Friends' Avenue Cafe

What Friends' Avenue Cafe does

Friends' Avenue Cafe is a privately held casual dining cafe chain founded in 2015 and domiciled in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The company operates three physical cafe locations across Dubai — JLT (Fortune Executive Tower), Al Thanyah (Waitrose Building, Al Thanyah Mall), and Motor City (The Ribbon Mall) — each serving Australian, English, and European-influenced fare including freestyle breakfast (served until 3pm daily), gourmet sandwiches, salads, main courses, and specialty coffee. Operating hours are 7:00am to 10:00pm for the JLT and Al Thanyah locations, with the Motor City location extending to 12:00am.

Beyond the flagship cafe brand, the company has developed two in-house food concepts: Melt Burger Company (a handcrafted artisanal burger concept) and Acai and the Tribe (an açaí bowl and healthy-eating concept). Both operate from the Friends Avenue Cafe kitchen. The company makes money through direct dine-in sales across its three locations and through third-party delivery via a partnership with Deliveroo. Its core customers are general consumers in Dubai — local residents, expatriates, and tourists seeking fresh, homemade-quality food in a casual setting.

The business is distributed entirely through owned retail storefronts and one third-party delivery aggregator; there is no proprietary technology platform, no mobile app, no disclosed management team or external investors, and no public financials. Marketing is concentrated on Instagram (@friendsavenuecafe), with the company website (Squarespace-hosted) last updated to reflect copyright 2015-2021.

Name

Friends' Avenue Cafe

Legal name

Friends Avenue Cafe

Website

https://friendsavenue.ae

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Friends' Avenue Cafe is a Dubai-based casual dining chain operating three locations (JLT, Al Thanyah, Motor City) since 2015, serving Australian, English, and European-influenced breakfast and lunch, with two in-house sub-brands: Melt Burger Company and Acai and the Tribe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Casual Dining Cafe

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Limited-Service Restaurants (722513)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Casual Dining Restaurants (THAFACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

All-Day Dining Restaurants (THAFACAJ), Breakfast & Brunch Fast Casual (THAFABAL)

Keywords

• Casual dining cafe
• Cafe restaurant chain
• Breakfast and lunch
• Specialty coffee cafe
• Multi-brand food concepts

Headquarters

HQ city

Dubai

HQ country

United Arab Emirates

HQ region

Middle East

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Food and Beverage Sales: Direct restaurant sales of food and beverages across three locations in Dubai. Revenue generated from dine-in customers and delivery orders through Deliveroo platform.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Friends' Avenue Cafe operates three casual dining cafe locations across Dubai (JLT, Al Thanyah, Motor City) serving Australian, English, and European-inspired breakfast until 3pm and lunch fare, including gourmet sandwiches, salads, main courses, specialty coffee, and burgers. It also runs two in-house food concepts: Melt Burger Company (artisanal burgers) and Acai and the Tribe (healthy açaí bowls), with delivery enabled through Deliveroo.

Product overview

Friends' Avenue Cafe is a multi-brand food and beverage company operating a portfolio of dining concepts. The core offering is the Friends Avenue Cafe brand (Australian, English, and European cafe fare), supported by two in-house food concepts: Melt Burger Company (artisanal burgers) and Açai and the Tribe (healthy açaí bowls). All concepts share the mission of providing food that reminds customers of home.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Melt Burger Company: Young, free and homemade burger concept from the kitchen of Friends Avenue Cafe. Intended to change the way customers eat burgers with handcrafted, mouthwatering offerings.
• Açai and the Tribe

Products and services

• Friends Avenue Cafe (Flagship Cafe Brand) The flagship cafe brand offering casual dining service with a freestyle breakfast menu served until 3pm and a lunch menu of gourmet sandwiches, crunchy colorful salads, and delicate main courses; targeted at local residents, expats, and tourists in Dubai seeking fresh, homemade-style food in a comfortable cafe setting.
• Melt Burger Company An in-house sub-brand from Friends Avenue Cafe offering handcrafted, artisanal burgers with unique flavor profiles, intended to provide a differentiated burger dining experience for casual diners.
• Acai and the Tribe An in-house sub-brand specializing in açaí bowls and wholesome eating, using high-grade açaí with a focus on healthy, sustainable, and aesthetically pleasing food presentation for health-conscious consumers.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• DeliveroominorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDeliveroo is used as a third-party food delivery partner, enabling Friends' Avenue Cafe to offer delivery services to customers across Dubai through the Deliveroo platform.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Wild & The Moon: Dubai-based healthy cafe concept specializing in plant-based bowls, cold-pressed juices, and açaí. Directly comparable to Friends' Avenue's Açaí and the Tribe sub-brand and broader health-conscious positioning.
• Eggspectation: International casual breakfast and brunch concept with Dubai presence. Comparable to Friends' Avenue Cafe in breakfast-focused menu, all-day casual dining format, and Dubai customer base.
• Tom & Serg: Independent Dubai cafe and restaurant known for all-day breakfast, specialty coffee, and casual European-style fare. Highly comparable as a Dubai-based multi-location casual cafe.
• Jones the Grocer: UAE-founded casual cafe and gourmet grocer operating multiple Dubai locations with all-day breakfast and cafe fare. Comparable to Friends' Avenue Cafe in casual dining, breakfast-led menu, and UAE multi-location presence.
• Common Grounds: Dubai-based specialty cafe chain serving all-day breakfast, brunch, and casual fare across multiple locations. Directly comparable to Friends' Avenue Cafe in concept, daypart strategy, and Dubai customer base.

Broad incumbents

• % Arabica: Global specialty coffee brand with multiple Dubai locations. Competes for Dubai cafe traffic and the breakfast/coffee daypart that Friends' Avenue Cafe targets, though more coffee-focused.
• Pret a Manger: International sandwich and coffee chain with UAE locations. Overlaps with Friends' Avenue Cafe in gourmet sandwiches, coffee, and casual daypart dining, particularly for Dubai's office and expat customers.
• Starbucks: Global coffee and cafe giant with extensive UAE footprint. Competes with Friends' Avenue Cafe for the breakfast and coffee daypart, particularly among Dubai's expat and corporate customers.
• Costa Coffee: Major UK-based cafe chain with deep presence across the UAE. Competes directly for Dubai's breakfast, coffee, and casual cafe occasions with broader reach and brand recognition.

Regional players

• The Poke Bowl: Healthy bowl concept operating in the UAE/Middle East region. Comparable to the Açaí and the Tribe sub-brand in healthy, bowl-based positioning, with overlap in Dubai customer segments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat1 record

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/friendsavenuecafe
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/friends'-avenue-cafe

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Friends' Avenue Cafe