Dubai's new 'pay-it-forward' dining concept lets you buy meals for strangers

A new citywide initiative called TreatOnUs.ae is turning small acts of generosity into real money for Dubai's restaurant industry. The idea is simple: anyone can pay in advance for a coffee, dessert, or meal, and the participating restaurant later gives that item away for free to a guest of its choosing — a regular customer, a neighbour, or simply someone the staff feels like surprising that day.

The platform was founded by entrepreneur Alexander Sysoev, who modeled it on the decades-old "suspended coffee" custom, in which customers pay for an extra drink that is later claimed by someone in need. Sysoev says the goal isn't charity in the traditional sense — there's no formal criteria for who receives a treat — but rather a way to inject more everyday warmth into Dubai's dining culture while giving restaurants a financial boost during a slower economic stretch.

Mechanically, each restaurant that signs up picks one to three menu items, sets its own price, and publishes a direct payment link. Buyers pay the restaurant straight through that link; the platform itself never touches or holds any of the money, and it charges no commission or membership fee. In exchange for the free exposure, venues are asked to report back weekly on how many people they've treated, which the TreatOnUs team uses to measure the project's impact.

Uptake has been quick. The service logged 182 purchases in its first day alone, and Sysoev is aiming to eventually onboard 100 to 150 restaurants generating 200 to 300 paid treats a day — the equivalent of roughly 10,000 small gestures of kindness every month. Vetting is informal and trust-based: the team mainly checks that a restaurant applying is already established with a real customer base and that the application genuinely comes from the business itself, and new listings are typically approved in under an hour.

So far, five venues have completed onboarding — Paus Clubhouse in Downtown Dubai, Chaikhana in Dubai Marina, Sakhakin at J1, and Chez Wam at the St Regis Garden — with roughly 25 more, including Piehouse, 21 Grams, Bait Maryam and Jun's, reportedly in the pipeline.

Sysoev, who also founded the ByChefs restaurant ranking and the GreatList dining guide, argues that the concept fits naturally into Dubai's culture, where he says generosity and hospitality are already everyday values. He frames the platform less as a business than as an expression of that hospitality — the kind of small, unexpected gesture that makes a guest feel genuinely cared for, and one he hopes could become a lasting, citywide habit.