The Village in Jeddah

Dining out is popular in Saudi Arabia, and guests enjoy the Italian village concept

As Il Villaggio Restaurant & Lounges is shortlisted for Restaurant of the Year in this year’s Caterer Middle East Awards, assistant general manager Toni Riethmaier discusses the successes and challenges of running the Jeddah-based business

The Middle East has a familiar dining culture; food is shared between family and friends and dining out is the norm for many in the region, local or expatriate. However, this doesn’t always translate smoothly into restaurant operations, which have local regulations to balance alongside local habits.

Of all the countries in the region, the massive market of Saudi Arabia is the most challenging location for operators, according to Il Villaggio Restaurant & Lounges assistant general manager Toni Riethmaier, who looks after six outlets and a gourmet shop in Jeddah.

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“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is probably the most restricted place to operate a restaurant,” he explains.

“Think of gender segregation with its family and singles sections, the limitations on ingredients for F&B, difficulties in employee recruitment, it can make life hard but also very rewarding if all those and other challenges can be mastered well.

“All restaurants have to comply with local rules and regulations. The way restaurants differ from each other is more in the design and food. Some might be a bit more closed up with partitions, others are more free with open spaces. Newly-developed restaurants tend to be more modern and follow western style and concepts,” Riethmaier adds.

But despite the challenges, Riethmaier explains that Il Villaggio is doing well: “Our restaurant is one of the very few where, after almost five years of operations, we still follow our vision and have maintained and even improved customer service and quality, and the entire dining experience,” he enthuses.

“Our restaurant is designed to provide the guest with an unforgettable dining experience, some say that they don’t feel like they are in Jeddah when they set foot in our restaurant, they feel like they are in Italy and that is our aim — to offer the guest, even if it’s for only a short time, an authentic experience, the feeling of being on a short trip to Italy. In addition we also keep a very close and good relationship with our guests. The management always enquires about the guests’ satisfaction,” he says.

Il Villaggio is well placed to capitalise on the dining culture in the Kingdom, as Riethmaier explains: “Restaurants and cafes enjoy great popularity in Saudi Arabia, mostly because there aren’t many choices to socialise and meet with family and friends”.

But although dining out is a popular pastime in the Kingdom, Riethmaier says that F&B outlets still need to innovate in their marketing strategies — particularly by embracing the use of social media to promote eateries.

“Facebook it is such an easy-to-use application, almost anyone can create and use pages,” he says. “This is particularly interesting to small to mid-sized restaurants, since they can communicate through social media with guests and keep them up to date about changes and promotions as well as interact and respond to guest feedback, queries promptly,” he adds.