How to Choose the Perfect Commercial Refrigerator For Restaurants

Purchase price is only part of the decision when choosing a commercial refrigerator for your restaurant. Many factors decide what you’ll buy. The menu determines what needs to be stored and how much capacity you require. Also, your kitchen layout and available space influence the size and type of refrigerator. 

Once you know these requirements, you can narrow down the models that fit your restaurant and budget. Let us explain how to choose the right commercial fridge for your restaurant. 

Why Domestic Refrigerators Don't Work for Restaurants 

The design and build quality, cooling capacity and performance, and durability of both refrigerators are different. Certain factors set apart a domestic and commercial fridge:

1. Design and Build: The domestic fridges are built to blend in a home setting easily and suit light-duty tasks. During a busy service, a fridge door opens eighty or more times. Commercial units use stainless steel to handle frequent door openings in a busy restaurant kitchen. 

2. Temperature Recovery: A domestic compressor is built to run at around 40% capacity. Domestic units cannot recover temperature quickly under commercial demand. Temperature recovery slows, internal heat builds, and a fridge set to 5°C ends service closer to 9°C. 

3. Compliance Requirements: HACCP is the food safety system that requires restaurants to monitor, record, and prove their food was stored at a safe temperature at all times. Environmental Health Officers expect documented temperature holding from commercial-grade equipment. A domestic fridge cannot provide it.

Types of Commercial Refrigerators

Every commercial refrigerator has different jobs that entirely depend on the kitchen layout, menu, and service pattern of the restaurant.

Undercounter Refrigerators

Best for: Small Kitchens and individual prep stations, and as a secondary unit alongside an upright. 

Capacity: 100 to 200L

They sit beneath prep tables and keep ingredients within arm’s reach during service. Undercounter refrigerators are ideal for kitchens with limited space or work as a secondary unit alongside a larger fridge. They are kept in cafés, bars, sandwich stations, and prep areas where staff need to interact with customers. Also, at 850 to 900mm high, they double as worktop space, which matters in a tight kitchen. 

Koolmax sells a range of under-counter chillers. Browse their Under-Counter Chillers. 

Upright Refrigerators

Best for: Bulk ingredient storage and high-volume kitchens. 

Capacity: 400L single door to 1400L double door.

Upright fridges offer the most storage capacity per square foot and come in single- and double-door configurations. They are ideal for storing large quantities of food ingredients. Upright units are available in chilled and frozen options. Explore Koolmax's Single Door and Double Door Upright Chillers for the best quality and durability experience. 

Gastronorm Cabinets & Counters

Best for: High-volume kitchens storing and organising large quantities of food in GN pans.

Capacity: 600L to 1,400L 

They are built around the standard GN pan sizing, which is used across professional kitchens. . Every shelf accepts GN pans directly, adjustable to suit different pan depths and storage needs. They are available in both refrigerated and freezer configurations with adjustable shelving to suit different storage needs. 

Prep Counter Refrigerators

Best for: Pizza kitchens, sandwich bars, salad stations, and any station where food is assembled quickly during service.

Capacity: 200L to 600L 

A prep counter is built with a stainless steel work surface on top to hold ingredients and the prep station in one place. They reduce movement during service and keep toppings at temperature. They free up floor space compared to running a separate fridge and prep table. Browse Koolmax's 2 Door, 3 Door, and 4 Door Prep Counters. 

Topping Wells 

Best for: Salad bars, pizza stations, sandwich counters, and any operation where prepped ingredients need to be accessible. 

Capacity: 20L to 60L 

Topping wells are small chilled units designed to hold prepped ingredients directly at the service station. They feature multiple compartments to keep different toppings separate and accessible without staff needing to open a fridge during service. They maintain freshness of materials during busy hours and keep the station organised. 

Chest Freezers

Best for: Bulk frozen storage, high frozen stock turnover, back-of-house storage. 

Capacity: 252L to 562L

Horizontal lid units are built for bulk frozen storage of meats, seafood, and pre-prepared dishes. The temperature remains consistent throughout, better than an upright every time the lid is opened. It makes it more energy-efficient for long-term bulk storage. See the exclusive range of Koolmax's Chest Freezers. 

Display Refrigerators

Best for: Cafés, delis, grab-and-go operations, front-of-house sales. 

Capacity: 200L to 400L

They are front-of-house units with glass doors and LED lighting that allow customers to see products without a salesman. Temperature runs between -1°C and +7°C, which is looser than a storage fridge, and hence they are not suitable for raw protein storage. You can browse our Chilled Display range to see its detailed features and purposes. 

Bottle Coolers

Best for: Bars, pubs, back-bar display, bottled and canned drink service. 

Capacity: Single-, double-, and triple-door configurations

They feature a glass door and LED lighting, with a temperature profile of +3°C to +5°C built for drinks rather than food. The temperature setting is optimised for canned and bottled beverages. It doesn’t recover fast after door openings to keep food safe through busy service. They are not used for ingredient storage. To explore more, browse our Single, Double, and Triple Door Bottle Coolers. 

