Restaurant and Café Kitchen Cleaning Checklist (Daily, Weekly, Monthly)
A clean kitchen keeps customers safe, helps your food hygiene rating and lowers the risk of grease fires. Here's what to clean, and how often.
TidyGo team5 min read
A clean kitchen isn't a nice extra for a food business: it's the law. It protects your customers, helps your food hygiene rating, keeps pests away and lowers the risk of a grease fire. This checklist shows what a small restaurant, café or takeaway kitchen should clean every day, week and month, and how to do it properly.
This is general guidance. Your local council's food safety team can advise on your own business.
The golden rule: clean first, then disinfect
Disinfectant doesn't work properly on a dirty surface. Food safety teams call this a two-stage clean:
- Clean: wash off grease, food and dirt with hot water and detergent, then rinse.
- Disinfect: apply a disinfectant or sanitiser and leave it on for the contact time shown on the label.
Use a disinfectant that meets BS EN 1276 or BS EN 13697, and always mix it at the strength the maker gives. Your supplier can tell you which standard a product meets. North Northamptonshire Council explains this clearly in its cleaning and disinfecting guide.
Two-stage cleaning matters most on everything that touches food or hands: worktops, chopping boards, knives, slicers, handles and taps.
During service: clean as you go
- Wipe up spills straight away, especially on the floor.
- Clean and disinfect surfaces and boards between tasks, and always after raw meat, fish or eggs.
- Keep raw and ready-to-eat food apart, with separate boards, knives and cloths. Many kitchens colour-code them.
- Use disposable cloths where you can, or wash reusable ones on a hot wash and dry them between uses.
- Empty bins before they overflow.
Daily checklist (at the end of each day)
| What | How |
|---|---|
| Worktops and prep areas | Two-stage clean: clean, then disinfect |
| Chopping boards, knives and utensils | Wash, disinfect and air-dry, or run through a hot dishwasher cycle |
| Hobs, grills, griddles, and the outside of fryers and ovens | Degrease while warm (not hot) |
| Sinks, taps and hand-wash basins | Clean, disinfect, and restock soap and paper towels |
| Handles and switches | Fridge and door handles, light switches, the till and card machine |
| Fridges | Wipe spills, and check dates and temperatures |
| Dishwasher or glasswasher | Empty it, clean the filters and leave the door open |
| Bins | Empty, wash the lids and put in new liners |
| Floors | Sweep, then mop with hot water and detergent |
| Front of house | Tables, chairs, high chairs, menus, the counter and customer toilets |
Weekly checklist
| What | How |
|---|---|
| Inside fridges and freezers | Move the food to another fridge, then wash the shelves and door seals |
| Inside ovens and microwaves | Degrease. Our oven and extractor guide shows how |
| Extractor canopy filters | Soak in hot water with degreaser, or put them through the dishwasher if the maker allows |
| Behind and under equipment | Pull out anything on wheels. Grease and crumbs here attract pests |
| Walls, splashbacks and doors | Wash down, especially around the cooking area |
| Drains and floor gullies | Clear and clean them to stop smells and flies |
| Dry stores | Wipe the shelves, and check for spills and signs of pests |
| Taps, kettles and the coffee machine | Descale. London's hard water builds limescale fast |
Monthly checklist
| What | How |
|---|---|
| Fryers | Drain and clean them out, as often as the maker and your menu need |
| Ice machine | Empty, clean and sanitise it, following the maker's instructions |
| Freezers | Defrost if ice is building up |
| High-up areas | Tops of fridges and shelves, light fittings, vents and ceilings |
| Pest check | Look for droppings, gnaw marks and gaps, and keep a record |
Every 3 to 12 months: the extraction ductwork
Grease builds up inside kitchen extraction ducts, where you can't see it, and it burns easily. The industry standard for cleaning it is TR19 Grease, from the building services body BESA. Its minimum cleaning times are:
| How long you cook each day | Clean the ductwork at least |
|---|---|
| 12–16 hours (heavy use) | Every 3 months |
| 6–12 hours (moderate use) | Every 6 months |
| 2–6 hours (light use) | Every 12 months |
This is a job for a specialist ductwork cleaning company, and many insurers ask for proof that it's been done. BESA explains more about kitchen extract system cleaning.
Write it down: your cleaning schedule
A written cleaning schedule makes sure nothing gets missed, even when staff change. For each job, write down:
- what to clean
- how often
- which product, and how to mix it
- who does it, with space to sign when it's done
Cleaning is part of the food safety records every food business needs. The Food Standards Agency's free Safer food, better business pack includes a cleaning section you can use. Food safety officers also look at how clean your premises are when they give your food hygiene rating.
When to book a deep clean
Daily cleaning keeps you safe, but some jobs need more time. Book a deep clean:
- before you open a new site, or after building work or a refit
- after a pest problem has been treated
- if your last inspection mentioned cleaning
- every few months, to reach everything daily cleaning misses
Restaurant and café cleaning with TidyGo
TidyGo cleans restaurant and café kitchens and dining areas across London. Prices per cleaner, per hour:
- Normal clean: £20
- Deep clean: £24
Kitchens with greasy equipment like fryers and grills are always booked as a deep clean, so your cleaner has the time the job really needs. Choose a start time from 6am to 10pm, so the cleaning happens outside service.
Need it done faster? Book a team: for example, 2 cleaners for 3 hours on a deep clean costs 2 × 3 × £24 = £144, and you're finished in half the time. For regular cleans every week, a cleaning plan saves you money. See how our prices work.
