Menu printing in Dubai starts at AED 550 for 500 folded A4-to-A5 menus on 350 gsm laminated card — about AED 1.10 per menu, VAT included. The larger A3-to-A4 format costs AED 900 for 500 menus. If you need a presentation menu rather than a print run, a black leather A4 menu with 18 inner pages and a gold-foil cover works out at AED 221 each in a set of ten. Standard production is 4 working days after artwork approval. Below is every format with real prices, what lamination actually does for a menu that lives on a Dubai table, and what the cheapest menu surface in your restaurant — the printed table mat — really costs.
Menu printing prices in Dubai (2026)
These are live prices from the menu printing collection, not starting rates. Every menu in the table is printed in full colour on both sides on 350 gsm card, laminated and creased ready to fold.
| Format | Finish | 500 pcs | 1,000 pcs | 2,000 pcs | 5,000 pcs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A4 folded to A5 | Matt laminated | AED 550 | AED 800 | AED 1,300 | AED 2,900 |
| A4 folded to A5 | Glossy laminated | AED 550 | AED 800 | AED 1,300 | AED 2,900 |
| A3 folded to A4 | Matt laminated | AED 900 | AED 1,500 | AED 2,550 | AED 5,500 |
| A3 folded to A4 | Glossy laminated | AED 900 | AED 1,500 | AED 2,550 | AED 5,500 |
| A4 leather menu, 18 pages | Matt laminated, screw bound | AED 2,210 for 10 menus (AED 221 each) | |||
All prices include VAT. Design is free with every order. Note that matt and glossy lamination cost exactly the same, so the finish is purely a design decision — not a budget one.
What that works out to per menu
The per-menu cost is where the format decision gets made. A4-to-A5 menus run at AED 1.10 each at 500 pcs, AED 0.80 at 1,000, AED 0.65 at 2,000 and AED 0.58 at 5,000. A3-to-A4 menus are AED 1.80, AED 1.50, AED 1.28 and AED 1.10 at the same quantities. In other words, the big format costs roughly 60–90% more per copy — the break-even question is whether your menu actually needs the extra panel space.
Which menu format fits your venue
A4 folded to A5 — cafés, quick-service, delivery inserts
Folded to A5 the finished menu is pocket-sized and sits neatly in a table caddy or a cutlery holder. Four printed panels is enough for roughly 25–35 items with short descriptions. This is the format to choose for a speciality coffee shop, a shawarma counter, a juice bar, or as a takeaway insert that goes into the delivery bag. At AED 800 for 1,000 you can afford to reprint when prices move rather than stickering over them.
A3 folded to A4 — full-service restaurants and hotel outlets
Folded to A4 you get four A4 panels, which comfortably carries a starters-mains-desserts structure with photography and still leaves room for allergen notes. This is the standard for a full-service dining room in Dubai, where a guest reads the menu for several minutes rather than scanning it in ten seconds. At 1,000 pcs it is AED 1,500 — and for most restaurants 1,000 menus is more than a year of supply, because laminated menus survive repeated handling.
Leather screw-bound menus — fine dining, wine and shisha lists
The A4 leather menu is a different product altogether: a black leather cover with gold foil on one side, nine 350 gsm art matt sheets printed both sides and matt laminated for 18 inner pages, held together with screw binding. Ten menus cost AED 2,210. Screw binding matters more than it sounds — you can unscrew the posts and swap a single page when one wine goes out of stock, instead of reprinting the book. Lead time on this one is 7 working days rather than 4.
One-off and non-standard menus
If your menu is a size or shape that is not on the list — a long narrow drinks card, a square brunch menu, a die-cut shape — the custom menu product starts at AED 265 and is quoted to your specification.
Matt vs glossy lamination on a menu
Both cost the same here, so choose on how the menu will be used. Glossy lamination makes food photography pop — reds and browns look saturated and the sheet wipes perfectly clean. The trade-off is reflection: under the directional spotlights common in Dubai mall restaurants, a glossy menu can mirror the ceiling light straight into the guest's eyes, and it shows fingerprints. Matt lamination kills glare, feels more premium in the hand, and photographs better for social media, but deep blacks look slightly less dense and scuff marks show as light scratches over time.
The practical rule: photography-led menus under soft or natural light go glossy; typography-led menus in dim or heavily spotlit rooms go matt. If you are undecided, our full lamination guide covers how each finish behaves over a year of use.
Wipe-clean menus: what lamination really buys you
Restaurant owners often ask for a "waterproof" menu. In practice, the 350 gsm laminated menus here are the wipe-clean option: the plastic film seals both faces, so sauce, water rings, oil and condensation wipe off with a damp cloth and a mild sanitiser. What lamination does not do is seal the cut edges — if a menu is left sitting in a puddle, moisture eventually creeps in at the trim line and the layers separate.
Two things extend menu life measurably in a UAE dining room. First, go up a size in sheet so the laminate has more margin at the edge — folded formats hide the fold edge, which is the one that gets handled most. Second, laminate both sides, which is standard on every menu in the collection, because single-sided lamination curls as the uncoated face takes on humidity. For a poolside, beach club or outdoor shisha terrace where menus get genuinely wet, plan on treating menus as a consumable: at AED 0.58 per copy on a 5,000 run, replacing them twice a year costs less than the labour of cleaning them.
