Commercial kitchen fit out Dubai: cost, approvals, timeline
A commercial kitchen fit out in Dubai covers the extraction hood and ducting, grease interception, make-up air, drainage, food safe finishes, MEP load upgrades and the cold room build. Most projects land between AED 60,000 for a small café kitchen and AED 600,000 for a hotel production kitchen, with 14 to 24 weeks from brief to first service once design and approvals are counted.
Why work with Monde
- In-house team of 50+ specialists working under our own licence
- Commercial fit out for offices, retail, F&B and hospitality
- Professional project managers running site coordination and materials
- UAE-wide coverage including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah
- Google rating of 5 from 3 reviews
What a commercial kitchen fit out covers
A commercial kitchen fit out is the back of house build, not the dining room. It is the extraction system, the grease and drainage path, the power and water capacity behind the cooking line, and every surface that food, staff and cleaning chemicals touch. The front of house is a separate scope, covered in our restaurant fit out in Dubai guide.
Extraction hood and ducting
Hood length follows the cooking line, not the size of the room. A range with a griddle, a fryer and a salamander needs a much longer canopy than a bakery oven of the same footprint. Ductwork usually runs to roof level in fire rated sections with cleaning access panels and a fan sized with 10 to 15 percent headroom. Kitchen extraction ducting fit out in Dubai is normally priced by run length, and a long horizontal run through a mall ceiling void is the single biggest cost swing in the package.
Grease trap, make-up air and drainage
A grease interceptor sits on the kitchen waste line before it reaches the building drain, sized to the number of sinks and the flow rate your menu produces. Make-up air is the other half of the extraction equation. Pull 3,000 CFM out of a kitchen without replacing it and doors drag, hoods lose capture, and the dining room air conditioning cannot hold temperature. Floors fall towards a stainless or epoxy gully, and walls get a washable finish to food safety spec, typically to 2.4 m behind the cooking line.
MEP load upgrades and cold room build
An existing shell rarely has the power a production kitchen needs. A line with two combi ovens, a blast chiller and a walk-in can add 40 to 80 kW of connected load, which usually means a DEWA supply upgrade or a new connection. Walk-in chillers and freezers are built on site with insulated panels, ramped floors and dedicated condensing units, and they need to be set out before the drainage is cast. Moving a cold room after the floor is finished means breaking work you just paid for.
Finishes, ceiling and lighting coordinated under one contract, from first fix to handover.
Commercial kitchen fit out cost in Dubai
For a complete back of house package in 2026, budget AED 3,500 to 6,500 per square metre of kitchen floor area, or work from these bands. Figures exclude VAT and exclude loose cooking equipment.
| Scope | Kitchen size | Typical budget |
|---|---|---|
| Small café kitchen | 12 to 25 m2 | AED 60,000 to 120,000 |
| Restaurant kitchen | 40 to 90 m2 | AED 180,000 to 400,000 |
| Hotel or central production kitchen | 100 to 250 m2 and above | AED 300,000 to 600,000 |
Three items swing the commercial kitchen fit out cost in Dubai more than anything else. Extraction ducting alone runs AED 25,000 to 70,000 depending on run length, fan size and whether the route needs a fire rated shaft. A DEWA supply upgrade adds roughly AED 15,000 to 60,000 depending on capacity. Cooking equipment sits outside these figures, and a full production line can add AED 150,000 to 400,000 of its own.
Small café work is the scope most often underestimated, and if yours is a counter, a small hood and one interceptor, our café fit out costs and permits article is the better starting point. Hotel kitchen fit out in Dubai sits at the top of the range because of equipment count, ventilation volume and the hours you are allowed to work. A restaurant conversion in Deira and a hotel back of house job in Abu Dhabi can share the same equipment schedule and still differ by 30 percent once authority steps and out of hours working are priced in.
Which approvals you need before you start
The short answer is four authorities and one NOC. Food premises approval from Dubai Municipality, the correct DET trade licence activity, Dubai Civil Defence sign off on the hood and suppression, and DEWA where the load changes.
- Dubai Municipality: food premises registration and a food safety plan for the unit
- DET (Dubai Economy and Tourism): trade licence activity plus fit out approval and contractor permits
- Dubai Civil Defence: hood and duct protection, fire suppression and gas installation
- DEWA: supply upgrade and meter when the kitchen exceeds what the shell already supplies
- Landlord or building management NOC, and mall design approval for mall units
- Free zone authorities such as Trakhees or DMCC where the unit sits inside a free zone
Free zone kitchens follow a different path. The food premises file runs through the zone authority, so drawings go to two sets of reviewers instead of one. Mark the approval route on your programme before you sign the lease, not after.
