Dark kitchens in the UK: what they are and how to start one (2026)

A dark kitchen is a commercial kitchen that only cooks food for delivery or collection, with no dining room and usually no shopfront. Customers order through apps like Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats, or through the kitchen's own ordering page. "Ghost kitchen" is the US name for the same thing. In the UK you'll also hear delivery-only kitchen, virtual kitchen and (less often) cloud kitchen.

This guide explains how dark kitchens work in the UK, what they cost, the planning and neighbour problems that catch people out, and how to avoid handing a third of every order to the apps.

What is a dark kitchen? The meaning in plain English

A dark kitchen does everything a takeaway does except serve people face to face. There are no tables and no counter staff. Often there's no sign above the door either. Riders collect the food from a back door or a hatch.

The "dark" part just means the lights are off at the front. The kitchen itself is busy.

Dark kitchen, ghost kitchen, cloud kitchen: is there a difference?

• Dark kitchen is the usual UK term.
• Ghost kitchen is the American term. It means the same thing.
• Cloud kitchen is common in India and the Middle East. In the UK it sometimes means a shared site run by an operator.
• Virtual brand is different. It's a menu and name that only exists online. A virtual brand can be cooked in a dark kitchen or in a normal restaurant's kitchen.

The main dark kitchen models in the UK

Most new UK operators start with the second model. If you already run a takeaway, a virtual brand costs very little to test. You use the same kitchen, staff and suppliers, and only add a new menu.

Pros and cons of a dark kitchen

Pros

• Lower rent. You don't need a high-street unit with footfall. A back-street or industrial unit works.
• No front-of-house costs. No seating, decor or waiting staff.
• Fast menu testing. You can launch, tweak or drop a brand in weeks.
• Several brands from one kitchen. A burger brand, a wings brand and a loaded-fries brand can share one fryer.

Cons

• You're invisible. With no shopfront, customers only find you on the apps. That makes you dependent on them.
• Commission is high. App-delivered orders usually cost around 30% in commission plus VAT (see below).
• Neighbours notice. Smells, extraction fans and riders waiting outside cause complaints, especially near homes.
• Ratings decide everything. One bad week of late or cold food can push you down the app rankings.

Planning permission: the part most people get wrong

This is the biggest legal risk for a new dark kitchen, and it's where many UK sites have come unstuck.

What use class is a dark kitchen?

In England, planning uses are grouped into "use classes". Since September 2020:

• Restaurants and cafés sit in Class E (commercial, business and service).
• Hot food takeaways are sui generis, meaning "in a class of their own". Changing a unit to or from a takeaway normally needs planning permission.
• Dark kitchens are not named anywhere. Councils decide case by case. Some treat a delivery-only kitchen as sui generis. Others have treated it as a light industrial use or a general industrial use.

The London Borough of Camden is the best-known example. It treated dark kitchens as sui generis and took enforcement action against a delivery-only kitchen site in Swiss Cottage after residents complained about noise and smells. On appeal, a planning inspector allowed the use to continue on a temporary basis with conditions (see Sources).

What this means for you: never assume a unit's current use covers a dark kitchen. Ask the council for pre-application advice, or pay a planning consultant, before you sign anything.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own use classes orders, with different categories for food and drink. Check with your local planning authority before you sign a lease.

Odour, noise and neighbours

Councils and residents usually focus on four things:

1. Cooking smells. You'll need a proper extraction and odour control system: grease filters, carbon filters or electrostatic units, and a flue that discharges high enough. Councils often ask for an odour risk assessment based on EMAQ's Control of Odour and Noise from Commercial Kitchen Exhaust Systems (2018), which updated the old DEFRA guidance on kitchen exhausts.
2. Fan and plant noise. Extraction fans and fridge condensers running late at night are a common complaint. Expect a noise assessment and limits on operating hours.
3. Riders. Mopeds idling, riders chatting and blocking pavements while they wait. Provide an off-street waiting area, ask apps to stagger collections, and have a clear pick-up point.
4. Deliveries and waste. Early-morning supplier drops and overflowing bins.

Tip: an industrial estate or a unit with no homes nearby avoids most of this. A railway arch with flats above is the riskiest choice.

Licences and registration for a dark kitchen

Nations:

• Scotland: alcohol is licensed under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005. Selling food between 11pm and 5am may need a late hours catering licence from your council (Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982).
• Northern Ireland: alcohol licensing works differently (court-based, with limits on new pub licences). Ask your council about any rules for late-night trading.

