Restaurant & cafe HVAC

Restaurant & cafe HVAC in Al Muhammar

In Al Muhammar, east Jeddah, restaurants from small to medium-sized need HVAC that combines strong fume extraction with guest comfort. We design a solution fitting multiple zones and different floors.

  • 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 Muhammar has medium and high-rise residential buildings with shops and restaurants in the lower floors. Some restaurants span multiple floors or zones with more than one cooker and kitchen, complicating ventilation design. Mixed layouts and uneven spaces require careful study to route ducts efficiently and balance pressure across all areas. A central system may be necessary here instead of separate units.

Al Muhammar is an east-side built-up district of mixed-height residential buildings with multi-storey and multi-zone restaurants.

Several relatively larger Al Muhammar restaurants need powerful central systems with multiple extraction units to cover more than one floor or cooking zone.

The AC setup in Al Muhammar

  1. 1

    Central extraction for multiple zones

    A powerful main extraction unit connected to branches for each floor or cooking zone, gathering fumes and venting them from a single external point.

  2. 2

    Grease filters on each branch

    Each separate branch has its own grease filter, easing cleaning and maintenance for each cooking zone independently.

  3. 3

    Central or semi-central cooling for thermal balance

    Central or large semi-central cooling systems deliver even temperature control across floors and zones without hot and cold spots.

Before the visit

Before our visit in Al Muhammar

  1. 1

    Bring full restaurant plans with dimensions

    Send us architectural drawings showing each floor, kitchen and zones so the team can do precise design work before the site visit.

  2. 2

    Identify external vent route and constraints

    Tell us where air can vent outside and any architectural or regulatory constraints on vent openings.

  3. 3

    Agree installation schedule and operational disruption

    Plan with us a schedule that minimises guest impact, perhaps in phases by floor or zone, or during scheduled closure days.

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 restaurant spans two floors, can one system cover both?

Yes, we design a central system with a powerful extraction unit and branches for each floor, with grease filters on each line and a shared discharge, but it needs careful mapping of space and loads.

The street is tight and rear access is easier, how do we coordinate?

Tell us the best entry point and parking, and we will take measurements beforehand to confirm equipment fits through the rear access safely.

East-side humidity and grease build-up happen fast, how do you cut cleaning frequency?

We fit high-capacity filters and improved drainage, and in larger restaurants may add an extra grease treatment unit to extend intervals between maintenance visits.

Do high ceilings in the ground floor cause extraction problems?

They may present challenges, but we choose extraction units with adequate power and size ducts at the right diameter to maintain correct air velocity without performance loss.

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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