Opening or taking a new lease
Check that the inherited assessment, layout and precautions still suit the new operator, menu, staffing and opening pattern.
Restaurant operators, landlords and hospitality managers
Fire risk assessment for restaurants and cafés
Understand restaurant fire risk assessment requirements, costs and inspection scope for kitchens, customer areas, extraction systems and mixed-use premises, then request a tailored quote.
Key points
Restaurant, café or takeaway fire risk assessment at a glance
- Required for restaurant, café and takeaway workplaces
- Commercial kitchens, cooking equipment and extraction
- Customer capacity, escape and staff procedures
- Licensed, late-opening and mixed-use premises
- Indicative cost based on size and complexity
- London and Surrey assessment enquiries
- The responsible person must arrange a suitable and sufficient assessment and record its findings in full.
- Review the relevant assessment and evidence when changes, an incident or new information could affect its validity.
Illustrative worked examples
Follow a restaurant kitchen and extraction scenario
These are fictional educational scenarios—not client case studies. They demonstrate a possible assessment journey without predicting the findings for your premises.
Property-specific guidance
Why this premises type needs its own assessment
Restaurants, cafés and takeaways place ignition sources, hot oils, gas, electrical equipment and extraction systems close to combustible contents, workers and members of the public. Noise, low lighting, alcohol, queues, basement kitchens and late-night operation can make warning and evacuation more difficult.
A restaurant fire risk assessment should cover the whole area under the operator’s control, including kitchens, dining areas, bars, stores, cellars, staff rooms, waste areas, external seating and every escape route. It must reflect the busiest credible service and coordinate with landlords, flats or other occupiers in a mixed-use building.
Common instruction points
When a restaurant fire risk assessment is needed
A restaurant does not wait for a certificate to “expire”. The responsible person should keep the assessment under review and revisit it when the operation, premises or evidence changes.
Request a restaurant FRA quoteKitchen fit-out or refurbishment
Review changes to cooking equipment, extraction, gas, electrics, fire separation, alarms and escape routes before relying on the previous report.
New equipment, fuel or menu
Charcoal, tandoors, deep-fat frying, LPG and higher cooking volumes can materially change ignition, fuel and extraction risks.
Licence, landlord or insurer request
Establish exactly what evidence has been requested without treating a licence, policy condition or landlord check as a substitute for the FRA.
Fire, flare-up or near miss
Review the assessment promptly, preserve relevant evidence and address both the immediate cause and wider management weaknesses.
Routine review or stale report
Confirm that customer numbers, staff arrangements, records and outstanding actions still match the premises in operation today.
Restaurant, café and takeaway scope
Different food premises need different questions
The same legal framework can apply across hospitality premises, but the assessment must follow the real cooking methods, customer use, building interfaces and management arrangements.
Restaurant and licensed dining
Dining rooms, bars, waiting areas, kitchens, customer capacity, alcohol and late operation.
Café, bakery and coffee shop
Counter layouts, ovens, toasters, electrical equipment, queues, seating and early or lone working.
Takeaway and delivery kitchen
Concentrated cooking hazards, drivers, storage, shutters, late hours and limited customer space.
Commercial or production kitchen
High cooking volumes, equipment lines, extraction, cold storage, packaging and shift-based staffing.
Mixed-use premises with flats above
Shared structure, service penetrations, ducts, alarms, entrances and responsibilities for residents.
Restaurant group or portfolio
A consistent brief and reporting format can help, but every location still needs premises-specific inspection and findings.
London incident context
1,727 recorded fires in non-residential premises
London Fire Brigade recorded this total across London in calendar year 2025. It is a broad incident category, not a count for this exact premises type and not a measure of whether an individual building is safe.
Legal responsibility
Who must arrange the assessment?
The operating employer or premises controller is usually responsible for the business areas. Landlords or managing agents may control common escape routes, structure and shared systems, while licence holders and managers have operational duties that must align.
