If you run a restaurant in Saudi Arabia, the HungerStation and Jahez apps probably bring you orders every day — and charge you commission on every one of them. Meanwhile your own website, if you have one, is often a forgotten page with an out-of-date PDF menu. This guide is about the website itself: what website design for restaurants in Saudi Arabia needs to include, how it works alongside the delivery apps rather than against them, and what it should cost.
The direct answer: A restaurant website earns its keep by doing the jobs the apps cannot: ranking on Google and Maps when people search "restaurant near me", showing a fast, always-current menu in Arabic and English, taking reservations and direct orders, and capturing customer data you own. The apps are a channel; your website is the asset. At Service Nook, a business website starts from $320, and online-store setups from $480 for restaurants that take direct orders.
The honest maths: delivery apps vs your own website
Delivery apps are not the enemy. They put your restaurant in front of hungry people who have never heard of you, and that discovery is worth paying for — once. The problem is dependence. When regulars who already know your name order through an app because it is the only easy option, you pay commission on loyalty you earned yourself, and the customer relationship — the phone number, the order history, the ability to send a Friday offer — belongs to the platform, not to you.
- Commission on every order adds up quietly; on repeat customers it buys you nothing new.
- No customer data: you cannot message your own regulars, because they are not, technically, your customers on the app.
- Ranking you do not control: your position depends on the app's algorithm, promotions and whoever pays for placement.
- Your website flips each of these: direct orders carry payment-processing costs only, the data is yours, and your Google presence is an asset that compounds.
The smart setup uses both: apps for discovery, your website for regulars, reservations, catering enquiries and group bookings. Venues with a physical-experience angle benefit most — the same logic applies to other Saudi leisure businesses, as our guide to website design for gyms in Saudi Arabia shows.
What a Saudi restaurant website actually needs
- A fast mobile menu: most visitors open your site on a phone, standing outside or sitting in traffic. The menu must load in seconds as text and photos — not a heavy PDF that pinches and zooms. Prices in SAR, updated the same day they change.
- Arabic and English, done properly: full right-to-left Arabic pages alongside English, because both audiences search for you — "مطعم قريب مني" and "best restaurant near me" are the same customer on different days.
- Ordering options that fit how you work: direct online ordering if you run your own delivery, or clear order buttons that deep-link to your HungerStation and Jahez listings if you do not. Either way, ordering should be one tap from any page.
- Reservations: a simple booking form or WhatsApp reservation path — many Saudi diners still prefer to book a table by message, especially for family sections and large groups.
- Google Maps accuracy: your location pin, hours (including Ramadan hours), phone and WhatsApp must match your Google Business Profile exactly. "Near me" searches are where restaurant websites win or lose.
- Real food photography: your dishes, your dining room, your people. Stock photos of someone else's food quietly destroy trust.
- Payment readiness for direct orders: mada first, with STC Pay and Apple Pay — and, for restaurants selling vouchers, catering or packaged products, a ZATCA-compliant invoicing setup underneath.
Design details that decide whether visitors stay
Restaurant websites fail on small frictions. The call button and WhatsApp button should be reachable from every screen on mobile. Opening hours should never require detective work. If you have separate lunch and dinner menus, or a Ramadan iftar menu, each should be one tap away and clearly dated. Branches need their own pages with their own maps pins and phone numbers — a Riyadh flagship and a Jeddah branch do not share a reservation line. And what happens on social has to connect back: your Instagram food content should land on menu and booking pages, a flow we break down in our Jeddah social media management guide.
What a restaurant website typically costs in Saudi Arabia
A focused restaurant website — menu, branches, reservations, ordering links, bilingual — commonly starts from the low thousands of riyals with local agencies, while direct-ordering builds with payment gateways cost more because of the extra setup and testing. As a written reference point, Service Nook builds business websites from $320 and online stores from $480; a restaurant site with menu and reservation features is usually quoted at the business-website level, with direct ordering scoped on top if you want it. Ask what your quote includes: both languages, menu setup, Maps and profile alignment, and training so your team can change prices and dishes without calling a developer. For the broader picture of choosing a provider here, our guide to finding a website design company in Jeddah covers the checks that apply across the Kingdom.
Frequently asked questions
Does my restaurant need its own website if I'm on delivery apps?
Yes, if you want regulars to order and book without commission, and to own your customer data. Apps are excellent for discovery, but they rent you your own customers. A website captures direct orders, reservations and catering enquiries, and ranks on Google where apps do not represent you.
What should a restaurant website include?
A fast mobile menu in Arabic and English with SAR prices, one-tap ordering (direct or via your app listings), reservations by form or WhatsApp, accurate Maps and opening hours, real food photography, and branch pages if you have more than one location.
How much does a restaurant website cost in Saudi Arabia?
Menu-and-reservation websites commonly start from the low thousands of riyals with local agencies; direct-ordering builds cost more. At Service Nook, business websites start from $320 and online stores from $480, quoted in writing for your exact setup.
Can customers order directly from my website?
Yes. Your site can take direct orders with mada, STC Pay and Apple Pay — or, if you prefer the apps to handle delivery logistics, link each menu item and order button straight to your HungerStation or Jahez listing. Many restaurants run both.
Service Nook is a remote team, so everything — scope, price and progress — is handled in writing, with no meetings to chase. If your restaurant is paying commission on customers who already love you, message us through the Contact page or the WhatsApp button on servicenook.com with your city, branches and how you take orders today, and you will get a clear written quote for a website that brings those orders home.