What Are the Best Short-Term Kitchen Rentals in London? Exploring Encore Kitchens
20 October 2026 | 9 Minute Read
For short-term kitchen rental in London, the options worth shortlisting are fully equipped commercial kitchens that can be booked by the day, with running costs wrapped into one rate and no long-term contract keeping a business tied in after the job ends. Encore Kitchens' day-rate kitchens are built on that model, with sites across London available to book by the day, along with a studio kitchen for filming and recipe development.
Encore Kitchens operates a network of more than 550 commercial kitchens across 25 UK locations, covering delivery kitchens, Central Production Units (CPUs) and short-term hire. Its day-rate kitchens are a dedicated part of that network, available at sites across London as well as in Birmingham and Manchester. This guide covers who short-term kitchens are for, how Encore's day-rate kitchens work, what each London site offers, and how to arrange a longer stay.
Encore's Short-Term Kitchens at a Glance
What you get: a fully equipped commercial kitchen, booked by the day
What's included: utilities, water, waste, pest control and wifi, all in the daily rate
How long: book the days you need, with no long-term lock-in and longer stays available on enquiry
Where: nine London sites, plus Birmingham and Manchester
For content and recipe work: a studio kitchen available by the hour, half day or full day
Got dates in mind? Enquire about an Encore day-rate kitchen.
What Counts as a Short-Term Kitchen Rental?
A short-term rental is any arrangement where a food business pays for kitchen access over a fixed, limited window – one day, a fortnight, a couple of months – instead of signing a lease or joining an ongoing membership. Across London, it tends to come in three forms:
| Format | How it's booked | Typical use | Equipment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day-rate commercial kitchen | By the day, no long-term lock-in | Event catering, catering contracts, product testing, development projects | Supplied and ready to use |
| Studio kitchen | By the hour, half day or full day | Filming, food photography, recipe development, supper clubs | Domestic-style kitchen, ready to use |
| Shared hourly kitchen | By the hour, alongside other users | Small-batch prep, early testing | Varies by provider |
Encore's short-term range covers the first two. A day-rate kitchen gives a business the whole unit for its booking, which matters when the job involves allergen control, a tight prep schedule, or a team that needs room to work.
Who Are Encore's Short-Term Kitchen Rentals For?
Encore's short-term kitchens are open to any business or individual who needs a professional kitchen for a set period, whatever the reason. The people who book them come from across the food world. A few examples:
Catering companies preparing for events and catering contracts
Film and production caterers feeding cast and crew during shoots
Corporate caterers handling office catering, functions and client events
School meal providers cooking school dinners
Restaurants getting ready to open, using the kitchen to train staff and run through the menu before opening day
Chef schools running practical cooking sessions
Influencers and content creators making recipe videos and food content
Food brands testing new ranges or running one-off development projects
What many of these bookings have in common is that it's hard to predict what kitchen capacity will be needed a couple of months from now. A caterer might land two large contracts in one month and none the next, and a new restaurant can't always be sure when its own kitchen will be ready. With no long-term lock-in, a day-rate kitchen lets the booking follow the work rather than the other way round.
What to Look For in a Short-Term Kitchen
Short bookings leave no slack. On a two-day catering job, there's no time to chase a missing freezer or query an unexpected utilities charge. Before booking anywhere, it's worth checking:
The equipment at the specific site. A Rational oven and gas fryer suit a very different menu from a six-burner hob and griddle, so ask for the kit list at the site itself rather than a general one.
What the rate covers. If utilities, waste and wifi are billed on top, a cheap headline rate stops being cheap.
How flexible the terms are. The booking should end when the job does.
Whether longer bookings cost less per day. Useful when a few days of testing turns into a few weeks.
Where the kitchen is. Close to the event venue, the client, the team, or the customers being tested on.
How Encore's Day-Rate Kitchens Work
Encore's day-rate kitchens are fully fitted commercial units for operators who need temporary space and want to start cooking on arrival.
Standard equipment: oven, induction plate, fryer, prep tables, shelving, fridges and freezers.
Covered by the daily rate: utilities, water, waste, pest control and wifi.
