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Abstract: This research tackles the food waste problem in the Saudi context, with particular focus on family restaurants, where this problem is obvious. The study adopted a semi-structured survey, including structured and open-ended questions with family restaurants’ owner/managers. The results of quantitative and qualitative data analysis showed that the most frequent food waste types in family restaurants are starchy food, especially bread, rice and potatoes. However, the average ratio of food waste was at least 20% per cooked food. Three major reasons for this high rate of food were identified: consumers’ behaviour, external factors, and factors related to food cycle management in restaurants. There were no strategies implemented for handling leftover food and reducing food waste at over 70 % of restaurants. The study calls for national policy and programs on managing restaurant food waste by adopting the 5Rs model of proper food waste management. Restaurants are encouraged to adopt “clean your plate” or “eat or waste” initiatives to stimulate their customers to reduce waste and sustain the environment while ensuring a sustainable economy.