Restaurant uniforms for kitchen and front of house

Getting both right, in a style that suits your menu and room, is one of the simpler ways to make a restaurant feel finished. Here is how to approach each side of the pass.

Start with the room and the menu

A fine dining room suits crisp shirts, waistcoats or knitwear and long bistro aprons. A neighbourhood Italian or gastro-style place might choose casual denim or check shirts with a short waist apron. A family restaurant often goes for embroidered polos that are easy to wash and replace.

Take colour cues from the room: the walls, the menus, the tableware. Staff should look like they belong in the space.

The kitchen brigade

Chef jackets are double-breasted for a reason: the front can be swapped over to hide a spill, and the layered cotton gives some protection from splashes. Many kitchens now choose lighter, breathable fabrics with mesh panels for hot lines. Chef trousers, skull caps or hats and bib aprons complete the set.

For food safety, keep kitchen clothing for the kitchen, and change before going outside or front of house. Avoid loose items and outer pockets that could drop into food.

Front of house that lasts a service

Waiting staff walk miles in a shift, carry hot plates and get the odd splash of red wine. Easy-care poplin shirts that dry with fewer creases, a waist apron for the order pad and a smart, stain-hiding colour make life easier. Have spare aprons on site so a mid-service spill does not mean serving in a stained one. Comfortable, closed shoes with a good grip help on busy floors.

Where to put your logo

Embroidery is the standard for restaurant uniforms. A small logo on the left chest of chef jackets, with the chef's name or role beneath, is classic and survives hot washing. On aprons, embroider the logo near the top of the bib or on one side of a waist apron. For front of house shirts, keep the logo small and tonal for fine dining, or bolder for a casual concept where the brand is part of the experience.

Ordering for restaurants

Most restaurants start with chef's jackets, chef's trousers, hats and accessories and branded aprons. You can order from one garment and add more as you take people on. The logo price drops at 9 and again at 25 garments, and every garment with a small logo counts towards it, so mixing styles and colours still gets the better price. Before anything is made, we embroider an actual sample of your logo and email you a photo to approve, or you can pop in to our Hull workshop to see it.