How Much Does a Restaurant Fit-Out Cost in London? The Definitive 2026 Guide
Updated: Sep 29
A realistic guide for restaurant owners / By Servet Yuksel — BIID Registered Interior Designer, Managing Director of Kapeti Interior Architecture
A restaurant fit-out in London costs £180–£450 per sq ft for the customer-facing areas in 2026, and £400–£1,000+ per sq ft for the kitchen. Blended across a whole unit, most London restaurants land between £220 and £400 per sq ft.
In practice that means:
Small restaurant or café-restaurant (1,200–2,000 sq ft): £250,000–£700,000
Mid-size restaurant (2,500–3,500 sq ft): £500,000–£1.2M
Large or signature restaurant (4,000–6,000 sq ft): £900,000–£2M+
These are fit-out figures — construction, kitchen infrastructure, joinery and finishes. Kitchen equipment, FF&E, professional fees and VAT sit on top, and usually add 40–70% to the fit-out figure.
The number that surprises most operators is not the dining room. It is the kitchen, the extraction and the condition of the unit on the day you sign the lease. This guide explains why, with real ranges for each.
If you'd rather have a number for your own unit than read the full guide, send us the details on WhatsApp or email design@kapeti.com — the first conversation is free.
WHO THIS GUIDE IS WRITTEN FOR
Restaurateurs and chef-founders budgeting a new site in London
Investors reviewing a restaurant business plan who need to test the fit-out line
Operators refurbishing an existing restaurant that has lost its edge
Anyone who has received two fit-out quotes that are £200,000 apart and wants to understand why
If you are also planning the wider opening budget — staff, marketing, working capital — read this alongside Opening a Restaurant in London: The Definitive Investor's Guide.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Restaurant fit-out cost per sq ft — by specification
Cost by type of restaurant
The single biggest variable: the condition of the unit you sign
The complete cost breakdown — where every pound goes
The kitchen — why it costs more per sq ft than anything else
Extraction, gas and drainage — the hidden deal-breakers
How location changes the number
What sits outside the fit-out quote
Where the genuine savings are — and where they are not
Three representative project profiles
How to sense-check a restaurant fit-out quote
Frequently asked questions
What to do next
1. RESTAURANT FIT-OUT COST PER SQ FT — BY SPECIFICATION
The figures below are for London and the immediate surrounding area in 2026, covering construction, MEP, joinery, finishes and kitchen infrastructure. They exclude kitchen equipment, loose furniture, professional fees and VAT.
Specification | Customer areas (per sq ft) | Kitchen (per sq ft) | Blended across unit |
Casual / high-street | £180–£250 | £400–£600 | £220–£300 |
Mid-market | £230–£320 | £450–£700 | £260–£350 |
Premium neighbourhood | £300–£420 | £550–£850 | £320–£420 |
Signature / fine dining | £420–£700+ | £700–£1,000+ | £450–£750+ |
Why the kitchen costs two to three times more per sq ft: it is the densest part of the building. Extraction, fire suppression, gas, three-phase power, drainage with grease management, hygienic wall and floor finishes, cold rooms and specialist ventilation all sit inside a small footprint. A 500 sq ft kitchen can easily cost as much as a 1,500 sq ft dining room.
A useful rule: the more of your floor area is kitchen, the higher your blended cost per sq ft — which is why a heavy-cooking concept on a small footprint often costs more per sq ft than a larger, lighter one.
2. COST BY TYPE OF RESTAURANT
Concept drives cost more than size. The same 2,500 sq ft unit costs very different amounts depending on what it has to become.
Restaurant type | Typical size | Typical fit-out cost | What drives it |
Café-restaurant / all-day | 1,000–2,000 sq ft | £200,000–£500,000 | Coffee and light kitchen, strong front-of-house joinery |
Fast-casual / counter service | 1,200–2,500 sq ft | £250,000–£550,000 | Efficient kitchen line, durable finishes, branding |
Neighbourhood restaurant | 2,000–3,000 sq ft | £450,000–£900,000 | Full kitchen, bar, 70–120 covers, warmth and acoustics |
Grill, steak or charcoal-led | 2,500–4,000 sq ft | £650,000–£1.4M | Heavy extraction, charcoal or solid-fuel equipment, fire strategy |
Bar-led restaurant / cocktail | 2,000–3,500 sq ft | £550,000–£1.2M | Large bar joinery, back-bar, ice and glasswash, lighting |
Signature / fine dining | 3,000–6,000 sq ft | £1.2M–£2.5M+ | Bespoke everything, chef's kitchen, acoustic and lighting design |
Hotel or pub restaurant | Varies | See our guides | Shared services, licensing and operator standards |
For pub and hotel dining specifically, see Pub Refurbishment and Fit-Out in London and Hotel Refurbishment and Fit-Out in London.
