Fit-out rates by format
| Format | Typical area | ₹ / sq ft | Programme |
|---|---|---|---|
| QSR and takeaway | 400 – 900 sq ft | ₹2,600 – 3,600 | 5 – 7 weeks |
| Café and bakery | 800 – 1,500 sq ft | ₹3,000 – 4,200 | 6 – 9 weeks |
| Casual dining | 2,000 – 3,500 sq ft | ₹3,200 – 5,200 | 10 – 14 weeks |
| Premium dining | 2,500 – 5,000 sq ft | ₹5,000 – 7,000 | 14 – 18 weeks |
| Bar-led and nightlife | 2,500 – 6,000 sq ft | ₹5,500 – 8,500 | 14 – 20 weeks |
| Cloud kitchen | 300 – 900 sq ft | ₹2,200 – 3,400 | 4 – 6 weeks |
Ex-GST. Covers civil, finishes, joinery, furniture, lighting, MEP within the tenancy and signage. Excludes kitchen equipment, the exhaust package, POS and licences.
Three budgets, one project
A worked BOQ: 2,800 sq ft casual dining, 96 covers
A fit-out at ₹1.15 crore, which is ₹4,107 per sq ft — mid-band for casual dining.
| Line | Cost | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Civil, demolition, partitions and making good | ₹13,50,000 | 11.7% |
| Front-of-house joinery — banquettes, bar back, host station | ₹19,20,000 | 16.7% |
| Loose furniture — 96 covers, chairs and tables | ₹11,50,000 | 10.0% |
| Flooring, wall finishes and ceilings | ₹14,80,000 | 12.9% |
| Lighting — fittings, track, control and commissioning | ₹9,20,000 | 8.0% |
| Acoustic package — ceiling rafts, banquette upholstery, panels | ₹6,40,000 | 5.6% |
| Electrical — distribution, kitchen supply, backup changeover | ₹11,80,000 | 10.3% |
| Plumbing, drainage, grease trap and toilets | ₹9,60,000 | 8.3% |
| Kitchen civil, tiling, drainage and finishes | ₹7,20,000 | 6.3% |
| Facade and signage | ₹5,60,000 | 4.9% |
| Design, drawings, coordination and supervision | ₹6,20,000 | 5.4% |
| Total fit-out (ex-GST) | ₹1,15,00,000 | 100% |
Kitchen equipment and the exhaust package are separate and are costed below.
The two separate capital lines
| Package | ₹ range | What it covers | Lead time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kitchen equipment, 100 covers | ₹18 – 60 L | Ranges, tandoor, combi, fryers, refrigeration, prep tables, dishwash | 8 – 14 weeks |
| Exhaust hood and duct | ₹4 – 12 L | Hood, baffle filters, duct run, access doors, fan | 6 – 10 weeks |
| Grease filtration — ESP or UV | ₹4 – 11 L | Required wherever there is a residential neighbour in reach of the plume | 6 – 10 weeks |
| Make-up air unit | ₹2 – 6 L | Supplying what the hood extracts; half the system and often omitted | 6 – 10 weeks |
| Fire suppression over the cooking line | ₹1.8 – 4.5 L | Wet chemical, interlinked to the gas shut-off | 4 – 8 weeks |
| Bar equipment, where applicable | ₹4 – 18 L | Ice, glasswash, undercounter refrigeration, draught system | 6 – 10 weeks |
Ex-GST. Usually procured by the operator directly. Lead times run in parallel with construction and set the opening date more often than the fit-out does.
The per-cover sanity check
Per square foot is how a contractor prices and per cover is how an operator should think. Dividing the total capital by the cover count gives a number that can be compared against a revenue projection.
| Format | All-in capital per cover | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| QSR | ₹55,000 – 1,10,000 | Fit-out, equipment, exhaust, furniture |
| Café | ₹90,000 – 1,80,000 | As above plus espresso and bakery equipment |
| Casual dining | ₹1,40,000 – 3,20,000 | As above plus a full kitchen and toilets |
| Premium dining | ₹3,20,000 – 6,50,000 | Bespoke joinery, full acoustics, higher equipment specification |
| Bar-led | ₹3,50,000 – 7,50,000 | Bar build, draught and ice systems, sound and lighting |
Fit-out plus equipment plus exhaust plus furniture, divided by the cover count. Excludes deposits, licences, pre-opening and working capital.
An operator showed us a budget that was fit-out only and called it the project cost. The kitchen and the exhaust were another sixty-two lakh, and nobody had told him because nobody had asked which of the three budgets he was looking at.
