Restaurant, cafe and takeaway fit-outs
Commercial kitchen maintenance and fit-out: what does it cost?
The equipment list is the part everyone budgets for, and it is almost never the part that breaks the budget. Extract and ventilation, the gas and electrical supply, drainage and grease management, and whether the unit was ever a food premises before are what decide the real number. Below is what fit-out firms actually price and where the surprises live. Tell us about the unit and commercial kitchen fit-out firms will quote your job.
The process
- Tell us about the unit and the kitchen you need. Two minutes, no account.
- We pass your details to commercial kitchen fit-out firms covering your area, and to no one else.
- They survey the unit and quote your actual job. Compare, choose, or walk away.
Commercial Kitchen Cost is a free introduction service operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd. We are not a fit-out contractor, a gas engineer, an environmental health consultant or a designer, and nothing here is legal, engineering or food safety advice. We are not affiliated with, or endorsed by, any government department, local authority, standards body or registration scheme named on this site. We pass your details to relevant commercial kitchen fit-out firms who quote you directly; we may receive a fee from providers, you pay nothing and are under no obligation. Statements of law and guidance are cited to gov.uk and were checked on the date shown; requirements vary by local authority, so confirm the position for your premises.
What sets the price of a commercial kitchen fit-out, 2026
Last updated
Operators budget for the equipment and get caught by the building. Extract routes, gas and electrical supply, drainage and grease management, and whether the unit has ever been a food premises will move a fit-out price further than the difference between a good combi oven and a great one. This table sets out what fit-out firms price, why each line moves the number, and what to ask for so quotes can actually be compared.
This is a cost driver table, not a price table. Each row names a decision or a site condition that commercial kitchen fit-out firms price separately, states the direction it moves a quote, and gives the wording that pins it down so competing quotes cover the same scope. We publish no pound figures because fit-out prices are dominated by site conditions that cannot be assessed remotely, and a headline range would mislead exactly the operators with difficult units. The registration point is cited to gov.uk. For your number, get quotes on the actual unit.
| Cost driver | Why it moves the price | What to ask for in the quote |
|---|---|---|
| Extract and ventilation | The single biggest surprise in most fit-outs. A canopy is cheap; getting the duct from the kitchen to a discharge point that satisfies the landlord and the environmental health and planning teams is not. Long duct runs, riser access, roof works, fire dampers, odour control such as carbon filtration or an electrostatic precipitator, acoustic attenuation and adequate make-up air all attach here. Kitchen ventilation is designed to a recognised specification, and a system that has not been designed to one is a problem waiting for an inspection. | The extract design, the discharge point, the air volume, the odour and noise attenuation included, and who is responsible for obtaining landlord and planning consent for the route. |
| Gas supply and commercial catering gas work | Work on commercial catering appliances is a distinct competence from domestic gas work. The incoming supply may need upgrading for the total load, and the installation normally requires a gas interlock system tied to the ventilation so appliances cannot run without extract. Meter upgrades involve the network operator and their timescales, not the fit-out firm's. | Confirmation that the engineer is registered for commercial catering work, whether a supply or meter upgrade is included, and that the gas interlock is in the price. |
| Electrical supply, and whether three phase is available | All-electric kitchens are increasingly common and increasingly constrained by the incoming supply. Finding out that the unit needs a supply upgrade, and that the distribution network operator has a lead time and a quote of its own, is a classic mid-project shock. | The assumed incoming supply and load calculation, and a clear statement of who applies and pays for any supply upgrade. |
| Drainage and grease management | Fats, oils and grease cannot go down the drain untreated. Grease traps, grease recovery units or larger interceptors take space, need access for servicing and add a maintenance contract you will carry forever. Existing drainage often needs surveying, and floor gullies and channel drains mean breaking up and reinstating the floor. | A drainage survey, the grease management solution proposed and its servicing regime, and whether floor breaking and reinstatement are in the price. |
| Refrigeration | Cabinets are one price. A walk-in cold room or freezer with a remote condensing unit is a different order of work: structural insulated panels, a condenser location the landlord will accept, pipe runs, condensate drainage and, on a remote system, its own maintenance regime. | Whether refrigeration is integral or remote, where the condensing unit goes, and who is responsible for the condenser location consent. |
| Previous use of the unit | The largest single swing available. A unit that was recently a food premises may already have an extract route, a gas supply, adequate drainage and food-safe finishes. A former shop or office has none of them, and the planning position for change of use, cooking odour and extended hours may need resolving before anything is installed. | A schedule of what existing services the price assumes can be reused, and what happens if survey shows they cannot. |
| Surfaces, walls, floors and ceilings | Food hygiene law sets requirements for the design, layout and finish of food premises, and kitchen surfaces have to be sound, cleanable and, where necessary, disinfectable. Slip-resistant flooring with coved skirtings, hygienic wall cladding and washable ceilings are specification decisions, not decoration, and they vary widely in price. | The floor, wall and ceiling specification by product, including coving detail and slip resistance rating. |
| Fire safety and suppression | Ductwork passing through fire compartments needs fire stopping and dampers. Many insurers and some landlords require a suppression system over the cooking line. Neither is optional once required, and both are easier to price at design stage than to retrofit. | Whether fire stopping, dampers and any suppression system are included, and what the insurer's requirements are. |
| Landlord, lease and consents | Licence to alter, hours of operation, odour and noise conditions, planning for change of use and any listed building or conservation constraints on flues can all delay or reshape the design. Delay is a cost: rent runs whether the kitchen does or not. | A programme showing consent lead times, and clarity on who obtains each consent and who carries the risk of refusal. |
- Extract and ventilation, not equipment, is the most common source of unbudgeted cost in a commercial kitchen fit-out, because the duct route, discharge point, odour control and make-up air depend entirely on the building.