3. THE SINGLE BIGGEST VARIABLE: THE CONDITION OF THE UNIT YOU SIGN
Two restaurants with identical designs can differ by £300,000 purely because of the unit they started in. Before comparing any quotes, identify which of these four starting points you are in.
Starting condition | What it means | Effect on cost |
Existing restaurant, being refreshed | Kitchen, extraction and services already in place and usable | Lowest — often £150–£250/sq ft blended |
Second-hand restaurant premises | Previous restaurant, but services need upgrading for your concept | Moderate — reuse saves money if the extraction and gas genuinely suit |
Cat A or retail unit, no restaurant history | Clean shell, but no extraction route, no gas, no grease drainage | High — expect £80,000–£250,000 extra for the infrastructure alone |
Bare shell / new-build (shell & core) | Concrete floor, capped services, sometimes no ceiling or shopfront | Highest — everything is new, including floors, ceilings and often the shopfront |
The most expensive surprise in London restaurant fit-out is signing a unit that looks ready, then discovering the extraction cannot be routed to roof level, the landlord no longer permits gas, or the drainage cannot handle a commercial kitchen. A pre-lease technical survey costing a few thousand pounds regularly saves six figures. We carry these out routinely before clients sign — it is the most valuable hour of the whole project.
For units in mixed-use and taller buildings, also read Commercial Fit-Outs in High-Risk Buildings: Critical Decision-Making for Investors.
4. THE COMPLETE COST BREAKDOWN — WHERE EVERY POUND GOES
A realistic 2026 breakdown for a 3,000 sq ft mid-market-to-premium restaurant at a blended £330 per sq ft (roughly 2,300 sq ft customer and bar areas, 700 sq ft kitchen and back-of-house).
Cost category | % of fit-out | £ on a £990,000 fit-out |
Strip-out, surveys, preparation | 4% | £39,600 |
Structural works and openings | 5% | £49,500 |
Kitchen infrastructure (extraction, suppression, gas, drainage, finishes) | 16% | £158,400 |
Mechanical and electrical — dining, bar, WCs | 15% | £148,500 |
Bar joinery and back-bar | 8% | £79,200 |
Fixed seating, banquettes and bespoke joinery | 10% | £99,000 |
Ceilings, flooring and wall finishes | 9% | £89,100 |
Lighting design and installation | 6% | £59,400 |
WCs and accessible facilities | 4% | £39,600 |
Shopfront, signage and entrance | 4% | £39,600 |
Acoustic treatment | 3% | £29,700 |
Preliminaries, project management and supervision | 11% | £108,900 |
Contingency | 5% | £49,500 |
Total fit-out | 100% | £990,000 |
Kitchen infrastructure and MEP together are over 30% of the fit-out — and none of it is visible to guests. This is why restaurants that budget from photographs of other restaurants almost always underestimate.
5. THE KITCHEN — WHY IT COSTS MORE PER SQ FT THAN ANYTHING ELSE
The kitchen is where a restaurant makes or loses money every service, and it is where most fit-out budgets are won or lost too.
Kitchen infrastructure (part of the fit-out):
Extraction canopy, ductwork to roof, fans and attenuation
Fire suppression system over the cooking line
Gas supply, interlocks and commissioning — or upgraded electrical supply for an all-electric kitchen
Drainage with grease management
Hygienic wall and floor finishes, coving, stainless steel
Make-up air and kitchen ventilation
Walk-in cold rooms
Kitchen equipment (usually separate from the fit-out):
Kitchen scale | Typical equipment cost |
Light kitchen (café, counter) | £30,000–£70,000 |
Full restaurant kitchen (70–120 covers) | £80,000–£180,000 |
High-output or specialist (charcoal, wood-fired, large covers) | £150,000–£400,000+ |
The decision that saves the most money is made before any drawing: matching the kitchen to the menu. An oversized kitchen wastes capital and floor area that could hold covers. An undersized one caps revenue for the life of the lease. Kitchen layout, equipment and service flow should be decided with the chef, not handed to an equipment supplier after the interior is designed.
At Kapeti, commercial kitchens are a core specialism — operational decisions are made in-house with the operator, and a dedicated kitchen consultant prepares the systems drawings. Kitchen and interior are designed as one, which is where most coordination costs disappear.
6. EXTRACTION, GAS AND DRAINAGE — THE HIDDEN DEAL-BREAKERS
Three technical questions decide whether a unit can host your concept at all, and each can move the budget by tens of thousands of pounds.
Extraction. A full cooking kitchen needs ductwork discharging at roof level, often through residential floors above. A new external or internal riser can cost £40,000–£150,000+, and in some buildings it is not permitted. Recirculating filtration systems can solve this for some menus, but they limit high-heat, charcoal and open-flame cooking.
