Restaurant & cafe HVAC
Restaurant & cafe HVAC in Al Mu'ailiyah
Al Mu'ailiyah in north-east Jeddah has small cafés and restaurants in mixed residential buildings. Alrabih ensures the kitchen hood draws cool clean air instead of pulling from the dining room, keeping guests away from heat and odours.
- 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.
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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.
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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 Mu'ailiyah is a relatively older district with narrow multi-storey buildings, and most restaurants and cafés are small, renting temporary flats or simple ground-floor units. Kitchen spaces are very tight and an old or missing duct is a common problem, so a new hood pulls hard from the dining room because there is no make-up air. In these cases we fit a new duct or supply cool air from a nearby window with treatment, so the hood draws from a clean source instead of the guests' space.
Al Mu'ailiyah lies in north-east Jeddah, an older tight residential district with many small shops and cafés.
Most small restaurants and cafés here rely on window units or basic splits, and lack a proper HVAC duct or separate hot-air passages.
The AC setup in Al Mu'ailiyah
- 1
New duct with hood upgrade
We fit a new duct of proper size from the hood to outside, boosting the motor if needed, for effective air purification.
- 2
Air curtain at the kitchen door
We fit a light air curtain that directs cool air toward the hood, restricting odour entry to the guest area.
- 3
Split unit with make-up air from the window
We fit a split unit and draw cool air from a nearby window into the hood's intake, so it does not pull from the seating area.
Before the visit
Before our visit in Al Mu'ailiyah
- 1
Identify the external duct outlet
Confirm the duct outlet on the roof or outer wall is feasible without disturbing neighbours or adjacent buildings.
- 2
Clear the small kitchen space
Remove any equipment or boxes from the kitchen to give the team access to the walls and ceiling for installing the duct and unit.
- 3
Arrange the visit time with the café owner
Agree with the café owner on a time causing minimal customer disruption; closing during the work may be worth it if installation takes several hours.
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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.
The café is tiny and the old duct is narrow, how do we solve the tea and coffee smell?
We fit a new wider, shorter duct, or boost the existing hood with added cool outside air, so it does not pull from the guest seating.
The space is small and the kitchen and seating are in one room, what can we do?
We fit a light air curtain or barrier at the kitchen door, and supply cool air directly to the hood to reduce kitchen pressure and pull odours away from the guests.
The roof is small and the outdoor unit has nowhere safe, where can we mount it?
We assess façades, balconies and other available spots, and mount the unit at the strongest available point with safe fixing; we may use a smaller-capacity unit if needed.
I have an old window unit, should I replace it with a split or just add a hood?
It depends on your unit's condition, budget and space; we recommend a site visit to assess, and we may fit a separate hood while keeping your old unit if it works, or replace both together.
