How to open a restaurant in the UK

Opening a restaurant in the UK takes no qualification and a lot of paperwork. Nobody will ask for a catering diploma. What you do need is premises that can legally be used as a restaurant, a food business registration, a food safety management system and, if you want to serve alcohol, a premises licence.

This page follows the order in which things actually go wrong. Rules differ by council and change over time, so check every point with the body named before you sign anything.

The premises first

Signing a lease before checking the building is the most expensive mistake in the trade. Almost everything else follows from the site.

• Check the planning use class. Most restaurants and cafes sit in Class E, but a change of use or a change to the shopfront may still need permission, and a hot food takeaway is treated separately.
• Extraction is a lease-stage question, not a fit-out question. Premises with no workable flue leave you with heavy works or a menu without cooking.
• You need a fire risk assessment in writing, and you are the responsible person for it.
• Gas appliances need a Gas Safe registered engineer and a certificate. Electrical equipment needs testing on a schedule you can show.
• Tables on the pavement need a pavement licence from the council, separately from anything else.
• Commercial waste is not collected with household waste. You need a contract and you keep the duty of care paperwork.

Ask the council what applies to that exact address. Opening hours, extraction and pavement rules change from street to street.

Registering the business

How you register depends on the structure. A sole trader registers for Self Assessment with HMRC. A limited company is incorporated at Companies House and then registers for Corporation Tax. Most restaurants with staff and a lease end up as a limited company, but that is a conversation for your accountant before you start, not after.

Register for VAT once your turnover passes the threshold, and check the threshold at the time rather than relying on a figure you read somewhere. Restaurant food eaten in is standard rated, and the rules on takeaway and cold food are their own subject.

If you employ anyone, you need PAYE, a workplace pension scheme and employers' liability insurance. The insurance is a legal requirement, not an option, and you need to display or produce the certificate.

Food business registration

You must register your food business with the local council at least 28 days before you open. Registration is free, it cannot be refused, and trading without it is an offence. Do it early: the date you register is the date the clock starts.

An environmental health officer will inspect and give you a food hygiene rating. In England that rating is voluntary to display and in Wales and Northern Ireland it must be displayed, so check what applies where you are. The rating goes online either way, and it is the first thing a customer sees next to your name.

You need a documented food safety management system based on HACCP principles. For a small business the Food Standards Agency's own pack is the usual route, and inspectors know it. Keep it filled in. An inspection is largely a conversation about your records.

Anyone handling food needs training appropriate to their work. Level 2 food safety is the common standard for kitchen and front of house.

Allergens and labelling

The fourteen named allergens must be declared. How you declare them depends on how the food is sold. Food made and packed on the premises for direct sale needs full ingredient labelling with allergens emphasised, which is what Natasha's Law introduced. Food served to order can be handled by staff who know the dishes, as long as the information is accurate and a written record exists.

Tie allergens to the dish rather than keeping a separate list. A separate list goes out of date the first time a supplier changes.

Alcohol and music

Selling alcohol needs a premises licence from the council under the Licensing Act. The application involves a plan of the premises, your proposed hours and a consultation period in which the police, environmental health and neighbours can object.

Every premises licence also needs a Designated Premises Supervisor who holds a personal licence. That person applies for the personal licence themselves, after an accredited qualification and a criminal record check, and it takes time. Start it before you need it.

Playing recorded music in the dining room needs a licence from PPL PRS. It is separate from your alcohol licence and separate from any streaming subscription you pay for personally.

The sum that decides

The licences let you open. The sum decides whether you stay open.

Work out the food cost of every dish from the recipe and your real purchase prices, packaging included. Compare it with the selling price excluding VAT. That is the only number that tells you whether the menu holds, and it moves the moment a supplier puts prices up.

Do the same with fixed costs. Rent, wages, energy, insurance: divide the total by the covers you realistically expect. That is what every cover has to earn before anyone talks about profit. Plenty of menus are built on a level of trade the room cannot physically deliver.

Catermonkey works out the cost price from your recipes and updates it when your purchase prices change. You see what is left on a dish before it goes on the menu.

Checklist before opening

• Premises checked: planning use, extraction, fire, gas, electrics
• Lease signed after those checks, not before
• Structure chosen with the accountant
• Registered with HMRC or Companies House
• Food business registered with the council, at least 28 days ahead
• Food safety management system written and in use
• Staff trained to the right level
• Allergen information recorded and tied to the dishes
• Premises licence granted and a Designated Premises Supervisor in place
• PPL PRS licence if you play music
• Employers' liability and public liability insurance in place
• Commercial waste contract signed
• Food cost calculated on every dish on the menu

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a qualification to open a restaurant in the UK?

No. There is no required qualification to own or run a restaurant. Staff handling food need training appropriate to their job, and anyone acting as Designated Premises Supervisor needs a personal licence, which does involve a qualification.

How far in advance do I register the food business?

At least 28 days before you open. Registration is with the local council, it is free and it cannot be refused. Trading without it is an offence, so treat the date as a hard deadline rather than a formality.

Do I have to display my food hygiene rating?

It depends where you are. Display is mandatory in Wales and Northern Ireland and voluntary in England. The rating is published online in all cases, so a customer will find it whether or not it is on your door.

What do I need to serve alcohol?

A premises licence from the council, and a Designated Premises Supervisor who holds a personal licence. The two are separate applications on separate timescales, and the personal licence is the one people leave too late.

Can I start by cooking from home?

For some kinds of business, yes. You still register with the council, your kitchen is still inspected and the same hygiene rules apply. Check your mortgage, your lease and your home insurance as well, because those often say more about it than the food rules do.

How long does the whole thing take?

Registration takes days. What takes time is the premises, the licence consultation period and the personal licence for your Designated Premises Supervisor. Count in months rather than weeks, and start with the site.

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