Restaurant Lighting

Create A Well-Designed Space With Modern Restaurant Lighting

When it comes to commercial lighting, finding the right lighting for restaurants can be tricky. Ideally, restaurant lighting should create an inviting atmosphere with ambient lighting while also being well lit for the safety and enjoyment of patrons and staff. Choosing the perfect restaurant fixtures is a simple process once you understand the available options.

Where to Use Restaurant Lighting

Lighting a restaurant will largely depend on which area needs lighting the most. For the front of house, or anywhere guests would normally be, lighting should be a combination of ambient and task lighting. Guests should feel the ambiance of dining out while still being able to comfortably read the menu and staff members need adequate lighting to interact with guests and ensure safety. Fixtures that work well in front of house setups include restaurant table lamps, wall sconces, restaurant pendant lighting as well as restaurant outdoor lighting to illuminate pathways, parking areas, and entryways.

For the back of house – the kitchen and service areas benefit from brighter overhead lighting. Proper lighting in the back of the house is critical for maintaining a safe work environment and proper food preparation. Lights that work well in restaurant kitchens and other back of house areas include LED linear suspensions that are designed to light large areas as well as space-saving restaurant ceiling light fixtures. For restaurants that feature an open kitchen easily seen by guests, pendants with brighter 3000K modules provide adequate lighting yet still coordinate with front of house restaurant décor.

How to Pick Restaurant Lighting

Most restaurants only need 3-5 types of lighting, 2-3 of being mainly for customer lighting. These types of lighting are commonly:

• Wall lighting - often used for dining areas, bathroom hallways and entrances

• Dining Area Ceiling lights - such as pendants or chandeliers  dining area

• Ceiling Lights Serving / Ordering / Register Areas - such as pendants, track lighting or recessed lighting

• Kitchen lighting - such as recessed, track lighting, or flush mount ceiling lights - with higher color temperatures adjusted for food preparation

• Outdoor lighting - such as outdoor pendants, cable lights, and wall lights - if there is an outdoor dining area available

Look for a consistent theme between all customer-facing lighting to provide consistency to the restaurant – unless there is an open kitchen, you can design the lighting separately from the customer areas with a preference for brightness and functionality for food preparation.

Features and Benefits of Restaurant Lighting

Top selling restaurant lighting ranges from adaptable pendant lighting to wall or ceiling mountable flush mount fixtures to stunning chandeliers that are sure to impress. Though there is a diverse range of restaurant fixtures to choose from, many have commonalities that make them popular among designers, contractors, and other decision makers. Top features to look for when shopping for restaurant lighting include:

• Dimmability: Giving the client the option of being able to adjust their lighting allows them greater flexibility in controlling the mood and atmosphere of their business

• Field Adjustable Suspension Cable: For linear suspensions, chandeliers and pendants, field adjustable cable facilitates custom installation in spaces with high or sloped ceilings and any traditionally hard to light area.

• Reflective inner diffusers: Top selling restaurant fixtures feature diffusers engineered to provide maximum light distribution while consuming minimal energy.

• Color Temperature: Identifying the correct color temperature for each specific area of the restaurant – the dining area, kitchen, lobby, and bar – is important for creating the preferred ambiance of each section of the store.

Top restaurant lighting manufacturers continue to deliver innovative restaurant light fixture options that combine eco-friendly LED technology with decorative elements suitable for a range of restaurant décor styles. From traditional fixtures suitable for fine dining restaurants to more contemporary bar pendant lighting, modern restaurant lighting is just as diverse as the restaurants where they are installed.