How can a restaurant in Kuwait fill its tables with ghabga bookings this Ramadan?

Updated: 2026-09-10 · Dawwerni team

A restaurant in Kuwait fills its Ramadan nights by selling the ghabga as a group experience, not a discount: set group menus, table reservations from the QR menu, corporate ghabga packages booked early, a Ramadan-themed game that gives a reward for the next visit, and a Quiz Night for groups who stay late. Plan it over 30 days, staff for the late peak, and check permit rules for prize promotions.

What makes the ghabga different from an ordinary dinner?

The ghabga is a late Ramadan gathering after taraweeh, usually between iftar and suhoor, where family, friends or colleagues meet over a generous spread, often with traditional dishes, sweets, tea and Arabic coffee. For a restaurant it means one thing: groups, not couples. The booking is made by one organiser for ten, twenty or forty people, and that organiser compares two or three places before deciding.

Ramadan also moves the whole day. Peak hours shift to after iftar and continue late into the night, lunch almost disappears, and the second half of the month brings Gergean (القرقيعان) for the children around the middle of Ramadan, then the Eid rush. For the broader picture of loyalty in the country, see our page on customer loyalty in Kuwait.

Which ghabga offers actually work?

Offers that make the organiser’s life easy work best. The person booking a ghabga wants a clear price per person, a fixed menu, a guaranteed table and someone to talk to. Deep discounts are less effective than a complete, easy package.

Group and family ghabga packages

• A set ghabga menu per person, with a minimum group size, published on your QR menu with photos.
• A family package with a kids’ plate, since many ghabgas mix generations.
• A sweets and karak table add-on, priced as an extra the organiser can choose.
• A “bring the group back” reward: the organiser wins a reward for a future visit, which brings them back after Ramadan.

Corporate ghabgas

Many companies and ministries hold a ghabga for their staff, and the decision is often made weeks before Ramadan by an HR or admin person. Prepare a one-page offer in Arabic and English: menu options, capacity, private area or not, payment method, and the latest date to confirm the number of guests. Send it before Ramadan, not during it. Follow up on WhatsApp from your own number, kindly and once.

How do group bookings work from the QR menu?

Group bookings work best when the guest can request a table from the same QR menu they already use. In Dawwerni’s digital menu, the customer opens the menu, picks a date and time and sends a reservation request; you accept it, assign a table and seat them when they arrive. For Ramadan you can add your ghabga menus to the same menu, in Arabic and English, so the organiser sees the dishes and books in one place.

Keep a simple rule for large groups: confirm the final number two days before, and call the organiser if the request is for more than your usual largest table. Find the restaurant features, including the QR menu, reservations and the TV menu screen, on our restaurant page.

How do you use games and Quiz Night during Ramadan?

Use a Ramadan-themed game to bring guests back, and a Quiz Night to keep big groups entertained. After the meal each guest scans the QR on the table, plays a short game in the Ramadan theme, and wins a reward you choose, usually valid on the next visit, for example a sweets plate for a visit during the last ten nights or after Eid. That is how a one-time ghabga guest becomes a customer.

With the Premium plan, Quiz Night puts questions on the TV and lets guests answer on their phones, with a live leaderboard. Ramadan quizzes on Kuwaiti heritage, old TV series and family trivia work well for groups who stay until suhoor. Keep the prize simple and the same for everyone who takes part in the winning team.

• Ramadan theme on the game and on the TV promo screen, switched on for the evening daypart.
• Table cards with the QR next to the sweets, the moment people relax.
• One quiz night per week maximum, so it stays special.
• Rewards valid after Ramadan too, to keep the customer after the season.

What about Gergean night and Eid?

Gergean is a children’s night, so think families. A small kids’ bag of sweets for children who come with their families, a Kids theme on the game, and a TV screen showing a “Gergean night” promo are enough. Keep it gentle and generous: parents remember who was kind to their children.

Eid is a different rush: families going out after Eid visits, and many people giving gifts. Gift cards sold at the counter or sent on WhatsApp are a good fit, and an Eid theme on the game rewards the first post-Ramadan visit. Before you launch any public prize draw or promotion, note that it may need a permit from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Kuwait: check with the ministry or a lawyer first. For a fair, verifiable Instagram draw, our giveaway picker is free.

How should you staff a Ramadan night?

Staff for the late peak, not for lunch. In Ramadan the kitchen prepares for iftar, then the dining room fills again after taraweeh, and ghabga groups may stay until close to suhoor. Many restaurants split the team into two shifts and keep the strongest servers for the large tables after 9 pm.

• One host who owns the reservation list and calls ghabga organisers the day before.
• One senior server per large group, so the organiser has one person to talk to.
• A short break for staff to break their own fast, planned in advance, not improvised.
• A kitchen display screen or a printed kitchen ticket per table, so set menus come out in the right order.
• One person responsible for the QR game and prize codes at the counter.

How does Dawwerni support a Ramadan season?

Dawwerni brings the pieces together in the browser, with no app for the guest. The guest scans a QR, plays a short Ramadan-themed game, wins a reward for the next visit, and is invited, optionally, to follow you on Instagram and to leave an honest Google review. The reward never depends on the review: Google forbids rewards for reviews and forbids asking only happy guests, so ask every table the same way. The guest profile goes into your CRM, so you can invite ghabga guests back for Eid or on their birthday.

The QR menu handles ghabga menus and reservations, Dawwerni Screens turns a TV into a Ramadan menu board with dayparting, and Quiz Night is part of Premium. Pricing is the USD worldwide plan, 129 or 149 USD per year, with a local quote on request. The full Dawwerni POS does not list the Kuwaiti dinar today, so ask us about the POS in Kuwaiti dinar. More ideas are in our guide to Ramadan marketing for cafés and restaurants.

Your 30-day Ramadan plan

This is an example timeline; adjust it to the actual dates of Ramadan and to your size.