Best Restaurant Fit-Out Companies in London: How to Choose (and Where Craftex Fits)
The best restaurant fit-out company for a London site is the one that has solved the hard parts before: kitchen extraction and odour, gas and power for the kitchen, the landlord's approval pack, and a programme that gets you trading before the rent-free period runs out. Look past the photos of finished dining rooms and ask how each firm handled those four things on its last two jobs.
A beautiful room is the easy part. What delays restaurant openings in London is usually behind the kitchen wall or on the roof. This guide is written from that side. We are a London fit-out contractor that builds restaurants and pubs, so we also say clearly when another kind of firm will do the job better.
The five things that decide a restaurant fit-out
1. Extraction, ventilation and odour
The kitchen extract is the single most common cause of delay. The duct route, the discharge point, odour control and noise from fans can all need the landlord's agreement, and an external flue often needs planning permission too. A good fit-out company looks at the extract route on the first site visit, before you sign the lease if possible.
2. Kitchen services
Gas, three-phase power, water, drainage and grease management all have to reach the right place in the right size. The kitchen equipment supplier designs the line; somebody has to build the services that feed it. Ask who coordinates the two. Our guide to restaurant kitchen fit-out 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 generally sit in Class E, but pubs and hot food takeaways are outside it, so a change of use may need planning permission (see Class E explained). Selling alcohol or serving late means a premises licence. None of this is the contractor's job alone, but the contractor's programme has to allow for all of it.
4. The opening date
Rent is usually running, staff are hired and the launch is booked. Ask each company for a programme that shows long-lead items (extract fans, kitchen equipment, bespoke joinery) and what happens if one arrives late.
5. Character that survives service
A dining room has to look right on opening night and still look right after a year of spills, chairs and late nights. Ask what finishes the firm specifies for heavy use and whether its joinery is made in-house.
Which type of company suits which restaurant
| Type of firm | Usually strongest at | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| National hospitality fit-out specialist | Chain roll-outs, standard details, many sites | Head office outside London, a team that travels in |
| Kitchen equipment supplier offering turnkey | The cooking line and its specification | Building works, landlord approvals and finishes subcontracted |
| Interior design studio | Concept, brand and atmosphere | Design not priced until tender; a second appointment for the build |
| Local general builder | Small, simple units | Extraction, kitchen services and licensing experience |
| Design and build fit-out contractor (Craftex) | One-off London sites from concept to opening, under one contract | Not set up for 30-site national roll-outs |
And on the criteria above:
| What matters | Hospitality specialist | Kitchen supplier | Design studio | General builder | Craftex |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extraction and kitchen services | Strong | Strong on equipment | Specified by others | Varies | Planned from the first visit |
| Landlord pack and approvals | Good | Often left to you | Design side only | Often left to you | We prepare and manage it |
| Programme to opening | Strong on repeat formats | Equipment-led | Depends on builder | Varies | One programme for design and build |
| Joinery and finishes | Standardised | Not their focus | Strong design | Varies | Joinery made in-house |
| Own labour on site | Mixed | Installers only | None | Often own trades | Around 70% in-house |
Where Craftex is not the right fit
- Units well under £100,000. A small takeaway or café refresh is usually better value with a trusted local builder. We typically work on projects from £100,000.
- National roll-outs. If you are opening the same format in 20 towns, a hospitality specialist with regional teams and standard details will be more efficient.
- Equipment-only upgrades. If you are replacing the cooking line and nothing else, go straight to the kitchen supplier.
Restaurants and pubs we have worked on
- Aunties, Seven Sisters. A complete strip-out and rebuild of an 83.35 m² restaurant in four weeks: new floors, walls, ceilings and partitions, a new layout separating service, work and guest areas, a full lighting overhaul and built-in refrigeration within the interior.
- The Gloucester Arms. A 300 m² traditional London pub refurbished in 10 weeks. We reworked the servery and trade layout for flow and capacity, upgraded services behind a traditional finish, made the bar and back-fit joinery in-house and handed the pub back ready to trade.
- Sloane Place, Chelsea. Craftex took part in this £1.29M remodel and refurbishment of a 27-key boutique hotel in a five-storey Victorian building, delivered over 28 weeks alongside a live members' club.
The team behind it
Where we mention earlier projects, they are from each person's career before Craftex.
- Joe Crawford, Operations Director: 37 years in construction, with previous projects from £100K to £135M, including the fit-out of Dior's flagship store on Bond Street.
- Konstantin Jegorovs, Projects Director: 16 years in the retail and commercial sector, including aparthotels and flagship projects of up to £5 million.
- Martin Hickey, Preconstruction Director: more than 50 years in construction; he leads preconstruction, where the extract route, services and programme get settled.
- Rafael Porzycki, Head of Design & Planning: 15 years' experience, leading in-house design and planning.
- Rob Barton, Development Director: for owners of pubs and restaurant buildings weighing a refurbishment against redevelopment or a change of use, Rob brings a developer's view. Previously a Regional Managing Director at Berkeley Homes, he delivered more than 4,000 homes in his housebuilding career.
Ten questions for every restaurant fit-out company
- Where will the extract go, and who agrees it with the landlord?
- Does the external flue need planning permission on this site?
- Who coordinates the kitchen supplier's drawings with gas, power and drainage?
- What does your programme assume for landlord approval?
- Which items have the longest lead times, and when will you order them?
- Is your joinery made in-house or bought in?
- 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?
Our restaurant and hospitality fit-out guide covers the whole process, and our restaurant fit-out service shows how we run it. Pub owners should also read our pub refurbishment guide.
