Is there a scheme behind your theme?

Are there now so many themed restaurants in Dubai that it’s hard to tell them apart? Could a clearer, simpler communication of brand values help you stand out from the competition? Nigel Witham thinks so.

Once again I am in Dubai; it really is a place that continues to pull me back.

All my travelling back and forth between the UK and Dubai means I now know Terminal 3 at London's Heathrow Airport like the back of my hand.

Once you're ‘air-side' - as the Americans like to say - it is a good place to shop and eat. There are a lot of food outlets: a French-style bistro, an Italian pizzeria, a modern seafood bar, burger bars - the list goes on. Many are branded, casual dining outlets and most aren't too heavily themed.

In Dubai, this balance is reversed - most operators and developers I meet on my trips to the UAE seem especially keen on themes and it comes across to me as a "me-too" way of designing restaurants.

I can't help but think that this is an opportunity being missed, because Dubai has a world-beating opportunity to become a truly stylish and modern restaurant-lovers destination. Though there are some notable exceptions, there are still many concepts that have been around for a long time.

This means that there is not  much to draw any food tourists back to the Middle Eastern destination for a return visit.

Why have a theme?

It's imperative to understand the purpose of theming a restaurant. Design should be used to communicate core brand values to customers so they know what to expect among all the marketplace clutter and, 20 years ago, a theme used to be a good way to communicate those values.

Now, however, it can be just more clutter in an increasingly competitive, attention-grabbing world where clarity of purpose is essential. It seems that everywhere I go, I see pastiche French, Italian, Chinese and Indian themed brands. Most customers look right past all the quaint, fake fittings for something more modern, innovative and imaginative.

I think that more stylish, well-positioned and original formats will now get the most attention, formats perhaps not unlike those pictured here showing sushi and noodle bar chain Wasabi, which is spreading quickly across London.

The Wasabi outlets are clean and crisp, the chain's offer is transparent and obvious. The company is building its brand out of simplicity and often the queues are out the door.

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