For many restaurants in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and even around the world, Ramadan is considered a peak season. Though it’s considered a month of reflection, connection, and prayer, it’s also well-known for seasonal desserts and beverages.
In Ramadan, restaurants, especially in the MENA region, have to serve food and beverages at sunset for iftar. Many F&B concepts also offer the pre-fasting meal, known as Sohoor.
So, it’s a busy time.
Restaurants need to prepare for Ramadan, the fast-paced month of dining and gatherings, both in-house and in their marketing.
In this article, we’ll look at marketing and Ramadan promotion ideas for restaurants. We’ll also offer some prep tips to make sure you’re ready for the festive dining season.
Ramadan promotion ideas for restaurants
Here are several ideas for Ramadan marketing and promotions to excite guests and prompt them to visit your venue.
In the following section, we’ll share how you can market these Ramadan promotion ideas.
Free drinks for large groups
Large group reservations, of 5 or more, mean more restaurant sales but a longer seating time. You can entice guests to make a booking by offering free Ramadan beverages for groups of 5 or more. Alternatively, you can offer free beverage refills.
Special Ramadan menu
Everyone is waiting to see what restaurants offer for Ramadan. Whether you’re in Dubai, Riyadh, Doha, Egypt, Lebanon, or anywhere in the Middle East, guests are on the lookout for special Ramadan menus.
Menus don’t have to be fancy. Though guests may often consider ordering different types of foods, like oriental desserts, at their favorite venues.
If you’re offering a special Ramadan menu, make sure you create separate digital menus for Iftar and Sohoor.
All-you-can-eat Ramadan buffet
Some venues switch from an a la carte menu to an open buffet or all-you-can-eat dining experience. It’s entirely up to you, but make sure you regularly refill buffet dishes, maintain your quality levels, and keep guests happy.
Remember, salty foods aren’t recommended in Ramadan because guests will need to fast the next day.
Special Sohoor deals
Many guests will often try to make bookings for Iftar. But what about Sohoor?
The pre-fast meal is a great opportunity to boost your revenues and offer another fun dining experience in Ramadan.
Consider a special Sohoor menu with an offering for large groups, like Iftar. You can also offer separate Sohoor deals like buy 2 and get 1 free on specific dishes.
Make sure guests arrive before a specific time so your kitchen staff can prepare the food and guests can enjoy it before the fajr (dawn) prayer.
Drinks-and-desserts menu
If you’re not ready to whip up a brand-new menu for Ramadan, then consider a dessert and drinks menu.
Desserts such as qatayef, roz b laban (rice with milk), among others are popular in Ramadan. Along with beverages such as cold hibiscus (karkadeh), qamar el dine, sobia, among others.
Due to its sweet, unique taste, qamar el dine is often offered as a beverage and incorporated in various desserts.
Make dining experiences memorable with your Ramadan menu. Offer guests a delightful and delicious experience with a variety of oriental desserts and beverages.
Special tea/coffee offerings
After fasting for 12 or more hours, your guests, who enjoy a cup of tea or coffee each morning, will be savoring the moment they get their fix.
Make sure you give it to them. Whether you’re offering a special drinks menu for Ramadan, or your regular menu. Make sure hosts offer tea and coffee after the Iftar meal.
If your guests are returning guests, see if they’ve ordered tea or coffee in the past and make a personalized recommendation. If they hadn’t ordered either before, make sure to add it as a guest note. Add an auto-tag with coffee or tea for future personalized restaurant marketing campaigns.
Special discount for the next visit
Boost repeat guests with a special voucher. You can offer a free dessert during their next visit, a free drink, or 10% off their check.
Make sure you limit the duration to a month or 2. This way, guests are looking forward to their next visit.
If you’re using Servme, this discount can appear directly in your system.
If this is your first Ramadan and you’re not fully booked, you can limit the voucher to Ramadan so guests can come back within the month.
Further reading: All You Need to Know about Automated Restaurant Guest Surveys
Ramadan Eat-and-Donate campaign
Apart from food, desserts, and prayer, the month of Ramadan is known as a time of giving back. You can let guests know about any ongoing charity campaigns you’ll be donating to and what this means for guests.
For example, some restaurants note that they are giving out 5% of their revenue in Ramadan to a local charity. Others attempt to reduce food waste, and give away food to the needy.
Let guests know what you’re planning and how their dining experience contributes to your donations.
Ramadan marketing prep tips
The above are promotional ideas for Ramadan, but you need to know how and where to share these promotions.
Email newsletter with Ramadan plans
Start your Ramadan marketing and planning with a newsletter marking the special month. Include your venue’s opening and closing hours, how guests can book a table during Ramadan.
If you’re sending your restaurant newsletter a week or two before Ramadan, include your Ramadan menu(s) and link to your reservation widget.
Social media marketing campaigns
Plan your restaurant’s social media marketing campaigns in advance and decide what you’ll say in each post and message. Determine the action you need guests to make, such as making a booking, calling the venue, or sharing your post.
If you’re not already using them, choose your restaurant’s marketing tools, and schedule your social media calendar in advance.
Use SMS or WhatsApp marketing
If email marketing isn’t your guests’ preference, there are other ways to communicate with guests ahead of Ramadan. Review your restaurant CRM and choose between SMS marketing and WhatsApp messaging for your restaurant.
Decide on your booking platforms
With online reservations being the easy and cost-effective way to go, decide which booking platforms you’ll enable for Ramadan.
If you’re using Servme’s reservation and table management system, you can choose from Zomato, Tripadvisor, the Michelin Guide (UAE only), Reserve with Google, Afternoon Tea (UK and Ireland only), among others.
You can also get direct reservations via Facebook and Instagram.
Final tips to prepare for Ramadan
Before you go, here are a few more tips to help you prepare for the month of delectable dining experiences.
Announce special Ramadan hours
Make sure you notify guests of your venue’s opening and closing hours. It’s common for restaurants to open at later times, especially in the Middle East, because they anticipate fewer guests coming during the day.
If that’s you, then make sure guests are aware.
Start your Ramadan marketing early
We cannot stress this enough. Start marketing for your Ramadan menus, events, and plans early.
This covers your restaurant’s social media marketing, email marketing, WhatsApp, and everything in between.
Enable online bookings
If you are using reservation and seating management software, enable online bookings on all channels.
Collect deposits
One of the hardest things during Ramadan is telling guests you’re fully booked for Iftar. What’s worse is turning guests away and ending up with no-shows.
Collect online restaurant reservation deposits to reduce no-show guests, as well as last-minute cancellations. This also helps you secure a portion of your revenue in-advance.
Further reading: 10 Money-Making Revenue Management Strategies for Restaurants in 2025
Prepare your digital menu(s)
Like your marketing efforts, make sure you prepare your digital menu, or menus early. You can use them to create teaser campaigns ahead of Ramadan to boost engagement and entice guests to book tables.
Want to streamline restaurant reservations and operations ahead and during Ramadan? Discover what Servme has to offer.
Nada Sobhi
Marketing
