Restaurant and Cloud Kitchen Units in Dubai: What to Check

The short answer

Food businesses are the hardest commercial tenants to place in the wrong unit. A shop can open almost anywhere it is licensed; a kitchen cannot. Before you sign for a restaurant, café, cloud kitchen, bakery or food shop, you need to know four things: where the cooking fumes will go, where the greasy water will go, how much power and gas the kitchen will really get, and whether Dubai Municipality will approve your layout in that space.

This guide covers what is specific to food premises. For the checks every commercial unit needs, start with our commercial property due diligence guide. For shops that sell packaged products only, the shops and showrooms guide is the better fit.

Who approves a food business in Dubai

Three approvals have to line up, and they come from different places.

The activity licence. On the mainland, the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) licenses the activity; in a free zone, the zone authority does. Dubai Municipality's Food Code says a food business needs a valid trade licence that states the exact food activity, and may not carry out activities beyond it. Dubai Municipality's activity list separates, for example, Coffee Shop, Roastery, Coffee Roasting & Packaging, Restaurant, Catering Services, Baker (Bread only), Pastry & Sweets Manufacturing, Ice-Cream Shop, Ice Cream Manufacturing, Fish Seller, Grocery Store and Supermarket. Choose the activity from what you will actually do, not from the name over the door.
The food permit and layout approval. Under Dubai's Public Health Law (Law No. 5 of 2025), which applies across the emirate including free zones, no one may carry out food activities without the required food permit, and a business may not carry them out at premises other than those named in its permit without prior approval. The Food Code requires the layout for new construction or renovation to be approved by the Municipality's food department before work begins, and major changes to the layout or process flow also need prior approval. Each activity in the Municipality's list needs its food department approval, plus other authorities where applicable: building, planning, drainage and Civil Defence.
The premises approvals. The building authority for your fit-out (Dubai Municipality, the Dubai Development Authority or a free-zone authority), Civil Defence for fire safety, DEWA for power and the Municipality for the sewer connection. Dubai's Civil Defence law ties licences to fire safety: licensing bodies must not issue or renew licences without a valid Civil Defence certificate.

The practical point: food layout approval comes before construction, so you need a unit where your layout can actually be approved before you spend on fit-out.

Six checks before you sign for any food unit

1. Where will the kitchen exhaust go?

This is the check that kills most food deals. A commercial kitchen needs extraction with hoods, removable filters and make-up air, and the duct needs a lawful route to the outside. Ask the landlord for the approved exhaust shaft or route, its size, and where it discharges. In a jointly owned building, a new external duct changes the building's appearance and needs approval from the master developer, the Dubai Land Department and the competent authority. If there is no approved route, there may be no restaurant.

2. Where will the greasy water go?

Dubai's sewerage law requires restaurants, cafeterias, food factories, fast-food outlets, hotels and similar establishments to have grease traps that meet Dubai Municipality's specifications, and the Municipality can inspect them when the licence is issued or renewed. A non-factory food business can only open before its trap is installed against a security deposit, and must install it within 45 days. Connecting to the public sewer needs prior Municipality approval, and changing the connection point needs a new application. Find out whether the unit already has an approved trap and connection, where the trap sits (the Food Code prefers outside the premises), and who services it.

3. How much power and gas will you really get?

Ovens, fryers, cold rooms, dishwashers and extraction fans add up quickly. Ask for the electrical load allocated to the unit and have an engineer compare it with your equipment list running at the same time. If you plan to cook with gas, ask whether the building has an approved gas supply and route; a visible pipe or a previous tenant's cylinders are not proof of approval. Agree in writing who pays for any power or gas upgrade, and when rent starts if it is late.

4. Does the floor plan work for food safety?

The Municipality checks the flow of food through the space: receiving, storage, preparation, cooking, washing, waste and staff facilities. Count whether the unit fits your flow without crossing clean and dirty routes, and whether there is room for cold storage, dry storage, a wash area and staff toilets. Dubai Municipality's activity list notes that production space depends on the process, equipment, output and number of food handlers, so do not rely on a rule-of-thumb size.

