Cafés

Café Kitchen Budget and Scope for Cafés

Compare like-for-like scopes by separating base work, specialist items and upgrades before requesting a quote.

Explore the ideas
Parallel kitchen with teal cabinets, a pale backsplash and profile lighting
Kitchen inspiration: two opposing work runs in a compact plan.

Compare the options

Set the brief
List the functions the finished space must support, then assign items to base scope or upgrades.
Compare
Get quantities and materials described consistently across quotes. Ask who covers making good and waste removal.
Before buying
Set aside a contingency for survey-dependent work and price likely substitutions before choosing finishes.
Worked example

A quote combines new cabinets, stone counters and upgraded appliances, making alternatives hard to compare.

Request separate line items for cabinet fronts, carcasses, counter material and appliances, then compare equivalent quantities and exclusions.

How to test it

Read the exclusions back with each supplier and ask what must be purchased or arranged separately.

Apply it to this space
Layout
Keep hot preparation adjacent to the pass and route used dishes toward wash-up on a separate side.
Detail
Use wipeable splash surfaces and task lighting at plating and wash stations.
Trade-off
A more complete kitchen increases menu flexibility but reduces front seating.
  • Trace a food order and a dirty dish return
  • Check appliance doors clear the prep route
L-shaped kitchen with pale green lower cabinets, white upper cabinets and a tiled backsplash
Kitchen inspiration: a light palette and continuous counter run.

The Elixir portfolio

Details worth a closer look

Photographs for design inspiration
Straight kitchen with sage base cabinets, white wall units and under-cabinet lighting
Kitchen inspiration: a single-wall arrangement with task lighting.
White L-shaped kitchen with gold-tone handles, under-cabinet lighting and a chimney
Kitchen inspiration: an L-shaped work surface and integrated lighting.

Related design guides

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