A restaurant fit-out carries everything an office fit-out does — building NOC, location authority permit, Civil Defence and DEWA — plus a substantial extra food-and-beverage layer that catches many operators out. Before you build, Dubai Municipality's food-safety team must approve your kitchen layout; your kitchen exhaust must meet the fire code; your gas system needs Civil Defence approval through a licensed contractor; and a grease trap is mandatory. The Property Masters prepares food-grade kitchen drawings and manages every F&B-specific submission alongside the standard chain. We are the approvals-management service — the authorities issue the approvals.
A restaurant or café fit-out is the richest use-type for approvals. On top of the standard chain (building NOC → location authority permit → Civil Defence → DEWA), an F&B unit must clear a food-safety layer that does not exist for a normal office:
Each is explained below. Get these wrong and you can finish the build but fail to open — so they are designed in from day one, not bolted on at the end.
Before you build the kitchen, Dubai Municipality requires a "Layout Assessment for Food Establishment Licensing" — your kitchen drawings approved in advance for food safety. This checks that the design supports safe food handling:
This is governed by Dubai Municipality's kitchen occupational-safety guideline (GU46) and submitted via Dubai Municipality (hub.dm.gov.ae). Because the layout must be approved before construction, it sits early in the sequence — building the kitchen first and seeking approval later is a costly mistake.
Commercial kitchen exhaust, hoods and grease ducts are governed by the UAE Fire & Life Safety Code (Dubai Civil Defence), which adopts NFPA 96 for commercial cooking operations. This is extra fire scope beyond a normal office — the exhaust system, its fire suppression and the grease-duct routing are reviewed by Civil Defence as part of the fire approval, built to the applicable fire-code / NFPA 96 standard. See Civil Defence (DCD) approval.
If your kitchen uses gas, the gas system needs Dubai Civil Defence approval through a licensed gas contractor — covering design, inspection and commissioning. Whether you are on central LPG or piped gas differs by building, which changes the scope, so the gas approach is confirmed for your specific unit. We coordinate the licensed gas contractor as part of the fire / DCD interface.
A grease trap (interceptor) is mandatory for commercial kitchens under Dubai Municipality's Grease Trap Guideline (2021). It must be installed by a licensed contractor and is a precondition for both drainage approval and the food approval — you cannot complete a compliant kitchen without it. Sizing and installation follow the applicable Dubai Municipality methodology, which we confirm for your kitchen rather than apply a generic rule.
A restaurant fit-out typically runs in this order — though it varies by zone, so confirm with your authority:
F&B fit-out fees and timelines depend on the zone, the kitchen scope and the gas and exhaust requirements, and the authorities do not publish a single fixed figure for the combined chain. We never invent grease-trap sizing numbers, FOG-discharge fine amounts or duct fire-rating figures — fire scope is built to the applicable fire-code / NFPA 96 standard, and fees and timelines vary — we confirm the current figures for your specific restaurant rather than quote a number that may be wrong.
We are a licensed fit-out contractor as well as an approvals-management service, so the same company that submits this application can deliver the project it covers:
Not sure which approval applies to your unit? Start at the fit-out approvals hub.
Always verify fees, timelines and process details on the live official page before relying on them — authorities update these without notice.