Solutions for Layouting the Prep – Cooking – Plating – Pass Line in a Professional European Restaurant Kitchen

“A top-tier European restaurant doesn’t start at the dining table – it starts with the kitchen layout.”

The F&B industry in Vietnam is undergoing rapid professionalization, with customer experience, operational efficiency, and food safety standards becoming critical benchmarks for success.

For restaurants serving set menus, which require high synchronization and tight time control, the kitchen in a European-standard restaurant always focuses on the seamless connection between functional areas: prep area → cooking area → plating → pass line. This is akin to a lean, efficient production line, where every second counts. A minor mistake in the layout can lead to serious consequences: delayed dishes, incorrect plating, disorganized service – and most importantly, a negative impact on the customer’s dining experience.

So, how can we layout the prep, cooking, plating, and pass line areas logically and effectively, just like a Michelin-star kitchen?

The answer is not simple because designing an industrial kitchen to European standards is not just about equipment placement—it’s about the art of organizing space, where operation, hygiene, and aesthetics all come together.

In this article, Saigon Horeca will share the best solutions for designing a European restaurant kitchen, based on real-world experiences from implementing numerous projects, including steakhouses, fine dining, and five-star hotels. This will help you create not just a smoothly operating kitchen but also elevate the prestige of your restaurant right from behind the kitchen doors.