Restaurant & cafe HVAC
Restaurant & cafe HVAC in Al Shuwaidi
In Al Shuwaidi, north Jeddah, modern restaurants and cafés sit in spacious residential zones and need balanced HVAC to keep cooking odours away from dining areas. Alrabih designs the airflow so the kitchen extract does not pull from the main room, keeping your guests in clean, cool air.
- 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 Shuwaidi's buildings are relatively modern and spacious, with restaurants and cafés built to contemporary standards featuring large dining halls and separate kitchens. The hot desert climate and seasonal humidity place heavy load on cooling systems, and airborne dust accumulates quickly on filters and AC coils in high-traffic dining venues. The HVAC here must work on three fronts: cooling the main dining room, extracting kitchen smoke, and supplying replacement air to offset what the hood pulls out.
Al Shuwaidi lies in north Jeddah, a modern residential zone with open spaces and commercial clusters where restaurants and cafés cluster together.
Most modern restaurants in Al Shuwaidi run centralised HVAC systems with dedicated kitchen extract hoods and return air balance to the dining room.
The AC setup in Al Shuwaidi
- 1
Centralised HVAC with separate extract hood
Most modern Al Shuwaidi restaurants rely on an independent kitchen extract hood and centralised ductwork for the main dining room.
- 2
Make-up air supply to balance kitchen extraction
The system design includes a make-up air duct that cools air into the kitchen to replace what the hood extracts, preventing the dining room from being pulled.
- 3
Coil protection from grease and dust
Coils and filters in the kitchen system gather grease and dust rapidly, so we specify heavy-duty filters and recommend regular cleaning to maintain efficiency.
Before the visit
Before our visit in Al Shuwaidi
- 1
Show us the current ventilation plan for kitchen and dining
If you have a drawing or plan showing the hood location, outdoor units and AC ducting, share it with us before the visit.
- 2
Identify parking and rooftop or plant-room access
HVAC units and hood louvers are usually on the roof, so confirm our team can safely reach the roof and park close to the main entry.
- 3
Describe the current problems you face
If you are currently bothered by kitchen odour in the dining room, uneven cooling, or a loud hood, tell us before the visit so we focus on the root causes.
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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.
Modern restaurants here need special pressure balancing, how do you handle it?
We measure the hood's airflow and the make-up air supplying the kitchen, then balance the pressure between the kitchen and dining room to prevent odours reaching your guests. This keeps the dining area comfortable and air quality high.
Desert dust is heavy in Al Shuwaidi, does it affect the restaurant's filters?
Yes, airborne dust collects quickly on air filters and outdoor coils. We recommend cleaning or replacing filters more frequently than in other areas, and regular coil cleaning to maintain cooling efficiency.
Hot kitchen air vents out the hood, does it harm the outdoor AC units?
If the hood outlet sits close to the outdoor unit, hot air can re-enter it and cut cooling efficiency. We carefully position the hood outlet and outdoor unit to avoid this negative effect.
How often should kitchen coils be cleaned in a busy restaurant?
Busy Al Shuwaidi restaurants need monthly filter and coil checks due to grease and dust buildup. We recommend a quarterly maintenance contract that includes coil cleaning to keep performance stable.
