Top Dark Kitchens in London:
Encore Kitchens, the UK's Largest Dark Kitchen Operator
6 July 2026 | 15 Minute Read
Looking for a dark kitchen in London that can keep up as your business grows? Delivery has become part of everyday life in the UK, with 67% of adults regularly ordering through delivery platforms, and that demand is especially concentrated in London, the UK's largest city and biggest delivery market. A dark kitchen gives food businesses a way to meet that demand quickly, without the cost or lead time of building a commercial kitchen from scratch.
Encore Kitchens is the UK's largest dark kitchen operator, running 550+ kitchens across 25+ locations in London, Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds, including 18 sites across London spanning Central, North, South, East, South West, and West London. Its network is home to brands including Popeyes, Wingstop, Burger King, Byron, Haidilao, and Bronson's Burgers, all trading from fully fitted kitchens built for exactly that kind of fast, flexible growth.
Book a tour of an Encore Kitchens location in London to see available space near your customers.
What Is a Dark Kitchen, and What Should You Look For?
A dark kitchen – also called a ghost kitchen or cloud kitchen – is a commercial kitchen used to prepare food for delivery only, with no dine-in space attached. They're used by delivery-first brands, virtual restaurant concepts, and multi-brand operators who want to reach customers through Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat without the cost of a full restaurant. That's a big part of why major food brands are adopting the model alongside independent operators.
A few things make the biggest difference in practice: good coverage across the city, kitchens that are fully fitted and ready to trade, flexible contract terms, operational support included in the price, and room to add kitchens as a business grows. The next sections cover what that looks like inside Encore's own London network, starting with where its kitchens are.
Encore Kitchens: A London Network Built for Delivery-First Brands
Encore Kitchen's 18 London sites reach into every part of the city – Central, North, South, East, South West, and West London – with the full list of locations covered further down this page.
That coverage means a brand can open near demand in one part of the city, then add a second or third kitchen elsewhere in London as order volume grows – all within the same account, the same relationship, and the same operational standard. It also means access to prime, population-dense London locations that are otherwise difficult for a growing brand to secure on its own. Nationally, Encore's network reaches an estimated 10 million consumers across its 24 UK locations.
How Does Renting an Encore Dark Kitchen Help Your Business Grow?
Taking on a dark kitchen changes what a food business can afford to try. Opening in a fully fitted Encore kitchen avoids the capital cost of building a kitchen from scratch, which means a brand can test a new part of London, or a second concept, without the financial risk of a long lease or a large fit-out bill. If a location doesn't perform, or a brand wants to move closer to where its orders are actually coming from, Encore's flexible licence terms make that possible without being tied in.
It also frees up time. Encore's on-site operations team and dedicated account managers handle business rates, compliance, maintenance, and utilities, so a brand's own team can spend their time on product, menu development, and marketing rather than managing a facility. Every kitchen is already set up for delivery-platform operations, so a new site can go live in weeks rather than months. These are just some of the benefits of operating from a dark kitchen – lower overheads, faster scaling, and less operational risk than a traditional restaurant launch.
Every Kitchen Comes Fully Fitted and Ready to Trade
Setting up a commercial kitchen from scratch usually means sourcing contractors, arranging installations, and waiting on multiple sign-offs before a single order can go out. Encore removes that step entirely – every kitchen is fitted out and production-ready before a brand moves in.
Every Encore Kitchen comes fully serviced, with:
Canopy & HVAC system
Three-phase sockets
Single-phase sockets
Gas (location dependent)
Waste management system
Grease trap
Cold storage (location dependent)
Dry storage (location dependent)
There's no independent fit-out process to manage and no separate contractors to source. Fitting out a commercial kitchen independently can take 12–16 weeks and cost upwards of £1m in deposits, fit-out costs, and upfront payments – an Encore kitchen can be trading within 2–3 weeks, with upfront costs closer to £30k, so spaces stay affordable for new businesses to launch quickly.
Flexible Agreements That Move With Your Business
Encore kitchens are available on flexible licence agreements that move with the business – whether that means adding a second kitchen at the same site, expanding into a new part of London, or scaling into a larger production space as volume increases.
