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Restaurants & cafés

Mandi and madhbi restaurant feasibility study

Latest regulatory change: 2025 · reviewed 2026-11-05

A traditional restaurant cooking meat and chicken with rice in a tandoor oven or on hot stone, for individual diners and banquets.

  • SAR 66.83Kilo of fresh lamb in December 2024[5]
  • SAR 295.66Cost of cooking a whole carcass in December 2024[5]
  • SAR 32,000Maximum fine per cubic metre for local firewood in commercial activity[4]

Latest regulatory and market changes

  1. 2025The updated restaurant requirements set out conditions for in-ground ovens (tandoors), including a conical hood connected to a chimney with an extractor fan to remove smoke.[1]
  2. 2025From July, the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) required restaurants to place a salt-shaker symbol next to high-salt meals and display nutritional information on menus.[3]
  3. 2025The Ministry of Municipalities and Housing (MoMAH) adopted unified requirements for food establishments that prohibit trading outside the premises or using pavements without a permit.[2]
  4. 2025The Special Forces for Environmental Security impose fines of up to SAR 32,000 per cubic metre for using local firewood or charcoal in commercial activities.[4]

Why now

  • The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) tracks the cost of cooking a whole carcass as a separate item, at about SAR 295.66 in December 2024, so banquet cooking is a service in its own right.[5]
  • Demand for mandi is higher at dinner and in winter than in summer.[6]
  • Imported chilled lamb fell 2.2% to SAR 51.36 per kilo, the only item whose price fell that month.[5]

SAR 66.83Average price of a kilo of fresh lamb in December 2024, up 0.7% on the previous month, according to the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) price bulletin.[5]

The idea and business model

A restaurant serving mandi, madhbi and rice dishes with meat and chicken for dine-in and takeaway, and cooking whole carcasses for banquets and occasions. Revenue comes from individual meals, whole carcasses and a service cooking customers' own carcasses.

Model: Site-based production and sales

Project economics

Revenue formula

Daily meals and carcasses×Average order value×Operating days

Sales channels

  • Individual meals, dine-in and takeaway
  • Whole carcasses and banquets
  • Cooking customers' carcasses

Largest cost items

  • Meat and rice
  • Firewood, charcoal and gas
  • Salaries
  • Rent, tandoors and chimneys

Decisive indicators we measure

  • Meat cost as a share of meal price
  • Carcasses per week
  • Banquet share of sales
  • Daily waste

Relevant authorities

  • Ministry of Municipalities and Housing (MoMAH) via Balady: licence and requirements for in-ground ovens and chimneys
  • Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA): food safety and menu disclosure
  • Special Forces for Environmental Security and the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development: ban on local firewood and charcoal in commercial activity
  • Licensed slaughterhouses: slaughter of carcasses outside the restaurant
  • Civil Defence: fire safety for tandoors and fuel

What needs your attention

  • Volatile meat prices change the cost of a meal directly.
  • Fuel must be documented imported firewood or charcoal to avoid fines for local firewood.
  • Demand is seasonal and concentrated at dinner, in winter and around occasions.

What a Mandi and madhbi restaurant study calculates for you

  • Meal and carcass cost at current meat prices
  • Tandoor capacity per cooking cycle
  • Effect of winter and occasion seasonality
  • Cost of imported fuel
  • Daily sales needed to break even

Every one of these figures appears in your study with its source and date, built on your location and capital, with a clear line between documented facts and assumptions.

Sources

Most sources are Saudi government and press pages in Arabic; titles are kept in their original language so you can find them.

  1. اشتراطات المطاعم (قرار وزاري 15/10/1446هـ)وزارة البلديات والإسكان · 2025-04
  2. البلديات تعتمد اشتراطات موحدة لتنظيم عمل المنشآت الغذائيةعكاظ · 2025-08
  3. إلزام المطاعم بالملّاحة والإفصاح عن كافيين المشروبات وحرق السعرات في المنيوعكاظ · 2025-06
  4. ضبط مواطن مخالف لنظام البيئة لاستخدامه حطباً محلياً في أنشطة تجارية بعسيرعكاظ · 2025-09
  5. ارتفاع أسعار اللحوم في السعودية وانخفاض الضأن المستورداليوم (عن الهيئة العامة للإحصاء) · 2025-01
  6. المنديسعوديبيديا · 2021-02

Last reviewed: 4 November 2026. This page introduces the activity; detailed figures belong in the study.