Essential Restaurant Kitchen Equipment List & Considerations

If you’re on the path to opening up a brand-new restaurant for the first time, it’s important to be aware of all the equipment your kitchen will need, especially as a commercial kitchen equipment list is going to look a lot different from what you’d want in your kitchen at home.

The vast majority of restaurants require a few common pieces of equipment, so we’ll go down the list to make sure you haven’t forgotten anything. These items will contribute significantly to your restaurant opening costs, so we’ve included the general range of prices you can expect to pay for each piece of equipment.

Restaurant Equipment List

Oven

This is a pretty standard piece of equipment for restaurants, and you probably already knew you needed one. But there are a variety of oven types out there, from convection ovens to conveyor ovens to specialized pizza oven. It’s important to know what kind you’ll need for the food you are going to prepare.

Oven Considerations

In addition to the type of oven you need, you’ll also need to consider the necessary size. A high-volume restaurant with a variety of baked dishes will likely require a larger, more expensive oven. You’ll also need to keep in mind the amount of kitchen space you have — you’ll need to fit a lot of equipment in your kitchen, so don’t go too big on any one piece of equipment.

Before you choose which oven to invest in, make sure you do some research on the brand and model’s quality. Getting a low-quality oven can cause your restaurant a lot of problems down the road.

Price

Ovens can range anywhere from under $300 for a small convection oven to well over $5,000 for larger varieties.

Stove

Also called a range, a stove is an essential part of most restaurants’ operations, being used with pans to cook items and to boil liquids.

Stove Considerations

Stoves can be bought in countertop varieties if your restaurant won’t be using one often and you’d like to save some space, but most restaurants should have a freestanding stove. Some come with built-in ovens, which can save on costs if you’re looking to open a restaurant with no money. You’ll need to decide whether you want an electric or gas stove, as well.

Like the oven, your stove is an extremely important tool in your kitchen’s arsenal, so do your research before you commit to any specific model. Try to get a model that’s known to last a long time — durability is king when it comes to important restaurant equipment.

Price

Stoves range from under $600 for countertop varieties to about $2,200 for a larger stove with built-in ovens.

Grill

Most restaurants serve some form of grilled food, whether it’s burgers, steaks, grilled sandwiches or some other variety. To make any of these, you’re going to need a grill.

Grill Considerations

Unless you’re lucky enough to have some outdoor space you can use to cook, you’re going to need a commercial grill designed specifically for indoor use. If grilled foods aren’t your restaurant’s forte, there are small grill presses designed for sandwiches. But if you have a larger variety of grilled food on the menu, you’ll need a larger grill.

Price

Small sandwich grills can cost as little as $200, but full-size indoor grills can run you closer to $1,400.

Microwave

You may recoil at the idea of eating microwaved restaurant food, but they’re far more useful to restaurants than many would think. Sometimes you may have to reheat food that’s been already cooked, and they make for quick defrosting.

Microwave Considerations

Commercial microwaves are quite a bit more expensive than consumer microwaves, but they’re more durable, which is necessary because they’ll see more use. Some microwaves have extra functions like steam cooking, so look around and choose one with functions that fit your restaurant’s needs.

Price

Average commercial microwaves can cost anywhere from $240 to $790, but the most powerful microwaves can cost up to $3,400.

Freezer

Practically every restaurant is going to need a freezer, whether you’re storing frozen ingredients or just want to have ice cream on the dessert menu. It’s also more efficient to keep extra frozen ingredients on hand than to purchase new fresh ingredients every time you run out of something.

Freezer Considerations

The size of freezer you need will depend on how much food your restaurant serves that needs to be kept frozen. Some restaurants opt for a walk-in freezer if they need a lot of frozen ingredients, but others will opt for smaller units if they don’t need much space.

Price

Smaller, single-door commercial freezers start around $1,700, while walk-ins can cost upwards of $10,000.

Refrigerator

Just like a freezer, every restaurant is going to need some sort of refrigeration. This will help you keep ingredients or prepared foods fresh.

Refrigerator Considerations

Most restaurants use refrigeration very often, so you may need more refrigerator space than freezer space, depending on the circumstances. As with everything else on this list, assess your restaurant’s needs when choosing the size and type of your refrigerator.

Price

Commercial refrigerators are slightly less costly than freezers, with single-door varieties starting under $1,700, while walk-ins can cost just under $10,000.

Ice Maker

An ice maker is a must-have for any restaurant; your customers are going to expect cold drinks.

