Restaurant & cafe HVAC
Restaurant & cafe HVAC in Al Hijaz
In Al Hijaz, east Jeddah, restaurants and cafés are scattered across mixed-age commercial buildings from older to newer. Here, HVAC must adapt to varied building patterns and diverse engineering challenges in managing kitchen extraction.
- Pressure balance
- Make-up air
- Coil protection
Clients We're Proud to Serve
Organisations and companies that trusted Alrabih with their projects.
When your restaurant needs a specialist
- 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
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
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 WhatsAppYour 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
How we work
How we work
- 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
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
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
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?
| Alrabih | The usual way | |
|---|---|---|
| Make-up air | Calculated and delivered to the hood | Usually not addressed |
| Dining pressure | Slight positive, no smell transfer | Negative, pulls kitchen air in |
| Coil protection | Unit placed away from grease | Repeated breakdowns |
| Cooling spread | Diffusers sized for full occupancy | Uneven, warm corners |
| Kitchen ductwork | Fabricated in-house from G90 sheet | Off-the-shelf sizes, poor fit |
Everything your AC needs, from one team
From system design and duct fabrication to installation, commissioning and maintenance.
Split AC installation
Request this serviceDuct installation
Request this serviceCentral AC installation
Request this serviceDuct fabrication
Request this serviceCold room installation
Request this serviceElectro-mechanical works
Request this serviceChiller & AHU installation
Request this serviceHVAC design
Request this serviceAC repair & faults
Request this serviceAC cleaning
Request this serviceRefrigerant charging
Request this serviceCentral AC maintenance
Request this serviceChiller maintenance
Request this serviceAC removal & refitting
Request this serviceDuct cleaning & sanitising
Request this serviceAC servicing by brand
Request this serviceOperation & maintenance contracts
Request this serviceAHU maintenance
Request this serviceFridge & freezer service
Request this serviceCold rooms
Request this serviceDisplay fridges & chillers
Request this serviceFactory HVAC
Request this serviceWarehouse HVAC
Request this serviceVilla & home HVAC
Request this serviceHotel HVAC
Request this serviceSchool HVAC
Request this serviceHospital HVAC
Request this serviceMosque HVAC
Request this serviceMall & retail HVAC
Request this serviceRestaurant & cafe HVAC
Request this service
Some of our work
Ductwork, rooftop units and diffusers, from work we've completed in Jeddah.
Customer reviews
What our customers say
- 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”
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 reviewService 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.
What sets this district apart
Al Hijaz is a mixed-age commercial area with older buildings on tight, low ceilings next to newer structures with high ceilings and regular layouts. Restaurants and cafés sit in small shops and in modern malls, and may share outdoor spaces or common entrances. This diversity means each restaurant needs a tailored solution: a simple split in a tight old shop or central AC in a new centre. The main challenge is balancing extraction power against kitchen size and the available space for make-up air.
Al Hijaz is in east Jeddah, a mixed commercial area combining older and newer buildings alongside main roads.
Restaurants here are diverse: some in older shops with basic split AC, others in modern malls with central systems, and each site needs full assessment before design.
The AC setup in Al Hijaz
- 1
Standalone split for small older shops
Old small tight shops need a simple split with a compact quiet extractor, without complex ductwork.
- 2
Balanced central AC for modern malls
Modern malls have high ceilings and regular spaces, allowing full central AC with precise pressure tuning.
- 3
Dedicated filters for make-up air from the street
Make-up air from busy streets carries dust and fumes, so we fit high-efficiency filters to purify it before the kitchen receives it.
Before the visit
Before our visit in Al Hijaz
- 1
Full inspection of ceiling, walls and spaces
Check ceiling and walls for safety, and identify clear spaces for ducts and the outdoor unit before any work.
- 2
Coordinate with neighbours and mall if applicable
Inform neighbouring shops or mall management of installation timing and share the make-up air plan so no one is disrupted.
- 3
Map the make-up air and drainage routes from outside
Choose the nearest clean outside point for make-up air intake and agree on a drainage route away from others' entrances.
More districts for Restaurant & cafe HVAC
Other services in Al Hijaz
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.
Our old tight shop with an open kitchen, how do we get effective AC without disturbing neighbours?
We design a dedicated split system with a compact quiet kitchen extractor and effective metal filters, ensuring the outlet is on the far side away from neighbour shops.
My shop is next to another shop in the same mall, is ventilation affected?
It may be, so we coordinate with the mall management and the neighbouring shop on air routes to prevent cross-flow between units.
Old ceilings may not be safe for mounting a heavy extractor, how do we handle this?
We inspect the ceiling first and add metal reinforcement if needed based on timber or concrete thickness, or choose a lightweight extractor if the ceiling is weak.
Humidity and street dust enter with our make-up air, does it harm the coils?
Yes, so we fit high-efficiency filters on the make-up air inlet to clean dust and moisture before it enters, and we clean coils regularly.