Food safety, hygiene ratings and allergens

• You'll be inspected and get a food hygiene rating like any takeaway. Customers can look it up on the FSA website, and some delivery apps show it on your listing.
• Displaying your rating is the law in Wales and Northern Ireland. In England it's voluntary but expected. Scotland uses its own scheme (FHIS).
• Allergens: because customers order remotely, allergen information for the 14 allergens must be available before they buy and when the food is delivered (FSA distance-selling rules). Build it into every online menu, including each virtual brand. On Menuthere, every plan (Free included) lets you tag any of the 14 allergens, calories and a halal mark on each dish, and customers see them when they open the dish. Keep an allergen matrix too: our free allergen matrix maker can load the allergens you've tagged. For delivery, put allergen details in the bag or on the label as well.
• VAT: hot delivered food is 20%. Cold items like salads are usually 0% if you're VAT-registered. See our VAT on takeaway food guide.

How much does it cost to start a dark kitchen in the UK?

These are typical estimates for 2026, not quotes. Prices vary a lot by region and by how much kit the unit already has.

Typical estimates only. Get quotes for your area.

Your biggest ongoing costs are ingredients (aim for 28–35% of the ex-VAT price), packaging, labour, rent and app commission. Check your margins with our GP calculator.

Delivery-app dependence: the hidden risk

Because a dark kitchen has no shopfront, almost every early order comes through an app. That's fine for getting found. It's expensive for staying profitable.

Typical UK app commission (check your own contract):

• Just Eat: doesn't publish a public rate card. Reported rates are about 30% when Just Eat delivers and about 14% if you use your own drivers, plus 20% VAT on the commission.
• Uber Eats: 30% when Uber delivers (33% for Uber One members), 13% for your own delivery or collection, plus VAT, and a £650 + VAT activation fee (Uber Eats UK pricing page).
• Deliveroo: rates are set per restaurant and not published.

See the details in our guides to Just Eat commission, Deliveroo fees and Uber Eats commission, or compare all three in Just Eat vs Deliveroo vs Uber Eats.

Worked example: one £25 order

On 400 orders a month, that difference is over £3,000 a month. You don't need to quit the apps. You need to move your repeat customers off them.

How to get direct orders when you have no shopfront

1. Get your own ordering page first. A simple link customers can save. With Menuthere, it's commission-free, takes card payments into your own Stripe account (Lite plan and above) and prints orders in your kitchen. Create your free ordering page.
2. Put a card in every bag. "Order direct next time and save" with a QR code to your ordering page. Check your delivery-app contract first, in case it limits marketing in bags sent out through the app.
3. Offer collection. Even a back-door hatch lets nearby customers order direct and skip delivery fees.
4. Use WhatsApp for regulars. Customers message "Hi" and get an Order Now button that opens your menu. They get automatic updates when the order is accepted, ready and out for delivery. WhatsApp ordering and broadcasts are part of Menuthere's Pro plan. Meta bills your own WhatsApp account per message, and Menuthere adds no markup. See WhatsApp ordering.
5. Be findable on Google. A delivery-only kitchen can't always list itself like a shop. Our Google Business Profile guide for restaurants explains the rules for delivery-only brands (hidden address, service areas, branded packaging).
6. Give each virtual brand its own link. One menu per brand keeps things clear for customers. Menuthere lets you run several brands on one account.
7. Once a brand has a big base of regulars, consider its own app. Menuthere's Branded App plan (US$99 a month, store fees included) puts that brand's app on their phones, with push offers on quiet nights.

Keep the apps for discovery. Keep your regulars for yourself. free for 50 orders a month with 0% commission.

Create your free ordering page

How to start a dark kitchen: step by step

1. Pick one tested dish. Delivery-only works best for food that travels: burgers, wings, curries, pizza, bowls. Test it on your existing menu or at a market first.
2. Work out your numbers. Price each item so you still make money after 30% commission. Many operators charge slightly more on the apps than on their own page.
3. Choose your model. Virtual brand, shared site or your own unit (see the table above).
4. Check planning before the lease. Get the council's view in writing. Budget for extraction and odour control.
5. Register with your council at least 28 days before you start trading. It's free.
6. Sort licences if you'll trade after 11pm or sell alcohol.
7. Build your menu with allergens and calories tagged on each dish, plus photos and clear descriptions. Keep it short: 10–15 items per brand.
8. Set up ordering: your own ordering page plus one or two apps to start.
9. Get your kitchen flow right. One ticket printer or screen for all channels saves missed orders. See kitchen printing.
10. Launch, then push direct. Bag inserts, a collection discount and WhatsApp re-orders from week one.

Is a dark kitchen a good business?

It can be, but it's not easy money. The model suits owners who already know how to run a takeaway kitchen and want to grow without a second shopfront. It's risky for first-timers who sign a long lease on an unfitted unit and rely on one app for every order.

The operators who last tend to do three things: keep fit-out costs low, watch their ratings daily, and build a base of direct customers they can reach without paying commission.