Digital Menus in the GCC and Europe: What Each Market Needs
Restaurant groups expanding between the Gulf and Europe often assume the digital menu will travel unchanged. Most of it does. The parts that change are the ones that cause trouble if you miss them: language, tax, currency, invoices and consent.
Languages
GCC: Arabic is essential, and it must be a true right-to-left layout with Arabic fonts, not translated text in a left-to-right page. English is expected alongside, and many venues add the languages of their guests and staff, such as Hindi, Urdu, Malayalam, Tagalog or Russian.
Europe: the local language plus English, with tourist languages in busy cities. A Brussels or Zurich venue may need three local languages at once.
WowMenu offers 27 menu languages, filled with Auto-translate, plus a separate staff language for your team. Multi-language menus.
Tax and invoices
Tax is where markets differ most. A few examples from the country tax profiles in the Owner Portal (standard rates; per-category rates can be set per branch):
- UAE: 5% VAT, with the guest's TRN on company invoices
- Saudi Arabia: 15% VAT, a Tax Invoice, bilingual Arabic and English by default
- Qatar and Kuwait: no VAT, but still a proper bilingual invoice
- United Kingdom: 20% VAT, a VAT Invoice, simplified invoices up to £250
- Ireland: 23% standard VAT, a VAT Invoice
- Germany: 19% VAT, a "Rechnung", simplified invoices up to €250
Have your accountant review your setup in every market. Billing, VAT and invoicing.
Currency
Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman price in three decimal places, and those fils matter on every bill. Visitors on both sides like to see prices in their own currency, while you invoice in yours.
Consent and messaging
In both regions, message only guests who opted in. Keep marketing consent separate and unticked by default, show it on the guest profile, and cap how often guests hear from you.
Ordering habits
Gulf dining often means large family tables, late hours and seasonal peaks around Ramadan and Eid. European dining often means smaller tables, set lunch hours and strong café cultures. Both reward a menu that is quick to order from and easy to split.
Starting points
- WowMenu in the UAE and Saudi Arabia
- Multilingual ordering across Europe, with each country's tax profile
- The UK, with GBP pricing and 20% VAT invoices