Gas. Many London landlords no longer permit new gas installations. A new gas supply, where allowed, can cost £10,000–£40,000. The alternative — an all-electric kitchen — usually needs a significant electrical upgrade, sometimes £15,000–£60,000 if a new supply is required.
Drainage. Commercial kitchens need adequate falls and grease management. Discovering during strip-out that the drainage is inadequate is one of the most common mid-project extras.
Our advice is simple: get these three answered in writing before you sign the lease. If the agent or landlord cannot answer them, commission a survey.
7. HOW LOCATION CHANGES THE NUMBER
The same restaurant costs different amounts across London, mostly because of access, building stock and landlord requirements.
Area | Effect on fit-out cost | Why |
Mayfair, St James's, Marylebone, Knightsbridge | +15–25% | Listed buildings, restricted servicing, premium expectations |
Soho, Covent Garden, Fitzrovia | +10–20% | Tight access, older buildings, residential neighbours, night working |
City and Canary Wharf | +5–12% | Landlord standards, out-of-hours working, modern but controlled buildings |
Chelsea, Kensington, Notting Hill, Fulham | +8–15% | Period buildings, conservation areas, residential above |
Shoreditch, Islington, Clapham, Brixton | 0 to +10% | Mixed stock, often converted industrial or railway arches |
Outer London and Home Counties | −10 to −20% | Easier access and logistics, simpler buildings |
8. WHAT SITS OUTSIDE THE FIT-OUT QUOTE
A fit-out quote is not a restaurant budget. These are almost always separate:
Item | Typical range (mid-size restaurant) |
Kitchen equipment | £80,000–£180,000 |
Loose furniture, tableware and glassware | £40,000–£120,000 |
Professional fees (design, MEP, structural, fire, CDM) in a traditional model | 8–15% of fit-out |
Licensing, planning and legal | £15,000–£60,000 |
Building Control, landlord surveyor and Licence to Alter fees | £5,000–£25,000 |
POS, booking and IT hardware | £15,000–£40,000 |
VAT | 20% on almost everything |
Rule of thumb: a £600,000 fit-out quote usually becomes a £900,000–£1M+ project once equipment, furniture, fees and VAT are added. None of this is hidden — it is simply not in the fit-out line. Budget it from day one.
9. WHERE THE GENUINE SAVINGS ARE — AND WHERE THEY ARE NOT
Real savings
Design and build under one contract. No redesign cycle between designer and builder, no variation claims for things the drawings did not foresee, one party accountable for cost and programme. Typically 10–15% lower total cost on restaurant projects, with far better programme certainty. This is how Kapeti works — one team, one contract, no handovers, no surprises.
Bespoke joinery manufactured through specialist partners. Bars, banquettes, back-bar, shelving and fixed seating are a large share of any restaurant's character and budget. Manufacturing through our partners in Türkiye, Portugal and Poland typically saves 25–45% on the joinery line, designed in London, specified to UK standards and installed by our own team.
Choosing the right unit. A second-hand restaurant premises with extraction and gas that genuinely suit your concept can save £100,000–£250,000 against a bare shell.
Matching the kitchen to the menu. Right-sized equipment and layout save capital and floor area.
False savings
The cheapest quote. Restaurant quotes vary mainly on scope, exclusions and provisional sums, not efficiency. The cheapest quote tends to become the most expensive project.
Cutting acoustics. A loud dining room shortens dwell time and damages reviews for years.
Cheap lighting. It is the fastest way to make a premium interior look ordinary.
Skipping the pre-lease survey. The most expensive few thousand pounds you can save.
For the full selection framework, see How to Choose a Restaurant Fit-Out Contractor in London.
10. THREE REPRESENTATIVE PROJECT PROFILES
The profiles below are representative of projects in our recent portfolio and current tenders, anonymised and rounded. They show how starting condition and concept move the number.
Profile A — Neighbourhood restaurant, South West London
Around 2,200 sq ft, 80 covers, second-hand restaurant premises
Existing extraction route reused and upgraded; new kitchen line and bar
Fit-out: approx. £500,000 (about £227/sq ft blended)
Kitchen equipment: approx. £85,000 · FF&E: approx. £70,000
On site: 14 weeks
Profile B — Premium Mediterranean restaurant and bar, West End
Around 3,400 sq ft on a Cat A shell with residential floors above
New extraction riser to roof, all-electric kitchen with electrical upgrade, large bespoke bar
Fit-out: approx. £1,050,000 (about £309/sq ft blended)
Kitchen equipment: approx. £160,000 · FF&E: approx. £140,000
On site: 20 weeks
Profile C — Signature restaurant in a listed building, prime central London
Around 4,800 sq ft over ground and lower ground, listed building consent required
Bespoke joinery throughout, chef's counter, specialist lighting and acoustics
Fit-out: approx. £1,900,000 (about £396/sq ft blended)
Kitchen equipment: approx. £260,000 · FF&E: approx. £280,000
On site: 28 weeks
You can see completed Kapeti hospitality work — including Efes Premium Wimbledon and Efes Richmond — on our Commercial Projects page.
