How This Luxurious Dinner In The Desert Became Dubai’s Latest Craze

Immersive and unique travel experiences are big business. Especially when they take place in the desert: Two years ago the global desert tourism market was already valued at $178 billion. And it is predicted to reach $248.83 billion by 2031—a compound annual growth rate of 3.78% from 2023 to 2031, according to Straits Research.

In the midst of this booming market, Stephanie Reichenbach managed to carve out a niche. The European native moved to Dubai for her role in private banking at Barclay’s. But she eventually decided to become her own boss when she founded Sonara, a novel luxury dinner and event experience in Dubai’s desert.

Sonara is an acronym for her and her husband’s first initials, as well as her four sons, Neil, Adam, Ryan and Adrian. Not entirely by coincidence, "nara" also means "small, sparkling fire" in Arabic.

Reichenbach’s dinners take place in the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, a vast, gated area 45-minutes drive southeast of downtown. The DDCR is larger than the country of Liechtenstein or the city of Washington, D.C., and the 87 square miles account for 5% of Dubai’s landmass.

It was set up in 2003 by the Emir of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktum, to ensure that the area’s Arabian heritage doesn’t get lost during the rapid growth of the glittering city next to it. It serves as a sanctuary for Dubai’s unique desert flora and fauna, like the Arabian gazelles and white oryx.

The rules for visitors are strict; only pre-approved guided tours can enter the gates at specific times and only a handful of chosen businesses operate inside the fence.

Sonara guests arrive at the park a few hours before sunset. Land Rovers shuttle them past seemingly endless golden dunes, until copious amounts of shimmering lights appear ahead: Those are the torches, candles and string lights of the Sonara camp. They almost seem like a Fata Morgana in the middle of the wilderness.

And the magic doesn’t end there: The camp’s setting is reminiscent of 1001 Nights. Burning torches light the paths into the camp, and a traditional oud player delivers Arabian songs while colorfully decorated camels rest in the shade nearby. Large white hammocks sway softly in the early evening breeze, ready to welcome guests.

The immaculate attention to detail in the design is unusual for desert tours. As is the focus on a high-end food and beverage concept. That’s for a reason. “I thought to myself: If we have such wonderful restaurants and bars nearby in the city, why shouldn’t we bring some of that into the desert?” Reichenbach says.

Before she launched Sonara, she tested her concept on friends and family. "I began by inviting small groups to dinners under the stars in a part of the desert that is open to the public. And to my surprise, the feedback was always very positive,” she says. "Everyone loved it and my friends kept coming back again and again with more friends."

Camels, Steak And Cocktails In The Middle Of The Desert

One of those evenings, someone told her about the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve. Reichenbach applied with a business plan full of ideas for Sonara.

“I knew that I wanted to replicate the same concept I had tried on my friends, but on a bigger scale,” she says. ”And I wanted the food, activities and entertainment to be of higher quality than at other places.”

Instead of long lines at a buffet for lentil soup and lamb shanks common in other desert safaris, she dreamt of tuna sashimi and medium rare T-Bone steaks delivered to the table à la minute—preferably on hand-painted ceramic plates.

Traditional non-alcoholic Bedouin beverages, such as warm mint tea and sweetened cardamom coffee, would be served in addition to cocktails that should rival those found on the menus in the best bars in downtown Dubai.

And Reichenbach wanted top-tier entertainment, like rides on well-groomed camels in chic Arabian halters and saddles, as well as falcon and hawk shows and rotating performances of fire breathers, unusual acrobatic acts and belly dancers in elegant outfits.

She aimed for the camp to prioritize sustainability by eliminating the use of plastic and relying primarily on solar power for energy. “I submitted this plan six years ago—sustainability wasn’t a common word found in business plans back then,” she says.

Today around 20% of the heavy machinery relies on generators, the remaining 80% is powered by solar energy.

Kids Have Their Own Menu—And Marshmallows

The camp welcomes up to 250 guests per night, starting at around $180 per person in the off-season. Children pay less and profit from Reichenbach’s experience as a mother of four.

Activities for kids include dune sand-boarding, beach volleyball and soft archery. They can order chicken bao buns and mini Wagyu beef hamburgers from the children’s menu or get a henna tattoo first.

For dessert they gather around a campfire to roast big marshmallows to gooey perfection. Then they head off to a cozy theater to watch movies under the night sky.

"Children here should be able to choose what they would like to do and when. The same goes for adults: I didn’t want anyone to have a strict time schedule," says Reichenbach.

The grown-ups can also decide when and whether they’d like to jump on a camel, show off their skills at a desert sport or simply relax in a hammock with a sundowner from the cocktail menu.

Many of the alcoholic beverages were specifically designed for Sonara by some of the city’s best bartenders. One of the most popular is the "Desert Flower,” a combination of tequila, honey, basil, raspberry and pineapple. And the "Nara's Signature,” with bourbon, date juice and a dash of orange bitters. Both go well with the appetizers served during sunset, like the creamy smoked salmon buckwheat blinis, pico de gallo panipuris and mini tuna tacos.

Once the sun has set and the stars are out, it’s time for guests to head to the lower level down a big, wooden staircase. The handrails are wrapped in string lights emanating a warm glow. More torches guide the way to the dinner tables set with white tablecloths and yes, hand-painted ceramic plates.

Waiters serve a three-course family style dinner with 14 different dishes. A typical appetizer is the tropical ceviche from local fish marinated in coconut milk and fresh herbs. Some of the mains are: freshly grilled prawns infused with lemon, coriander and black olives, firewood grilled black angus tagliata and a lamb rack served with a rosemary, thyme and mustard crust.

Sonara’s Success Inspired More Ventures

The Sonara concept worked—the company grew from three employees in the founding year to more than 200 today.

And it has inspired Reichenbach to try a few more ventures. There are two additional camps like Sonara, one for private events and the other further up the coast in Ras Al Khaimah.

The mother company Nara Desert Escape also includes an event and catering business, guided tours through Dubai and boat cruises through the waterways of the Omani Gulf.

Most recently, Reichenbach added desert glamping to the company's portfolio. Fourteen spacious tents allow guests to spend the night in the sandy wilderness. But they aren’t just your ordinary tent: They all have a bathroom suite with a walk-in shower, high-end furniture, panoramic windows and a tiny fridge with refreshments like a mini champagne bottle. Prices start at $600 per night. Star-gazing and visits from curious gazelles are free of charge.

And her next project is already in the pipeline: a dinner and show evening aboard large traditional dhow boats. "The Dhow by Sonara" will cruise down the Dubai Canal, a three-kilometer-long waterway that runs from the old city center past the ultra-modern Business Bay area.

Her new venture is more than welcome in the emirate where traveler numbers continue to set new records. 17.15 million tourists came to Dubai last year, surpassing the previous peak of 16.73 million in 2019 before the pandemic struck.

They all contribute a large chunk to the economy of the United Arab Emirates. Leisure travel’s value was already at $42 billion in pre-pandemic 2019 and is projected to surge to $62.8 billion by 2028.

Reichenbach has become a staple player in this industry, without ever needing external financing. She is still the sole owner of her company. But she prefers to stay tight-lipped about revenue: “If I revealed any of those details, my teenage sons would start pestering me for money every day.”