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Dubai-based 'Eatopi is like Spotify, but for food'

Kitopi’s Chief Growth Officer, Bader Ataya on curating an eat-list in Dubai

It’s difficult being a foodie in Dubai – there are just too many choices. From Michelin-starred restaurants to pop-ups with visiting chefs, from hole-in-the-wall gems to places that act like conduits for viral concoctions, we have a menu full of choices.

No wonder most plans to meet up with family or friends revolve around food.

This isn’t me waxing eloquently about an undeserving dining scene; according to the Dubai Gastronomy Industry Report, released by the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) this year, people are eating out more frequently than before.

The trend of eating out in Dubai has seen a 61 per cent upswing, it says, with residents dining out at restaurants almost three times a week.

And food is the best way to know a city; the culture of a place is what seasons a plate with its rich legacy of flavour. There’s just one problem if you want to eat out (especially when there’s popular stuff involved) – if you are going with a group, no matter where you choose to eat, you’ll always find someone with discontented taste buds.

Or you would, if this wasn’t Dubai. The latest food pit stop in the city, Eatopi, is whittling down the problems, ensuring all that’s left is a happy eater. How? By gathering a list of popular dishes from local eateries and serving them in one place. Craving a good lasagna? Check out La Fabbrica Italiana’s signature dish dripping with goodness here. Burgers on your mind? Award-winning Burger Joint also has a spot.

“Eatopi is really about celebrating the local culinary community, telling the stories and telling the stories about the dishes,” says Kitopi’s Chief Growth Officer, Bader Ataya. “If you look at our menu, it actually comes from 20-plus different brands and shops. And our menu changes very regularly, so we have 20 to 30 drops coming up over the next six months.”

Founded in 2024, Eatopi was in development for quite some time. “We spent a lot of time refining our vision and building partnerships with chefs who align with our values before launching,” he adds.

The staff sees the menu’s offerings like a curated eat-list. “The biggest metaphor that people resonated with when talking about [Eatopi] was the music metaphor, because a long time ago, we used to buy CDs or albums, and we would listen to the whole [thing], then listen on the same one or two songs over and over again. Then Spotify and the likes came out, and we just started putting all the hits in one place, like a playlist. So, a lot of people would say, ‘it's like a playlist, but with food’,” explains Ataya.

Eatopi is the brainchild of the founders of Kitopi, a cloud-kitchen platform that calls itself ‘the house of brands’. The food-loving entrepreneurs noticed that while Dubai was a hub for viral dishes, from the chocolate kunafa to the Chef Omar-style salads, and the foodies here wouldn’t mind travelling for the one delicacy that speaks to their soul, there wasn’t a one-stop restaurant that could cater to a bunch of tastes (which is something else Dubai is quite proud of; there are as many palates as there are people from varying states).

But, before they could open doors to the public, first the company had to experiment, to see if people were buying what it was that they were planning to sell. “When we started with this idea [opinion was] polarised. We wanted to test it. We tested it at the Formula One [with a pop-up], and it was an amazing success, and we realised we were on to something,” he says. They did a couple of other pop-ups that cemented the idea.

The next thing the company had to figure out was location; Eatopi is currently based in One Central although other branches have been planned. And finally, it was time to decide on décor.

“We thought Eatopi would be black and white, very geometric, bit serious and very clean,” says Ataya, admitting almost immediately that it wouldn’t have worked. “It evolved into a bit more of a grungy hip-hop, R&B musical type of brand, because the music metaphor is what most resonated with people.”

Keeping it local, the group hired the UAE-based artist Rami Afifi to paint his versions of famous album covers on the wall; part graffiti, part pop-art, the vibe is American diner-meets-fast-food central. “This is kind of a play on the first dishes that were on Eatopi. So we have the cheesecake, but he did it like the Nirvana cover. We have High Joint, we have the Ugly Noodles,” says Ataya, pointing to the fixtures on the wall.

“We really leaned into that ‘music’ metaphor,” says Ataya, “ We made sure, you know, wherever we had the location or even a pop-up, the music had to be just so. All the chefs that we work with, we want to understand their taste in music, and we represent that in store.”

The gang is meticulous about the food that’s allowed into the store – there mustn’t be too many choices of the same dish (it would kind of defeat the purpose of highlighting a special, so we get it). If you want a burger, there’ll only be one kind available in a particular store (which may be different from the menu in another branch of Eatopi).

The food business is a wasteful one, but there are brands trying to minimise waste. Ataya says: “Most restaurants are pretty good at wastage. But the beauty of this concept is we don't use plastic. Everything is biodegradable. Everything is either multiple use or compostable.”

As for how they decide what goes on that ever-important menu, Ataya explains: “We make sure to stay relevant to the up-and-coming culinary talents in the region. Our team is on a constant hunt for the next up and coming chef or the next trending dish. Customer feedback is very important to us, that's why we also constantly ask for their feedback on what they'd like to see on the menu.”

Thinking of paying Eatopi a visit? Check out the ’record sleeves’ on display; these have a QR code which when scanned take you to the story of a chef who talks about why they have partnered with Eatopi and which dish they have chosen to share.

In October, the restaurant will see food by Palestinian chefs making an appearance. “We're also planning for the opening of our next restaurant at Dubai Hills Mall towards the end of this year.”

Hungry to try some popular dishes? Head over to Eatopi to indulge those taste buds with your pals. It’s the one place, you're all sure to get what you are craving.

You can also order take-out from Eatopi; head to the Kitopi app for your next delivery.

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