A restaurant’s kitchen is what sets it apart from the competition. The food from a well-run kitchen will delight customers, but sloppy service can ruin an otherwise good meal. Here’s a comprehensive guide to your commercial kitchen layout. 

A commercial kitchen’s layout can determine how smoothly the restaurant functions. When it is designed strategically, it enables back-of-house staff to work efficiently and consistently produce high-quality meals high-quality. A poorly designed kitchen will cause BOH team members who have difficulty maneuvering around each other in tight spaces.

The layout of a commercial kitchen is essential because it needs to be easy to use, meet the restaurant’s needs and enable service staff to deliver a fantastic experience. Click To Tweet

Whether you’re building or renovating your current design, this guide will help you become an expert in all things related to commercial kitchens.

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• Different commercial kitchens have different layouts, and the type of layout depends on your business needs.
• A commercial kitchen consists of five key components.
• There are many things to consider when designing your commercial kitchen layout, including the type and size of appliances you will need and whether or not staff should be able to access ingredients from storage areas.

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5 Types of commercial kitchen layouts

Now that you have a functional commercial kitchen basic, it’s time to design your restaurant. Check out these five popular layouts for inspiration.

Commercial kitchen layout types

• Assembly line layout
• Island layout
• Zone-style layout
• Galley layout
• Open kitchen layout

1. Assembly line layout

The assembly line configuration starts with food prep and ends when a customer can purchase the final product.

The benefits of the assembly line layout

This commercial kitchen layout is perfect for preparing food in bulk. The assembly line system allows multiple cooks to work on one part of the production process.

Which restaurant type is the assembly line layout best for?

Fast food restaurants and other restaurants with limited menus with an assembly line layout best serve and similar preparation styles.

Examples

Fast-casual chains like Chipotle and Sweetgreen have a customer-facing kitchen where food is prepared in an assembly line fashion.

2. Island layout

The island’s small commercial kitchen layout starts with the ring layout and adds a central preparation or cooking station. For example, there are storage units around the perimeter of this type of kitchen with food prep counters attached to them. The center is typically where all the equipment for preparing food can be found.

The benefits of the island kitchen layout

A central point for all meals in the island configuration makes it easier to communicate with staff and have better oversight from executive chefs.

Which rrestaurant typrestaurantland kitchen layout is best for?

Restaurants with ample kitchen space should opt for an island layout because the obstacle of moving around it will not be present.

Small Commercial Kitchen Layout Examples

The Dutch restaurant Latour is an excellent example of how the island layout can create more seating for guests.

3. Zone-style layout

The kitchen layout is designed to maximize efficiency by separating different types of food. For example, a restaurant might have one area for soup and salad preparation while another may be used exclusively for cooking meat.

The benefits of the zone-style layout

Commercial kitchens have a layout that allows the kitchen to be organized and maximize efficiency. Click To Tweet

This setup helps divide tasks so one person can focus on each dish, rather than having everyone work together in a line.

Which restaurrestaurant type zone-style kitchen layout is best for?

A station layout is best for restaurants with a diverse menu and lots of staff. This setup would be perfect in large operations like a hotel restaurant, catering kitchens, or event space kitchen.

If you’re trying to make it work with a small kitchen, avoid the station-based configuration because that doesn’t allow for multitasking.

Examples

Here are some examples of different commercial kitchen layouts.

4. Galley layout

The kitchen in this commercial layout is tight, so all the equipment and stations are placed along two parallel walls.

The benefits of the galley layout

If you have a larger kitchen, then it may be possible to use the space for multiple cooks at once. However, if your food truck is small and lacks extra room to cook other than on top of each other (the galley style), that will not work.

Which restaurant is excellent is the galley kitchen layout best for?

Food trucks are an excellent option for tight spaces with few staff because they use the ring and galley configuration.

Examples

Pretty much any food truck.

5. Open kitchen layout

Open kitchens are seen as a new trend in restaurants. Customers can see the food being prepared, usually done behind closed doors.

For the safetcustomsafetyetyre to keep hot cooking appliances away from them. A glass partition between service and customer seating is an intelligent choice in ordtoct food if someone sneezes or coughs unexpectedly.

One example of this is Pastel, a restaurant in Canada that has an open kitchen layout where guests can see executive chef Jason Morris and his team work with precision.

The benefits of the open kitchen layout

The open kitchen is an excellent space for entertaining guests, and it can also be used to maximize the size of your living area. You could create chef’s table seating with an open kitchen by placing bar stools near the stove or sink.

Which restaurant types is the open kitchen layout best for?

Open kitchens are not for everyone. You have to be willing to cook in front of the customers, typically only seen at high-end restaurants or small spaces with limited commercial property.

