Balancing the Dining Space and the Kitchen in a Restaurant

Running a restaurant requires dedication, persistence and a deep sense for aesthetics. But before all that comes the planning part. How do you plan a restaurant? 

Dining Space and the Kitchen Area Very Important

Both the dining room and kitchen are the most important physical spaces making up a restaurant. But does that mean they should occupy similar square feet of area? The dining area is where the guests come in. It’s not just good food they need, but also the right ambience that makes them feel relaxed. It depends on what kind of restaurant you run. So the focus should be on the area that your customers see, and that’s certainly the dining area, not the kitchen.

The kitchen is important too, since customer satisfaction would depend on the gastronomic delicacies coming from there. But the focus for the kitchen is in the areas of practicality, efficiency and regulatory compliance – it must be conducive to producing food quickly, efficiently and hygienically. But aesthetics don’t play a role there. If you’re expecting a great number of guests at a given time, you may need more space in your kitchen. In that case, the area of your kitchen needs to be reasonably large. Not only are you managing people in the kitchen, but you also have equipment for which you need space.     

                  

The Kitchen to Dining Area Ratio

There is a standard ratio for designing, or setting up space for, the kitchen and the dining area. But that depends a lot on how much land you’ve had to build your restaurant. The ratio could be altered accordingly. The ratio accepted as standard is 60 to 40 in favor of the dining room. Again, that varies depending on the kind of restaurant you’re run. 

·      Fine food requires twice or thrice the area of a banquet service kitchen.

·      Fast-service restaurants can have kitchens that are smaller and dining rooms that are much larger. Only then can they make profit by welcoming more guests and securing greater sales volumes. 

·      Fine dining restaurants are not dependent on volume, but on the quality of experience. They would not only need tastefully designed dining areas that ooze exclusivity, but also larger kitchens to ensure that they not only make food with the highest quality, but also arrange it the right way before presenting to the guests. In such restaurants, the dining space can be lesser than usual.

As an experienced chef, Peter Theodorou has expressed his opinion on various aspects of restaurant design, apart from his culinary exploits. He believes the right ratio of the dining space to the kitchen area depends on the practical considerations of the restaurant. But the ratio certainly does make a difference to the performance of the restaurant.