5. Check the fire file and customer capacity

Kitchens add fire load, suppression systems and gas. Owners must maintain fire systems and get Civil Defence approval before any change affecting fire safety. If customers will eat on the premises, Dubai's public safety law (Law No. 2 of 2026), in force since 1 June 2026, applies to public places and buildings across Dubai including free zones, and requires suitable lighting and ventilation, safe entry and exit and respect for the approved capacity. The same law excludes industrial, professional and craft buildings, so a production unit may fall under different rules.

6. Confirm the fit-out route

Who approves your works depends on the building. Units of 100 m² or less and units inside a mall can be exempt from the Dubai Municipality decoration permit, and the DDA has a similar exemption, but you still need an approved contractor, the owner's consent and Civil Defence compliance, and structural changes or a change of use need full approval. Food layout approval is a separate step and is not covered by those exemptions. Plan your timeline around both.

Restaurants and cafés

A restaurant or café adds customers to everything above: seating, toilets, accessibility, queues and capacity. Check the approved occupancy for seating, whether outdoor seating is allowed and by whom, and your delivery and waste times if you share a loading area. If you take over a fitted restaurant, do not assume the previous tenant's approvals transfer to you. Ask which approvals belong to the unit, which belonged to the old business, and what the Municipality will want to see before your permit is issued.

Shisha. Dubai's Public Health Law makes Dubai Municipality responsible for permits for designated smoking areas and for licensing and monitoring the establishments that run them. A restaurant licence and a food permit do not give you a smoking area. Ask the Municipality whether the unit can qualify before you sign, because ventilation, location and layout decide it.

Cloud kitchens and delivery-only kitchens

DET's online food delivery guidelines define a cloud kitchen as a commercial food preparation facility that works only for online delivery or takeout orders, with no dine-in, no walk-in customers and no storefront, and recognise that one facility may host several virtual restaurant brands. That definition does not approve any particular unit or operator. Before you sign:

Confirm who holds the licence and food permit. If several brands or operators share one kitchen, get a written answer from the licensing and food authorities on whose licence and permit cover which brand and address. Remember that food activities outside the premises named in the food permit need prior approval.
Check rider access and waiting space. Riders queuing on a pavement or in a car park can break building rules. Ask where they will wait and collect.
Check delivery times and temperatures. Dubai Municipality's delivery rules require food to be kept at 5°C or below if chilled, 60°C or above if hot, −18°C or below if frozen and 30°C or below if dry, and food should not stay in the vehicle more than 30 minutes unless extra temperature-control equipment keeps it in condition. A cheap kitchen far from your customers can cost you in quality and in compliance.
Check shared services. In a shared kitchen hub, ask who maintains the shared exhaust, grease traps, cold rooms and fire systems, and what happens if one tenant breaks them.

Bakeries, roasteries, chocolate, tea and ice-cream production

Production is where retail ends and manufacturing begins, and the licence and premises change with it. Dubai Municipality lists, for example, Baker (Bread only) separately from Pastry & Sweets Manufacturing, Roastery separately from Coffee Roasting & Packaging, and Ice-Cream Shop separately from Ice Cream Trading and Ice Cream Manufacturing. A café that roasts a little coffee for its own counter is not the same activity as a unit that roasts and packs for wholesale.

Ask for the right activity first. Describe the process, volumes and who you sell to, and get the activity confirmed before you choose a unit.
Check environmental approval. Since 20 August 2026, environmental permits for industrial projects are handled by the Dubai Environment and Climate Change Authority (DECCA), after Dubai Municipality transferred the service. If your activity is classified as industrial, confirm the current route with DECCA or your free zone.
Check the building for machines. Roasters, ovens, tempering machines and blast freezers need power, exhaust, floor capacity and maintenance access. Smoke and smell from a roaster in a mixed-use building can end a lease quickly.

Supermarkets, groceries and fish shops

Food retail with fresh counters combines a shop with several small food operations. Map each counter (bakery, butcher, fish, hot food) separately, because each can bring its own layout, drainage and cold-storage needs. Fish sellers in Dubai Municipality's list include cutting and cleaning, which means wet areas, drainage and smell control. Check cold-room locations, condenser space, loading for chilled deliveries and waste collection before you sign.