QR menus: you still need print
QR menus did not replace printed menus in Dubai — they changed the job the printed menu does. A table-tent QR code with no printed menu loses guests who do not want to use data, and gives you no way to merchandise a dish. What works is a hybrid: a short printed menu with your signature items and the QR code linking to the full digital list, specials and allergen detail.
If you go that route, three design rules decide whether the code actually scans. Print the code at no smaller than 2 × 2 cm on a table menu, keep a clear quiet zone of at least four module widths around it, and keep the contrast dark-on-light — a white code on a dark photograph fails on most phone cameras. Never place a QR code across a fold or a crease. Our guide to QR codes on business cards and menus has the full checklist, including the mistake of linking a QR code to a PDF rather than a mobile page.
Table mats: the cheapest menu surface you own
A printed table mat is the lowest cost-per-impression print in a restaurant, and it is often used wrongly as decoration instead of as a selling surface. Put your dessert range, your delivery QR or your loyalty offer on it and every cover reads it while waiting.
| Size | Paper | 500 | 1,000 | 5,000 | 20,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A3 (42 × 30 cm) | Glossy 90 gsm | AED 380 | AED 430 | AED 930 | AED 2,420 |
| B3 (48 × 34 cm) | Glossy 90 gsm | AED 545 | AED 560 | AED 1,270 | AED 3,245 |
| B3 (48 × 34 cm) | Glossy 130 gsm | AED 570 | AED 610 | AED 1,490 | AED 2,490 (10k) |
At 20,000 pcs an A3 mat costs AED 0.12 each. Table mats print in one or two colours on one side, so design them as bold type and line art rather than full-colour photography. B3 suits a wide table setting with a plate and glass; A3 suits café tables and bistro settings. Note the jump from 500 to 1,000 on B3 90 gsm is only AED 15 — if you are ordering 500, order 1,000.
Opening a new venue? The restaurant opening kit bundles boxes, cups, menus and table mats for AED 2,299, and our full restaurant opening print checklist lists everything else you will be asked for in week one.
How to order menu printing in Dubai
- Pick the format and run. Decide A4-to-A5 or A3-to-A4 first, then the quantity. Because the per-copy price drops steeply, most venues are better off printing one larger run than three small ones.
- Send artwork as a print-ready PDF. CMYK, images at 300 dpi at final size, 3 mm bleed on all edges, and all fonts outlined or embedded. Keep prices and item names at least 5 mm inside the trim.
- No artwork? Design is free. Send your item list in Word or Excel plus your logo and we will lay the menu out and send a proof.
- Approve the proof. The 4-working-day production clock starts at final approval, not at order placement. Check prices, spelling of dish names in both languages, and your VAT line carefully — a reprint for a typo costs the full run.
- Delivery. We deliver across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Al Ain, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain, and delivery is free on orders over AED 800. Collection is from 32 Sheikh Zayed Road, Office 706, Dubai, open 09:00–21:00 daily except Sunday.
Frequently asked questions
How much does menu printing cost in Dubai?
500 folded A4-to-A5 menus on 350 gsm laminated card cost AED 550, and 1,000 cost AED 800. The larger A3-to-A4 format is AED 900 for 500 and AED 1,500 for 1,000. A set of ten A4 leather screw-bound menus with 18 inner pages is AED 2,210. All prices include VAT.
What is the minimum order for menu printing?
500 pieces on the standard laminated formats. For small venues and one-off menus there are lower-volume routes: ten leather menus at AED 2,210, or a custom menu quoted from AED 265.
How long does menu printing take?
Four working days after final artwork approval for the laminated A4-to-A5 and A3-to-A4 menus, and seven working days for the leather screw-bound menus. If you need something faster, see what is realistic with same-day and next-day printing in Dubai.
Is matt or glossy lamination better for a restaurant menu?
Both cost the same, so choose on lighting. Glossy saturates food photography and wipes cleanest but reflects spotlights and shows fingerprints. Matt removes glare and feels more premium but shows scuffs as fine scratches over time.
Are laminated menus waterproof?
They are wipe-clean rather than fully waterproof. Lamination on both faces means spills, condensation and sanitiser wipe straight off, but the cut edges are not sealed, so a menu left standing in liquid will eventually delaminate at the trim.
Can you print menus in Arabic and English?
Yes. Bilingual menus are routine — the usual layouts are two columns side by side, or English on one face and Arabic on the other. Supply both language versions in one PDF and tell us which side leads.
What size should a restaurant menu be?
A5 (from a folded A4 sheet) for cafés, quick-service and takeaway, where the menu is scanned fast and stored in a table caddy. A4 (from a folded A3 sheet) for full-service dining, where you need room for descriptions, photography and allergen notes.
Ready to print your menus?
Send your current menu or your item list and we will tell you which format it fits, lay it out free of charge, and come back with a proof. Call 0522100909 or WhatsApp +971522100909, or browse live prices and order directly from the menu printing collection.
