Commercial Kitchen Cost Calculator
Estimate the cost of building a commercial kitchen in Australia, whether for a restaurant, a pub, a function venue, a bakery or a production and catering facility, including exhaust, gas, grease trap and cool rooms.
The canopy is the cheapest part of a kitchen exhaust system. The expensive parts are the vertical duct run to a compliant discharge above the roof line, the tempered make up air unit that stops the kitchen going negative, and the acoustic and odour treatment the landlord or council will require. Get a mechanical engineer to confirm the discharge path in writing before you lease the tenancy.
Design the kitchen around the workflow before you place a single piece of equipment. Deliveries should move to dry and cold storage, then to preparation, then to the cooking line, then to plating and pass, with dirty dishes returning on a separate path that never crosses clean food. A kitchen that forces staff to cross paths costs you labour every single service, forever.
Stainless steel benching, shelving and sinks are quoted per linear metre and vary widely on gauge and construction. Cheap thin gauge benches flex, dent and fail at the welds within a couple of years in a hard working kitchen, and replacing them means shutting down. Specify the gauge rather than accepting a lump sum.
💰 Ways to save
- Take over a tenancy that already has an approved commercial kitchen. The exhaust riser, the grease arrestor, the trade waste agreement, the gas reticulation, the three phase power and the fire suppression are the expensive and slow parts, and they are already installed and approved. A refit of an existing kitchen typically runs 45 to 55 percent of building one into a shell, and it removes the exhaust discharge path risk that kills more food projects than any other single issue.
- Buy cooking equipment and refrigeration second hand where warranty and compliance do not bind you. Hospitality closures and auctions put well maintained combi ovens, ranges, under bench fridges and stainless benching on the market at 40 to 60 percent of new price. Stay new on the canopy, the gas interlock, the fire suppression system, the dishwasher and the cool room panels, because those carry compliance certification or a warranty you will actually need.
- Resolve the workflow on paper before ordering anything. Deliveries to storage, storage to preparation, preparation to the cooking line, cooking line to pass, and a separate dirty return path that never crosses clean food. Every crossing you design in costs staff steps on every service for the life of the kitchen, and relocating a bench or a sink after the services are in the slab means demolition, re coring and closed trading days.
- Order the long lead items the day the contract is signed, not when the builder asks for them. In 2026 the recurring delays are cool room panels, canopies and custom stainless, all commonly six to twelve weeks, and imported cooking equipment which can be longer. A kitchen that is otherwise complete but waiting on a cool room is still not a kitchen, and every week of delay is a week of rent with no revenue.
or from $2,101/week over 5 years , indicative finance
Run a business or agency? Put a calculator like this on your own website, branded as yours.See how →How we estimate this
## What a commercial kitchen costs in 2026
Pricing reviewed: June 2026.
Pricing reviewed June 2026. Indicative Australian costs, not a quote.
Are you a business or agency?
Put this calculator on your own website, branded to you, visitors get an instant estimate, you get a qualified enquiry with their details.
Understanding commercial kitchen costs in Australia
What a commercial kitchen costs in 2026
Commercial kitchens are the most expensive fitout per square metre of any common category, because almost every surface, service and appliance is regulated. Building a restaurant or pub kitchen into a shell with no existing kitchen services typically costs $3,000 to $4,500 per square metre, so a 70 square metre kitchen lands around $210,000 to $315,000 for the build, plus equipment. A light preparation kitchen for a cafe runs closer to $1,800 to $2,600 per square metre. A bakery or high volume production kitchen with heavier equipment, more refrigeration and higher power demand runs $4,000 to $6,000 per square metre. Refitting an existing commercial kitchen roughly halves those figures, because the exhaust, grease arrestor, gas and power are already in place.
Exhaust and make up air, the make or break item
Kitchen exhaust is where commercial kitchen projects succeed or fail. The canopy itself, with its filters and lighting, is comparatively inexpensive at $8,000 to $25,000 depending on length. The cost and the risk are in everything downstream. The duct has to run to a compliant discharge point, generally above the roof line and clear of neighbouring windows and air intakes, and in a multi storey building without an existing kitchen riser that path may not exist at any price. You then need tempered make up air, because a canopy extracting several thousand litres per second will pull the tenancy negative, make doors difficult to open, backdraught adjoining tenancies and stop the canopy capturing properly. Landlords and councils will also impose acoustic and odour conditions on the discharge. A full exhaust and make up air package in a conversion commonly costs $50,000 to $150,000, and it should be verified by a mechanical engineer before you sign a lease.
Grease arrestor, trade waste and drainage
Every commercial kitchen in Australia needs a grease arrestor sized to its expected load, and installing one requires a trade waste agreement with the local water authority. This is an entirely separate approval from council consent, with its own application, fees and timeline, and a plumber cannot legally connect the kitchen without it. In situ arrestors need slab excavation and a pump out point that a tanker can physically reach, which rules out plenty of basement and upper level tenancies or forces an above ground unit that eats floor area. The kitchen also needs generous trapped floor wastes with correct falls, and every sink, dishwasher and combi oven needs a waste connection. Expect $20,000 to $50,000 for the hydraulic package.