Encore's in-house construction team can also quote for works, advise on layout, and recommend trusted tradesmen for any modifications a brand needs, so a kitchen can be shaped around the way a business actually operates.
One Team Manages Everything On Site
Running a commercial kitchen independently means dealing with a long list of separate suppliers and compliance requirements – Encore condenses what would otherwise be 20 separate contracts into one relationship, so it doesn't fall to the food brand.
On the compliance and safety side, Encore manages fire strategy, EHO facilitation, compliance checking, legionella risk assessment, and CCTV across every site – kept to a consistent, audit-ready standard rather than left to each individual operator to arrange. Day-to-day site upkeep is also covered, including business rates, energy management, waste management, oil collection and recycling, FOG management, ventilation systems, emergency lighting, cleaning, and pest control. On top of that, Encore handles the practical extras that are easy to overlook when setting up independently – internet provision, additional and ambient storage, lease negotiations, and council management – plus access to sampling opportunities for brands that want to get their product in front of more customers.
Encore's account managers and on-site operations team handle all of this day to day, so brands can focus on cooking and growing the business rather than managing facilities.
What's Included in an Encore Kitchens Membership
Encore's London pricing starts from £2,750 + VAT in Greater London and £3,250 + VAT in Central London. Independently fitting out a commercial kitchen can mean deposits, fit-out costs, and upfront payments upwards of £1m – an Encore kitchen brings that down to as little as £30k, around 97% lower in upfront costs. Some dark kitchen providers rely on revenue-sharing agreements or hidden fees on top of rent – Encore instead works on a single, transparent flat fee, so brands know exactly what they're paying before they sign. Rather than splitting costs across a dozen different suppliers, that fixed membership fee is built to cover everything a kitchen needs to run day to day, including:
Business rates
Communal pest control
Wifi
Waste management
Utility management
Kitchen maintenance
That fee keeps every kitchen to the same operating standard. Cleaning, pest control, and kitchen maintenance are handled on a recurring basis rather than left to each tenant, and compliance requirements like EHO facilitation, fire strategy management, and legionella risk assessment are managed centrally across the site, not arranged individually. Members also get 24-hour site management and maintenance, a personal account manager who helps manage the relationship with online delivery platforms, and access to Encore's Member Hub, which includes hundreds of discounts across tech, finance, equipment, food, and packaging.
Encore Kitchens' London Locations
A closer look at sites within Encore's London network:
Nine Elms
Encore's site at 76 Stewart's Road, SW8 4DE, sits within one of London's fastest-growing commercial districts, close to Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station stations. It offers a versatile commercial kitchen and food production space with excellent access to Central London and strong transport connections – well suited to catering, production, and delivery-focused operators looking for a strategic base in this part of the city. Standard kitchens here are 16m², with large kitchens at 32m².
Balham
At 9 Zennor Road Industrial Estate, SW12 0PS, Encore occupies Unit 9 within a thriving commercial kitchen complex – 2,690 sq ft of fully built kitchen space across five fitted kitchens, with cold storage, parking, and loading access. It's set up for operators looking to launch a serious production or catering operation, and sits 0.6 miles from Balham Rail Station (Northern Line & Southeastern Rail). Standard kitchens are 18m², with large kitchens at 27m².
Battersea
A separate South West London site at Unit 9–10, Parkfield Industrial Estate, Culvert Place, SW11 5BA – distinct from Encore's Nine Elms location – giving brands a second base in the same part of the city. Standard kitchens are 18m², with large kitchens at 28m².
Fulham
Unit 20, Talina Centre, Bagleys Lane, SW6 2BW, is a rare opportunity to occupy an entire self-contained commercial kitchen building – 1,636 sq ft arranged across two floors, with private facilities, dedicated parking, and freezer storage. It suits food production, catering, and delivery-focused operators seeking an independent operational base, and is close to Imperial Wharf station with easy access to Central London, Chelsea, and Hammersmith. Standard kitchens are 12m², with large kitchens at 24m².