Ice Maker Considerations

Like most of the equipment for restaurants, you’ll need to decide what size is going to be right for your restaurant. Ice makers vary greatly in their capacity, and running out of ice can lead to some unhappy customers. You can buy ice makers and ice storage containers separately, but it might be a smarter idea just to get a combined ice maker and bin.

Price

Smaller commercial ice machines with a bin can start at under $1,700, while ones with larger capacity can cost about $3,000.

Kitchen Cutlery

Of course, your cooks will need knives and other cutlery to chop and prepare food before they can cook it. Make sure your kitchen is well-stocked with knives to avoid any slowdowns in service. There are 5 essential knives that your kitchen needs.

• Chef’s Knife- This is a chef’s go-to tool in the kitchen. Chef Knives are commonly used for slicing fruits, vegetables, meats, and fish.
• Paring Knife- The Paring Knife is great for foods that require an attention to detail, such as mincing garlic, peeling vegetables, or hulling strawberries.
• Serrated Knife- Also called a Bread Knife, these knives have jagged edges are great for cutting cake layers, or waxy surfaces, such as tomatoes.
• Boning Knife- As its name implies, this type of knife is best for boning meat, fish, or poultry.
• Honing Knife- Unlike the other knives, the Honing Knife is not designed for food, but rather to maintain the sharpness of your other knives.

Cutlery Considerations

Knives will need sharpening from time to time, so make sure you have some sharpeners handy to keep them in top shape. There are also a variety of knife sharpeners available, from basic hand sharpeners to professional electric sharpeners.

Price

Chef knives can cost anywhere from $6 to $31 apiece, while knife sharpeners range from $26 for the basic variety to $215 for electric sharpeners.

Prep Counters

The food prep counter is where cooks will prepare food to be cooked. Here they’ll chop vegetables, slice meats or season ingredients.

Prep Counter Considerations

The type and size of counter you want will vary based on your restaurant concept, but giving your cooks more space to prep food is never a bad idea.

Price

Small stationary prep surfaces can cost around $365, while mobile prep tops with built-in storage racks go for about $540.

Cutting Boards

Cutting boards provide a safe place for your cooks to chop up ingredients without risking damage to any of your cooking surfaces or equipment. Every restaurant should stock up on several, good quality cutting boards.

Cutting Board Considerations

It may be worth it to buy cutting boards in a few different sizes, in case your cooks need the extra space for chopping ingredients.

Price

Small plastic cutting boards can start as low as $9 apiece, while larger wooden boards can go for as much as $74.

Food Processors

If you’re running a high-volume restaurant, food processors can make the processes of chopping or dicing ingredients much quicker, along with blending and pureeing foods.

Food Processor Considerations

There are a variety of food processer types, including:

• Batch bowl processors: A batch bowl food processor allows you to chop and dice ingredients to a certain size, based on the blade you’re using. This type of food processor is useful for dishes like diced fruit bowls. They’re best for small or medium-sized batches of diced food.
• Continuous feed processors: Continuous feed processors are smaller, but are better for processing large amounts of ingredients. You can continuously feed ingredients into the processor, which will dice or puree the ingredients and then dispense them into a separate container.
• Combination food processors: Combination food processors perform the functions of both a batch bowl processor and a continuous feed processor.
• Buffalo chopper: A buffalo chopper is another type of food processor that’s designed for very dense and hard-to-chop foods, like meats.

Do some research on the different types of processors to determine which will best fit your restaurant’s needs.

Price

Depending on the type, commercial food processors can range from $450 to about $1,850.

Storage

Outside of the coolers, you’ll need space to store any non-refrigerated ingredients. You’ll also need places to store cleaning supplies, dishes and practically any other non-food item that comes into the kitchen.

Storage Considerations

Storage conditions, especially when it comes to food and cleaning supplies, are heavily regulated by health departments. It’s generally illegal to store any chemicals or cleaning supplies above food, and food has to be kept at least 6 inches off the ground. Research your local health department’s safe storage requirements when planning out your storage areas.

As a general rule, it’s better to have too much storage space than not enough, so don’t skimp on shelving or containers if you don’t have to.

Price

Price will depend greatly on what type of storage you plan to use in your restaurant. Small food storage boxes can start at less than $20, while larger installations like storage shelves can cost under $500 apiece.

Dishwasher

This one is a no-brainer. You’ll need to make sure you can clean dishes and silverware quickly and efficiently to make sure your restaurant keeps operating smoothly. Having your employees wash everything by hand would waste a lot of time.

Dishwasher Considerations

There’s a huge variety in the types of dishwashers you can choose from, from low-volume undercounter dishwashers to large conveyor dishwashers. Choose your dishwasher based on your expected customer volume, as well as the amount of space you have available in your kitchen.

