A restaurant fit out in Dubai usually costs AED 400 to 900 per sq ft for a café or casual-dining concept in 2026, and AED 900 to 1,800 per sq ft for premium and fine dining, before kitchen equipment. From a signed lease to opening night, plan on 12 to 20 weeks, of which three to six weeks are drawings and authority approvals. This guide breaks down where that money goes, which approvals a Dubai kitchen needs, and the mistakes that push openings back by months.
In short:
- The kitchen services (extract, fresh air, gas, drainage and grease trap) are the most expensive and least visible part of the budget.
- Check the extract route, the DEWA power allocation and the gas option before you sign the lease.
- Most delays come from approvals and from layout changes after the MEP first fix, not from the build itself.
- Budget kitchen equipment, loose furniture and the 10% contingency as separate lines.
What a restaurant fit out includes
A restaurant is the most service-heavy interior you can build. Under the finishes your guests see, a full restaurant and hospitality fit out covers four layers of work:
- Design and approvals: concept, furniture and kitchen layout, MEP design, fire and life safety drawings, and the submissions to the landlord, the municipality or free-zone authority, Civil Defence and DEWA.
- Kitchen and back of house: extract hood and ducting to roof level, fresh-air make-up, gas or electric cooking lines, floor drains, grease interceptor, washable wall and floor finishes, cold and dry stores, staff toilets and lockers.
- Building services: air conditioning sized for the kitchen heat load and the number of covers, electrical distribution, lighting control, sprinklers, fire alarm, emergency lighting, music and CCTV.
- Front of house: flooring, wall and ceiling finishes, bar and service counters, banquettes and joinery, acoustic treatment, washrooms, signage and the façade or shopfront.
Restaurant fit out cost in Dubai (2026)
The figures below are indicative 2026 ranges for a complete fit out of the leased unit: design, MEP, finishes, joinery and front-of-house lighting. They exclude kitchen equipment, loose furniture, tableware, POS and audio-visual systems, which we cover separately below.
| Concept | Typical size | Fit out cost |
|---|---|---|
| Coffee kiosk or counter | 150–400 sq ft | AED 120,000–350,000 in total |
| Café, bakery or quick service | 800–2,000 sq ft | AED 350–650 per sq ft |
| Casual dining restaurant | 2,000–4,500 sq ft | AED 450–900 per sq ft |
| Premium and fine dining | 2,500–6,000 sq ft | AED 900–1,800+ per sq ft |
| Cloud kitchen (delivery only) | 500–1,500 sq ft | AED 250–450 per sq ft |
As a worked example, a 2,500 sq ft casual-dining restaurant in a Dubai community mall at AED 600 per sq ft comes to about AED 1.5 million for the fit out, plus AED 250,000–400,000 for kitchen equipment and AED 120,000–250,000 for furniture.
Where the money goes
- MEP and kitchen services: 30–40%. Extract and fresh-air systems, AC, gas, drainage, the grease trap and electrical upgrades.
- Front-of-house finishes and joinery: 25–35%. Bars, banquettes, wall cladding, feature ceilings and washrooms.
- Ceilings, lighting and acoustics: 10–15%. Restaurants are loud by default; absorption is cheaper at design stage than as a fix.
- Design, approvals and project management: 8–12%.
- Contingency: 10%. Hold it back until the extract and drainage routes are open and inspected.
Kitchen equipment budget
Kitchen equipment is normally bought from a specialist supplier and coordinated by the fit out contractor. In 2026, a café line with an espresso set-up, refrigeration and a small hot line runs about AED 120,000–250,000. A full-service kitchen with a cook line, combi ovens, walk-in chiller and freezer, dishwash area and bar equipment runs AED 250,000–600,000 and more. The hood and its fire suppression system often sit in the fit out contract instead, so make sure they are counted once, not twice and not zero times.
Shell and core vs second-generation units
A shell and core unit gives you bare walls, a capped drainage point and a power allocation. A second-generation unit, one that was a restaurant before, can save 15–30% because the extract riser, grease trap and gas line may already exist. Have them surveyed before you count the saving: an undersized hood, a corroded duct or a grease trap that no longer meets current rules can wipe it out.
Approvals a restaurant needs in Dubai
The exact list depends on where the unit is and which authority governs the building, which we explain in our guide to Dubai renovation approvals. For a typical restaurant, plan for these:
- Landlord or mall design approval. Every mall and most buildings issue a fit-out manual with design rules, a review process, a fit-out deposit, insurance requirements and permitted working hours. Their NOC comes before any authority submission.
- Building or fit-out permit. Issued by Dubai Municipality on the mainland, or by the relevant authority in a free zone or master community (for example Trakhees, the Dubai Development Authority, DMCC or the DIFC Authority).
- Food establishment layout approval. Dubai Municipality’s food safety team checks the kitchen flow from delivery to service, hand-wash basins, finishes, storage and waste.
- Dubai Civil Defence. Fire alarm, sprinklers, emergency lighting and exits, fire-rated materials, and the wet-chemical fire suppression system over the cooking line.