Gas, power and the compliance chain
Commercial gas is a certified installation with its own documentation. You need correctly sized reticulation for the total connected load, an accessible emergency shut off, and a gas interlock that ties the burners to the exhaust so cooking cannot occur without extraction running, plus a certificate of compliance from a licensed gas fitter. The interlock is regularly omitted from cheap quotes and it is not optional. On the electrical side, combi ovens, dishwashers, refrigeration and induction equipment together demand far more capacity than a retail tenancy typically has, and a three phase upgrade with a new switchboard commonly costs $15,000 to $45,000 including the network connection. Add a fire suppression system over the cooking line, which is required by most insurers and many councils and costs $18,000 to $35,000 installed and certified.
Cool rooms, refrigeration and stainless
Refrigeration is the largest equipment line in most commercial kitchens. A combined cool room and freezer room with panels, doors, refrigeration plant and shelving typically costs $45,000 to $90,000, and the condensing units need a location with airflow and acoustic separation, which is another item requiring landlord approval. Under bench and upright refrigeration adds more. Stainless steel benching, shelving, sinks and pot wash are quoted per linear metre and vary widely on gauge and construction quality. Thin gauge benching flexes, dents and fails at the welds within a couple of years, and replacing it means shutting down, so specify the gauge rather than accepting a lump sum.
Workflow, finishes and food authority approval
A commercial kitchen has to satisfy the food safety standards enforced by your council's environmental health officer, and the requirements are specific. Floors must be impervious, slip resistant and coved to the wall with graded falls to waste. Walls in preparation areas must be smooth, washable and light coloured. Ceilings must be sealed and cleanable. There must be a hand wash basin dedicated solely to hand washing, positioned so staff pass it naturally, separate from food preparation and dish sinks. Separate provision is needed for cleaning equipment storage and for waste. Underlying all of it is workflow: deliveries move to storage, storage to preparation, preparation to the cooking line, cooking line to pass, and dirty dishes return on a path that never crosses clean food. A kitchen that forces staff to cross paths costs labour on every single service for its entire life, and it is free to fix on a drawing and expensive to fix in concrete.
Programme, lead times and budgeting the whole thing
A commercial kitchen built into a shell takes twelve to twenty weeks on site once approvals are in hand, and the approvals themselves, comprising council consent, food business registration and the trade waste agreement, commonly take three to five months running in parallel. Long lead items drive the site programme more than trade availability. In 2026 cool room panels, exhaust canopies and custom stainless typically run six to twelve weeks, and imported cooking equipment can run longer, so those orders should be placed the day the contract is signed. On budgeting, allow the construction figure, then equipment at $80,000 to $250,000 depending on the menu, smallwares at $15,000 to $40,000, and professional fees at 10 to 14 percent of construction. Hold a 15 percent contingency, because the exhaust route and the drainage are where the surprises are.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a commercial kitchen cost to build in Australia in 2026?
Building a restaurant or pub kitchen into a shell with no existing kitchen services costs about $3,000 to $4,500 per square metre, so a 70 square metre kitchen is roughly $210,000 to $315,000 for the build before equipment. A light cafe preparation kitchen is nearer $1,800 to $2,600 per square metre, and a bakery or high volume production kitchen runs $4,000 to $6,000. Refitting an existing commercial kitchen roughly halves these figures.
Why is the exhaust system such a large part of the cost?
Because the canopy is the cheap part at $8,000 to $25,000, and everything downstream is not. The duct must reach a compliant discharge above the roof line clear of neighbouring windows and intakes, you need a tempered make up air unit so the kitchen does not go negative and stop the canopy capturing, and landlords and councils impose acoustic and odour conditions. A full exhaust and make up air package in a conversion commonly costs $50,000 to $150,000, so have a mechanical engineer verify the discharge path before you lease.
What does a grease arrestor and trade waste connection cost?
Typically $15,000 to $40,000 installed, and more where the slab must be excavated. The arrestor must be sized to your expected load and requires a trade waste agreement with the local water authority, which is a separate approval from council consent with its own application, fees and timeline. Your plumber cannot legally connect the kitchen without it, and the arrestor needs a pump out point a tanker can reach, which rules out many basement tenancies.
Do I need a gas interlock and fire suppression?
Yes to both in most commercial cooking installations. A gas interlock ties the burners to the exhaust so cooking cannot occur without extraction running, and it is a mandatory item regularly omitted from cheap quotes. A fire suppression system over the cooking line is required by most insurers and many councils and costs $18,000 to $35,000 installed and certified. Both need certification from licensed installers, and both will be checked before you are allowed to trade.
How much does a cool room cost?
A combined cool room and freezer room with panels, doors, refrigeration plant and shelving typically costs $45,000 to $90,000. The condensing units need a location with adequate airflow and acoustic separation, which usually requires landlord approval. Cool room panels are also one of the longest lead items in a kitchen project at six to twelve weeks in 2026, so order them the day the contract is signed rather than when the builder asks.
How long does it take to build a commercial kitchen?
Twelve to twenty weeks on site once approvals are in hand, but the approvals dominate the overall programme. Council consent, food business registration and the trade waste agreement run in parallel and commonly take three to five months together. Long lead items set the site programme, with cool room panels, canopies and custom stainless at six to twelve weeks and imported cooking equipment often longer, so place those orders immediately after contract signing.
Run a business or agency? Add this commercial kitchen cost calculator to your own website →