With the Onam festival arriving on Friday, Indian restaurants in the UAE are bracing for a bustling long weekend. Some foresee extended wait times, while others start preparations 24 hours ahead to accommodate thousands of diners.
Onam, Kerala’s harvest festival, features the Onasadhya feast, a vegetarian meal served on banana leaves with over 30 dishes, requiring hours of preparation.
Calicut Notebook, boasting six UAE locations, plans to serve an impressive 25,000 Onasadhya on Friday alone. “For Onam, we pause normal operations to focus solely on the Sadhya,” said Satheesh Kumar, managing director. “We anticipate around 25,000 diners across our outlets, with contingencies in place for more. This year’s long weekend and holiday Friday promise heavy foot traffic from both reservations and walk-ins.”
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Beyond individual diners, the restaurant expects over 100,000 Onasadhyas sold during the season, extending throughout the month in Dubai. “We’ve already received numerous bookings for the month, indicating strong sales,” said Kumar.
Waiting time
In Karama, Lallumma’s restaurant anticipates selling at least 5,000 sadhyas this weekend, with a grand feast for over 1,000 on Sunday.
“We sold 800 sadhyas on Thursday, our first feast day,” said co-founder Anees Fareed. “Friday predicts a large turnout. Pre-booked patrons should expect a 30-minute wait, while walk-ins might wait up to an hour.”
The restaurant plans five meal turns and reports full bookings. “Only a few seats remain for Sunday’s grand event,” Fareed noted. “Everything else is fully booked.”
No bookings
Natasha Farook of Pepperlane in Silicon Oasis opts for first-come, first-served service, avoiding bookings due to potential no-shows. “Our staff worked over 12 hours prepping sadhya. We had 400 corporate orders on Thursday, and expect to sell 600 more on Friday. Post-4pm, we close to let our team rest,” she explained.
