Restaurant & cafe HVAC

Restaurant & cafe HVAC in Al Ajwad

In Al Ajwad in east Jeddah, restaurants and cafés grow in modern malls and spacious residential towers. We extract kitchen heat efficiently and balance pressure to deliver cool, clean air to guest seating away from smoke and smell.

  • Pressure balance
  • Make-up air
  • Coil protection

Clients We're Proud to Serve

Organisations and companies that trusted Alrabih with their projects.

  • Saudi Aramco
  • Ministry of Energy
  • Royal Saudi Land Forces
  • Royal Saudi Naval Forces
  • Al Baik
  • Centro Hotels by Rotana
  • King Abdullah Economic City
  • First Mills
  • Juffali
  • eXtra
  • Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Medical Center
  • Alesayi Motors
  • Abu Zaid
  • Water Desalination
  • Attieh Steel
  • SSCO
  • Creet
  • Emad Rizq
  • Alfaneyah
  • Rawat Alam Al Tasmeem
  • IBI Magix Arabia — Construction Services
  • Midtown for Construction
  • Petra Engineering Industries Co.
  • Hyrmas
  • Batterjee Medical College
  • Advanced Horizons Contracting Company
  • D.Metals
  • Benchbox — Masters of Space
  • Sadafco
  • Umm Al-Qura University
  • Saudi Arabian Drug Store (SADS)
  • Foamco
  • Ahmad A. R. Bin Afif Industries Co. (Sandwich Panel Factory)
  • Namariq
  • ALS

When your restaurant needs a specialist

  1. 1

    Kitchen smells reaching diners

    When the extract hood pulls out more air than is replaced, the kitchen goes negative and draws air from the dining room, bringing smells with it. The answer is calculating the volumes and delivering make-up air close to the hood.

  2. 2

    Dining room stays warm despite the AC

    A full dining room in Jeddah's humid summer raises heat and moisture load noticeably. Design must account for peak occupancy, and the right diffuser layout achieves even cooling across tables, not cold near the duct and warm in the corners.

  3. 3

    Repeated breakdowns in kitchen AC units

    Grease vapour from the burners settles on evaporator coils and blocks airflow, raising pressure and stressing the compressor. Placing the unit away from grease currents and scheduling coil cleaning reduces this damage significantly.

Who it's for

  • Opening a new restaurant that needs a full HVAC system

    We design the cooling and make-up air system from scratch to match your kitchen and dining layout before you open.

    Ask on WhatsApp
  • Your restaurant is running but smells are reaching the tables

    We survey the existing system, measure pressure between kitchen and dining, then correct the fault by adding make-up air or adjusting the air balance.

    Ask on WhatsApp

What the work covers

  • Kitchen and dining pressure survey
  • Make-up air for hood
  • Diffuser layout for dining
  • Ductwork to SMACNA standards
  • Air balance commissioning
Request a quote

How we work

How we work

  1. 1

    Site and kitchen survey

    We visit, measure the spaces, review the existing extract hood and burner positions, and find where negative pressure is occurring before any design work.

  2. 2

    Design and equipment selection

    We design the make-up air and cooling systems together, and select units from Carrier, YORK, General, Midea, Gree or Smart Gold to suit the space and the load.

  3. 3

    Duct fabrication and installation

    We fabricate ducts in our workshop from G90 galvanised sheet to precise sizes, install the units, and run Mueller copper in runs of up to 30 metres without welded joints, insulated with Armaflex.

  4. 4

    Balancing and handover

    We run the system and adjust dampers until the kitchen sits at slight negative and the dining room at slight positive, confirming that doors open easily and no kitchen smell crosses to the guests.

Integrated design or separate units with no balance?

AlrabihThe usual way
Make-up airCalculated and delivered to the hoodUsually not addressed
Dining pressureSlight positive, no smell transferNegative, pulls kitchen air in
Coil protectionUnit placed away from greaseRepeated breakdowns
Cooling spreadDiffusers sized for full occupancyUneven, warm corners
Kitchen ductworkFabricated in-house from G90 sheetOff-the-shelf sizes, poor fit

Some of our work

Ductwork, rooftop units and diffusers, from work we've completed in Jeddah.

  • Galvanized rectangular duct trunk with branch takeoffs and round diffusers, hung from a black ceiling, a Carrier unit visible behind — interior finishing stage.
  • Round diffusers and a spiral duct trunk in a tiled stairwell service shaft.
  • Rooftop ductwork and an exhaust fan, with Jeddah buildings in the background.
  • Rooftop packaged AC units with rectangular duct transitions, city buildings behind.
  • Insulated rooftop duct run beside a packaged unit, a warehouse roof in the background.
  • A grid of round diffusers in an open-plan office ceiling, mid-construction.
  • An insulated rooftop duct elbow, against a mountainous backdrop.
  • Large insulated ductwork running along a factory ceiling, with workers visible below.
  • A yellow round diffuser mid-installation, with spiral duct and a suspended ceiling grid.
  • Duct insulation wrap in progress on a construction site, bare duct still exposed.
  • A black-painted duct trunk with round diffusers and track lighting, in a finished retail interior.
  • An indoor AHU unit connected to round ductwork in a mechanical plant room, exposed concrete ceiling.
Similar project? Send us the details

Customer reviews

What our customers say

4.8

From 10 Google reviews

  • Muhammadramzan 2641

    “MashaaAllah. Services are so good. Behaviour and kindness 100/100. Prices are less then Market. Fully recommended”

  • shahzeb armani

    “Wow. Prices are so comfortable. Outstanding services. People are so talented and nice”

  • Tawfik AlyawerLocal Guide

    “U can find all u need for air conditioning”

Read every review on Google

Your satisfaction matters to us! If you had a great experience with us, we'd love a 5-star rating and a kind review.

