Restaurant fit out Dubai: costs, approvals and timeline

A restaurant fit out in Dubai usually costs between AED 900 and AED 2,500 per sq ft and takes 8 to 16 weeks from permit to handover. The final number depends on format, kitchen size and how much MEP a shell and core unit needs before it can trade.

Why work with Monde

  • In-house workforce of 50+ specialists
  • Works executed under our own contracting licence
  • Professional project managers on every fit out
  • Commercial scope only: offices, retail, F&B and hospitality
  • UAE-wide delivery from one team
  • Google rating of 5.0 from 3 reviews

We run commercial fit out services across the UAE for operators who want one team accountable for the kitchen, the front of house and the permits.

What a restaurant fit out covers

A restaurant fit out turns a bare unit into a trading restaurant, and it splits into five scopes that each carry their own compliance.

  • Front of house: dining area, bar, host stand, washrooms, floor and wall finishes, decorative lighting, seating layout, acoustic treatment.
  • Back of house: dry store, chiller and freezer room, staff changing, chemical store, service corridor, delivery access.
  • Commercial kitchen: cooking line, prep area, dishwash, canopy and hood, stainless steel fabrication, gas and water points, equipment installation.
  • MEP: HVAC with makeup air, plumbing and drainage, grease trap, electrical distribution, data, fire alarm, emergency lighting.
  • Extraction: kitchen canopy, duct route to a discharge point, odour control where the landlord asks for it, fire rated ductwork.

The kitchen is where most of the technical risk sits. commercial kitchen fit out in Dubai covers that scope and its compliance in more detail.

CAT A, CAT B and shell and core for F&B units

Shell and core is the base structure with no internal services. CAT A is the landlord finish that makes a unit lettable. CAT B is your restaurant built inside it.

  • Shell and core: slab, columns and external envelope only. Highest cost per sq ft because MEP, drainage and fire protection start from zero. Common on standalone plots and in older buildings in Deira.
  • CAT A: screed or raised floor, suspended ceiling, base HVAC, sprinkler, power to a distribution board, completed washrooms. The usual handover in Dubai malls and towers.
  • CAT B: everything you need to trade, including kitchen, dining room, bar, extraction, grease trap, signage, finishes and commissioning.

Where the restaurant sits inside a hotel or a mixed use development, the fit out follows the building programme and the landlord design guide. Our hospitality fit out projects run in the same sequence.

Completed bedroom by Monde with a large upholstered bed, vanity area and round illuminated mirror, wall mounted TV on a marble accent panel and full height wood panelling under warm ambient light

Joinery, lighting and finish coordination from a Monde handover. The same detailing standards carry into dining rooms, bars and guest areas.

Restaurant fit out cost in Dubai: AED bands by format

Fit out cost in Dubai is quoted per sq ft of unit area. These bands cover CAT B work inside a CAT A unit and include the kitchen and MEP.

  • Cafe or coffee shop, 500 to 1,000 sq ft: AED 900 to 1,500 per sq ft. Counter service, smaller cooking line, lighter extraction.
  • Casual dining, 1,000 to 2,500 sq ft: AED 1,500 to 2,500 per sq ft. Full cooking line, cold room, grease trap, larger front of house.
  • Fine dining and licensed venues: AED 2,500 per sq ft and above. Custom joinery, feature ceilings, wine storage, imported finishes.
  • Shell and core units: add 10 to 20 percent for MEP, drainage and fire protection the landlord has not installed.

Worked example: a 1,200 sq ft casual dining unit in Business Bay at AED 1,850 per sq ft.

  • MEP, HVAC and extraction: AED 430,000
  • Commercial kitchen equipment and fabrication: AED 400,000
  • Joinery, bar and front of house: AED 380,000
  • Floor, wall and ceiling finishes: AED 320,000
  • Grease trap, drainage and cold room: AED 190,000
  • Fire and life safety coordination: AED 120,000
  • Project management, prelims and cleaning: AED 200,000
  • Contingency at 8 percent: AED 180,000
  • Total: AED 2,220,000

Excluded from that number: DET licence fees, loose furniture, tableware, POS and kitchen smallwares. The same scope in Abu Dhabi or Sharjah often prices 5 to 10 percent lower on labour, though stricter mall design guides can pull joinery and stone costs back up.

Approvals and the week by week timeline

An F&B unit in Dubai needs DET, Dubai Municipality, Civil Defence and DEWA sign off before it can trade, and the sequence matters because each approval depends on the one before it.

  1. DET trade licence: choose the food activity, complete initial approval and register the premises.
  2. Landlord or mall NOC: submit drawings to the design review team and get written approval before mobilising.
  3. DET fit out permit: submit drawings with a licensed contractor named on the application.
  4. Dubai Municipality food safety: food control plan, kitchen layout, drainage falls and finishes approved for food contact.
  5. Dubai Civil Defence: drawing approval first, site inspection later for fire alarm, suppression and escape routes.
  6. DEWA: connection or load upgrade application, meter installation and inspection.
  7. Completion: final inspections, completion certificate, trading clearance.

