Restaurant Manager

About This Role

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced Restaurant Manager to lead the daily operations of an upper casual and fine dining restaurant in Saudi Arabia.

This role is responsible for delivering an elevated guest experience, leading the front-of-house team, maintaining strong operational standards, and driving the commercial performance of the restaurant.

The ideal candidate is a hands-on hospitality leader with strong floor presence, excellent guest service instincts, and the ability to balance service excellence with profitability, compliance, and team development.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the daily restaurant operations and ensure consistent execution of brand service standards.
• Oversee the full guest journey, from arrival and seating to service, complaint handling, and farewell.
• Maintain strong floor presence during service periods to anticipate guest needs and resolve service gaps.
• Build relationships with VIP guests, regular guests, and loyal customers to drive repeat visitation.
• Handle guest feedback and complaints professionally, using service recovery to strengthen guest trust.
• Train, supervise, and mentor the front-of-house team, including hosts, head waiters, waiters, baristas, and support staff.
• Conduct team briefings, performance follow-ups, and on-the-job coaching.
• Prepare efficient staff schedules to ensure proper guest coverage while controlling labour cost.
• Monitor restaurant performance against revenue, profitability, COGS, labour cost, and operational targets.
• Oversee cash handling, daily settlements, inventory, supplier receiving, and operational expenses.
• Submit accurate daily operational and financial reports to the Operations Manager.
• Conduct daily pre-service walkthroughs to ensure the restaurant is clean, ready, stocked, and fully prepared.
• Ensure compliance with food safety, hygiene, health, safety, licensing, and brand SOPs.
• Identify maintenance issues and coordinate corrective actions to avoid service disruption.
• Support the development of Saudi national talent in line with Saudization and Vision 2030 objectives.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Minimum 8 years of progressive restaurant experience.
• At least 3 years of managerial experience in upper casual, premium casual, fine dining, or high-end hospitality.
• Strong front-of-house leadership experience.
• Proven experience managing guest experience, service standards, complaints, and service recovery.
• Strong understanding of restaurant financials, including revenue, COGS, labour cost, inventory, and daily reporting.
• Experience using POS systems, reservation platforms, inventory tools, and restaurant management systems.
• Strong knowledge of food safety, hygiene, licensing, health and safety, and operational compliance.
• Solid understanding of the Saudi F&B market and premium guest expectations.
• Professional English communication is required.
• Arabic and English bilingual communication is highly preferred.
• Food safety, WSET, hospitality leadership, or similar certifications are an advantage.

Key Skills & Competencies

• Hospitality leadership.
• Guest experience management.
• Floor supervision and service orchestration.
• Complaint handling and service recovery.
• Team training and development.
• Scheduling and labour cost control.
• Commercial and financial awareness.
• Inventory and COGS control.
• SOP compliance and operational readiness.
• Communication and conflict resolution.
• Attention to detail.
• Cultural awareness in the Saudi dining market.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is a visible, hands-on restaurant leader who understands that in premium dining, the guest experience is the product.