Restaurant renovation in Dubai: cost, approvals and timeline (2026)
Restaurant renovation in Dubai costs roughly AED 180 to 750 per sq ft in 2026, and a 1,500 sq ft venue usually takes 4 to 8 weeks from strip-out to handover. Your final number depends on two things: how much of the kitchen and MEP you touch, and whether you keep trading while we work.
Why work with Monde
- 50+ in-house specialists under our own licence
- Commercial renovation and fit-out across the UAE
- Offices, retail, F&B and hospitality projects
- Professional project managers on every site
- Single point of accountability from first snag to handover
- Google rating 5.0 from 3 reviews
Restaurant renovation vs fit out: which one do you need
A renovation upgrades a restaurant that already exists, often one that is still trading. A fit out builds the interior of a shell or white box unit from scratch.
The distinction changes your budget, your approvals and your programme. If you hold a bare unit in Dubai and need everything from the first electrical fix upward, you want a restaurant fit out in Dubai. If you run a small café and need a lighter refresh, café fit out costs in Dubai covers that scale better.
Renovation is usually cheaper per sq ft because the drainage runs, power capacity, grease trap position and landlord connections already exist. It is also more delicate. You are stripping finishes around live services, working around staff and stock, and answering to a landlord who wants the unit back in trade quickly.
Scope of works in a Dubai restaurant refurbishment
A typical F&B renovation covers front of house finishes, seating and joinery, flooring, ceilings and lighting, plus kitchen equipment upgrades with MEP re-balancing. Grease trap and extraction work is the part that most often forces a closure.
Front of house
Wall finishes, feature walls, paint, decorative cladding, washroom refresh and signage changes.
Seating and joinery
Banquette re-upholstery, booth rebuilds, bar counters, host stands and shelving. Joinery is normally 20 to 30 percent of a renovation budget, and it is the longest lead item after imported kitchen equipment.
Flooring, ceilings and lighting
Porcelain or LVT, polished concrete, gypsum or linear baffle ceilings, and dimmable scene lighting. Lighting is the cheapest way to make an old room feel new.
Kitchen equipment and MEP
Range and combi oven replacement, cold room panels, dishwasher and ventilation upgrades. Extraction ducts are cleaned or replaced, grease trap capacity is checked against your cover count, and make-up air is re-balanced. Change the seating layout and the AC load changes too, so MEP re-balancing is not optional.
A back-of-house corridor after a phased refurbishment, lit and finished on night shifts while the venue kept trading.
Restaurant renovation cost in Dubai in 2026
Indicative 2026 contractor ranges, supply and install, per sq ft. These are planning ranges, not quotes.
| Scope | Per sq ft | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Cosmetic refresh | AED 180 to 280 | Paint, wall vinyl, lighting swaps, minor joinery repair |
| Mid-level renovation | AED 300 to 450 | New flooring, ceilings, joinery, lighting, full redecoration |
| Full renovation with kitchen | AED 500 to 750 | All of the above plus equipment replacement, extraction, grease trap and MEP re-balance |
Worked example, 1,500 sq ft with 60 covers:
- Renovation only at AED 320 per sq ft: AED 480,000, which is AED 8,000 per cover.
- Renovation plus kitchen and extraction at AED 480 per sq ft: AED 720,000, or AED 12,000 per cover.
- Add 8 to 12 percent contingency for a trading site and unknown strip-out condition.
Scale changes the number. A 1,200 sq ft café in Sharjah with a cosmetic scope often lands between AED 220,000 and AED 300,000. A beachfront venue in Abu Dhabi with a terrace and a full kitchen refit can pass AED 800 per sq ft. On most restaurant renovation cost Dubai enquiries we price from a site visit, because strip-out condition and night shift hours move the figure more than finishes do.
Approvals before a Dubai restaurant renovation starts
You need a DET trade licence and signage check, Dubai Municipality food control sign-off where the layout changes, Civil Defence approval where the kitchen or seating layout changes, and a landlord NOC. The authority-by-authority detail sits in our guide to commercial fit out permit approvals.
The sequence we run on every F&B job:
- Freeze the layout drawing and confirm what actually changes: seating count, kitchen position, extraction route.
- Get the landlord NOC in writing, including permitted working hours and lift or loading access.
- Amend the DET trade licence if the activity, signage or shopfront changes.
- Submit the food control application to Dubai Municipality if the kitchen or seating layout moves.
- File Civil Defence drawings where the kitchen, seating layout, gas line or fire systems change.
- Agree the working hours permit before mobilisation, then lock the night shift roster.
