For restaurant, café and bar owners
Best Restaurant Fit-Out Companies London: How to Choose
Sviatoslav JerdetchiiCEO & Founder of Craftex. Updated , 5 min read
The short answer
The best restaurant fit-out company for a London site is one that has already solved the hard parts: the extract, the kitchen services, the landlord and the opening date. The dining room photos matter less.
- Ask how each firm handled extraction and kitchen services on its last two jobs.
- Agree in writing who coordinates the kitchen supplier with the builder.
- Check who prepares the landlord's pack and allows for licences in the programme.
- Visit a finished site and call the owner before you sign.
A beautiful dining room is the easy part of a restaurant fit-out. What delays London openings sits behind the kitchen wall or on the roof. So when you compare restaurant fit-out companies, look past the photos. Ask how each firm handled four hard things on its last two jobs.
This guide is written from that side of the table. We are a London design and build contractor that builds restaurants and pubs. We also say clearly when another kind of firm will do the job better. Got a unit in mind? Book a site visit before you sign the lease.
Four things decide which restaurant fit-out company you need
Every restaurant fit-out company shows finished rooms. Fewer can show how they solved these four. Use them as your interview.
1. Extraction, ventilation and odour
The kitchen extract is the most common cause of delay. The duct route, the discharge point, odour control and fan noise may all need the landlord's agreement. External ductwork or roof plant usually needs planning permission too.
A good firm looks at the extract route on the first site visit. Ideally that happens before you sign the lease.
2. Kitchen services
Gas, power, water, drainage and grease management must reach the right place at the right size. The kitchen supplier designs the cooking line. Somebody has to build the services that feed it.
The gas must also shut off if the ventilation fails. Ask who coordinates the supplier and the builder. Our restaurant kitchen fit-out guide goes into the detail.
3. The landlord, planning and licences
In a leased unit the landlord will want drawings, method statements and a licence for alterations before work starts. Restaurants and cafés sit in Class E. Pubs, bars and hot food takeaways sit outside it. So a change of use to those usually needs planning permission. Our guide to Class E explains the rules.
Selling alcohol, or serving hot food after 11pm, means a premises licence. Food businesses must register with the council at least 28 days before trading. None of this is the contractor's job alone. But the contractor's programme must allow for all of it.
4. The opening date
Rent is running, staff are hired and the launch is booked. Ask each firm for a programme that shows the long-lead items: extract fans, kitchen equipment and bespoke joinery. Ask what happens if one arrives late.
How the main types of restaurant fit-out firm compare
Typical patterns, not judgements on any one firm. Every type has strong and weak firms in it.
| Type of firm | Usually strongest at | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| National hospitality fit-out specialist | Chain roll-outs and standard details | A team that travels in |
| Kitchen equipment supplier offering turnkey | The cooking line | Building works and approvals left to others |
| Interior design studio | Concept, brand and atmosphere | Design not priced until tender |
| Local general builder | Small, simple units | Extraction and licensing experience |
| Design and build contractor (Craftex) | One-off London sites, concept to opening | Not set up for 30-site roll-outs |
The cheapest firm on paper is often the one that leaves the extract, the landlord or the licences to you. Ask every firm the same question: what is not in your price?
Where Craftex is not the right fit
- Units well under £100,000. A small takeaway or café refresh is better value with a trusted local builder.
- National roll-outs. Opening the same format in 20 towns suits a specialist with regional teams.
- Equipment-only upgrades. If you only replace the cooking line, go straight to the kitchen supplier.
We take on construction projects from £100,000 to £10M and more. We don't take on small fast-food chains or low-budget refurbishments.
Restaurants and pubs we have worked on
Different venues, same lesson. The opening date was protected before anyone picked up a tool.
Aunties, Seven Sisters: a new restaurant in four weeks
Aunties was a full strip-out and rebuild of an 83.35 m² unit. We built new floors, walls, ceilings and partitions. The layout split service, work and guest areas. We overhauled the lighting and built the refrigeration into the interior.
The Gloucester Arms: a pub refurbished in ten weeks
The Gloucester Arms is a 300 m² traditional London pub. We refurbished it in 10 weeks. We reworked the servery for flow and capacity and upgraded services behind a traditional finish. The bar and back-fit joinery were made in-house. The pub was handed back ready to trade.
Sloane Place, Chelsea: next to a live members' club
Craftex took part in Sloane Place, a £1.29M remodel of a 27-key boutique hotel. It ran over 28 weeks next to a members' club that kept trading.
Happy with the end result. Tight timeline but they pulled it off. The team worked late shifts and even weekends to help us open the doors on schedule. Site was always left tidy at the end of the day and no surprise charges either. Good communication throughout. Would definitely use Craftex again.
The team behind a restaurant fit-out
Earlier projects named here are from each person's career before Craftex.
- Joe Crawford, Operations Director. 37 years in construction, on projects from £100K to £135M, including the fit-out of Dior's flagship on Bond Street.
- Konstantin Jegorovs, Projects Director. 16 years in retail and commercial work, including aparthotels.
- Martin Hickey, Preconstruction Director. More than 50 years in construction. He settles the extract route, services and programme before the build.
- Rob Barton, Development Director. For owners weighing a refurbishment against a change of use. He delivered more than 4,000 homes in his housebuilding career.
Around 60% of our labour is in-house. That keeps the bar, the joinery and the pace under our own control.
Ten questions for every restaurant fit-out company
Take these to each meeting. A firm that answers them clearly, in writing, deserves a place on your shortlist.
For the whole process, from survey to opening night, read our restaurant and hospitality fit-out guide. Pub owners should also read our pub refurbishment guide. Our restaurant fit-out service shows how we run a job. If you are comparing firms now, book a site visit and put these questions to us.
Ten questions to ask
- Where will the extract go, and who agrees it with the landlord?
- Does external ductwork need planning permission on this site?
- Who coordinates the kitchen supplier's drawings with gas, power and drainage?
- What does your programme assume for the landlord's approval?
- Which items have the longest lead times, and when will you order them?
- Who makes your joinery, and how do you check its quality?
- What share of the site labour is your own?
- What is excluded from your price?
- Which two finished restaurants can we visit, and can we call the owners?
- Who do we call if something fails in the first month of trading?
