Fabio Marzano

I have spent twenty years running food and beverage operations — not advising on them from outside, but carrying the P&L, hiring the team, and standing on the floor on the nights it went wrong.

That work took me through Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. It began behind a bar at Bar Boulud in the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park in London, continued at 360 at Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai, and led to Cove Manila at Okada Manila — a USD 120 million venue in one of the largest casino resorts in Southeast Asia, where I joined the pre-opening team and went on to run a 900 square metre entertainment venue with a team of more than 180. It became the first Forbes five-star rated club in the market.

Between those roles I spent two periods consulting independently in southern Italy, launching concepts, building training programmes and supporting owners through opening and trading. That is where I learned that the work I valued most was the work done alongside an owner rather than inside a corporate structure.

Three pre-openings, three regions

Opening a venue is a distinct discipline. It is not operations with a deadline attached; it is a construction project, a recruitment campaign, a supply chain build and a training programme running simultaneously, against a date that does not move.

I have done it three times, in three markets:

• Oktagona Beach Club, Brindisi, Italy — a luxury beach club, from concept through to trading.
• Cove Manila at Okada Manila, Philippines — pre-opening team on a USD 120 million entertainment venue.
• Roberto’s Muscat, Oman — General Manager, pre-opening, within the St. Regis Muscat, through launch and the first year of operations.

One brand, three markets

From 2022 to 2025 I worked across Roberto’s in Dubai, Amman and Muscat — first as Operations Manager, then as General Manager. Same brand, three regulatory environments, three labour markets, three sets of guest expectations. Transplanting a concept without losing what makes it work is a specific problem, and it is the one most owners underestimate when they expand.

Most recently I led the food and beverage division at SLS Dubai Hotel & Residences: a café, a high-volume Italian restaurant, a fine-dining room, a cigar lounge, a cocktail bar, a pool bar, a nightclub, in-room dining and banqueting — full accountability for the department’s commercial performance.

Why consulting

Because the problems I am best at are the ones owners face and rarely have the bandwidth to solve properly: a concept that has drifted, margins that are eroding for reasons the P&L does not make obvious, an opening date that is closer than the readiness.

The practice is deliberately lean. No juniors, no hand-offs, and I am in the room for every project. When a brief needs a specialist — a designer, a trainer, a technology provider — I bring in someone I have worked with in a real operation.

Vision

A hospitality industry where every business operates at peak performance, delivering experiences guests remember.

Mission

Measurable results on every engagement: stronger margins, tighter operations, and guests who come back.

Core values

• Integrity. Straight answers, honest assessments, and advice given in your interest, not mine.
• Excellence. High standards applied to every detail, from the back office to the guest experience.
• Innovation. Practical, current thinking on concepts, technology, and ways of working.
• Collaboration. One team for the length of the project: your people and mine.

I worked with Fabio Marzano for my fundraising music festival with Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike. I partnered with Okada Manila to cater to my VIP attendees who demand a level of international luxury that only an experienced professional could provide. The event was successful and our VIP attendees were very satisfied, largely because of Fabio’s attention to detail and his experience in dealing with elite clients. He is excellent at crisis management and troubleshooting problems. I would gladly work with him again.

Common questions

Where is Fabio Marzano based?

Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The practice works across the UAE and the wider GCC — including Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait — and internationally where a brief justifies it.

What kind of venues has he worked in?

Luxury hotel food and beverage, fine dining, high-volume casual dining, cocktail bars, beach clubs, nightclubs and large-scale entertainment venues, plus banqueting and events. Every sector listed on this site is one operated in, not only advised on.

Is this a consultancy or a single consultant?

A single consultant, deliberately. Specialists are engaged per project when a brief calls for them, but the founder scopes and executes the core work and is present throughout.

What languages does he work in?

English and Italian.