Worked with us? Leave a review

Service areas

We come to you anywhere in Jeddah

From Al Shiraa and Al Yaqout in the north to Al Thaghr and Al Quraiyat in the south, with our base in Al Aziziyah.

Map of Jeddah by sector, with Alrabih's base in Al Aziziyah
Don't see your district?Message us. We most likely cover it.

What sets this district apart

Al Ajwad is a modern growth area in east Jeddah with fairly large malls, varied restaurants and cafés, often on high floors or in the mall centre with tall ceilings and open spaces. The challenge here is not tight squeezes but extracting hot air over longer distances and ensuring steady cool air reaches all seating. The hood and AC system must be powerful and balanced to cover the large spaces and high ceilings.

Al Ajwad is in east Jeddah, a modern growth area with large malls and varied restaurants and cafés in high-ceilinged spaces.

Most Al Ajwad restaurants are medium to large with high ceilings and open spaces, needing strong hoods and even air distribution over longer runs.

The AC setup in Al Ajwad

  1. 1

    Powerful hood system with large capacity

    A powerful hood sized for large kitchens pulls hot air and steam strongly from high ceilings.

  2. 2

    Multi-outlet air distribution system

    Multiple distribution outlets in ceiling and walls spread evenly across the dining room to ensure uniform cool air.

  3. 3

    High-capacity drain system

    Strong drains with proper slope and heavy filters handle heavy moisture and oil from large kitchens.

Before the visit

Before our visit in Al Ajwad

  1. 1

    Provide the restaurant layout and space size

    Send us a floor plan with dimensions, ceiling height and kitchen location, so we size the hood and AC system accurately.

  2. 2

    Confirm duct routing is possible

    Make sure the ceiling and walls allow ducts to pass, and there is a shared air plenum in the mall or an outside outlet.

  3. 3

    Coordinate with mall on electrical load

    Check the mall's electrical capacity can handle the powerful hood and AC, and consult the mall management before installation.

FAQ

Questions about Restaurant & cafe HVAC

What is the difference between make-up air and kitchen air conditioning?

Make-up air replaces the volume the hood extracts, its purpose is pressure balance not necessarily cooling. Kitchen air conditioning tackles burner heat and lowers temperature for the staff. Both may be needed, and the site survey determines which your kitchen requires.

Do outdoor seating areas need a different approach in Jeddah?

Yes. In Jeddah's heat and humidity, fans alone are not enough during peak months. The right option depends on whether the space has an open roof or a partial enclosure and how large the area is. We assess the spot and propose suitable units after the survey.

How are AC coils protected from kitchen grease?

The first step is design: we position kitchen units in airflow paths away from the grease rising off the burners. In preventive maintenance contracts we schedule pressure coil cleaning before build-up raises stress on the compressor, because early cleaning is simpler and less costly than a repair.

Can existing ductwork in an operating restaurant be repaired or does it need replacing?

The decision follows a duct inspection: we look for air leaks, grease build-up inside, and sheet corrosion from Jeddah's salty air. If the structure is sound we seal joints with Foster sealants and re-insulate with Kimmco. If not, we fabricate new sections in our workshop and replace the damaged runs.

Does a packed dining room during peak season affect how the AC performs?

Yes, every person in the room adds heat and moisture, and this is significant in Jeddah's summer. Design therefore accounts for full occupancy load, not average attendance, and diffusers are positioned to deliver even cooling across all tables. The exact layout is confirmed after the site survey.

My restaurant is large and open with high ceiling, how do you get cold air to all the seating?

We design a strong air distribution system with multiple ceiling and wall outlets evenly spread across the space, so cool air reaches all seating uniformly.

My ceiling is very high, can the hood pull hot air from way up there?

Yes, we design a powerful hood with large capacity to pull hot air from under the high ceiling efficiently, and add extra fans if needed to ensure strong extraction.

My restaurant has strong lighting and natural sun heat, does this affect the AC?

Yes, strong lights and sun increase the cooling load significantly. We add extra capacity and design a powerful hood to extract heat from both lights and kitchen.

My restaurant is in the mall centre, can we get the hood duct to the outside?

Yes, we route the duct through the mall's ceiling or side walls to exit outside or to the building's shared air plenum, coordinating with mall management.

The Jeddah corniche in cool weather

Keep your dining room away from the kitchen

WhatsApp a floor plan or photos of your kitchen and dining room and we will arrange a survey in your district, Saturday to Thursday, eight in the morning to eight at night.

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