Read the main fire risk assessment guideSeparate but connected requirements
Restaurant fire risk assessment, licensing and insurance
Do not rely on a food-hygiene inspection, premises licence, landlord certificate or insurance requirement as proof that the restaurant’s fire risk assessment is suitable and current.
| Requirement | What it means for the restaurant |
|---|---|
| Fire risk assessment | Required under the Fire Safety Order for the non-domestic premises. It must address the actual hazards, people, precautions and management arrangements and be recorded in full. |
| Premises licence | May cover alcohol, regulated entertainment or late-night refreshment. Conditions and operating arrangements can affect capacity and management, but the licence does not replace the FRA. |
| Food registration and hygiene | Food-business registration and hygiene controls are separate regimes. A hygiene inspection or rating is not evidence that fire precautions are suitable. |
| Planning and building control | Changes of use, extraction, partitions, structural work and material alterations can require separate approvals and fire-safety information. |
| Insurance requirements | A policy may impose conditions for extraction cleaning, suppression, maintenance or security. Check the actual policy; compliance with it does not by itself satisfy fire-safety law. |
Legal framework
Fire-safety duties affecting this property
The Fire Safety Order is the core life-safety regime in England. Other laws and sector requirements can overlap, so the assessment and action plan should not be managed in isolation.
Fire Safety Order 2005
Requires assessment, precautions, maintenance, staff training, emergency planning and full recording.
Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations
May apply to LPG, flammable liquids, gases and other dangerous substances used or stored at the premises.
Premises licensing
Alcohol, entertainment and late-night refreshment conditions may affect capacity, management and safety arrangements.
Building regulations
Kitchen extraction, compartmentation, changes of use and material alterations may require building-control involvement.
Assessment scope
What the assessor should examine
A restaurant assessment should cover back-of-house and customer areas, not only the visible dining room. The final scope should reflect the kitchen, extraction, busiest credible occupancy, shared-building interfaces and any inspection limitations.
Cooking and extraction
Inspect fryers, ranges, grills, ductwork, filters, cleaning, shut-offs, suppression where fitted and separation.
Gas and electrical safety
Review isolation, servicing, portable equipment, circuits, meters and safe emergency actions.
Public occupancy
Assess tables, queues, standing areas, events, alcohol, mobility needs and the busiest credible layout.
Escape
Check basements, inner rooms, alternative exits, door security, external seating and shared residential routes.
Detection and firefighting
Review alarm coverage and audibility, blankets, suitable extinguishers and any kitchen suppression.
Management
Consider shift patterns, agency staff, closing checks, waste, deliveries, hot work, cleaning and drills.
Property-specific hazards
Risks that deserve particular attention
These examples are prompts, not a complete checklist. The assessment must identify all significant hazards and how they could affect people in and around the premises.
Hot oil and cooking
Fryers, open flames and overheated equipment can produce fast-growing fires.
Grease in extraction
Poor cleaning can allow fire to spread through ductwork beyond the kitchen.
Gas and cylinders
Leaks, unsafe isolation and badly located LPG introduce fire and explosion risk.
Basements and mixed use
Limited routes and flats above or beside the premises can increase risk to people remote from the fire.
Common restaurant FRA failures
Where weak assessments and management leave gaps
The report should connect the physical kitchen and public areas with the way the restaurant actually operates. Generic findings can miss the conditions that make a restaurant instruction different.
The kitchen is treated generically
The report lists cooking as a hazard but does not examine the actual appliances, fuels, shut-offs, extraction or working practices.
Extraction evidence is missing
Filters may look clean while concealed ductwork, access panels and cleaning records are incomplete or inconsistent.
The busiest layout is not assessed
Tables, queues, events, deliveries or external seating create a higher credible occupancy than the quiet inspection-day arrangement.
Warning cannot be relied on
Kitchen noise, music, closed rooms or an uncoordinated shared system may prevent staff and customers receiving a clear warning.
Escape routes are compromised
Storage, deliveries, refuse, security measures, basement arrangements or furniture narrow or obstruct the route.
