Restaurant and Café Interior Design: Start With the Kitchen

A restaurant interior is designed from the kitchen outwards. First the technology: equipment, the path from delivery to plate, seating count and staff routes. Then the utilities that serve them. Style comes last, and it has to fit what's left. A café that looks great but serves slowly, or opens two months late, loses more money than the design ever cost.

We design cafés, restaurants, salons and clinics alongside apartments. The commercial ones differ in one important way: every week of delay has a price, and it's usually the rent.

The order that works

1. Concept and numbers. Format, average bill, target seats, opening date. A 40-seat café and a 40-seat restaurant need different kitchens. 2. Technology. Equipment list and placement with the chef or kitchen supplier. Hot and cold zones, washing, storage, delivery entrance. 3. Flows. Guests, staff and dirty dishes shouldn't cross. Waiters shouldn't walk through the queue. The bar should see the door. 4. Seating plan. How many covers fit at what comfort: two-tops that join into fours, banquettes, bar seats. 5. Utilities. Ventilation, extraction, grease traps, electrical load, water points — sized for the equipment list, not guessed. 6. Style and materials. Chosen for cleaning, wear and fire rules as well as looks. 7. Drawings and specification. So contractors can quote precisely and build to a date.

Most failed fit-outs skip steps 2–3 and start at step 6.

Why the opening date is the real budget

For a business owner, the design fee is rarely the biggest number. A month of rent without revenue often costs as much as the whole project. So a commercial project should be planned backwards from the opening date: when drawings must be ready for the contractor's quote, when equipment must be ordered, when finishing starts.

That's why we sell commercial projects by dates, not by weeks, and write the deadline into the contract.

Design to a fit-out budget

"Beautiful" is easy with an open budget. The useful skill is making a room look right within a fixed fit-out budget. That means knowing where money shows — the bar front, lighting, the wall guests photograph — and where it doesn't: back-of-house, ceilings above the lighting line, storage.

Ask your designer to design to your number from the start. If the first concept comes in over budget, a good studio reworks it instead of telling you to find more money.

Details guests notice

• Lighting. Warm, dimmable, no glare on the table. The single biggest factor in how long people stay.
• Acoustics. Hard surfaces everywhere make a full room unbearable. Plan absorbing materials from the start.
• Toilets. Guests judge the kitchen by the toilet. Small room, big impact.
• Durability. Chair legs, table edges, bar tops, floor at the door. What looks tired after six months was chosen for the render.

What it costs

We price commercial interiors per m², like apartments: €35/m² for layouts and visualizations, €50/m² with drawings and specification. For a 120 m² café that's €4,200–6,000 for the project. Equipment design and construction management are separate. See pricing.

How long it takes

For a small café or salon of 50–250 m², expect roughly 4–8 weeks for a full project, depending on how quickly the equipment list is fixed. Scheduled against your opening date.

Frequently asked

Can the project be done remotely? Yes. We work with owners and chefs through video calls, and with local contractors through drawings and photo reviews. See how virtual design works.

Do you design the kitchen equipment? We lay out the kitchen with your chef or equipment supplier and plan the utilities to match. Technical kitchen engineering stays with the supplier.

Can you work with our brand book? Yes. The interior should fit the brand, not replace it.