Restaurant Interior Design in Vancouver
Ark & Mason designs and builds restaurants, cafes and food-service spaces in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. We plan the kitchen, the seating and the finishes together, manage the permits, and run construction through to opening.
If you are taking over a restaurant space or converting a unit for food service, this page explains what restaurant design involves and how we deliver it.
What restaurant design has to solve
A restaurant is a kitchen, a dining room and a set of regulated systems in one unit. The kitchen layout decides how fast service runs. Seating decides how many covers the room holds and how it feels. Ventilation, plumbing, grease management, fire safety and health requirements decide what can be approved.
We design these together so the room you are shown is a room that can be permitted and built by our commercial design-build team.
Food-service spaces we design and build
Restaurants
Dining room layout, bar and service stations, lighting and finishes, coordinated with the kitchen.
Cafes and counter service
Queue, counter and equipment layout for small footprints. Oakberry Acai in Richmond is a 475 sq ft counter-service unit completed in 2026.
Conversions
Turning a retail or office unit into a food-service space, including the mechanical and plumbing work that involves. See our tenant improvements in Vancouver.
John Ross Insurance
John Ross Insurance
Polygon Health
Polygon Health
Motus Engineering Office
Motus Engineering Office
Physiolab Little Mountain
PHYSIOLAB LITTLE MOUNTAIN
Headicure Head Spa
Headicure Head Spa
Meraki Beauty Bar
Meraki Beauty Bar
Our restaurant design process
- Understand the concept. Menu, service style, seat count and budget.
- Review the unit and the lease. Existing services, exhaust route, landlord requirements and any tenant improvement allowance.
- Kitchen and seating layout. Equipment plan, service flow and seating plan developed together.
- Interior design and 3D renderings. Materials, lighting and furniture shown before construction.
- Drawings, engineering and permits. Mechanical, electrical and plumbing coordination, building permit and health approval submissions.
- Construction. We manage the trades, equipment installation and inspections.
- Fit-out and handover. Millwork, furniture and fixtures installed, with time to train staff before opening.
Why restaurant owners choose Ark & Mason
- One team for design, permits and construction. Fewer handoffs and fewer change orders.
- Kitchen and dining room designed together. Service flow is planned, not left to the contractor.
- Permit experience. We prepare building permit and health approval submissions and deal with reviewers.
- Custom millwork. Bars, counters and banquettes built for the room.
- Trust. Ark & Mason holds a 5.0 rating across 36 Google reviews.
What Our Customers Say
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Kitchen layout, equipment plan and dining room are designed together, with engineers coordinated for mechanical, electrical and plumbing.
Yes. We prepare the drawings and submissions and manage the process.
Often, yes. It depends on exhaust, plumbing and electrical capacity, which we check before design begins.
Yes. We provide commercial design-build, so the same team manages construction.
Before you sign the lease if you can. An early look at the unit shows what the conversion will involve.
Tell us about your concept and your opening date. Call (604) 307-9669 or book a meeting to talk about restaurant design in Vancouver.