How long does a full-outlet uniform programme take?

Typically four to six weeks from approved design to delivery for a full restaurant, longer if multiple fabrics need sampling. We usually sequence it so kitchen and service uniforms land first and secondary items such as winterwear follow.

Should every department wear the same fabric?

Where possible, yes. Using one shirt block and one fabric across departments and varying only the colour keeps costs down, makes reordering simple and makes the floor look intentional rather than assembled.

What does a full-outlet uniform order usually include?

Chef coats and caps for the kitchen, shirts or polos and aprons for service, housekeeping sets with utility aprons, a manager layer such as a waistcoat, name badges for everyone customer-facing, and a winter layer if you are north of Nagpur.

Client story, Uniforms

One Restaurant, Eight Uniforms: How We Dressed Bayleaf From Kitchen to Front Door

By the RestroCart design team · 10 March 2026 · New Delhi, India · 497-word read

Custom chef uniforms made for Bayleaf restaurant by RestroCart, New Delhi

Most uniform orders arrive one department at a time: aprons this month, chef coats next quarter, housekeeping whenever someone notices. Bayleaf did the opposite. They came to us with the whole restaurant at once, and it turned into one of our favourite programmes to build.

The brief: one restaurant, one language

Bayleaf wanted every team to look like part of the same house, without every team looking identical. A guest walking in should be able to tell a chef from a steward from housekeeping in a glance, and should read all three as Bayleaf.

That meant working department by department but designing top-down: one palette, one crest, one fabric family, and role differences expressed through colour and layer rather than through different garments.

What we built

Kitchen: chef coats and chef caps in the brigade colourway, with an executive coat in a heavier cloth and a tailored fit.
Service: safari shirts and uniform shirts with rolled-sleeve tabs and a chest crest, chosen because the room runs warm and the safari cut lets sleeves stay clean.
Aprons: two styles rather than one. Denim aprons for the sections that face guests, half aprons for the servers who need speed and pockets more than coverage.
Housekeeping: a separate colourway in the same fabric, with utility aprons, so the team reads apart at a glance.
Headwear: caps for the counter and kitchen, embroidered rather than printed.

Why the safari shirt

The safari shirt is underused in Indian restaurants and it deserves more attention. The four-pocket front gives servers real storage without an apron, the cut is loose enough to stay comfortable in a warm dining room, and it reads smart without needing a tie or a waistcoat. For Bayleaf it also carried a subtle heritage note that suited the room.

Ordering department by department means four sets of setup costs and four slightly different shades of the same colour. Ordering together means one dye lot and one look.

Denim aprons for the visible sections

Denim was chosen for the sections guests can see because it ages well and photographs better than flat canvas. The half aprons for the floor team used the same leatherette belt hardware, so the two styles read as a set rather than as two purchases.

What we would tell any restaurant planning the same thing

Design the whole floor before ordering any of it. Even if you buy in phases, decide the palette and the crest once.
Use one shirt block in several colours rather than several garments.
Sample before bulk. Bayleaf approved physical samples of each piece, which caught two fit changes before they became 60 shirts.
Order the spares with the first batch. Same dye lot, same fit, ready for new hires.

Planning your own programme

Send us your department headcounts and a photograph of your dining room. We will come back with a full-outlet proposal, palette and quote. See more of this work on our work gallery, or WhatsApp +91 98213 34906.