Croydon
106 Beddington Lane, CR0 4TB, offers a self-contained commercial kitchen building in a well-established industrial location – 1,378 sq ft of production space with a large ground-floor area and potential for an extended cookline. It's well suited to catering, meal prep, and food manufacturing operators, with good road connectivity into South London. Standard kitchens are 16m², with large kitchens at 32m².
Norbury
Part of Norbury Trading Estate, SW16 4RW, this site offers a fully fitted CPU-style unit with four kitchens, walk-in fridge and freezer, and loading access – an ideal option for operators looking to launch or expand production close to South London. Standard kitchens are 18m², with large kitchens at 25m².
Wandsworth
At 29 Lydden Road, SW18 4LT, Encore offers a 2,044 sq ft commercial kitchen site within a dedicated CPU facility. Designed for food production and catering operators, it features extensive cold storage facilities and a larger production area, making it well suited to businesses looking to scale within an established food production hub. Standard kitchens are 20m².
Tottenham Hale
110–118 Markfield Road, N15 4QF, offers 3,906 sq ft of fully fitted commercial kitchen space across 13 kitchens, with ground floor access and strong connectivity across North and Central London – a significant opportunity for operators looking to scale production or catering. Standard kitchens are 16m², with large kitchens at 32m².
North Circular
Located at Unit A, 964 North Circular Road, NW2 7JR, this 3,120 sq ft production site offers over 30 kitchen spaces arranged across three floors within a dedicated CPU facility. It's designed for food production businesses looking for a scalable, well-connected operational base in North West London. Standard kitchens are 18m², with large kitchens at 28m².
Colindale
At Knightsbridge House, NW9 8XG. Standard kitchens are 18m², with large kitchens at 35m².
Kentish Town
Regis Road, NW5 3EW – where Bronson's Burgers launched its first Encore kitchen. Standard kitchens are 16m², with large kitchens at 32m².
South Bermondsey
107 Ormside Street, SE15 1TF. Standard kitchens are 16m², with large kitchens at 32m².
Chiswick Park
Greenock Road, W3 8DU. Standard kitchens are 16m², with large kitchens at 32m².
Bethnal Green
(Arch 3) Railway Arches, 3–7 Gales Gardens, London E2 0EJ. Standard kitchens are 20m², with large kitchens at 32m².
Shoreditch
7–8 The Oval, London E2 9DT. Standard kitchens are 18m², with large kitchens at 25m².
Tower Bridge
81 Enid Street, London SE16 3RA. Large kitchens are 28m².
Wimbledon
15 Lyon Road, SW19 2RL. Standard kitchens are 19m², with large kitchens at 23m².
Encore also operates a site at Whitechapel, rounding out its 18-strong London network.
Beyond individual site details, Encore selects locations based on real catchment data – in one example from its site analysis, a single London location sits within reach of over 130,000 households and 250,000+ workers, with a large share of the surrounding population in the 20–44 age bracket most likely to order food delivery.
Ready to see one of these kitchens for yourself? Book a tour of an Encore Kitchens location.
Brands Already Growing With Encore in London
Encore's 300+ brand partners include a mix of major international chains and well-loved independent brands running delivery operations from its London kitchens, including Popeyes, Wingstop, Burger King, Byron, Haidilao, and Bronson's Burgers.
Bronson's Burgers is one of the clearest growth stories in the network. The brand launched its first dark kitchen with Encore as a complete startup, and has since expanded to a second site in Peckham, a third and fourth site at Vauxhall and Canary Wharf, and further sites after becoming a Deliveroo Partner Brand. That delivery-first growth gave Bronson's the platform to sign an expansion deal with Encore and open its first bricks-and-mortar restaurant, built entirely on the back of a successful delivery operation across London.
The same pattern shows up well beyond Encore's own network, too. Wingstop's UK growth is a good example of what dark kitchens make possible at scale: around 30% of its UK orders come through delivery, run from a network of 14 dark kitchens, helping the chain grow to 43 restaurants, place among the UK's top 10 most-loved brands on Deliveroo, and put it on track for nine-figure revenue.
