Restaurant fit-out

Restaurant or bar: £800 to £2,500 per m²
Food-to-go, excl. equipment: £700 to £1,000 per m²
Typical programme: 6 to 14 weeks

Restaurant fit-outs cost more per square metre than almost any other commercial interior, because the kitchen packs gas, water, drainage, extraction and refrigeration into a small space and the dining room has to look good enough to bring people back.

The things that most often delay an opening are not the finishes but the extraction route, the drainage and the consents.

Brief a contractor

What a hospitality fit-out covers

Kitchen: Commercial kitchen layout, gas and power, wall and floor finishes that can be cleaned, cold rooms, and the equipment installed and commissioned.
Extraction and ventilation: A canopy, ductwork to roof level or a permitted outlet, odour and noise control, and make-up air for the kitchen and dining room.
Front of house: Bar, seating, lighting, acoustic treatment, toilets including accessible provision, and the shopfront.
Drainage and grease: Grease separation on kitchen drains, floor gullies, and connections the water company will accept.

Schedule of rates, hospitality

Item	Scope	Guide cost
Restaurant or bar	Kitchen and dining fit-out, excluding most equipment	£800 to £2,500 per m²
Food-to-go unit, excluding equipment	Counter service, simple kitchen	£700 to £1,000 per m²
Kitchen equipment	Per kitchen position, on top of the fit-out	£800 to £1,500 each

National trades pricing guide, typical 2026 UK prices (June 2026), VAT not stated. Extraction routed to roof level on a tall building can add substantially. A guide, not a quote. Build a budget in the cost plan.

Getting a restaurant open

Extraction is the critical path

Planning authorities commonly ask for kitchen extraction to discharge at or above roof level, with odour and noise controls specified by an engineer. Routing a duct up a building you do not own needs the landlord's agreement and sometimes the neighbours'. Settle the route before signing the lease if you can.

Use class and licences

Restaurants and cafés fall within Class E in England since 2020, so moving into a former shop may not need a change of use, but a hot food takeaway or a drinking establishment sits outside it. Selling alcohol needs a premises licence from the council, and a new food business must register with the local authority at least 28 days before trading, which the Food Standards Agency explains.

Kitchen hygiene by design

Smooth, cleanable surfaces, enough hand-wash basins, separation of raw and cooked food, and drainage that will not back up are far easier to design in than to retrofit after an environmental health visit.

Fire safety

Kitchens need fire separation, appropriate suppression over cooking ranges where specified, and an updated fire risk assessment by the responsible person before opening.

Where our information comes from

Cost ranges are typical figures from published UK cost guides and price guides, read November 2026, given before VAT. Firms that publish them are not named.

The unit, its size, the type of food and the opening date: that is enough to scope it.

Brief a contractor

How the work gets done

How a restaurant fit-out usually unfolds.

Feasibility
Extraction route, drainage, gas and power capacity checked; use class and licensing position confirmed.
Design and consents
Kitchen design, extraction specification, planning and licensing applications, landlord approval.
Build
Strip-out, services, extraction, kitchen finishes, front of house, shopfront and signage.
Commission and open
Gas safety, extraction balancing, equipment commissioning, food business registration, trial service.

Restaurant fit-out questions

How much does a restaurant fit-out cost?

Published UK guides put restaurant and bar fit-out at £800 to £2,500 per m², with kitchen equipment £800 to £1,500 per kitchen position on top. A 200 m² restaurant therefore runs from about £160,000 to £500,000 before equipment and VAT.

How long does a restaurant fit-out take?

Six to fourteen weeks on site for most units, after design and consents. Extraction and licensing are the usual causes of delay.

Do we need planning permission for a restaurant?

Not always for the use itself in England, since restaurants and shops share Class E. Extraction ducts, shopfronts, signage and outdoor seating often need consent.

Who registers the food business?

The operator, with the local authority, at least 28 days before trading begins.

Can we reuse the previous tenant's kitchen?

Sometimes, which can save a lot. Have the extraction, gas installation and drainage inspected first; equipment and ductwork that are not cleanable or compliant cost more to keep than to replace.

Keep reading

Retail fit-out
Shops, centres and roll-outs.
M&E services
Gas, ventilation and power.
CDM 2015 client duties
The operator is the client.
How our service works
What happens after you send a brief.

Brief a restaurant fit-out contractor

Three short steps: where the building is, what the scope is, and who to speak to. Rough answers are fine; a contractor firms them up on a site visit.

Your brief stays with us until you approve the independent commercial refurbishment contractor we name for your building.

Where is the building?

Postcode of the building