“Otter avoids the hiccups and challenges that come with delivery and allows us to have a seamless process that saves time for our team.”

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Wakame opened its doors in 2014 looking to offer an innovative take on traditional Asian cuisine. Defined as a “culinary experience,” the Downtown Dubai restaurant has become a favourite among locals. We spoke with Blackwell Chadzamakono, General Manager, and Tracey Meskin, Head of Marketing, to learn more about running a successful restaurant—and how Otter helps translate their fine dining experience to delivery.

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Creating a local community through fine cuisine

Dubai is one of the most luxurious destinations in the world and dining is no exception. Wakame is located on the third floor of Sofitel Downtown, a 5-star hotel linked to the Dubai Mall through a skywalk. “It’s a big tourist attraction,” Tracey explains, “we’re very lucky to get that footfall when the hotel is busy.” Even so, the restaurant has managed to build such a strong community in the past eight years that 90% of its diners are locals.

“Dubai is such a small community,” says Blackwell, “we’re all family.” With two brothers behind the project, Alawi and Saleh Al Braik, family is a staple for Wakame. “Nothing feels as special as working with a family-run business,” claims a team quote on their website. “Wakame is all about family, from the food we serve to the team at the restaurant,” reads another. “When you step into Wakame, we’re welcoming you into our home.”

This means that the owners come to the restaurant everyday, Blackwell is on a first-name basis with regular diners and customers come two or three times per week. “It’s lovely to see,” explains Tracey. “We’re incredibly lucky to have the patronage of these loyal customers and to have created such a close community.”

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Mixing tradition and innovation for an exciting experience

“Even with the dine-in focus, our customers still like the choice of dining at home.”

Regulars return for the sense of community, but the food keeps them on their toes as well. Sofitel Downtown describes it as an elevated modern Asian cuisine: “the dishes are prepared and plated with passion and precision.”

To keep things interesting for their customers, Wakame relies on different menus. Besides their regular offering, they have a Chef’s Special Menu that changes weekly. Past editions include Australian Wagyu Tomahawk Special, Omani Lobster Special, Japanese Bluefin Tuna Special, and more. They also have a monthly Taste of Travel Menu that has showcased cuisines of places like the Philippines, Thailand, and Zanzibar.

Once a month, they invite one of their loyal customers to come up with the dishes. This innovative Guest Special Menu takes diners through the favourite flavours of these brand ambassadors. “This is one of our ways to give back, to say thank you. Guests get very excited and passionate about these menus,” says Tracey. Plus, if customers want to recreate Wakame's signature dishes at home, the restaurant offers sushi, dim sum, dessert and mixology classes.

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Delivering a fine dining experience at home

“Otter is very cost effective. It’s a better, more efficient way to manage your restaurant's delivery business.”

Until recently, food delivery belonged to the fast-food chains. Scrolling through apps like Talabat, Deliveroo or Zomato meant ordering burgers, pizzas, and fries. It wasn’t until the pandemic hit that new players began to emerge in the world of home delivery. Fine cuisine, practically unseen in these spaces, started to gain presence as an alternative to restaurant closures. This necessity soon became a convenience that continues to be a part of Emiratis’ day-to-day lives.

Like many fine dining restaurants, Wakame wasn’t doing much in terms of delivery. Back in 2020, they only had a static landing page instead of a website and delivery orders could only be placed by phone. “We had to be innovative and think outside of the box to keep the restaurant going through the pandemic,” explains Tracey. That’s when they added an e-commerce component to their website and started focusing on delivery platforms like Talabat, Deliveroo, and Zomato.

While this strategy kept them afloat, as restaurants reopened Wakame was struggling with how to manage both delivery and in-person diners while maintaining their level of service. “Even with the dine-in focus, our customers still like the choice of dining at home,” the team explains. With a presence in different delivery platforms and their website, Wakame had to balance orders, notifications, and menus across multiple tablets. That’s when Otter came into the picture.

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How Wakame optimises their delivery business with Otter

“We had a lot of operational issues before working with Otter. We had to keep tabs on multiple tablets and emails which isn’t easy when you’re also dealing with dine-in customers. We’re not sitting around waiting for delivery orders. Our main goal is to take care of our customers and Otter has allowed us to focus on that.”

Otter is a delivery management and optimisation platform that helps restaurants like Wakame increase sales and efficiency. Otter's Order Manager solution helps Wakame consolidate their delivery services like Talabat, Deliveroo, and Zomato into a single place. This means managing all online orders and menus from one tablet.

For Wakame, relying on technology is key to keeping their regular customers happy and loyal. “We had a lot of operational issues before working with Otter,” Blackwell explains. “We had to keep tabs on multiple tablets and emails which isn’t easy when you’re also dealing with dine-in customers. We’re not sitting around waiting for delivery orders. Our main goal is to take care of our customers and Otter has allowed us to focus on that.”

Thanks to Otter, Wakame has said goodbye to juggling different channels and the cancelled and lost orders that came with it. “Otter avoids the hiccups and challenges that come with delivery and allows us to have a seamless process that saves time for our team,” Blackwell explains. “The bell rings when a new order arrives and then it’s already printing for the kitchen to prepare. To be honest, Otter makes life easier for the team.”

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How to support Wakame

If you are in Dubai, you can support Wakame by ordering food from delivery platforms or their website. We suggest ordering their maki: Firecracker Roses, Rainbow Reloaded, and Volcano are a must.