Commercial Restaurant Construction

Meat Moot City Walk - Restaurant Construction Excellence

City Walk, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

2,500 sq ft restaurant construction for Meat Moot at City Walk. Kitchen build, dining fit-out, and MEP works. Completed in 2024.

Client

Meat Moot Restaurant Group

Completed

2024

Size

2,500 sq ft

Project Overview

This was a 2,500 sq ft restaurant fit-out for Meat Moot at City Walk — one of Meraas' high-traffic retail and dining destinations in central Dubai. The project covered the full conversion of a shell-and-core commercial unit into a working restaurant, including the commercial kitchen, dining area, front-of-house finishes, and all MEP services.

We ran the project from start to handover, coordinating with the client's design team, kitchen equipment suppliers, and Meraas' tenant coordination department. City Walk has strict guidelines for contractor access, working hours, material storage, and facade finishes — you can't just show up with a van and start drilling. Every delivery and noisy trade had to be scheduled through the developer's management office, and hoarding had to meet their visual standards throughout the build.

The timeline was tight. Restaurant clients need to open as soon as possible — every week of construction is a week without revenue while rent is already running. That pressure shaped every scheduling decision on this project.

In-Depth Look

Project Details

Kitchen Build and MEP Infrastructure

The kitchen was the most technically demanding part of the job. A commercial kitchen in a mall environment needs a dedicated fresh air supply and a grease-rated exhaust system that connects into the building's main riser — not a standalone rooftop unit. We installed a full stainless steel ductwork run from the kitchen hood to the building's designated exhaust shaft, with grease filters, an inline fan, and fire dampers at the riser penetration.

Gas supply for the cooking line was connected to the building's central LPG system with a dedicated gas train, solenoid valve, and leak detection — all required by Dubai Civil Defence before they'll sign off on the kitchen. Electrical load for the kitchen equipment (ovens, fryers, blast chiller, walk-in cold room) was substantial, and the panel had to be sized and approved as part of the DEWA load calculation before we could energise.

The cold room was built in-situ with insulated panel walls and a ceiling-mounted condensing unit. Floor drainage under and around the kitchen was laid to falls with grease trap connections — getting this wrong means standing water and hygiene violations, so our plumbing team laser-checked the falls before the screed was poured.

Our scheduling and procurement on the kitchen package was planned around equipment delivery dates. The hood and ductwork had to be installed before the ceiling went in, the cold room panels before the wall finishes, and the floor drainage before the screed. Getting any of those out of sequence would have meant ripping finished work out.

Dining Area Fit-Out and Brand Finishes

The dining area fit-out covered flooring, wall finishes, banquette seating, lighting, and the service counter. The client's design called for a combination of timber cladding, exposed brick-effect panels, and decorative metal screens — all brand elements that had to match the Meat Moot look across their other locations.

Flooring was porcelain tile in a dark tone rated for heavy commercial foot traffic. We laid this on a levelled screed with movement joints at regular intervals — in a restaurant, the floor takes more abuse than in any residential setting, so material specification and installation quality both matter.

Banquette seating was built as a carpentry frame fixed to the wall with upholstered cushions supplied by the client's furniture vendor. Our job was to build the timber base to exact dimensions, install power and data for any table-side charging points, and make sure the wall behind was finished flat before the banquette went in.

Lighting combined decorative pendants over the dining tables with recessed downlights for general illumination and accent strip lighting on shelving. All circuits were on a dimming system so the staff could adjust the atmosphere between lunch and dinner service.

The facade and signage had to comply with Meraas' tenant design manual — specific materials, illumination levels, and sign dimensions are all controlled. We submitted shop drawings for approval before fabrication, which added lead time but avoided any rejection at installation stage.