Mixed-use duties are unresolved
Operator, landlord and residential dutyholders have not agreed control of ducts, structure, common routes, alarms or remedial work.
Training misses shift realities
New, agency, young, delivery and closing staff do not receive consistent induction or cannot carry out the written plan.
Actions remain open
Defects are recorded repeatedly without an accountable owner, target date, interim control or evidence of completion.
People at risk
Who may need additional consideration?
The assessment must consider everyone lawfully on or near the premises, including people who may be unable to recognise danger, respond quickly or use the standard escape route without help.
Customers
Diners may be unfamiliar with exits, distracted or affected by alcohol.
Kitchen staff
People work close to ignition and hot-oil hazards and need clear emergency actions.
Young, agency and late staff
Turnover and shifts require consistent induction and competent cover.
Residents and neighbours
Smoke and fire can spread through shared structure, ducts or escape routes in mixed-use buildings.
Emergency planning
Evacuation points to test
A written plan is only useful if it matches the building, occupants, available staff and fire precautions and can be carried out under foreseeable conditions.
- Base the plan on the busiest credible layout, including queues, events and external seating.
- Staff should know when to isolate equipment, raise the alarm and leave without attempting unsafe firefighting.
- Ensure music and kitchen noise do not prevent occupants recognising the alarm.
- Coordinate alarm, extraction shut-down, shared routes and access with landlords and adjoining occupiers.
What to expect
The five-stage assessment process
- 1
Prepare
Confirm the areas in scope, responsible persons, occupancy, plans, previous reports and relevant fire-safety records.
- 2
Inspect
Walk the premises and examine hazards, people at risk, escape, fire protection and management arrangements.
- 3
Evaluate
Judge whether precautions are suitable for the actual use, occupants, construction and emergency strategy.
- 4
Record and prioritise
Document findings in full and provide a clear, risk-prioritised action plan with responsible owners.
- 5
Review
Keep the assessment current and revisit it when change, an incident or new information may affect its validity.
Before and after attendance
How long does a restaurant fire risk assessment take?
A small, straightforward café, takeaway or restaurant may be inspected within part of a working day. A large dining venue, basement kitchen, multi-floor layout or mixed-use building can require substantially longer and more document review.
Site attendance and report delivery are separate. Ask the assessor to confirm both, including whether service-time access, landlord information or a follow-up visit is needed.
What happens during a fire risk assessment?Prepare for the visit
Information that helps the assessor
- Existing FRA, reviews, action plan and completion evidence
- Floor plans, maximum customer capacity and typical table layouts
- Cooking-equipment list, fuels, isolation points and maintenance records
- Extraction design information, access points and cleaning records
- Alarm, emergency-lighting, extinguisher and fire-door records
- Staff training, drills, shift patterns and emergency procedures
- Premises licence, relevant conditions and landlord contacts
- Details of fires, flare-ups, false alarms, near misses or planned changes
The written output
What the report should provide
- Defined premises, responsible persons, scope and inspected areas
- Restaurant-specific hazards and people especially at risk
- Evidence reviewed, assumptions, inaccessible areas and limitations
- Findings for escape, warning, firefighting and fire separation
- Management findings covering staff, shifts, contractors and records
- A prioritised action plan with clear outcomes and timescales
- Allocation of actions between operator, landlord and other parties
- Any need for specialist inspection, design or intrusive investigation
Evidence and management
Records to prepare and retain
Good records help an assessor understand the premises, allow defects to be tracked and demonstrate that significant findings have been acted on.
- Current FRA, review record and prioritised action plan
- Extraction, filter and duct-cleaning records
- Gas, electrical and cooking-equipment maintenance
- Alarm, emergency-lighting, extinguisher and fire-door records
- Staff induction, training, drills and shift arrangements
- Premises licence and relevant conditions
- Floor plans, maximum occupancy and approved layouts
- Incident, near-miss, false-alarm and remedial-work records
Keeping it current
When to review the assessment
There is no single fixed review interval suitable for every premises. Set a proportionate programme and review sooner whenever there is reason to think the assessment may no longer be valid.
