Monal Malhotra is a hospitality‑focused F&B and hotel consultant, specializing in pre‑opening, concept development and operational repair for venues across the UAE, GCC, India and Canada. He operates at the intersection of kitchen design, F&B strategy and profitability, helping owners avoid costly mistakes by building forty years of hands‑on hotel and restaurant experience directly into their projects before opening day.
Current role and consulting scope
Monal currently serves as Co‑Founder of SHIVRA, a UAE‑based hospitality consultancy that focuses on pre‑opening planning, operational strategy and F&B concept development for hotels, resorts and restaurant ventures. Through SHIVRA, he works with investors, developers and operators who want ventures that perform commercially, not just look good on opening night.
His consulting scope includes kitchen design and specification, menu and concept development, HACCP and food safety compliance, operational SOPs, talent acquisition and training, and vendor and procurement strategy. By engaging at the blueprint and pre‑opening stages, he prevents issues that often lead to redesigns, delayed openings, team collapse and compliance failures, protecting owners from hidden costs that appear only after service begins.
He has repeatedly built outlets from zero—concept, design, kitchen fit‑out, team build and operational handover—while also constructing HR structures for F&B departments that cover recruitment, onboarding, training and performance management. His track record includes optimising procurement, negotiating aggregator partnerships and improving cost efficiency, giving him a holistic view of F&B operations from menu to margin.
Career foundations, landmark projects and hotel experience
Across four decades, Monal’s career has spanned Jumeirah, Oberoi, Meraas, Shurooq and independent ventures, with roles such as pre‑opening team member for Jumeirah Beach Hotel’s 18 restaurants and 194‑chef brigade. He helped turn around Bab Al Shams Desert Resort’s CSI score from 785 to 905 in two years, contributing to its recognition as World’s Leading Desert Resort at the World Travel Awards.
Monal elevated Al Hadheerah to Dubai’s number one Arabic restaurant with a BBC Good Food Award, and conceived and delivered Qasr Al Sultan, a 500‑seat, 10‑kitchen Middle Eastern destination that set a new benchmark for the emirate. These projects show his ability to think simultaneously in terms of guest experience, operational systems and long‑term brand positioning.
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