How much does a cafe or restaurant fit-out cost in Melbourne?
A Melbourne cafe or restaurant fit-out generally runs $1,500 to $3,400 per square metre, with full-service venues pushing well past that. Hospitality prices above every other fit-out type for one reason: behind the retail-quality front of house you are building a small food factory.
The short answer
Hospitality is the most technically demanding fit-out type in commercial interiors, and it is priced accordingly. A Melbourne cafe or restaurant fit-out generally runs between $1,500 and $3,400 per square metre, with full-service venues and complex kitchens pushing well past that. Hospitality sits at and above the top of the general commercial band for one reason: you are not fitting out a room, you are building a small food factory behind a retail-quality front of house.
| Venue type | Rate | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Basic cafe or takeaway | $1,500 – $2,500/m² | Simple finishes, espresso-led equipment, limited or no dine-in seating |
| Mid-tier cafe or bistro | $2,500 – $3,400/m² | Dine-in area, custom service counter, full commercial kitchen |
| Full-service restaurant | $3,000 – $4,500/m² | Advanced cooking processes, bar, architectural front of house |
| Commercial kitchen (as a rate in isolation) | $3,000 – $5,000/m² | The kitchen footprint alone, mid-range specification |
Why hospitality costs more than office
A cafe combines two incompatible briefs in one tenancy. The front of house needs to look like a retail space and survive commercial traffic. The back of house needs commercial-grade infrastructure – mechanical exhaust, grease arrestor, gas, upgraded drainage, refrigeration, hot water capacity and compliant surfaces – installed in a tenancy that was very likely never built to carry any of it.
Most of the cost variance between two similar-looking cafes is not the joinery or the finishes. It is whether the tenancy already has the services, and how far they have to be brought.
The kitchen is the budget
Kitchen equipment alone commonly represents 40 to 60 per cent of a hospitality fit-out. A small cafe kitchen of 20 to 40 square metres typically runs $50,000 to $200,000 in equipment; a restaurant kitchen of 60 to 100 square metres runs $200,000 to $500,000 and beyond.
Individual line items that routinely surprise first-time operators:
- Mechanical exhaust and canopy. The single most common budget shock. Replacing an outdated hood with a compliant commercial exhaust system can add around $30,000 on its own, and if the tenancy has no existing discharge path to roof level the cost climbs from there.
- Grease arrestor. Required by the water authority for food premises. If one is not already installed and plumbed, expect civil works and a substantial trade coordination cost.
- Coolroom. Panel, plant, and the slab drainage to serve it.
- Compliant flooring. Non-slip commercial vinyl or sealed substrate to food-premises standard, starting around $200 per square metre and rising for polished concrete or high-end tile.
- Stainless benching and shelving. Fabricated to the layout, not bought off a shelf.
- Three-phase power and hot water capacity. Frequently an upgrade, occasionally a switchboard replacement.
Compliance and approvals in Victoria
Food premises carry an approval layer that office fit-outs do not. The design must satisfy the Australian Standard for the design, construction and fit-out of food premises, which governs surfaces, layout, hand-wash provision, storage separation and cleanability. On top of that sits registration with your local council under the Victorian food safety framework, and the council must generally approve the plans before construction, not after.
Depending on the tenancy, you may also need a planning permit for a change of use, a building permit for the works, and separate approval for any shopfront alteration, signage, exhaust discharge or outdoor seating. In heritage-overlay streets – and Melbourne has many – shopfront changes attract additional scrutiny and time.
The practical point is that approvals are a programme risk more than a cost risk. Most hospitality fit-outs take six to twelve weeks on site; the approvals in front of that can take as long again if the plans go in incomplete.
What venues actually total
| Venue | Indicative total |
|---|---|
| 40m² takeaway or espresso bar | $80,000 – $150,000 |
| 80 – 120m² dine-in cafe | $180,000 – $350,000 |
| 150m² full cafe with commercial kitchen | $300,000 – $500,000 |
| Full-service restaurant, 50-plus covers | $350,000 – $700,000+ |
Note how the totals compress as floor area grows. Kitchen cost is relatively fixed once the menu is set, so a larger dining room spreads it across more revenue-earning floor. A 40 square metre takeaway and a 150 square metre cafe can carry a similar kitchen and very different per-square-metre rates.
Melbourne specifics
Hospitality fit-out demand in Melbourne concentrates in the inner-suburban strips – Fitzroy, Collingwood, Richmond, South Yarra and Brunswick – where the building stock is old, narrow and frequently heritage-listed. Those tenancies bring predictable complications: single-phase supply that needs upgrading, no existing exhaust path, floor levels that do not meet accessibility requirements at the entry, and party walls that constrain where plant can sit.
Against that, the strips carry the foot traffic, which is why operators keep paying the premium. Budget for the building's age, not just its floor area. A tenancy that was previously a food business – with services, exhaust and a grease arrestor already in place – can be worth $60,000 to $100,000 more than an equivalent empty shop, and that differential rarely shows up in the rent comparison.
The sequencing trap
The most expensive avoidable error in hospitality fit-out is procuring equipment independently of the design. Equipment selected on price, ordered separately, and delivered to site can arrive in a size or service configuration that does not match the as-built kitchen – and on-site adjustment costs several times what correct documentation would have.
Equipment selection belongs in the design phase, with dimensions, clearances, electrical loads, gas rates and drainage points confirmed and drawn before anything is fabricated. Any builder who is comfortable starting without that documentation is transferring risk onto you.
The second sequencing trap is the lease. Signing before a builder has inspected the tenancy means you inherit whatever services deficit the space carries, at your cost, on a rent clock that has already started.
Frequently asked questions
What does a small cafe fit-out cost in Melbourne?
A 40 square metre takeaway or espresso bar typically totals $80,000–$150,000, and an 80–120 square metre dine-in cafe runs $180,000–$350,000. The kitchen is the swing factor — equipment alone commonly takes 40 to 60 per cent of a hospitality budget, and a tenancy that already carries services, exhaust and a grease arrestor can be worth $60,000–$100,000 more than an equivalent empty shop.
Why does hospitality cost so much more than an office fit-out?
Because the back of house needs commercial-grade infrastructure an office never touches — mechanical exhaust, a grease arrestor, gas, upgraded drainage, refrigeration and compliant surfaces — usually installed in a tenancy that was never built to carry any of it. Most of the cost variance between two similar-looking cafes is how far those services have to be brought, not the joinery or finishes.
What approvals does a Melbourne food premises need?
The design must satisfy the Australian Standard for the design, construction and fit-out of food premises, and the local council must generally approve the plans and register the business under the Victorian food safety framework before construction, not after. Depending on the tenancy you may also need a planning permit for change of use, a building permit, and separate approvals for signage, exhaust discharge or outdoor seating.
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