A restaurant has two engines that have to start in sequence: the kitchen and the floor. The kitchen needs fridges checked, prep done and the line set before a single ticket lands. The floor needs tables laid, the float counted and the reservations book read before the first guest walks in. Get the sequence wrong and the 7pm rush exposes every gap. A restaurant opening and closing checklist gives both halves of the building a defined start and a defined finish, so service runs clean and the close protects tomorrow.
This guide covers the full restaurant opening and closing checklist, split into back of house and front of house, with the kitchen open and close, the fridge temperature log, the allergen matrix, the prep list and the cash-up. It is written so a head chef and a floor supervisor can each run their side without you in the building.
What good looks like
A good restaurant runs on a clear split between back of house and front of house, each with its own opener and its own closer, working to a written standard. The kitchen does not wait for the floor and the floor does not wait for the kitchen. Both follow a list. Prep is done to a par level written down in advance, not guessed at. The line is set the same way every service so any chef can step onto any section.
The failure points cluster at two moments: the open, when prep gets skimped to save time, and the close, when tired teams cut corners. A fridge stacked too hot because the opener never read the temperature. A prep list half-done, so the kitchen runs out of a key component at 8:30. A close where the line is wiped but the fryers are never filtered, the floor under the pass is never mopped, and the cash-up is left “for the morning” and never reconciles.
A food safety inspector in a restaurant looks harder than in a cafe, because the cooking is more complex. They want to see core cooking temperatures being probed and recorded, chilled stock genuinely cold with a written log, a clear allergen matrix the floor team can use mid-service, and clean separation between raw and ready-to-eat. The classic failure is a beautiful dining room sitting above a kitchen where the temperature log was filled in for the whole week in one handwriting, on a Friday. Inspectors recognise that instantly.
Kitchen open (back of house)
The kitchen opens first. This is the chef’s list, run in order.
- Switch on and check all equipment: ranges, ovens, fryers, grill, pass heat lamps.
- Read and record every fridge, freezer and cold-prep unit before loading. Chilled 8C or below, freezers minus 18C. Log it.
- Check deliveries received overnight or first thing: temperature on arrival, dates, condition. Reject anything wrong and record it.
- Work the prep list to par: butchery, sauces, garnishes, mise en place, portioning.
- Set the line: each section stocked, labelled and dated, raw and ready-to-eat kept apart.
- Calibrate or check the probe thermometer. A probe that reads wrong is worse than no probe.
- Brief the kitchen on specials, allergen changes and any 86’d items.
Front of house open
The floor opens alongside the kitchen. This is the supervisor’s list.
- Unlock, lights, music, heating or cooling to service level.
- Read the reservations book: covers, timings, large parties, allergy notes, special occasions.
- Lay all tables to standard: covers, glassware, napkins, condiments.
- Set up the bar and any drinks stations, check stock and ice.
- Count and set the float, check the card machines are online.
- Wipe down the host stand, menus, door glass and entrance.
- Brief the floor on specials, 86’d dishes and the allergen matrix location.
During service
The checks that keep a busy service from drifting into a food safety or service problem.
- Probe and record the core temperature of cooked dishes through service. At least 75C core, or 70C held for two minutes.
- Hot-hold anything on the pass or in a bain-marie at 63C or above. Below that, it has a limited window before it must be discarded.
- Re-stock the line and re-date as components are replenished. Never top up old with new without cleaning down.
- Floor team checks allergy notes against the matrix before sending any flagged dish.
- Pass and section wipe-downs between the lunch and dinner services if you trade both.
Kitchen close (back of house)
The kitchen close is the most safety-critical close in hospitality. Do not let it get rushed.
- Cool, cover, label and date any food being kept. Move it to the right chilled unit fast. Discard anything that should not carry over and record the waste.
- Final fridge and freezer temperature readings, logged.
- Break down and clean the line: surfaces, chopping boards, utensils, the pass.