Encore also invests in brand growth beyond the kitchen itself. Through Encore Social, brands get access to social-first content creation, menu photography, and influencer campaigns with UK-based creators – support that's especially useful for delivery-first brands building an audience from scratch. Encore has also run initiatives connecting brands directly with delivery platforms and customers, including a UK-wide product sampling campaign for Heinz that placed over 100,000 samples directly into customer deliveries through 35 delivery partners, driving trial and repeat orders for the brands involved.
Ready to Launch or Scale in London?
Encore Kitchens can help you find the right kitchen in the right part of London, from a first site through to a citywide network.
Book a tour of an Encore Kitchens location or get in touch with the team to discuss availability.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
A dark kitchen is a commercial kitchen used to prepare food for delivery only, with no dine-in area attached – also known as a ghost kitchen or cloud kitchen. Rather than serving walk-in customers, orders are placed through delivery platforms like Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat and dispatched straight to the customer. The model lets food businesses reach delivery customers without the cost of a full restaurant fit-out, front-of-house staff, or dining space, and is used by everything from single-brand delivery startups to multi-brand virtual kitchen operators and established restaurant chains expanding into new areas. Encore Kitchens is one example of a dark kitchen provider operating this model at scale across the UK.
-
A dark kitchen is generally sized for a single brand's delivery operation, while a CPU is a larger production facility designed for higher-volume manufacturing, batch cooking, or supplying multiple sites.
-
Location coverage, kitchen readiness (extraction, ventilation, licensing), contract flexibility, and how much operational support – utilities, compliance, maintenance – is included in the price all affect how well a kitchen supports a growing food business.
-
Encore Kitchens is the UK's largest dark kitchen operator, and its London network spans 18 sites across the city. In Central London, that includes Tower Bridge and Nine Elms; in North London, Colindale, Kentish Town, Tottenham Hale, and a site on the North Circular near Brent Cross; in South London, Croydon, Norbury, and South Bermondsey; in West London, Chiswick Park; in East London, Bethnal Green, Shoreditch, and Whitechapel; and in South West London, Battersea, Balham, Fulham, Wandsworth, and Wimbledon. That spread gives brands access to prime, population-dense London locations that are otherwise hard to secure, with every kitchen fully serviced and managed to the same standard. See all of Encore's locations for full details.
-
Pricing starts from £2,750 + VAT in Greater London and £3,250 + VAT in Central London, on a single flat membership fee that includes business rates, utilities, wifi, pest control, and kitchen maintenance. That's a fraction of the upfront cost of fitting out a kitchen independently, which can run to £1m or more in deposits and fit-out costs, compared to as little as £30k for a fully fitted Encore kitchen – around 97% lower in upfront costs. Explore Encore's delivery kitchen options for full details by location.
-
Every kitchen comes fully fitted and serviced, with business rates, pest control, wifi, waste management, utilities, and maintenance covered under one fixed fee, plus 24-hour site management, a dedicated account manager, and access to Encore's Member Hub discounts. Book a tour of an Encore Kitchens location to see what's included in person.
-
Yes. Encore's multi-site London network lets brands add kitchens or expand into new areas without switching operators – Bronson's Burgers grew from a single startup kitchen into a citywide network, and later into its first physical restaurant. Book a tour to talk through options as your business scales.
-
Yes. Encore Kitchens offers tours across its London network, so brands can see a kitchen and its facilities before committing. Book a tour of an Encore Kitchens location to arrange a visit.
-
Encore Kitchens is the UK's largest dark kitchen operator, with 550+ kitchens across 25+ locations nationwide, including 18 sites across London. Its network is home to recognisable brand partners such as Popeyes, Wingstop, Burger King, Byron, and Haidilao, and every kitchen comes fully fitted and serviced, with business rates, pest control, maintenance, and compliance management included under one flat fee – the kind of scale and consistency that's difficult to match with a smaller, single-site provider. Book a tour of an Encore Kitchens location to see one for yourself.