Greenbox commercial fit-out lead
What moves the number
- A long exhaust duct run — every additional floor the duct has to climb adds roughly ₹80,000–₹1,80,000 and a fan upgrade. On a ground-floor unit under six storeys of flats, this is the single largest variable.
- Bar build — a proper back bar with refrigeration, ice, glasswash and a draught system is ₹12–₹35 lakh on top of the joinery, and it is frequently underestimated because the visible part is a counter.
- Acoustics done late — 3–6% of the fit-out if designed in, three to four times that if retrofitted after opening, and it is retrofitted after opening more often than not.
- Toilets — a compliant set of customer and staff toilets in a shell with no existing provision is ₹8–₹22 lakh including the drainage route, and it is a licensing requirement rather than a choice.
- Shell condition — a bare shell needs HVAC, toilets, flooring base and ceilings built from nothing, adding ₹600–₹1,200 per sq ft over a warm shell.
- Fixed opening date — a penalty-bearing or marketing-committed date pushes labour to overtime and adds 10–22% to the labour element.
Where to spend and where not to
On a fixed budget the allocation matters more than the total. These are the trades we consistently protect and the ones we are comfortable trimming.
- Protect the kitchen and the exhaust. Under-equipping the kitchen limits the menu and therefore the revenue, permanently. Under-sizing the exhaust makes the dining room smell of cooking and generates neighbour complaints. Neither can be fixed cheaply later.
- Protect the lighting and the acoustics. Together they are perhaps 12–16% of the fit-out and they account for most of how the room feels. Both are built into the ceiling and both are three to four times the cost to retrofit.
- Protect the toilets. They are a disproportionate share of what customers judge and a licensing requirement besides.
- Trim the joinery finish, not the joinery. Laminate rather than veneer on a bar back saves real money and nobody notices in a dimly lit room; removing the bar back entirely is not the same decision.
- Trim the loose furniture, and buy it twice. A decent contract chair now and a better one in year three is a defensible sequence, because the chair is replaceable and the ceiling is not.
- Trim the facade last. It is the cheapest square footage of advertising a restaurant will ever buy, and cutting it saves less than it costs in footfall.
Local rates and the design
Mumbai runs above these figures — see restaurant interior cost in Mumbai for rates by micro-market. For cover planning, back-of-house ratios and the acoustic strategy behind these numbers, see restaurant interior design, and for the planning sequence, the restaurant interior planning guide.
Selected commercial work by Greenbox Design Studio. Tap any image to enlarge.
Frequently asked questions
What does a restaurant fit-out cost per square foot in India?+
₹2,600–₹3,600 for a QSR, ₹3,000–₹4,200 for a café or bakery, ₹3,200–₹5,200 for casual dining, ₹5,000–₹7,000 for premium dining and ₹5,500–₹8,500 for a bar-led format, all ex-GST. Kitchen equipment and the exhaust package are separate.
Is kitchen equipment included in the fit-out rate?+
No, and confusing the two is the commonest budgeting error in this sector. Kitchen equipment for 100 covers is ₹18–₹60 lakh depending on the menu, and it is usually procured by the operator directly. The exhaust, filtration and make-up air package is a third separate budget at ₹9–₹28 lakh.
What should I budget per cover?+
₹55,000–₹1,10,000 for a QSR, ₹90,000–₹1,80,000 for a café, ₹1.4–₹3.2 lakh for casual dining, ₹3.2–₹6.5 lakh for premium dining and ₹3.5–₹7.5 lakh for a bar-led format, all-in including fit-out, equipment, exhaust and furniture, and excluding deposits, licences and working capital.
Why does the exhaust package cost so much?+
Because it is four items, not one: the hood and baffle filters at ₹4–₹12 lakh, electrostatic or UV grease filtration at ₹4–₹11 lakh where there is a residential neighbour in reach, a make-up air unit at ₹2–₹6 lakh supplying what the hood extracts, and fire suppression over the cooking line at ₹1.8–₹4.5 lakh. Every additional floor the duct climbs adds ₹80,000–₹1.8 lakh.
How much does acoustic treatment cost?+
Three to six per cent of the fit-out, or roughly ₹120–₹400 per sq ft, if it is designed in. Retrofitted after opening it costs three to four times that, because the ceiling is finished and the banquettes are built. It is the item most often cut and most often bought back.
What is not in a restaurant fit-out budget?+
Kitchen equipment, the exhaust and filtration package, POS and IT hardware, security systems, the lease deposit, all licences and their fees, pre-opening costs including staff training and trial service, initial stock, and working capital. A fit-out quote that appears to cover the whole project is a fit-out quote you have misread.