Price

Small, undercounter dishwashers can cost around $3,050, while large conveyor dishwashers can cost as much as $25,000.

Sink

Every commercial kitchen needs a sink so employees can wash produce, clean off kitchen cutlery and simply wash their hands. Health authorities often have rules in place for how many sinks are required in a kitchen, often mandating one sink be present solely for handwashing.

Sink Considerations

As with dishwashers, there are several types of sinks you can choose from, depending on your kitchen’s needs. Manufacturers make sinks with varying numbers of compartments for organization, from single-compartment sinks to four-compartment sinks. Some commercial sinks come with a faucet, while others require a faucet to be installed separately.

Price

A single-compartment sink with an included faucet can cost around $315, while a larger four-compartment sink can cost upwards of $4,800, even without faucets included. A separate faucet can cost about $60.

Steam Table

A steam table is used to keep cooked food hot between the time it’s finished and when it’s being served to the customer. A steam table is a must for any restaurant that wants to keep its customers satisfied with fresh food.

Steam Table Considerations

Take into account your kitchen space, as well as the expected volume of customers when looking to purchase a steam table. Purchasing one that’s too large may harm your workflow by leaving cooks and servers less space to move around, but purchasing one that’s too small may not give you enough room to keep all of the food hot.

Price

Small electric steam tables can start around $990, while very large steam tables can cost about $1,550.

Kitchen Display System

While some restaurants still opt to use paper tickets to submit orders, a digital kitchen display system can bring your restaurant into the 21st century by showing orders instantly on the screen.

Kitchen Display Considerations

A kitchen display system will not only save you money on paper tickets and improve speed, but also reduces miscommunication between the front-of-house and the kitchen, making sure you get your customers’ orders right every time.

Price

Kitchen display systems vary in price, depending on the type and company.

Point of Sale System

POS Systems are equipment for restaurants. They facilitate orders and help the money flow in. There is a huge variety of POS systems you can choose from, so decide what best fits your restaurant’s needs.

POS Considerations

A regular cash register is technically a POS, but there are many more digital-age options available for a tech-savvy restaurateur. For quick-service restaurants, self-ordering kiosks can be used to replace cashiers entirely, acting as a point of sale as well as a digital menu. A mobile POS can be used to give your restaurant more flexibility as to where the POS is placed.

Price

POS systems will also vary greatly in price, depending on the type of system you prefer for your restaurant.

Cleaning Equipment

Obviously, you need to keep your kitchen clean, and you’re going to need a lot of different equipment to do that. You’ll have to follow strict sanitation guidelines, and you want your customers to know that your kitchen is a consistently healthy environment.

Cleaning Considerations

Some cleaning supplies you’ll need are:

• Mops
• Mop buckets
• Brooms
• Dustpans
• Dusters
• Cleaning Chemicals

Make sure you stock up on everything necessary to keep your kitchen space clean and tidy. Read up on your local health department’s cleaning guidelines for guidance.

Price

The price you pay for your cleaning supplies is going to vary greatly depending on the brands of cleaning equipment and the solutions you need to buy.

Tips for Saving on Restaurant Equipment Purchase

It’s clear that even at the cheaper end of the spectrum, the costs of all these pieces of restaurant equipment will add up quickly, costing you anywhere from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars.

There are options to cut costs when it comes to equipment, but it’s important to be careful when seeking out cheaper alternatives. Remember that you aren’t just purchasing all of the equipment, you’re investing in it. Investing less money in your equipment may mean less of a return later on.

Used equipment can be significantly cheaper than brand-new, so you can search around to see if you can acquire any used or refurbished equipment for a discount. But keep in mind that used equipment may fail, or may not last as long as new equipment. It is a good idea to get a warranty on any equipment you decide to purchase, to protect yourself in case of any unexpected breakdowns or failures.

Especially for the more expensive equipment, such as refrigerators or walk-in freezers, scheduling periodic maintenance can keep your equipment in good condition and make it last for years to come.

Manufacturers will often provide guidance on how often their equipment should receive maintenance. If a freezer breaks down even for a few hours, it can mean hundreds or thousands of dollars in ruined food.

There are several sites where you can buy equipment for restaurants, so look around at all of your options to try and find the best deals.

Conclusion

Coming up with a detailed floor plan for your kitchen space can help you take all of the these factors into account, and will give you a better idea of what to look for when purchasing your equipment. Once you’ve purchased and set up all of this equipment, your restaurant’s kitchen should be ready to begin producing amazing food to serve your customers.

Make sure all your plans are meticulous, from your kitchen equipment to your dining room to your marketing, to create the absolute best restaurant experience for your customers.