Restaurant & cafe HVAC
Restaurant & cafe HVAC in Al Muntazahat
In Al Muntazahat, east Jeddah, restaurants and cafés operate from modern residential buildings with open multi-storey layouts. We balance cooking air against modern central HVAC to keep guests comfortable and dining rooms odour-free.
- 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 Muntazahat is relatively new with modern high-rise residential buildings, and several restaurants and cafés sit on the ground or first floors of these complexes. Open layouts, high ceilings and spacious areas give more flexibility to HVAC and hood systems. However, modern ceilings often hold complex piping and ducts may be integrated with the central cooling system. Pressure balance and make-up air are easier here than in older areas, but coordination with building management is vital because the hood can affect residential floors above.
Al Muntazahat is in east Jeddah, a zone of modern, contemporary residential high-rises with open-plan restaurants and cafés.
Most Al Muntazahat restaurants connect to a modern shared central system serving the whole building, with separate hoods per unit.
The AC setup in Al Muntazahat
- 1
Modern shared central HVAC system
The building is served by a single modern central unit distributing chilled air to all floors and commercial units.
- 2
Separate hoods with dedicated make-up air
Each restaurant has its own hood, and may also have its own make-up air system to balance against the shared cooling.
- 3
Integrated ducts in modern ceiling and walls
Duct and exhaust systems are precisely integrated into ceilings and walls, providing a clean look but requiring careful design knowledge before any modification.
Before the visit
Before our visit in Al Muntazahat
- 1
Get system diagrams from building management
Modern duct and HVAC diagrams are essential to understand how air is distributed and where modifications are feasible.
- 2
Coordinate with building management and affected residents
Any modification to the hood or cooling system can affect residential floors, so building management and residents need advance notice.
- 3
Provide access to ceiling passages and ductwork
Inspecting ducts, openings and connection points requires safe access to ceiling passages that may be shared with other units.
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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 hood is affecting the building's central cooling, how do we fix that?
Integrated ducts and shared pressure mean strong hood exhaust can pull cooled air from other floors. We need to reset flow rates with building management and may add dedicated make-up air.
Our ducts are modern and very complex, how do you diagnose problems?
We request building management provide system and duct diagrams, and may use pressure and flow measurement tools for accurate diagnosis before any changes.
Smells rise to the flats above the restaurant, is that a hood or cooling problem?
Usually the hood is not exhausting all cooking-polluted air before it mixes with air serving other floors. We need to check hood strength, increase make-up air and work with the building on better isolation.
Can you work with modern central HVAC without breaking walls?
Yes, modern systems often have accessible spaces in ceilings and passages, but it depends on building design. We assess options with building management before starting.