Examples

The restaurants Sampan in Philadelphia and Minibar in DC have a high dehigh interaction with the kitchen staff. Customers can enjoy fine dining while watching chefs work.

The five critical components of a commercial kitchen

When designing a commercial kitchen, it is essential to account for the needs thrilled to design and layout your space effectively.

The five componefivefives of a commercial kitchen

• Storage
• washing station
• Food preparation
• Cooking station
• Service area

1. Storage

Your restaurant will have various items, including cooking tools, food, and place settings.

A kitchen will need perishable food, dry goods, and tableware storage units.

2. Washing station

A lot of effort goes into keeping the kitchen clean to ensure that food safety is not compromised. It’s essential to have separate washing stations for dishes and produce so as not dirty dish suds never touch fresh vegetables.

Your kitchen staff will need commercial dishwashing machines, sinks, and drying racks to meet the demand.

3. Food preparation

A commercial kitchen will have food preparation areas for different types of cuisine. A restaurant’s prep area is usually a counter with cutting tools and storage containers.

Ensure that you have a refrigerator in the back of the house area for easy access to raw ingredients.

4. Cooking station

When running a restaurant, it is essential essential the right equipment for your kitchen. Most restaurants use gas range-oven combinations and commercial fryers with some specialized cooking appliances that can be used if needed.

5. Service

A commercial kitchen’s service area is used for plating dishes and handing them off to servers. A heated tray can help maintain the food’s temperature.

The most efficient kitchen layout is one where the service area (kitchen) and dining room are next to each other, with waiters able to easily watch walk back-and-forth between them easily

The most important commercial kitchen layout considerations

Now that you know the basics of commercial kitchens, it’s essential to think about safety and functionality.

Ergonomics

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines ergonomics as the science of designing and arranging objects to be most efficient for people to use.

When designing a commercial kitchen, you need to consider how much equipment the space will hold and who will use it. The staff should have easy access to all kitchen areas to work quickly.

Space

The amount of space you have will dictate which commercial kitchen layouts are feasible. Industry guidelines recommend dedicating 60% to the front and reserving 40% for back-of-house tasks.

The dining area is around 300 square feet, with the kitchen roughly 200 square feet.

Staff communication

When designing a kitchen, don’t forget about the human element. Have an open floor plan so that staff can easily communicate and collaborate while still beekeeping without feeling isolated or disconnected from what is going on around them.

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Safety

Your design should prioritize food safety. This means you need to have a space where receiving is near the fridge and cleaning chemicals are not in reach of your customers’ meals.

When designing your restaurant, it is essential to be aware of local regulations. In some states, these may determine the la commercial kitchen’s layout or design elements

For example, Missouri’s food code prohibits wood as a cooking surface and carpeting in commercial kitchens. Check your local restaurant codes before investing in opening upaa hop.

When designing your commercial kitchen, take into account the health of your staff. Make sure that there are proper ventilation and placemats on the ground to reduce wear-and-tear from standing.

Suppose you are designing a restaurant kitcincludeclude safety features like fire exits and smoke detectors. Consider your interior designer’s input on space for standard equipment as well as emergency tools.

Choosing the proper commercial kitchen layout for your restaurant

One of the best ways to keep employees happy and efficient is by having a well-designed kitchen. Click To Tweet

However, many layouts work for commercial kitchens because no one design works design than another.

Victor Cardamone, the owner of the estate’s urcurrentitchen design firm Mise Designs, says that the ideal layout for your restaurant depends on two things: how much space you have and what shape it is. If you are in a long narrow room with no corners or an island in the midd, le then an assembly liassembly-lined be best because they can move around from station to station without being blocked by other people working at stations beside them. On the other hand, when dealing with square rooms where everyone has their corner station th, en islands will be better since workers won’t need to worry about bumping into each other.

Here are some tips to consider when evaluating a commercial space’s ideal kitchen layout: – Do not be afraid of having too many kitchens. – Make sure the size and number of sinksares appropriate for your needs. – Plan around ergonomic, so that work surfaces don’t require employees to reach across other people or over their heads.

• To make a menu, create an order to do the dishes.
• A kitchen has many different work statworkstations types of equipment needed will depend on what is being cooked at that station.
• I was tasked with setting up a new sales office, and I had to design the layout for each station
• Have stations that share similar menu items next to each other.
• To provide delivery service, you must first determine your process for completing dishes.
• When designing your expediting station, put it in the center of all other stations so that people can easily reach their food.
• Be willing to find ways around your building limitations and be createxecute a service creatively there
• Pretend to make a dish in your new kitchen and see how it would be done, so you can plan the best way of doing it.

When looking for the ideal commercial space, it is importanvitalss what type of layout will work best. If your service requires a specific kitchen arrangement or if there isnthere isn’t enough space in the current restaurant location, consideressionals.