Most delays we see are not construction delays. They are drawings that changed after submission, or a landlord NOC that arrived two weeks late.
Electrical and plumbing layouts are re-coordinated before ceilings close, which is where most hidden rework starts.
Phased works while trading vs full closure
Most restaurants can trade through a renovation if noisy trades run on night shifts. Full closure is faster on labour, but it costs you covers.
Night shift: painting, ceiling framing, flooring, joinery installation, lighting and MEP tie-ins where power can be isolated zone by zone. These run after your last cover, typically from 11pm to 7am.
Day shift but isolated: front of house joinery behind hoarding, decorative finishes, washroom works.
Closure only: core drilling, demolition, extraction duct replacement, grease trap work, gas line changes, and anything that isolates the fire alarm or sprinkler system.
What closure costs, in real numbers. A 60 cover venue at AED 120 average spend with two turns a day loses about AED 14,400 per closed day. Three closed days is AED 43,200. That is usually more than the night shift premium, which is why most of our F&B clients keep the doors open.
A realistic 4 to 8 week programme for 1,500 sq ft:
- Week 1: protection, strip-out, hoarding, permit and NOC closures.
- Weeks 2 to 3: MEP first fix, ceiling grid, extraction and ductwork.
- Weeks 3 to 5: flooring, joinery, wall finishes, washrooms.
- Weeks 5 to 7: kitchen equipment, lighting, commissioning, AC re-balance.
- Weeks 7 to 8: snagging, testing, deep clean, handover.
The site was clean when they left. We needed them fast on a running job. They finished the renovation on time. Good work from start to end.
Davranbek Tashbayev, 5 stars
Choosing a restaurant renovation company in Dubai
Choose a contractor with its own workforce, one project manager accountable for the whole site, and a written snag and handover process. Subcontracted labour is the single most common reason F&B refurbishments slip in Dubai.
Own workforce versus subcontracted crews. We run 50+ specialists under our own licence, so the night shift that starts at 11pm is our own team, not a crew fitting your site around another deadline. That matters most in a building with fixed hours and a landlord watching.
One project manager, one number. You should have one name for programme, cost and quality, with a weekly written update and a single WhatsApp thread.
Snag and handover. A joint snag walk before final payment, a signed snag list with dates, closed municipality and Civil Defence paperwork, plus O&M manuals, equipment warranties and commissioning records.
If your venue is mid-lease, trading, and needs to look new by a fixed date, speak to our fit out project managers or call and WhatsApp +971 54 494 1092. Send floor plans and a few site photos and we will come back with a scope and an hours split, not a guess.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a restaurant renovation cost in Dubai?
Indicative 2026 contractor rates run from AED 180 to 280 per sq ft for a cosmetic refresh, AED 300 to 450 for a mid-level renovation, and AED 500 to 750 where the kitchen, extraction and MEP are included. A 1,500 sq ft, 60 cover venue typically lands near AED 480,000 for renovation only, or around AED 720,000 with a kitchen refit. Add 8 to 12 percent contingency for anything found after strip-out.
Do I need approval to renovate a trading restaurant in Dubai?
Yes. You need a landlord NOC, a DET check on your trade licence and signage, Dubai Municipality food control sign-off if the layout changes, and Civil Defence approval where the kitchen or seating layout moves. Anything touching gas, fire systems or extraction also needs drawings submitted before work starts.
Can I keep my restaurant open during renovation?
In most cases yes. Painting, ceilings, flooring, joinery and lighting can run on night shifts behind hoarding, and the venue trades normally the next day. Core drilling, demolition, extraction duct replacement and grease trap work usually need one to three closed days, which you can schedule on your quietest trading days.
How long does a restaurant renovation take in Dubai?
A 1,500 sq ft renovation runs 4 to 8 weeks from strip-out to handover when approvals are closed early. A cosmetic refresh of the same space can finish in 2 to 3 weeks. Approval time is the variable, so start the NOC and municipality submissions before you fix a reopening date.
What is the difference between restaurant renovation and fit out?
A fit out delivers a finished interior in a shell or white box unit that has never traded, including first fix MEP and drainage. A renovation upgrades an existing, often live venue: new finishes, joinery, lighting and equipment upgrades inside an operating business. Renovation is usually cheaper per sq ft but harder to programme.
Do you handle restaurant renovations outside Dubai?
Yes. We cover the whole UAE, including Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, and the same phased night-shift approach applies. Working hours rules and landlord requirements differ between emirates and free zones, so we confirm those before mobilising.