Renting or buying a food unit

Renting. Food leases on the mainland fall under Law No. 26 of 2007 as amended; register the contract through Ejari (AED 177.75 online or AED 220 at a trustee centre). Many food units are leased as shell and core: the law allows the parties to lease a unit before it is finished, with the contract deciding who pays to complete it. Food fit-outs are expensive, so agree the rent-free period, the base-build items the landlord delivers (exhaust shaft, grease trap point, gas, power) and the handover standard in writing.

Buying. Verify the title and the approved use, check service charges and building rules on cooking and exhaust, and read any existing lease. The general registration fee is 2% from the seller and 2% from the buyer plus fixed fees, and supplies of commercial property are subject to VAT at 5%.

Free-zone companies. A free-zone food company that wants a mainland outlet can operate there through DET with a branch licence (AED 10,000 a year) or a temporary permit of up to six months (AED 5,000), with its free-zone authority's approval, under Executive Council Resolution No. 11 of 2025. It still needs the food permit for the new premises.

Clauses to agree before you pay

Approvals as conditions. Make food layout approval, the fit-out permit and the exhaust route conditions of the lease or purchase, with a deadline and a refund if refused.
Base-build items. List what the landlord provides and when: exhaust shaft, grease trap and sewer point, gas, power allocation, water.
Rent-free period. Long enough to design, get approvals, build and pass inspections.
Maintenance. The landlord carries maintenance unless the contract says otherwise. Name the exhaust, grease trap, gas line and fire suppression.
Alterations. Tenant works need the landlord's permission and the required licences. Attach your kitchen drawings.
Subletting and shared kitchens. Subletting or sharing the kitchen needs the landlord's written consent unless the lease allows it.
End of lease. Agree which kitchen equipment, hoods, ducts, cold rooms and grease traps stay or go, and the handover condition. Improvements cannot be removed unless agreed.

From shortlist to opening

Write the operating brief: menu or products, processes, equipment, seating, delivery model.
Confirm the activity with DET or the free zone.
Check the unit: exhaust route, grease trap and sewer, power, gas, layout and fire file.
Sign a lease or offer with approvals as conditions.
Register Ejari or the sale.
Get the food layout approved, then the fit-out and other permits.
Build, connect services and pass inspections.
Get the food permit and open, and any smoking-area permit before offering shisha.

Where food businesses look

Food units are found everywhere from community retail to business districts and light-industrial areas. Business Bay, JVC, JVT, Al Jaddaf, Motor City, Majan and Arjan each offer different mixes of residents, office workers and delivery demand, so run the same checks on every unit in your shortlist.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need Dubai Municipality approval before fitting out a restaurant?

Yes. The Food Code requires the layout for new construction or renovation to be approved by the Municipality's food department before work begins, and major changes to the layout or process flow also need prior approval.

Is a grease trap mandatory for a restaurant in Dubai?

Yes. Restaurants, cafeterias, food factories, fast-food outlets, hotels and similar establishments must have grease traps that meet Dubai Municipality's specifications.

What is a cloud kitchen under Dubai rules?

DET's delivery guidelines define it as a commercial food preparation facility that works only for delivery or takeout, with no dine-in, walk-in customers or storefront, and that may host several virtual brands.

Can I run shisha in my restaurant?

Only with a permit for a designated smoking area. Dubai Municipality issues these permits and monitors the establishments that run them. Ask before you sign whether the unit can qualify.

Can my food business operate from a second location using the same permit?

Not without approval. Food activities at premises other than those named in the food permit need the authority's prior approval.

How long can delivery food stay in the vehicle?

Dubai Municipality's guideline says no more than 30 minutes, unless extra temperature-control equipment keeps the food at the required temperature and quality.

Can a free-zone food company open on the mainland?

Yes, through DET with a branch licence (AED 10,000 a year) or a temporary permit of up to six months (AED 5,000), with its free-zone authority's approval.

Who issues environmental permits for food factories?

Since 20 August 2026, environmental permits for industrial projects are issued by the Dubai Environment and Climate Change Authority (DECCA).

Related guides

Talk to Laguna Life

Looking for a unit for a restaurant, café or kitchen? Send us the location, the size and what you will cook or sell, and we will tell you what to check before you pay a deposit. Call or WhatsApp Laguna Life on +971 56 100 0928.

Official sources

Last reviewed: 6 November 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice.