If you’re opening up a new restaurant or planning to restructure an existing eatery, you must think carefully about your commercial kitchen layout.
Think about it: A restaurant kitchen is so much more than just the food preparation area. It’s the heart and soul of a restaurant, the reason why your customers will return again and again, and the place that turns your restaurant vision into a reality.
But kitchen design isn’t a straightforward task. You’ll want to ensure that your commercial kitchen layout works for your food prep workflow, that you have enough storage space for your ingredients and cookware, and that you have a large-enough service area for your front-of-house (FOH) staff.
It’s a lot to consider. So, if you need help designing the ideal restaurant kitchen layout, follow our ultimate guide to organizing your commercial kitchen space.
Restaurant kitchen design isn’t one-size-fits-all. The ideal layout for the restaurant next door might not work for yours, so there are several important factors you’ll want to consider before you plan out your space.
The first thing to consider is the square footage of your restaurant. Take a look at your blueprints or floor plan, or take new measurements. Small restaurants can get away with a small kitchen space, while eateries with room for more covers will need a more extensive kitchen area.
That’s not just because you’ll need to cook more food. With more covers, you’ll be dirtying more dishes and cookware, too, so you’ll need a larger dishwashing area as well.
A good ratio to use as a benchmark is that your restaurant should be 60:40, dining room to kitchen.
Restaurateurs and chefs have different requirements depending on what they actually cook, so it’s important to consider your restaurant concept and menu items when planning your commercial kitchen layout.
All kitchens will need the basics. Things like ovens, refrigerators, freezers, and stoves are pretty much non-negotiable.
But some restaurants will need more specialized cooking equipment. Fast-food restaurants, for example, will almost definitely need deep fryers and grills, while fine-dining establishments might have less need for these.
If you have a fairly limited menu, you can get away with less restaurant equipment in your kitchen. But if you have an extensive menu or like to change it regularly, you’ll need plenty of gear and cold storage space.
It’s also essential to consider the number of chefs you’ll have working in your restaurant kitchen, as this can affect how well a particular commercial kitchen layout works in reality.
Full-service restaurants with several chefs working at once will need a kitchen layout that can accommodate more kitchen staff. You’ll want to design a space that’s optimized for workflow, without chefs getting in each other’s way.
If you have a lot of chefs, make sure you have plenty of individual cooking stations to prevent spills and accidents.
While we’re on the subject of accidents, it’s vital that you take food safety rules into account while planning your restaurant kitchen layout. These rules vary from state to state and even city to city, so make sure you carefully research the regulations you need to follow.
Ensure your new commercial kitchen design and all the kitchen equipment you plan to buy follow local health regulations.
Now that you know what you’ll need to factor into your own restaurant kitchen layout, here are five essential elements of a commercial kitchen that you can’t afford to miss:
A food prep area: This is the place where your chefs and prep team can actually get to work.
A food storage area: You’ll want plenty of space for storing all your ingredients, whether cold storage or dry shelving.
A place to put dirty dishes before washing: Your pot washer won’t be able to wash everything as soon as it comes in during a busy service.
A washing station: You’ll want a washing station with a three-compartment sink.
A spacious service area: This is so food runners can pick up food and take it out to customers in the dining room.
There are several typical designs for restaurant kitchen floor plans. It’s a good idea to talk to your executive chef while designing the space to see which of these four commercial kitchen layouts would work best with their food-service preparation style.
An island layout is a kitchen with an island space in the center — this is where the actual cooking will take place. The food preparation, food storage, dishwashing, and service areas are around the edge of the room.
This layout is a good option for chefs who value communication among their teams. Since all chefs will be working in the middle of the kitchen (but with their own workstation), it’s easy to communicate orders and instructions between coworkers.
Commercial kitchens with a zone layout assign a particular area of the kitchen to each specific dish being prepared. For example, there’ll be a zone for salad preparation, a zone for fish frying, and a zone for desserts.
This is a good choice if your restaurant offers a wide and varied menu with many different menu items. Each chef on duty will have a set job for their shift, and they’ll stick to their assigned area. It’s a good way of delegating and keeping organized during a busy service.
An assembly line layout lets your chef team follow the order of assembly for each dish. There’ll be an area for a chef to prep each dish, a space for cooking, and a service area.
Assembly line layouts are efficient and simple. It’s a fuss-free way of organizing your space and is usually best suited to quick-service restaurants with a small range of menu items. It might not be the best choice for restaurants with a more extensive menu, as it requires chefs to move from one dish to another in the same space.
If you want your customers to see what goes on behind the scenes, an open kitchen layout is a great choice. Open kitchens are totally visible from the dining room floor, and it’s an excellent way to add a bit of drama or atmosphere to your eatery.
If you choose to go for an open kitchen, take extra care to follow all health and safety advice you’re given — you don’t want customers to get too close to hot pans or sharp knives.
Once you’ve decided on a layout and structured the space, it’s a good idea to consider what tech you’ll incorporate into your commercial kitchen layout. Keeping your kitchen up-to-date with the latest restaurant technologies is a good way to modernize your restaurant and optimize efficiency.
Most restaurant tech sits front of house (FOH), but in-kitchen restaurant technology like kitchen display systems (or KDSs) can keep your restaurant operations running smoothly.
Many restaurants now opt to use a KDS instead of paper checks for orders. These screens provide an easy way for your FOH staff to send orders through to the back of house (BOH).
Some types of KDS, like Square KDS, can automatically link up with your point-of-sale (POS) system to send orders to the kitchen. This is particularly useful if you have a self-service kiosk system for customers to place their own orders. You won’t need any FOH staff to act as middlemen, as the system automatically sends customer orders through to your chefs.
But the placement of your KDS is critical. You’ll want the head chef to be able to see the screen clearly from all points of the kitchen. Depending on the commercial kitchen layout you choose, you might even want to install multiple screens.
Again, it’s worth speaking with your executive chef to get their input. They might have ideas of other commercial kitchen equipment or technology that would be worth investing in.
When it comes down to it, there is no single solution for planning a perfect restaurant kitchen layout. There are benefits and drawbacks to most types of kitchen layouts, so it makes the most sense to find a system that works for you and your team.
Whether you’re opening a new restaurant or restructuring an existing restaurant space, choose KioskBuddy for your POS. It links seamlessly with KDS to provide your BOH team with up-to-date orders as soon as they come in.
Sign up for a 30-day free trial with KioskBuddy and see how it can work for your restaurant.