On January 18, after almost a decade, beloved vegetarian restaurant Moreish will close its doors in Mankhool, Dubai. This follows a slow but growing trend, as dedicated plant-based eateries close and vegan options are removed from menus across the UAE.
After several years of veganism increasing in popularity, it appears, at least on the surface, that the animal-free diet is now trending downwards.
There are no statistics on the number of vegans in the UAE to prove or disprove this, but we do know that within the years 2000 and 2022, the UAE's per capita meat consumption was at its lowest between 2010 and 2017, with an upwards trajectory since. We know local Google searches for 'vegan' have lowered in volume in recent years, and 'Veganuary' searches have shown a steady decrease since 2020. We know industry insiders are aware of the shift.
Nada ElBarshoumi, founder of UAE-based culinary consultancy Kinfoli, says the trend is clear – and there are probably a number of explanations, including the stigma attached to the word “vegan”.
When it comes to disappearing menus, “perception and labels are at the core of the issue,” she tells The National. “We know from menu psychology studies that words used to describe dishes on a menu have a significant impact on sales. People read the word ‘vegan’ and assume the food will be joyless and restrictive.”
The slower an item moves, the more likely it is to be removed or replaced, often resulting in dishes labelled “vegan” disappearing. “When I work with clients, I always recommend leading with flavour first and avoiding incorporating labels in dish titles,” ElBarshoumi adds. “You can always use tags on delivery aggregator applications like Deliveroo to denote whether or not something is vegan or vegetarian.
“Enticingly describing what a dish tastes and feels like is always going to evoke more positive sentiment, irrespective of its ingredients.”
Struggling to survive
Another reason for the disappearance of exclusively plant-based restaurants is the rise of flexitarianism, says ElBarshoumi. “Increasingly, vegans and vegetarians are moving away from strict labels and embracing a style of eating that is still conscious but flexible.”
Market research supports ElBarshoumi's observations. Flexitarian is the fastest-growing diet demographic. They account for approximately 50 per cent of consumers of plant-based produce.
One restaurateur who can attest to this is Ahmed Al Qasimi, founder of Nabati, a vegan “fast food” restaurant that closed down in 2024. While the choice to shut down was driven more by family concerns, particularly as Nabati was a passion project for Al Qasimi, it had proven to be a challenge that would require continuing financial and personal investment. “Knowing when to step back was a conscious decision to protect my family and avoid unnecessary risk,” he tells The National.
“One of the biggest challenges is consistent support from the vegan community itself. While the vegan population in the UAE may be smaller, it is still large enough to sustain businesses in theory. In practice, however, our regular vegan customers were very few. Around 85 to 90 per cent of our customers were non-vegans.”
During his restaurant’s tenure, Al Qasimi noted that many vegans preferred dining at non-vegan restaurants, while meat-eaters were far more willing to try meatless cuisine. “Many vegans openly acknowledge how difficult it is for vegan businesses to survive in the UAE, yet the level of day-to-day support doesn’t always reflect that understanding.”
Another financial factor impacting his bottom line was delivery platforms taking 30 to 40 per cent of revenue. “For an already challenging business model, this significantly limits sustainability and long-term viability.”
founder of Nabati
Despite these struggles, Al Qasimi doesn’t believe veganism is in decline. “What appears to be declining is the availability of vegan dining options,” he says. “Supermarket offerings continue to expand, which suggests interest still exists. Ultimately, this may be a matter of timing – the market may not yet have reached the level of consistent demand needed to support a large number of vegan restaurants long-term.”
He also puts it down to a failure in execution. “Adding a basic salad with tofu often doesn’t resonate with diners,” he says. “When those items don’t sell, they’re removed.” From a business perspective, this won’t result in a noticeable loss of customers, he adds. “This reinforces the perception that demand isn’t strong enough to justify the effort.”
The return to whole foods
Veganism’s popularity has also been impacted by a return of the whole foods trend, says ElBarshoumi. It is “due, in large part, to the fearmongering of ultra-processed foods we’ve seen in the news and on social media in recent years,” she says.
“While many diners still enjoy a vegan burger or pizza as an occasional treat, the majority of people reducing meat or dairy intake in the region are doing so for health reasons.”
Al Qasimi agrees. He’d been told Nabati’s cuisine, which included burgers and other fast-food staples, wasn’t “everyday food”. This was “despite offering a mix of whole foods, healthy options and familiar comfort dishes”, with ingredients such as tofu, beans and fresh vegetables.
“We focused on flavour without compromise – food that stood on its own rather than imitating an alternative,” says Al Qasimi. “Despite that, many vegans still gravitated towards higher-end vegan concepts, making it even harder for mid-range, casual vegan restaurants to thrive.”
While there’s no easy solution, Al Qasimi strongly believes vegan customers should prioritise supporting vegan restaurants: “Businesses created specifically to serve vegans rely heavily on that community for survival.”
A difficult choice
Dubai resident George Evans had been vegan for almost a decade before recently adding animal products back into his diet. The availability of good-quality ingredients and dishes in the UAE was one deciding factor.
“I'd be thinking about it for a while,” he tells The National. “It was becoming expensive, and the range of food options fluctuates a lot. Brands come in, nobody buys them, then they're dropped from supermarkets.”
While he admits it’s better than it was when he first went vegan, he was getting tired of the inconsistency. “I see chain coffee shops dropping vegan options, vegan restaurants shut down, supermarkets bring in a new option and then drop it again.”
It's a trend beyond the region. In London, popular joints such as Rudy’s Vegan Diner, Halo Burger and Neat Burger have shut in recent years. In October 2025, the renowned three-Michelin-star restaurant Eleven Madison Park in New York reintroduced meat after operating a fully vegan kitchen for four years previously.
A better middle ground, for consumers and businesses, might just be the way forward. “Restaurants should aim to cater to everyone,” says Al Qasimi. “As a chef, the goal isn’t to exclude groups but to feed people. That’s one of the strengths of vegan food – it can be enjoyed by almost anyone.”
Many of Nabati’s customers were also vegan for medical reasons. “Affordable, flavourful options are limited for them, and that’s where vegan restaurants can play a meaningful role.”
Karam Saab, founder of Dubai’s viral bagel spot Sunny Park Deli, agrees. “The worst thing possible would be for people to walk by Sunny Park Deli and think ‘they don’t have anything I can eat there’ or ‘this is not a place that caters to me’ when the essence of a deli is that everything should be customisable and can feed the whole community,” he tells The National.
This is why he recently held a focus group with vegan food influencers before adding new plant-based items to his menu, despite recognising that vegan-focused food items don’t move as fast.
“You end up with wastage, losing money, giving up real estate in the kitchen and on the menu to an item that doesn’t have high enough return on investment … [but] I think it’s important to cater to everyone, every food preference, every food allergy, every segment of the market or community as much as you can without hindering operations,” he says.
Ultimately, vegan food is not just for vegans, says ElBarshoumi. “With more than 41 per cent of consumers in the GCC now identifying as flexitarian [according to Redseer Consulting], there is a huge untapped opportunity to cater to this growing segment.”
At the same time, vegan diners are still influential, she adds. “Vegans and flexitarians alike influence dining decisions, and catering to them properly can help you win and retain a loyal customer base.”
