operations of the restaurant. The role will be responsible for ensuring smooth operations, maintaining high service standards, driving sales and profitability, and leading the restaurant team to deliver an exceptional guest experience.

• Manage the day-to-day operations of the restaurant, ensuring smooth and efficient service.
• Lead, coach, and motivate the restaurant team to achieve operational and service excellence.
• Ensure consistently high standards of food quality, service, cleanliness, and guest experience.
• Monitor restaurant sales, costs, wastage, and overall profitability.
• Drive sales through effective team management, upselling, promotions, and customer engagement.
• Manage staff scheduling, attendance, performance, and manpower requirements.
• Conduct regular team briefings and provide ongoing training and development.
• Handle guest feedback and complaints professionally and ensure timely resolution.
• Ensure compliance with food safety, hygiene, health & safety, and company standards.
• Monitor inventory levels, stock movement, and wastage in coordination with the relevant teams.
• Ensure all restaurant equipment and facilities are maintained properly.
• Prepare and review operational reports, including sales, labor, and inventory performance.
• Coordinate with kitchen, central operations, supply chain, and other relevant teams to ensure seamless restaurant operations.
• Support recruitment, onboarding, performance management, and employee engagement activities.
• Implement company policies, SOPs, and operational procedures consistently.
• Conduct regular inspections and take corrective actions where required.
• Minimum 8–10 years of experience in Arabic cuisine, fine-dining, or upscale dining/hospitality operations, with significant experience in a managerial role. Strong experience in Arabic/Lebanese cuisine and elevated dining concepts is highly preferred.
• Strong knowledge of restaurant operations and front-of-house service.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills both English and Arabic.
• Strong leadership and team-management abilities.
• Customer-focused with a professional and positive approach.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced and high-volume environment.
• Good problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Knowledge of food safety, hygiene, and health & safety standards.
• Familiarity with POS systems and basic operational reporting.
• Flexible to work shifts, weekends, and public holidays as required.
• Fluency in English is required; additional languages are an advantage.

Recruitment Process and Timeline

• Extensive learning opportunities - we offer many hard and soft skills training to help you improve and challenge yourself
• You’ll have access to LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, and Mindvalley where you can choose over thousands of courses to satisfy your hunger for knowledge.
• You'll be involved in customized workshops run by Kitopi Academy
• You’ll have a chance to work in an international, diverse, and inclusive environment
• You’ll be part of one of the most caring communities out there.
• Finding a chance to become a shareowner with our ESOP plan (T&C Applies)
• Free and unlimited access to a nutritionist because we care about you
• No Dress Code!
• Extended maternity and parental leave
• The infamous team activities and social events are bursting with fun
• Inclusive Private Health Insurance
• Up to 50% discount from Kitopi brands
• 30 calendar days annual leave
• Work from anywhere policy

So, what does it really mean to work at Kitopi?

We are constantly striving to make Kitopi the best place to work in the world, by empowering you to be the best version of yourself every day. Our company values act as our guiding principles to help ensure that everyone feels safe, included, and like they truly belong.

Kitopi is an equal opportunity employer. While we currently operate in 6 countries, we are over 70 different nationalities of talented Kitopians. We celebrate our rich diverse backgrounds, lifestyles, and cultures and have a 0 tolerance policy towards racism, bigotry, and hate. Please apply if you see a position that makes your heart skip a beat and help us build a company where we're all proud to work for.

Along with offices in all the markets we operate in, we also believe in a “work from anywhere” policy - you get to choose the environment you operate in because we believe this will help you deliver work you’re proud of.