Timeline for a typical 2026 project
A straightforward commercial kitchen fit out takes 14 to 24 weeks from brief to first service, and approvals are the longest single block on the programme.
- Design and drawings, 2 to 3 weeks. Kitchen layout, hood CFM, equipment schedule, MEP drawings and the authority submission set.
- Approvals, 4 to 8 weeks. Municipality, DET, Civil Defence and DEWA, run in parallel wherever the reviewer allows it.
- Build, 8 to 14 weeks. Enabling works, MEP rough in, ducting, waterproofing, tiling, stainless steel, cold room, ceiling and lighting.
- Commissioning and handover, 1 to 2 weeks. Air balancing, gas pressure testing, snagging and the food safety inspection.
Trading while you refit
Yes, you can usually keep trading during a kitchen refurbishment, but it costs more and it has to be planned properly.
Phased and after hours work is standard in Dubai hotels and mall units. Split the line so one section stays live, run temporary extraction while the permanent hood is out of service, and work nights from 10pm to 6am behind dust screens and floor protection. Expect 10 to 20 percent added to labour for night work, extra cost for temporary power and ventilation, and a programme that stretches by two to four weeks.
The site was clean when they left. They finished the renovation on time. Davranbek Tashbayev, 5 out of 5
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Commercial zones planned so live areas stay usable while the rest of the floor is rebuilt.
How to brief and select a commercial kitchen contractor in Dubai
Ask for three things: the team, the licence, and who owns the approvals.
- A method statement that names who holds the Municipality and Civil Defence files
- The equipment schedule and hood CFM figures before any price is given
- A programme with approval durations shown as separate line items
- A named project manager, and the size of the contractor's own workforce
- A snagging and handover process with a written commissioning list
Price alone tells you little. A cheaper fit out that leaves you to chase the Civil Defence file will cost more in rent while the unit stays shut. Monde runs commercial renovation and fit out across the UAE with an in-house workforce of over 50 specialists under our own licence, led by project managers who stay on the job from enabling works through to handover.
The new ceiling looks clean and straight. Muhammad Karim, 5 out of 5
For the wider picture on fit out phases, our commercial fit out guides for the UAE cover offices, retail and F&B side by side. When you are ready to price your own kitchen, get a commercial kitchen fit out quote and we will come to site.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a commercial kitchen fit out cost in Dubai?
A small café kitchen runs AED 60,000 to 120,000. A restaurant kitchen of 40 to 90 m2 runs AED 180,000 to 400,000, and a hotel or central production kitchen runs AED 300,000 to 600,000. As a rule of thumb, budget AED 3,500 to 6,500 per square metre of kitchen floor area, excluding VAT and loose cooking equipment.
Do I need Dubai Municipality approval for a commercial kitchen?
Yes. Any unit preparing food for sale needs food premises approval from Dubai Municipality, and the fit out itself needs the correct DET trade licence activity plus Civil Defence sign off on the hood, ducting and fire suppression. A DEWA approval is added where the kitchen load exceeds what the shell already supplies.
How long does a restaurant kitchen fit out in Dubai take?
Plan for 14 to 24 weeks in total: 2 to 3 weeks of design, 4 to 8 weeks of approvals, 8 to 14 weeks of building, then 1 to 2 weeks of commissioning. Approvals are the part most often underestimated, especially where the unit sits inside a mall or a free zone.
Can I keep my restaurant open during a kitchen refit?
Usually yes. A phased refit keeps part of the line live while the rest is rebuilt, and night work from 10pm to 6am is normal in hotels and malls. Budget an extra 10 to 20 percent on labour and two to four weeks on the programme.
What is the difference between a commercial kitchen fit out and a restaurant fit out?
The kitchen fit out is back of house: extraction, grease, drainage, MEP capacity, cold rooms and food safe finishes. A restaurant fit out also covers front of house, including seating, bar, lighting and the finishes your guests see.
Do you handle extraction ducting and Civil Defence approvals?
Yes. Monde runs commercial fit out across the UAE with an in-house workforce of over 50 specialists under our own licence, and our project managers hold the Municipality and Civil Defence submission files from design through to handover and inspection.
