Light Refreshment Restaurant Licence
A "small licence", formally a light refreshment restaurant licence, permits dine-in service with cooking limited to simple methods that produce little oil smoke.
Starting a Hong Kong food business requires a restaurant licence. The general restaurant ("big licence"), light refreshment restaurant ("small licence") and food factory licences are the three most common choices; the food and services determine which application to make to FEHD.
Trust or Company Service Provider licence TC007926
Location requirements
The following types of building can be used for a light refreshment licence application:
- Shopping centres / malls
- Shops designated for restaurant use in public or private housing estates
- Commercial buildings for non-industrial use / commercial-residential buildings / residential buildings / street-level shops
- Others (for example, properties whose land use has been changed)
Cooker restrictions
The limits on small-licence cooking exclude the following cookers:
- Ovens
- Barbecue grills
- Griddles, and similar
Other food licences
Light refreshment restaurant licence questions
What cooking does a small licence permit?
Dine-in is allowed, but preparing and selling food is limited to simple methods with little oil smoke: boiling, stewing, steaming, braising and pan-frying, excluding deep-frying and stir-frying. Cooking or reheating among the seats is also excluded, including hotpot, teppanyaki and Korean barbecue.
Does the small licence limit food types?
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) relaxed the restrictions from 1 March 2023. Applications made after that date can cover essentially any food, subject mainly to the cooking limits above; milk products, ice cream and baked goods still need separate licences. Involving a licensing consultant early helps avoid gaps in understanding that could hold up the licence and opening.
How much space should preparation and washing areas occupy?
Together, the kitchen, food preparation room and dishwashing room must occupy 9-20% of total floor area, with a minimum of 4.5 sq m.
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