- Menu, equipment, fuel or cooking-method changes
- Layout, seating, capacity or opening-hour changes
- New extraction, suppression, gas or electrical work
- New lease, operator, franchise, licence variation or event use
- Fire, flare-up, gas incident, near miss or alarm issue
- Refurbishment, new partitions or altered escape routes
- Changes to flats, tenants or shared systems in a mixed-use building
- Evidence the assessment is no longer valid
Quote planning
What affects assessment cost?
A useful quote reflects assessor time, competence, site access and reporting complexity. A low headline price is not meaningful without a clear scope.
Kitchen complexity
Appliances, fuels, extraction, suppression and cleaning evidence.
Capacity and layout
Dining rooms, bars, basements, exits and external seating.
Operating pattern
Late hours, events, alcohol and access around service times.
Mixed-use building
Flats, shared routes, ducts and landlord coordination.
Compare like with like
What a restaurant FRA quotation should state
The page calculator gives an indicative planning range, not a tariff. A cheap quotation may exclude kitchen details, shared areas, records or a sufficiently detailed action plan.
- All kitchens, dining rooms, bars, stores, cellars, external areas and escape routes included
- Cooking fuels, extraction, suppression and mixed-use interfaces reflected in the scope
- Named assessor with relevant restaurant or commercial-kitchen experience
- Expected site-attendance time and information required before the visit
- Written premises-specific report and prioritised action plan included
- Limitations, inaccessible areas and specialist inspections stated clearly
- Report delivery date and arrangements for factual corrections or questions
- VAT, travel, parking, urgent attendance and other additional charges identified
Choosing an assessor
Check the person as well as the company
BAFE SP205 provides third-party certification for organisations delivering life-safety fire risk assessments. The National Fire Risk Assessors Register (NFRAR), administered by the Institute of Fire Safety Managers, records individually assessed fire risk assessors and their competency level.
Use both as complementary evidence: verify the organisation’s current BAFE SP205 status where applicable and the individual’s current NFRAR registration and assessed level. Also check direct experience with restaurant, café or takeaway premises, insurance, report scope, site visit, exclusions and how follow-up questions are handled.
Restaurant assessment preparation
Continue with the right supporting guide
Use these resources to prepare records, understand an assessor’s visit and compare quotations before committing.
01
London hospitality fire statistics
Explore five years of LFB incident data for restaurants, takeaways and other hospitality premises by borough.
Read the guide →02Restaurant FRA checklist
Work through cooking, extraction, escape, fire doors, management and the evidence to prepare.
Read the guide →03Commercial kitchen FRA
Follow the risk from the cooking line through extraction, fuel, shutdown and the wider premises.
Read the guide →04What happens during an FRA?
Understand preparation, attendance, interviews, evidence and the written output.
Read the guide →05Assessment after renovation
Review the effect of a kitchen fit-out, new extraction, partitions or a changed layout.
Read the guide →06Fire-safety logbooks
Keep testing, training, cleaning, defect and remedial evidence organised and current.
Read the guide →07Compare assessment costs
Understand price drivers, exclusions and how to compare quotation scope fairly.
Read the guide →Related fire-safety services
Acting on the assessment
The FRA should define outcomes and priorities. Any design, installation, inspection or maintenance work must then be scoped and completed competently.
Hospitality guidance collection
Compare the risks across mixed hospitality premises
Use the hospitality hub where restaurants, accommodation, licensed activity or commercial events overlap within one operation.
Fire doors and protected routes
Plan a competent fire door inspection
Doors protecting kitchens, stairs, basements, stores, escape routes and mixed-use boundaries must close and perform as intended. A detailed doorset inspection may be needed where condition, installation or records are uncertain.
Local coverage
Restaurant fire risk assessment support across London and Surrey
Request support for an independent café, takeaway, licensed restaurant, commercial kitchen or hospitality portfolio, or compare the local assessor information first.