On a 12 to 14 week casual dining programme after permit issue:

  1. Weeks 1 to 2: design freeze, NOC, DET and Municipality submissions.
  2. Weeks 3 to 4: site protection, demolition, setting out, MEP marking.
  3. Weeks 5 to 7: MEP first fix, ductwork, drainage, grease trap, waterproofing.
  4. Weeks 8 to 10: kitchen installation, cold room, tiling, ceiling grid.
  5. Weeks 11 to 12: joinery, bar, lighting, front of house finishes, equipment.
  6. Weeks 13 to 14: commissioning, inspections, snagging, handover.

Cafes run 8 to 10 weeks. Fine dining runs 16 weeks and longer because of bespoke joinery and imported finishes. Most slippage comes from the landlord NOC and the DEWA application rather than site work.

The site was clean when they left. We needed them fast on a running job. They finished the renovation on time. Davranbek Tashbayev, 5/5

High angle view of a completed living room by Monde with tufted velvet sofas, a central marble coffee table and an integrated lit media wall in warm artificial and natural light

Finish quality at handover. Front of house in a restaurant is built with the same stone work, joinery and layered lighting.

How to choose a restaurant fit out contractor

Pick a contractor who holds their own trade licence, employs their own trades and can show F&B handovers in the UAE. Otherwise you end up managing the subcontract chain yourself.

  • Licence: ask for the trade licence and confirm the contractor can pull DET permits in their own name.
  • Workforce: ask how many trades sit on the payroll and how many are subcontracted. We keep 50+ specialists in house under our own licence.
  • Project manager: one named project manager on site with F&B experience and a written programme.
  • Kitchen competence: gas, extraction, drainage falls and grease trap sizing are specialist works, not general building.
  • Handover pack: as built drawings, O&M manuals, equipment warranties and test certificates.
  • Commercials: itemised bill of quantities, clear exclusions, a stated contingency and payments tied to milestones.
They finished in one day and did not delay us. Good work for a small job. Muhammad Karim, 5/5

That mix of a clean finish and a schedule that holds is what we repeat on commercial sites, with a Google rating of 5.0 from 3 reviews behind it. To price your own unit, request a restaurant fit out quote and send the layout, the landlord design guide and the equipment list.

Five cost traps that blow F&B budgets

These five items move a restaurant budget most often after tender, and all five are visible before you sign if the drawings are reviewed properly.

  1. Extraction and hood design. Canopy, duct route, makeup air and odour control can add AED 90,000 to AED 250,000 when the discharge point is far from the kitchen.
  2. Grease trap and drainage. Falls, trapped gullies and a compliant grease trap are often missing in shell and core units. Budget AED 40,000 to AED 120,000.
  3. Power upgrades. Cooking line plus cold room plus HVAC can exceed the unit supply. A DEWA load upgrade with a new panel runs AED 60,000 to AED 200,000 and adds weeks to the programme.
  4. Cold room. A walk in chiller and freezer with panels, doors and remote condensing units sits between AED 70,000 and AED 180,000, and needs ceiling height and drainage planned early.
  5. Late design changes. Moving the bar or adding covers after MEP first fix forces rework across three trades at once. Freeze the layout before mobilisation.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a restaurant fit out cost in Dubai?

A cafe of up to 1,000 sq ft usually lands between AED 900 and AED 1,500 per sq ft. Casual dining runs AED 1,500 to AED 2,500 per sq ft. Fine dining starts at AED 2,500 per sq ft and rises with joinery and imported finishes. A 1,200 sq ft casual dining unit in Business Bay at AED 1,850 per sq ft comes to about AED 2.2 million.

How long does a restaurant fit out take in Dubai?

Cafes take 8 to 10 weeks, casual dining 12 to 14 weeks and fine dining 16 weeks or more after the permit is issued. Permit, NOC and Municipality approvals add 3 to 6 weeks before site work starts, so plan the opening date around that gap.

Do I need DET approval for a restaurant fit out in Dubai?

Yes. You need a DET trade licence for the right food activity, a fit out permit with drawings submitted by a licensed contractor, Dubai Municipality food safety approval for the kitchen layout and Civil Defence approval before trading. DEWA connection or load approval is separate and is often the last item to clear.

What is the difference between CAT A and CAT B fit out?

CAT A is the landlord finish that makes a unit lettable, with base HVAC, sprinkler, power and washrooms. CAT B is the restaurant itself, covering kitchen, extraction, grease trap, dining room, bar and finishes. Shell and core units need both stages and cost 10 to 20 percent more per sq ft.

Does a restaurant fit out contractor need their own licence in the UAE?

Yes. To submit DET permits and sign off on site, the contractor must hold a valid trade licence for the activity. Ask for the licence and confirm the crew is employed rather than subcontracted, because that decides who is responsible when the programme slips.