Cold Rooms

Capacity: 1,500L upwards

Best for: Hotels, high-volume restaurants, catering operations, any kitchen where standalone units no longer meet demand. 

They are used for operations that have outgrown the standalone units in larger restaurants. Koolmax supplies both Modular and Bespoke Cold Rooms.  Modular and bespoke builds require three-phase power and a concrete pad for permanent installation. Their real advantage is that you can easily walk in, see everything at once and manage stock rotation properly.

Blast Chillers

Capacity: Varies by model

Best for: Cook-chill kitchens, high-volume operations, catering businesses, anywhere HACCP compliance is required. 

These are not storage fridges, and they drop food temperature from 70°C to 3°C in under 90 minutes. They are essential for cook-chill operations and a legal requirement for HACCP compliance. Bacteria multiply fastest between 8°C and 68°C, and a blast chiller moves food through that range before it becomes a problem. 

Factors To Consider Before Buying a Commercial Fridge 

Selecting the right commercial refrigerator requires more consideration than browsing by price or capacity. There are several factors you will need to consider when selecting commercial units for your restaurants. 

Consider Restaurant Requirements First

The right starting point is your service patterns and operations. The fridge that easily works in small cafes isn’t the same as a 120-cover restaurant running a full à la carte menu. Three questions to ask before anything else:

• What does your menu require? Your menu decides the type of fridge you will purchase for your restaurant. Dairy or meat products have different requirements as compared to a sandwich or pizza menu. 

• How many covers are you running? Volume determines capacity. If your restaurant covers are high, you will automatically require high storage capacity units. 

• How does your team work during service? Service patterns affect placement, type, and number of units. A prep-heavy operation needs cold storage close to the prep area. 

Capacity & GN Compatibility

When sizing commercial units, consider Gastronorm pans rather than litres. A standard GN 1/1 pan measures 530 x 325mm. Most undercounter units fit 2 to 3 GN 1/1 pans per shelf. A fridge that looks large enough on paper can fall short in practice if the shelf layout does not fit standard pans. 

Space and Installation

You should measure the installation space and tape the footprint on the floor before ordering. Commercial fridges are listed in external dimensions. Allow 50 to 75mm ventilation clearance at the rear and sides. Closing that gap restricts condenser airflow and accelerates unit failure. 

Power Supply

The majority of commercial refrigerators operate on a standard single-phase 13A connection. Walk-in cold rooms and some blast chillers require three-phase power. Confirm your available supply when buying a unit for your restaurant. 

Running Costs 

A well-specified 600L upright running on R290 refrigerant typically costs between £ 125 and £ 210 per year to operate, based on a 30p/kWh energy rate. If you choose a 1,200L double-door unit, that figure rises to £250–£300 annually. Units on older R134a refrigerant consume 20 to 40% more. 

Climate Class

Climate class indicates the maximum ambient temperature a unit is designed to sustain reliably. 

Operating a Class 3 unit in a hot kitchen environment will fail. Kitchens that regularly exceed 32°C, particularly during summer service or near high-output cooking equipment, should specify Class 5. 

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Buying a Commercial Refrigerator

You need to avoid these mistakes during the purchase and installation of commercial units. 

• Overloading shelves blocks airflow and creates warm spots inside the cabinet.

• Getting the climate class wrong for your kitchen means the unit will struggle from day one and will not be energy efficient. 

• Leaving no ventilation gap at the rear overheats the condenser and shortens the unit's life.

• Using the wrong unit type for the job, for example a bottle cooler for food prep, is a food safety risk.

• Loading warm stock before the unit has reached temperature sets back the entire cabinet's recovery.

• Skipping defrost management in a busy kitchen leads to ice buildup on the evaporator coil.

• Worn door seals let warm air in continuously and can push running costs up by 30%.

• Buying for today's menu without factoring in growth means you will be undersized sooner than expected.

FAQs

What temperature should a commercial refrigerator be?

3°C the sweet spot for food safety and energy efficiency. Therefore, a commercial fridge should hold between 1°C and 5°C. Your EHO will expect daily logged temperature records every morning and evening. 

How much does a commercial fridge cost in the UK?

A commercial fridge price usually ranges from £300 to over £3,500 in the UK. The actual price range depends on the size, type, and model you select for your restaurant. 

Which is better between an upright and an undercounter refrigerator?

Both serve different purposes. Undercounter suits tight spaces and prep stations. Upright suits bulk storage and high-volume kitchens. Most restaurants prefer both. Undercounter per station and upright for bulk storage. 

Which climate rating do I need for my commercial fridge?

Class 4 is the minimum for most UK commercial kitchens, rated to 30°C ambient. If your kitchen regularly exceeds 32°C near pizza ovens or during summer peaks, specify Class 5, which is rated to 40°C. 

Conclusion

The choice of the right commercial refrigerator for your restaurant totally depends on the kitchen, menu, and how the staff works during work. Most restaurants get the fridge wrong because they shop by price first and figure out the details later. Get those three things right, and everything else follows. Take the time to specify correctly, and the fridge will earn its place in your kitchen for years.