Restaurant & cafe HVAC
Restaurant & cafe HVAC in Al Majami'
In Al Majami', far north Jeddah, restaurants and cafés serve residents and visitors in a rapidly developing area. An HVAC system here must balance intensive cooking-fume extraction with dining-room cooling without food odours overwhelming the experience.
- 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 Majami' is a rapidly growing district at far-north Jeddah with modern shops and restaurants in contemporary buildings and medium to spacious halls. The district's rapid expansion means high guest and staff density in restaurants. Kitchens here may be medium or large depending on restaurant type, and fumes and vapours build up quickly. An efficient HVAC must extract high volumes of fumes at high speed while replacing exhausted air with immediate cool supply.
Al Majami' sits at far-north Jeddah, a rapidly growing district with a mix of modern shops and restaurants in contemporary buildings.
Most new restaurants in Al Majami' have powerful hoods or centralised extraction, but pressure balance and make-up air need tuning for optimal performance.
The AC setup in Al Majami'
- 1
Powerful hood with high-capacity regulated make-up air
Restaurants in Al Majami' need very high-flow hoods and regulated make-up air from a powerful outdoor unit to replace extracted air.
- 2
Separate AC units with central air distribution
Large halls may need separate units linked to central distribution and strong filters for effective cooling.
- 3
Advanced filters and dehumidifier
Using top-grade filters and a separate dehumidifier unit in this humid area improves air quality significantly.
Before the visit
Before our visit in Al Majami'
- 1
Send restaurant layout with kitchen and exhaust routes
A clear layout showing halls, kitchen, doors and windows helps us design a balanced system.
- 2
Confirm roof and foundation capacity
Confirm that the roof and foundations support the weight of AC units, hood and equipment, and whether space is sufficient.
- 3
Identify outside air intakes and exhaust outlets
Tell us where cool outside air can enter and where hood exhaust exits away from the customer entrance.
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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 new restaurant is very hot despite strong AC, what is wrong?
Usually the hood pulls large air volumes without enough make-up air. We regulate flow and fit make-up vents from outside the building or add extra AC units.
Barbecue odour spreads from the open kitchen to the dining hall, how do we fix it?
We install a horizontal air barrier above the grill and increase hood suction speed, ensuring make-up air enters far from the dining area.
Moisture on ceilings and walls creates mould odours, what is the solution?
We improve ventilation, extraction and make-up air, clean filters on high schedule, and may add a dehumidifier to dry incoming air.
Too many outdoor units on the roof, is there a distribution issue?
We arrange units with proper spacing, ensure foundation safety and prevent airflow conflicts between them. We may suggest a centralised system instead of multiple units.