- Whether a unit was previously a food premises is usually the largest single variable in a fit-out price, because an existing extract route, gas supply and compliant drainage can be worth more than the entire equipment list.
- You are required to register a food business at least 28 days before trading,.
Cite this page
“What sets the price of a commercial kitchen fit-out, 2026”, Commercial Kitchen Cost, https://commercialkitchencost.co.uk/ (updated 2026-08-14). This is a cost driver table, not a price table. Each row names a decision or a site condition that commercial kitchen fit-out firms price separately, states the direction it moves a quote, and gives the wording that pins it down so competing quotes cover the same scope. We publish no pound figures because fit-out prices are dominated by site conditions that cannot be assessed remotely, and a headline range would mislead exactly the operators with difficult units. The registration point is cited to gov.uk. For your number, get quotes on the actual unit.
Related guides
Each one cites where its numbers come from.
Commercial kitchen fit-out cost: where the money actually goes
What drives a commercial kitchen fit-out price: extraction, gas and electrical supply, drainage, refrigeration and the unit's previous use, plus how to compare quotes.
Commercial kitchen extraction and ventilation: the real cost driver
Why kitchen extraction dominates fit-out budgets: duct routes, discharge points, odour control, make-up air, fire dampers and cleaning, and what to ask a supplier.
Grease traps and commercial kitchen drainage: costs and choices
Grease traps, grease recovery units and interceptors for commercial kitchens: how they are sized, where they go, what servicing costs and how drainage affects a fit-out.
Opening a food business: registration and the fit-out checklist
Register your food business at least 28 days before trading, free of charge, plus the fit-out checklist: extraction, gas, drainage, surfaces and consents.
Common questions
How much does a commercial kitchen cost?
The honest answer is that the building decides it more than the equipment does. Extract and ventilation, the gas and electrical supply, drainage and grease management, refrigeration and whether the unit was previously a food premises are the big variables, and any of them can move a fit-out price more than the appliance schedule. Get the actual unit surveyed and quoted rather than working from a published rate per square metre.
What is the biggest hidden cost in a commercial kitchen fit-out?
Extract and ventilation, by a distance. The canopy is inexpensive; the duct route to a viable discharge point, odour control, noise attenuation, tempered make-up air, fire stopping and the consents to run the duct where it needs to go are what cost money. On units needing a supply upgrade, the network operator's price and lead time run it close.
Do I need to register my food business before opening?
Yes. Government guidance states you are required to register at least 28 days before trading, as a notification to the local authority rather than a licence application. It applies broadly, including businesses trading from home, from mobile or temporary premises, and online. Some businesses handling products of animal origin need approval rather than simple registration, so check with your local authority.
Does a commercial kitchen need three phase electricity?
Not automatically, but many all-electric kitchens do, and it is a question to answer from a load calculation before signing a lease rather than after. If a supply upgrade is needed, the distribution network operator sets both the price and the lead time, and neither is within your contractor's control.
Is it cheaper to take a unit that was already a restaurant?
Usually, and often by a wide margin. An existing extract route, an adequate gas or electrical supply, compliant drainage and food-safe finishes can be worth more than the entire equipment list. Verify that the existing services actually work and can be reused, though: a stripped-out former restaurant with a condemned extract system offers less than it appears to.
Is this quote service really free?
Yes, free to you and with no obligation to accept any quote. We pass your details only to relevant commercial kitchen fit-out firms, who quote you directly. We may receive a fee from those providers, which is how the service is funded.