Extra cold storage for restaurants, caterers and dark kitchens

When a fixed cold room fails, a refit seals off the back kitchen, or a busy weekend outgrows the stockroom, a shortfall of cold cannot wait. A refrigerated container answers without building work or a long tie-in — an insulated steel box with its own refrigeration unit, dropped into your yard or car park and working as soon as it is plugged in. EuroReefer is an editorial comparison site specialising in refrigerated containers: we hold no stock, no depot and no fleet, and simply pass your request to specialist suppliers. Here is what a restaurant, caterer or dark kitchen should check before hiring.

Four situations that lead to hire

Refurbishment — the most common case. A kitchen refit, a new floor or a compliance upgrade takes the fixed cold room out of service for weeks, and closing is not an option: a temporary store in the yard bridges the gap.

Stock overflow. Trade has grown faster than the floor space. An outdoor unit absorbs bulky deliveries — crates, kegs, sides of meat — and frees up the inside store.

The seasonal peak. A summer terrace, the Christmas rush, a caterer’s wedding season: for a few weeks a year, volume doubles. Hiring that extra cold costs less than expanding for a peak that lasts a month.

Breakdown. A refrigeration unit that fails on a Friday turns stock into a write-off. A replacement unit limits the damage — though no arrival time can be promised in advance, which is the first question to put to the supplier.

Positive cold: the restaurant’s default

Most of a restaurant’s or caterer’s needs are chilled rather than frozen, with a set point of around 0 to +4 °C: fresh produce, dairy, meat and fish, dishes held before service, drinks. Usefully, the containers offered for hire cover a standard -25 °C to +25 °C range as they come, so the same unit that serves as a chilled store in July can be set to -18 °C for ice cream or frozen goods — the duty is chosen on the controller. One caveat: the unit maintains a temperature rather than pulling down a warm load, so have stock delivered the day before, let it reach its set point, then load goods already cold.

10 or 20ft: the right size

Two sizes cover almost every hospitality need. Beyond that, you are into wholesaler territory.

A 20ft unit measures roughly 5.44 × 2.29 × 2.27 m inside — two rows of pallets and a walkway. Mind the 10ft: its quoted 2.99 m is an external overall length, so the usable interior is noticeably shorter. When in doubt, size up: an over-packed chamber restricts cold-air flow and works the unit harder.

Yard, car park, access: the site constraints

This is where most projects get complicated, and it is better to find out before signing than on delivery day.

The ground must be firm, level and load-bearing: a concrete slab, tarmac or a properly stabilised surface. Grass or loose gravel will not do.

Lorry access governs everything. Delivery is by a crane-equipped lorry, which needs room to approach and to extend its arms. A yard closed off by a low archway, a narrow lane or an underground car park is a problem: measure it, photograph it, and send those details with your enquiry.

Your own deliveries come next: a unit parked across the unloading area solves one problem by creating another. Mind the doors, which swing outward, and the room for a pallet truck.

Electricity, finally. The standard is a three-phase 380/400 V supply on a CEE 32 A five-pin plug, drawing 5 to 12 kW depending on size; some smaller formats accept single-phase 230 V. If three-phase is already in place the connection costs nothing to speak of; if not, factor in an electrician before delivery.

Noise: the point not to overlook

A restaurant is rarely isolated, and the refrigeration unit cycles on and off, at night included. If homes overlook your yard, raise it from the outset rather than after the first complaint. Two levers: siting — turn the technical end towards a solid wall, not towards windows — and the kit itself, whose noise levels vary with the model and age. Ask the supplier explicitly.

What it costs

The figures below are indicative, observed on the UK market in 2026, and quoted ex VAT (VAT applies at 20%).

Two costs are routinely underestimated: delivery, which on a two-week hire can rival the rent itself, and electricity. Our prices page breaks the figures down by size and duration, and the hire page sets out the terms.

Hire or buy?

For a refit, a peak or a breakdown, hire is the only proportionate answer. Buying earns its keep only beyond 18 to 24 months of continuous use — a stock overflow that has become permanent. A used refrigerated container is observed at £4,500 to £7,500 ex VAT in the UK; insist on a PTI test less than three months old and check the make of the refrigeration unit — Carrier, Thermo King, Daikin or Star Cool — which governs access to spare parts. Be wary of the isothermal variant: cheaper, but with no working refrigeration unit — it holds cold, it does not make it. The criteria are set out on the for-sale page.

Two regulatory reminders. ATP covers the transport of goods, not a unit parked for good, so do not be sold it as a requirement. Temperature traceability falls under your ordinary food-safety duties, and siting rules vary from one council to the next — better a call to your local authority than an assumption.

Compare offers

Differences between suppliers are real: depot proximity, age of the fleet, minimum hire term. Describe your need once — duty, size, duration, address and access constraints — through our quote request. We pass it to specialist suppliers, who contact you directly if they can meet your need. Other trades have their own constraints: find them on our sectors hub.