Spending on restaurants and cafés in Riyadh

Spending on restaurants and cafés in Riyadh: SAR 29,948 million by card over the last 12 months to August 2026 (Safar – Rabi' al-Awwal 1448 AH). In the latest week (13–19 September 2026 · 2–8 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH): SAR 561.5 million. Last 3 months +8.8% against the same months last year; Saudi Arabia +6.9%. Riyadh ranks 1 of 60 cities, with 33.4% of Saudi Arabia over the last 3 months. Source: Saudi Central Bank (SAMA).

Everything the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) publishes on card spending on restaurants and cafés in Riyadh (الرياض), monthly since January 2024 (Jumada al-Akhirah – Rajab 1445 AH): size, growth, share of Saudi Arabia, seasons, and the effect of payday and Ramadan. Official figures · match SAMA’s published figures within rounding Coverage: cards only, ~57% of personal spending

Card spending on restaurants and cafés in Riyadh · week 13–19 September 2026 · 2–8 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH

561.5 SAR million

the weekly series at this level starts 21 September 2025 (29 Rabi' al-Awwal 1447 AH), so there is no year-on-year weekly comparison yet · rank 1 of 60 cities in this activity · 35.6% of Saudi Arabia’s spending on it this week

What this means for your decisionLast 3 months: Restaurants and cafés in Riyadh +8.8% against the same months last year, and restaurants and cafés in Saudi Arabia +6.9%, and all spending in Riyadh +6.0%. So the activity here is growing faster than the same activity in Saudi Arabia, and is gaining a share of the city’s spending. If your shop’s sales grew by less than +8.8% over the same months, the gap most likely comes from the shop, not from the market for restaurants and cafés in Riyadh; if they grew by more, your shop is most likely gaining from its competitors. Follow the trend of the weekly bars below.

SAR million per week · oldest on the left, newest on the right (in amber) · axis: Gregorian month, then Hijri month (Umm al-Qura). Highest week 659.6, lowest 415.1.

Source: Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), weekly point-of-sale bulletins (value of transactions), latest published week 13–19 September 2026 · 2–8 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH. Attributed to SAMA; the analysis is ours.

Last 12 months to August 2026 (Safar – Rabi' al-Awwal 1448 AH)

29,948SAR million · +8.8% in the last 3 months against last year (Saudi Arabia +6.9%) · SAMA

33.4%Riyadh’s share of Saudi Arabia’s spending on restaurants and cafés over the last 3 months · SAMA

4,278SAR per person per year: 12 months of spending ÷ 2022 Census population (General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT))

Transactions in the same week

20.0million transactions · no year-on-year weekly comparison yet

28.1SAR average transaction value (value ÷ number) · no year-on-year weekly comparison yet

This week in the Spending Index newsletter, issue 2: what changed and why

Data coverage: these figures are card payments (point of sale) only: about 57% of personal spending in 2025; the rest is cash and does not appear here. Part of the growth is a shift from cash to cards, not new demand: in 2025, card payments in Saudi Arabia grew +5.8%, but including cash withdrawals the growth is +1.9%. Read the figures as a trend and a comparison between cities and activities, not as an absolute market size.

Interactive analysis for Riyadh: merchant tools and forecasts(Arabic)

Monthly spending since January 2024 (Jumada al-Akhirah – Rajab 1445 AH)

Month	SAR million	vs same month last year
September 2025 (Rabi' al-Awwal – Rabi' al-Akhir 1447 AH)	2,363.5	+1.3%
October 2025 (Rabi' al-Akhir – Jumada al-Ula 1447 AH)	2,566.3	+3.4%
November 2025 (Jumada al-Ula – Jumada al-Akhirah 1447 AH)	2,476.9	−1.8%
December 2025 (Jumada al-Akhirah – Rajab 1447 AH)	2,521.2	−0.3%
January 2026 (Rajab – Sha'ban 1447 AH)	2,675.6	+2.2%
February 2026 (Sha'ban – Ramadan 1447 AH)	2,096.5	−12.9%
March 2026 (Ramadan – Shawwal 1447 AH)	2,240.8	+16.4%
April 2026 (Shawwal – Dhu al-Qa'dah 1447 AH)	2,584.2	+13.2%
May 2026 (Dhu al-Qa'dah – Dhu al-Hijjah 1447 AH)	2,710.9	+6.9%
June 2026 (Dhu al-Hijjah 1447 – Muharram 1448 AH)	2,423.3	+9.7%
July 2026 (Muharram – Safar 1448 AH)	2,671.4	+9.9%
August 2026 (Safar – Rabi' al-Awwal 1448 AH)	2,617.6	+6.9%

Seasons in Riyadh

Highest months: January, December, October. Lowest: March, April (average of 2024–2025). Payday week +9.3% and Ramadan weeks −21.6% against ordinary weeks over the last 52 weeks.

Riyadh among Saudi cities

Riyadh ranks 1 of 60 cities for spending on restaurants and cafés. Spending on restaurants and cafés in Saudi Arabia as a whole: SAR 88,230 million over the last 12 months (+6.9% on last year): Spending on restaurants and cafés in Saudi Arabia. Among the top 4 cities, Riyadh is the fastest-growing over the last 3 months.

#	City	12 months, SAR million	3 months vs last year	SAR per person per year
1	Riyadh	29,948	+8.8%	4,278
2	Jeddah	12,811	+1.6%	3,450
3	Makkah	3,907	−1.9%	1,638
4	Dammam	3,674	+7.7%	2,650

For planning

Plan stock and shifts around payday weeks, and prepare for Ramadan a month ahead. Monthly and weekly forecasts, and a comparison of your shop with the market, are in the interactive analysis(Arabic).

Other activities in Riyadh

Groceries and food Bakeries and sweets Total spending All activities in Riyadh Restaurants and cafés across Saudi Arabia

Source and method

Source: Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), Statistical Report (point of sale, value of transactions) and the weekly bulletins; data published for the public and attributed to it. We matched the portal figures with the bulletins (3,172 figures, average difference 0.001%). Population: 2022 Census (General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT)). Growth is measured against the same months of the previous year to remove seasonal effects. The figures are card payments only, and part of their growth is a shift from cash, not new demand; see Data coverage above for the figures.