- Filter or change fryer oil on its schedule, clean the grill and range.
- Clean down all equipment, sanitise food-contact surfaces, empty and clean the sinks.
- Sweep and mop the kitchen floor, including under the line and the pass.
- Empty bins, take waste to the bin store, replace liners, leave the area dry.
Front of house close
- Clear, strip and reset or store all table settings ready for tomorrow.
- Clean down the bar, drinks stations and coffee machine. Backflush and wipe the espresso group.
- Cash up: count takings, reconcile against the till and the card machine totals, set tomorrow’s float, secure the cash.
- Wipe menus, host stand, door glass and customer touchpoints.
- Vacuum or sweep and mop the dining floor.
- Final walk: lights, music, equipment off where safe, doors and windows secured, alarm set.
The prep list
The prep list is what stops the kitchen running dry mid-service. It works on par levels: for each component, the target quantity to hold, what is in stock, and the gap to make up. The opener works the gap. It is written down before service, not improvised during it, and it is the first thing a relief chef should be handed.
Fridge temperature log and allergen matrix
Two records carry the most weight. The fridge and freezer log is read and recorded at open and close, every unit, the actual number, with any out-of-range reading acted on and noted. The allergen matrix maps every dish to the 14 named allergens, lives where the floor team can reach it during service, and is updated the moment a recipe, special or supplier changes. The floor must be able to answer an allergy question accurately without going back to the kitchen for every dish.
The law, simply
Cooking and chilled storage in a restaurant are governed by the Food Safety (Temperature Control) Regulations 1995, enforced by your local council for the Food Standards Agency.
The duties are clear. Cook food to a core temperature of at least 75C, or hold it at 70C for two minutes, to kill harmful bacteria, and check it with a probe. Reheat to 63C or above, and only reheat once. Keep chilled food at 8C or below and freezers at minus 18C. Anything held hot for service stays at 63C or above. The space between 8C and 63C is the danger zone, where bacteria grow fastest, so food should move through it quickly. Written records of your temperatures are part of the duty, which is what the logs are for.
This is the everyday craft of a working kitchen, not a burden. A probe, a log and a routine cover it. You can read the FSA’s guidance for restaurants and the Safer Food, Better Business pack at food.gov.uk.
Questions operators ask
Should the kitchen or the floor open first? They open in parallel, but the kitchen’s safety-critical checks come first: fridges read and logged, deliveries checked, the line set. The floor can lay tables while the kitchen preps. The one thing that cannot wait is the cold chain.
What core temperature should we cook to? At least 75C in the thickest part, or 70C held for two minutes, checked with a clean, calibrated probe. Minced and rolled products always go to 75C because bacteria are mixed through, not just on the surface. Record it through service so the log reflects real cooking, not a Friday fill-in.
How do we handle an allergy order mid-service? The floor checks the allergen matrix before the order goes to the kitchen, flags it clearly on the ticket, and the kitchen prepares it with clean equipment and separated ingredients. The matrix has to be current and reachable on the floor, not buried in an office.
The cash-up never balances. What are we doing wrong? Usually it is timing. The cash-up has to happen at close, against a written float and reconciled to both the till and the card machine totals, by the person who closed. Left to the morning, nobody can reconstruct the shift and small errors become unexplained gaps.
How do we stop the kitchen close getting rushed? Make the safety-critical jobs the first ones on the close list, not the last: chilling and storing food, final temperature readings, breaking down the line. Cosmetic jobs come after. If the team runs out of time, the things that get dropped should be the least risky, not the most.
Get the pack
The Upkept Restaurant Pack gives you the whole operation as clean, printable PDFs: kitchen open and close, full opening and closing checklists, kitchen cleaning schedule, fridge temperature log, a 14-allergen matrix, a prep list and a cash-up sheet. Split cleanly into back of house and front of house, in plain English, so a head chef and a floor supervisor can each run their side to standard without you on site. One ordered system that holds through the busiest service and protects every open that follows.