11. HOW TO SENSE-CHECK A RESTAURANT FIT-OUT QUOTE
Five checks before you sign:
Is the kitchen infrastructure included, or only the dining room? Extraction, suppression, gas and drainage are sometimes excluded or left as provisional sums.
How much sits in provisional sums? More than 15% of the total means the real price is still unknown.
What are the assumptions? "Subject to existing extraction being adequate" can be a six-figure sentence.
Is there a contingency? Under 5% is unrealistic for a restaurant.
Does the programme match reality? A mid-size restaurant is typically 14–22 weeks on site. A much shorter programme usually means overtime claims later. See Restaurant Fit-Out Timeline in London.
12. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How much does a restaurant fit-out cost in London in 2026?
Customer areas typically cost £180–£450 per sq ft and kitchens £400–£1,000+ per sq ft. Blended across the unit, most London restaurants cost £220–£400 per sq ft. A mid-size 2,500–3,500 sq ft restaurant usually lands between £500,000 and £1.2M for the fit-out alone.
What is the cost per square foot of a restaurant fit-out?
Casual: £220–£300 blended. Mid-market: £260–£350. Premium neighbourhood: £320–£420. Signature and fine dining: £450–£750+. These exclude kitchen equipment, loose furniture, fees and VAT.
How much does a restaurant kitchen cost to fit out?
Kitchen infrastructure — extraction, suppression, gas, drainage and finishes — costs £400–£1,000+ per sq ft. Equipment is usually separate: £80,000–£180,000 for a full 70–120 cover kitchen, and £150,000–£400,000+ for high-output or charcoal and wood-fired kitchens.
Why do restaurant fit-out quotes vary so much?
Because of scope, not efficiency. Differences usually come from whether kitchen infrastructure is included, how much is left in provisional sums, the assumptions about existing services, and specification level. Compare like for like before comparing totals.
Is it cheaper to take over an existing restaurant?
Often, yes — if the existing extraction, gas and drainage genuinely suit your concept. A suitable second-hand restaurant premises can save £100,000–£250,000 against a bare shell. If the services do not suit, much of that saving disappears, so survey before signing.
How much does extraction cost for a restaurant?
Upgrading existing extraction can cost £15,000–£50,000. A new riser to roof level typically costs £40,000–£150,000+, depending on building height, route and planning. In some buildings a new route is not permitted at all.
Can a restaurant be fitted out without gas?
Yes. All-electric kitchens are increasingly common in London, especially where landlords no longer permit gas. They usually need a significant electrical upgrade, and some cooking styles — charcoal, wood-fired, wok — are harder to replicate.
How much is restaurant furniture and FF&E?
For a mid-size restaurant, loose furniture, tableware and glassware typically run £40,000–£120,000. Bespoke fixed seating and banquettes are normally part of the fit-out joinery.
Does the fit-out cost include VAT?
Usually not. VAT at 20% applies to most fit-out work and is normally quoted separately. On a £700,000 fit-out that is £140,000.
How long does a restaurant fit-out take?
A mid-size restaurant is typically 14–22 weeks on site, with a further 8–14 weeks beforehand for design, surveys, approvals and procurement.
Is design and build cheaper for a restaurant?
Typically 10–15% cheaper on total project cost, because design, kitchen and construction are coordinated by one team and variation claims between separate parties disappear. It also gives far better programme certainty.
Can you give me a cost for my specific unit?
Yes. Send us the unit details, floor plan or photos and your concept, and we will give you a realistic range and the key risks — usually within 48 hours of a site visit. The first conversation is free.
13. WHAT TO DO NEXT
If you are looking at a restaurant unit, have just signed a lease, or are refurbishing an existing restaurant, the most useful first step is an honest conversation about your unit, your concept and your budget.
We will review the unit — ideally before you sign — check the extraction, gas, drainage and power, and give you a realistic fit-out range and programme. No commitment, no pressure.
Kapeti is a BIID registered design and build practice based in Kensington and Chelsea. We deliver restaurant, bar, pub, hotel and hospitality interiors across London, with commercial kitchens as a core specialism and bespoke joinery produced through our manufacturing partners.
Planning opening a restaurant in London ? The first conversation is free.
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📲 WhatsApp: +44 7342 240695✉️ Email: design@kapeti.com🌐 Website: kapeti.com
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Servet Yuksel is a BIID Registered Interior Designer and Managing Director of Kapeti Interior Architecture, a design and build practice based in Kensington and Chelsea, London. Kapeti delivers restaurant, bar, pub, hotel and hospitality fit-outs across London, with commercial kitchens as a core specialism and bespoke joinery produced through manufacturing partners in Türkiye, Portugal and Poland.
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