For county-wide duties, cost factors and local context, read the Surrey restaurant, café or takeaway fire risk assessment guidance.
Frequently asked questions
Fire risk assessment for restaurants and cafés FAQs
Does every restaurant need a fire risk assessment?
Yes. Restaurants, cafés and takeaways are non-domestic premises under the Fire Safety Order. The assessment must reflect the actual kitchen, customer areas, occupancy, escape routes and management.
How much does a restaurant fire risk assessment cost?
A small or medium, relatively straightforward restaurant may fall within the indicative range shown by the calculator on this page. The final price depends on floor area, storeys, customer capacity, kitchen and extraction complexity, mixed use, available records, access and reporting scope. Compare quotations on scope rather than headline price alone.
How long does a restaurant fire risk assessment take?
A small straightforward restaurant may be inspected within part of a working day. A large, multi-floor, basement, late-opening or mixed-use premises may need substantially longer. Ask the assessor to state expected site-attendance time and report delivery separately.
How often should a restaurant fire risk assessment be reviewed?
The law does not set one universal annual expiry date. Review it regularly and sooner after a significant change, fire, near miss, new equipment, changed layout or capacity, refurbishment, new operator, licensing change or evidence that it may no longer be valid.
Do I need a new assessment before opening a restaurant?
The responsible person must ensure a suitable assessment is completed and the necessary precautions are in place. A previous tenant’s report should not be assumed to cover a new operator, menu, equipment, layout, occupancy or management arrangements.
Is a fire risk assessment the same as a premises licence?
No. A premises licence and a fire risk assessment are separate. Licensing conditions may affect capacity, hours, entertainment and management, but they do not replace the Fire Safety Order assessment or the duty to implement and maintain suitable precautions.
Who is responsible in a rented restaurant?
The operating employer normally controls day-to-day restaurant risks. A landlord or managing agent may control structure, common routes and shared systems. More than one responsible person may exist, and they must cooperate, coordinate and exchange relevant information.
Do cafés and takeaways need a fire risk assessment?
Yes where they are workplaces or other non-domestic premises. A small café or takeaway may be simpler than a large restaurant, but the assessment must still address the actual cooking, extraction, electrical, occupancy, escape and management risks.
Does a commercial kitchen require suppression?
Not every kitchen has an automatic legal requirement for a suppression system. Need depends on equipment, fuel, risk, fire strategy, insurer and other requirements. Where installed, suppression must be suitable and maintained.
How often should extraction ductwork be cleaned?
There is no single interval suitable for every kitchen. Cleaning frequency should reflect cooking type, grease accumulation, use, access and insurer or industry guidance, with records retained.
Can the public use the kitchen route as a fire exit?
Escape through a high-risk kitchen is generally problematic. The acceptability of any route depends on layout, fire growth, protection and applicable guidance and should be assessed competently.
Do flats above affect the restaurant assessment?
Yes. Mixed-use construction, shared routes, alarms, extraction and compartmentation can expose residents and require cooperation between responsible persons.
Restaurant assessment enquiry
Request a restaurant fire risk assessment quote
Send the essential contact and premises details. We can ask about kitchen equipment, extraction, customer capacity, access and deadlines when we call.
- No obligation to book
- Telephone number required
- Suitable for restaurants, cafés, takeaways and commercial kitchens
Sources and limitations
Guidance reviewed 8 September 2026
This page provides general information for England. It is not legal advice, a building-specific assessment or a guarantee of compliance. Fire Safety Services is independent and is not affiliated with BAFE, NFRAR, IFSM, the Government or fire and rescue services.
- London Fire Brigade: restaurants, takeaways and cafés
- GOV.UK small and medium places of assembly guide
- GOV.UK large places of assembly guide
- Home Office guide for persons with fire-safety duties
- GOV.UK workplace fire responsibilities
- Fire Safety Order 2005, Article 9
- Licensing Act 2003
- BAFE SP205 fire risk assessment scheme
- National Fire Risk Assessors Register