Restaurant Exterior Inspection Checklist
A printable route covering every restaurant exterior zone — with the daily items separated from the periodic ones, so a shift manager and a facilities manager can each use the parts that apply.
On This Page
- How to Use This Checklist
- Inspection Checklist
- Routing Findings
- Frequency
- What This Checklist Does Not Cover
This checklist covers the full restaurant exterior. It is split so the first section can be completed by a shift manager in a few minutes at opening, while the remaining sections support a periodic inspection by whoever holds facilities responsibility.
Sites without a patio or drive-thru skip those sections. Everything else applies to every food service location.
How to Use This Checklist
- Section 1 is the daily walk. A few minutes at opening, by whoever is opening.
- Sections 2 onward are the periodic inspection, weekly to monthly depending on the zone.
- Follow the customer route first — approach, frontage, entry, patio — then the operational areas.
- Flag grease and slip conditions immediately rather than recording them for later. These are the items where delay carries consequence.
- Note where conditions recur. The same finding three times is a containment failure, not an incident.
Print this page directly from your browser. Navigation, sidebar, and calls to action are removed in print, leaving the checklist and a notes column.
Inspection Checklist
1. Daily Walk — Opening and Shift Change
- Entry paving free of spills, litter, and visible gum
- No slippery surface at entry, frontage, or patio approach
- Glazing and door free of hand marks and smears
- Frontage and queuing area clear of litter and debris
- Patio tables and seating wiped; paving free of food debris
- Patio furniture set correctly; umbrellas clean and functional
- Receptacles not overflowing; surrounds swept
- Drive-thru window position free of spillage
- Enclosure lids closed; nothing outside containers
- Anything reported: slippery surface, gum accumulation, standing liquid, pest sign
2. Entry, Frontage and Queuing
- Paving condition and cleanliness inspected from three feet
- Gum accumulation at entry, queue positions, and waiting areas
- Grease film on walking surfaces — check by feel as well as sight
- Joints, edges, and expansion lines
- Threshold and interior mat transition
- Glazing, frames, and door hardware
- Canopy, soffit, and signage band overhead
- Entry lighting operational; fixtures clean
- Furniture, planters, and receptacles
- Any designated smoking or congregation area — ash, burn marks, gum
3. Patio and Outdoor Dining
- Paving — grease, food soil, beverage staining, gum under tables
- Joints and unit paver edges holding soil
- Tables, seating, and their bases
- Umbrellas, shade fabric, and overhead structures
- Heaters, barriers, planters, and railings
- Slip conditions on patio and on the route between patio and kitchen
- Bird activity and associated soiling
- Drainage; no pooling or standing spillage
- Boundary with adjacent walkway or parking
4. Drive-Thru Lane
- Order point — vehicle fluid accumulation, idling deposits
- Queue positions — drip staining at repeated stopping points
- Window position — spillage, staining, grease transfer
- Section immediately past the window — beverage spillage, discarded items
- Lane turns — tyre scuffing, surface shear, rutting
- Lane edges and curbs — litter, organic debris, growth
- Pavement condition along the wheel path; polishing where pedestrians cross
- Menu boards, canopy, speaker posts, height bar, bollards
- Lane drainage clear; destination recorded
- Lighting at order point and window — check after dark
5. Waste and Grease Areas
- Enclosure structure, gates, and hardware
- Slab condition, drainage, and standing liquid
- Grease receptacle containment — tray or bund present and functional
- Container lids, overflow, and servicing adequacy
- Odour level and whether detectable beyond the enclosure
- Pest indicators — droppings, gnaw marks, burrows, fly activity
- Liquid tracking from enclosure onto adjacent paving
- Distance and flow path to the nearest storm drain inlet recorded
6. Grease Migration Check
- Service exit path — grease tracking beyond the door
- Matting at service exit present and effective
- Kitchen-to-patio route if staff cross a customer surface
- Elevations and hardscape below exhaust discharge
- Vehicles or surfaces showing airborne deposition
- Exhaust filter servicing current
- Any surface where grease recurs shortly after cleaning — indicates a source, not a frequency problem
7. Parking and Approach
- Entrance-adjacent stalls — staining and general condition
- Delivery route and any fluid contamination along it
- Pavement condition — cracking, potholes, edge deterioration
- Striping and accessible stall markings legible
- Catch basins and inlets clear; ponding noted after rain
- Landscape islands maintained; no sightline obstruction
- Lighting including remote areas — check after dark
- Signage legible and clean from the approach
8. Elevations and Boundary
- Customer-facing elevations — condition, staining, growth
- Elevations at exhaust discharge — grease deposition
- Wall bases, splash-back, and landscaping contact
- Roofline, gutters, and downspout discharge points
- Irrigation striking building, glazing, patio, or frontage
- Signage, awnings, and illuminated elements
- Boundary fencing, verge, and windblown debris
Routing Findings
| Finding | Route to | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Slippery surface anywhere | Same-shift control, then degreasing | Immediate |
| Grease recurring shortly after cleaning | Containment review, not more cleaning | This week |
| Standing liquid in enclosure | Drainage assessment | Before next rainfall |
| Pest indicators | Pest control operator | Promptly |
| Gum accumulation | Scheduled cleaning | Next cycle |
| Pavement or structural condition | Facilities maintenance | Log with location |
| Equipment leak | Equipment or kitchen maintenance | Report same shift |
| Lighting outage | Facilities maintenance | Promptly |
Frequency
- Section 1 — daily at opening and at each shift change.
- Sections 2, 3 and 4 — weekly visual, monthly documented.
- Sections 5 and 6 — weekly visual, monthly documented; more often in warm months.
- Sections 7 and 8 — monthly documented.
- Full checklist — quarterly as a complete record.
- Night lighting check — quarterly and before the short days.
What This Checklist Does Not Cover
This is a visual exterior maintenance inspection. It is not a health inspection, a food safety audit, a pest control assessment, or a structural evaluation. Where pest indicators are found a licensed operator should assess them, and health code requirements should be confirmed with your local health department rather than inferred from this checklist.
Part of the Restaurant & Food Service Authority Center
This resource is part of the Power Wash NorCal Restaurant & Food Service Exterior Maintenance center — the complete reference for food service exterior condition.
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How often should a restaurant exterior be inspected?
The daily walk at opening and each shift change; entry, frontage, patio, and drive-thru weekly by sight and monthly documented; waste and grease areas weekly and more often in warm months; parking and elevations monthly; and the full checklist quarterly as a complete record.
Who should complete a restaurant exterior inspection?
The daily section by whoever opens the site — it takes a few minutes and requires no training. The periodic sections by whoever holds facilities responsibility. Splitting it this way means the person best placed to notice a change daily is actually looking.
What should be flagged immediately rather than recorded?
Any slippery surface, and any grease recurring shortly after cleaning. The first is a same-shift safety control; the second indicates a containment failure rather than a frequency problem, and cleaning it again without addressing the source is a recurring cost.
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