Terms: pick the number of days needed, with no long-term lock-in. The daily rate reduces the longer the booking:
| Booking length | 1–3 days | 4–7 days | 8–14 days | 15–90 days | 90+ days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily rate | £250 | £220 | £175 | £150 | On enquiry |
| Site | Equipment |
|---|---|
| Balham | Rational oven, griddle, twin-basket gas fryer, single-door standing fridge, chest freezer, pots and pans, chopping boards, utensils, stainless steel mixing bowl |
| Brent Cross | Four induction hobs with oven, counter-top fryer, griddle, three-door under-counter fridge, standing freezer, pots and pans, chopping boards, utensils |
| Kentish Town | Ask our team for the current equipment list |
| Nine Elms | Ask our team for the current equipment list |
| Norbury | Gas six-burner hob, gas griddle, twin-basket fryer, upright fridge, upright freezer, pots and pans, chopping boards, utensils |
| North Circular | Ask our team for the current equipment list |
| South Bermondsey | Convection oven, griddle, fryer, upright fridge, upright freezer, small freezer, pots and pans, chopping boards, utensils |
| Tottenham Hale | 10-grid Rational oven, double induction plate, twin standing gas fryer, standing fridge, standing freezer, pots and pans, chopping boards, utensils |
| Wandsworth | Four-burner gas range with oven, griddle, fryer, large rice cooker, two single-door fridges and freezers, two-door undercounter fridge, pots and pans, knife set |
Explore Encore's day-rate kitchens.
Encore's London Day-Rate Sites and Equipment
Every day-rate kitchen comes with the standard kit above, and each site adds its own setup on top:
Equipment can change at any site, so if the menu needs something specific, it's worth checking with our team before the first booked day.
Studio Kitchen Hire for Content and Development
Not every short-term job needs a commercial line. For filming, photography and recipe development, Encore's studio kitchen hire offers a fully working domestic-style kitchen with a kitchen island, cooker, sink, fridge-freezer and wooden countertops, designed with content creators in mind. It can be booked by the hour (£125), half day (£500) or full day (£750).
Two more spaces can be booked alongside it: a sound-engineered podcast studio with mood lighting and equipment available to rent, and a dining room suited to supper clubs and tasting sessions. Book the studio kitchen, podcast studio or dining room.
Need a Kitchen for Longer?
Short-term doesn't have to mean a few days. A business that needs an equipped kitchen for weeks or months can stay on a day-rate kitchen, with stays beyond 90 days arranged on enquiry. The kitchen stays fully equipped, the running costs stay included, and there's no fit-out to manage.
If the work changes shape over time, Encore's wider network has other formats to move into:
| Situation | Usually the right fit |
|---|---|
| A one-off event, shoot or catering job | Day-rate kitchen |
| An ongoing contract or a longer project | Day-rate kitchen on an extended booking |
| Trading on Deliveroo, Uber Eats or Just Eat day to day | Delivery kitchen membership |
| Batch cooking to supply several sites or wholesale customers | Central Production Unit (CPU) |
Encore's delivery kitchens are fully serviced units with canopy and HVAC, three-phase power and a waste management system, with business rates and maintenance included in a fixed membership fee and a personal account manager for each member. CPUs are larger fitted production spaces for businesses running regular volume production, typically on a licence with a 24-month minimum term.
Ready to secure your dates?
Request your Encore day-rate kitchen, or see the full day-rate kitchen range first.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Day-rate kitchens are the most direct option, since they're booked by the day and come ready to use. Encore Kitchens offers day-rate kitchens at Balham, Brent Cross, Kentish Town, Nine Elms, Norbury, North Circular, South Bermondsey, Tottenham Hale and Wandsworth, with no long-term lock-in. Enquire about a day-rate kitchen at Encore.
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Anyone who needs a professional kitchen for a set period. Caterers, film and corporate caterers, school meal providers, chef schools, content creators and food brands testing new products all book short-term kitchens, as do restaurants training staff before opening.
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Yes. A short-term kitchen lets a business trial a recipe, range or production process before committing to ongoing space. Encore positions its day kitchens for this kind of work, including testing new food ranges and one-off development projects, and longer bookings are available if the product takes off.
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A studio kitchen suits content work better than a commercial unit, since it's designed to look good on camera. Encore's studio kitchen is a domestic-style space with a kitchen island and wooden countertops, with a podcast studio and dining room available too.
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A day-rate kitchen is a commercial kitchen rented by the day instead of on a lease or monthly membership. It usually comes equipped and ready to cook in, with running costs included in the daily price, which makes it suited to temporary or project-based work.
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It depends on the provider and the site. At Encore, every day-rate kitchen includes an oven, induction plate, fryer, prep tables, shelving, fridges and freezers, with the rest of the setup varying by location. For anything menu-specific, it's worth confirming the site's equipment with the team before booking.
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At Encore, the daily rate depends on how long the booking is: it starts at £250 per day for 1–3 days and reduces in steps for longer bookings, down to £150 per day for 15–90 days. Utilities, water, waste, pest control and wifi are included in the rate.
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Yes. Day-rate kitchens can be booked for extended stays, with bookings beyond 90 days arranged on enquiry. If the business is moving into day-to-day delivery trading or regular volume production, a delivery kitchen membership or a Central Production Unit may suit better. Enquire about a longer day-rate booking.