- Gas. A gas system, LPG or piped, has to be designed and installed by a Civil Defence approved gas contractor, with leak detection and automatic shut-off.
- DEWA. Load approval and connection. A typical retail unit is allocated far less power than a full kitchen draws, and an upgrade takes time.
- Signage and outdoor seating. Shopfront signage and any terrace need their own permits.
With complete drawings, most of these clear in days rather than weeks. Incomplete or inconsistent drawings are what turn approvals into a two-month loop.
Restaurant fit out timeline
| Stage | Weeks | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Site survey and concept | 1–3 | Measure the unit, check extract route, power and gas, agree the layout and number of covers. |
| Detailed design | 3–6 | Kitchen layout with the equipment supplier, MEP and fire drawings, finishes and joinery details. |
| Approvals | 4–8 | Landlord, authority, food safety, Civil Defence and DEWA submissions, often in parallel. |
| Construction | 6–16 | Ducting and MEP first fix, partitions and ceilings, kitchen finishes, then front-of-house joinery and finishes. |
| Inspections and handover | 16–20 | Authority inspections, testing and commissioning, snagging, staff training and soft opening. |
Mall projects often work at night, which stretches the programme by 20–30% compared with a street-front unit where the team can work during the day.
Design decisions that make or break a restaurant
- Kitchen-to-dining ratio. A full-service kitchen usually needs 30–40% of the floor area; a café or bakery with a short menu can work with 20–25%. Squeeze the kitchen too hard and service slows every night.
- Space per cover. Allow roughly 12–15 sq ft per seat for casual dining and 18–20 sq ft for fine dining, before circulation and the bar.
- Acoustics. Hard floors, glass and high ceilings make a room loud. Acoustic ceilings, upholstered banquettes and soft wall panels keep conversation comfortable.
- Lighting. Dimmable warm lighting on scenes for lunch, dinner and late night changes the mood more than any finish.
- Durability. Specify finishes for daily cleaning: porcelain or epoxy in the kitchen, sealed stone or high-traffic vinyl in the dining room, and solid surfaces on bar tops.
- Cooling. Kitchens, glass façades and Dubai summers stack up. AC sized for an office will not hold a full restaurant at 8 pm in August.
If you want to see the room before you commit to finishes, a 3D design service lets you test layouts, lighting and materials with the landlord and your investors.
Seven mistakes that delay restaurant openings in Dubai
- Signing the lease before checking where the kitchen extract can discharge.
- Assuming the unit’s DEWA allocation will run a full kitchen.
- Ordering kitchen equipment before the layout is approved.
- Forgetting the grease interceptor, or sizing it for a café when the menu is a grill.
- Decorative materials (fabric, timber, wall coverings) that are not fire rated or certified.
- Moving the bar or kitchen after the MEP first fix.
- Ignoring mall working hours, delivery slots and inspection booking times in the programme.
Choosing a restaurant fit out contractor
Ask for a design-and-build or a contractor who can show completed food and beverage work, MEP capability in house or through named subcontractors, and experience with your landlord’s fit-out manual. A fixed-price contract with staged payments, a clear exclusions list and a written programme protects your opening date. Our guide on how to choose a fit out contractor in Dubai lists the twelve questions to ask. If you are comparing other commercial formats, see our guides to shop fit out in Dubai and hotel fit out in Dubai.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to fit out a café in Dubai?
A café or bakery of 800 to 2,000 sq ft typically costs AED 350 to 650 per sq ft to fit out in 2026, so roughly AED 300,000 to 1.2 million, plus AED 120,000 to 250,000 for equipment. A small coffee kiosk can be done for AED 120,000 to 350,000 in total.
How long does a restaurant fit out take in Dubai?
Most restaurants take 12 to 20 weeks from signed lease to opening: about three to six weeks of design and approvals and eight to twelve weeks of construction, testing and inspections. Night-only work in malls adds time.
Do I need Dubai Municipality approval for a restaurant kitchen?
Yes. A food establishment needs its kitchen layout approved for food safety, and the fit out itself needs a permit from Dubai Municipality or the free-zone authority that governs the building, as well as Civil Defence approval for fire safety and the hood suppression system.
Can I reuse an existing restaurant fit out?
Often, and it can save 15 to 30%. Have the extract, grease trap, gas line, drainage and fire systems surveyed first, because equipment that does not meet current rules or your new menu has to be replaced anyway.
What is a rent-free fit-out period?
Many Dubai landlords give tenants a fit-out period, often one to three months, before rent starts. Negotiate it against a realistic programme that includes approvals, not just construction.
Who designs the commercial kitchen?
Usually the kitchen equipment supplier or a kitchen consultant draws the equipment layout, and the fit out designer coordinates it with the MEP, fire and architectural drawings so that every hood, drain and power point lands in the right place.
Planning a restaurant in Dubai?
Send us the unit plan or the listing before you sign the lease. An architect will check the extract route, power and layout, and after a free site visit we give you a fixed-price quote for the full restaurant fit out, from drawings and approvals to handover. Book a visit or message us on WhatsApp.
