Getting your cold room size right is one of the most important decisions you will make when fitting out a restaurant kitchen. Too small and you are turning deliveries away or stacking stock dangerously; too big and you waste floor space and pay to chill empty air. Here is how to work it out properly before you commit.
The quickest sensible starting point is how many covers you serve per service and how often you take deliveries. A small bistro doing 30 to 50 covers a day with a daily produce drop needs far less chilled storage than a 120-cover gastropub buying in bulk twice a week.
As a rough rule, allow around 0.25 to 0.4 cubic metres of cold storage per cover for a typical mixed menu. Fewer deliveries, frozen-heavy menus or banqueting work push that figure up.
Most kitchens need both positive (chill, 0 to 5C) and negative (freeze, around -18 to -21C) storage. The cheapest mistake to avoid is sizing one big chiller and then bolting on undercounter freezers that cannot keep up.
If space allows, a single insulated room split into a chill section with a separate freezer bay is efficient and keeps food safety inspectors happy. In tighter Rotherham units, two smaller standalone rooms can actually fit a galley kitchen better than one large box.
The internal volume is only half the story. You need clear access for shelving on both sides, a door that swings without blocking a walkway, and at least 600mm to 700mm of clearance in front of the door for trolleys and deliveries.
Ceiling height matters too. A 2.4m to 2.6m internal height lets you run three or four shelf tiers and gives the evaporator room to throw cold air properly. Squeeze the height and you lose more usable storage than you would expect.
Size for your busiest realistic week, not an average Tuesday. Christmas, summer beer gardens and event catering all spike your storage needs, and a room that is full to the door cannot circulate air or hold temperature safely.
A sensible margin is to size so the room runs around 70 to 80 per cent full at peak. That headroom protects food safety, makes stock rotation easier and saves you scrambling for a second-hand chiller when trade picks up.
Yes, an external or lean-to cold room is common where indoor space is tight, but it needs weatherproofing, a suitable base and frost protection on the floor. We can advise on siting for a typical South Yorkshire yard or rear access.
It depends heavily on size, chill versus freeze, and whether the refrigeration pack is integral or remote, but most small to mid-size installs fall within a few thousand pounds to low five figures. We give a fixed quote once we have seen the space.
For anything above roughly 60 to 80 covers a walk-in is usually cheaper per litre of storage, easier to organise and far better for bulk deliveries. Below that, a couple of good uprights may be the smarter choice.
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