Drawer Fridges
Commercial drawer fridges for Australian cooklines — underbench refrigerated drawers that hold chilled ingredients at hand height, right where your chefs cook. Instead of crouching into a door cabinet mid-service, staff slide out a gastronorm pan, take what they need and push it shut — no door swing blocking the aisle, no bending between orders. The range runs from single-drawer units up to six-drawer banks, including chef bases built to carry cooking equipment on top. It sits within our wider commercial fridges range, alongside conventional under bench fridges with door access.
Who drawer fridges are for
Drawer refrigeration earns its keep wherever the line is tight and the pace is quick. Restaurants, pubs and burger bars load each drawer with a station's worth of portioned product, so the grill cook never leaves their spot; food trucks and small cafés use them because a drawer opens in a galley aisle where a door physically can't; and busy bars fit underbar drawer units for garnish and stock that needs to stay cold but close. If your team is opening the same underbench door forty times a service, drawers are usually the upgrade that pays for itself in saved seconds.
What's in scope
Underbench drawer fridges
Stainless steel underbench units in one- to six-drawer configurations, sized to slide beneath a standard bench or sit at the heart of the cookline. Digital temperature control, removable drawer inserts for cleaning, and front-breathing refrigeration designed for built-in positions.
Chef base refrigerators
Low-profile drawer units with a reinforced worktop that your cooking equipment sits on — griddle, fryer or benchtop oven above, chilled drawers below. The tightest possible loop between cold storage and the heat. Browse the dedicated chef base refrigerators range for the full line-up.
Drawer freezers
Freezer-temperature drawer variants that hold frozen portions — chips, patties, pastry — at the station instead of across the kitchen in a chest freezer. A common pick as the second unit in a fry-station pair.
Door-and-drawer combination benches
Counter fridges that mix hinged doors with drawer sections in one cabinet, so you get bulk storage and at-hand portions from a single footprint. Popular in kitchens that want one underbench unit to do both jobs.
How to choose a drawer fridge in three steps
Three decisions sort out the right unit, in order.
Step 1 — Match the unit to the station
Decide what sits above the refrigeration. If cooking equipment goes on top, you need a chef base with a load-rated worktop; if it slips under an existing bench, a standard underbench drawer unit is the fit; and if you're prepping rather than cooking above it, look at countertop prep fridges with pan wells up top instead.
Step 2 — Count drawers and pan capacity
Work out how many stations the unit feeds and how much each holds per drawer — most commercial units are built around gastronorm pans, so check the GN capacity and pan depth on the spec sheet. Configurations run from one to six drawers; more drawers means more separation between products, which keeps allergen and raw-protein handling cleaner.
Step 3 — Confirm temperature, footprint and power
Choose fridge, freezer or a combination cabinet based on what the station actually uses. Then measure the gap — width, depth and height including castors — check the climate rating suits a hot Australian kitchen, and confirm the unit runs from a standard 10-amp outlet, which most underbench drawer units do.
Still weighing drawers against doors, or a fridge against a freezer underneath the bench? Our guide to the types of under bench fridges — bar, commercial, drawer and freezer options walks through the trade-offs venue by venue.
Popular picks: two proven starting points are the Inomak under bar fridge with one door and six drawers where you want bulk and portion storage in one cabinet, and the FED-X chef base refrigerated drawer bench where your cooking equipment needs to sit directly on top.
Venue fit
Quick-service and burger kitchens run a chef base under the griddle; restaurants put a multi-drawer bank at the sauté and grill stations; bars choose underbar drawer cabinets to keep the back bar clear — see our commercial bar fridges if drinks storage is the bigger job. Smaller venues often start with a two-drawer unit at the busiest station and add from there.
Frequently asked questions
What is a commercial drawer fridge?
A commercial drawer fridge is an underbench refrigeration unit that uses pull-out drawers instead of hinged doors, holding chilled ingredients — usually in gastronorm pans — at hand height on the cookline. Units range from single-drawer cabinets to six-drawer banks, built in stainless steel for professional kitchen use.
Are drawer fridges better than door fridges?
On a busy cookline, usually yes: a drawer opens without a door swinging into the aisle, staff see the contents from above without bending, and only one pan's worth of cold air is exposed at a time. Door-style underbench cabinets still win for bulk storage, since they cost less per litre. Many kitchens run both — doors for backup stock, drawers at the stations.
What is a chef base refrigerator?
A chef base is a low, reinforced drawer fridge designed to carry cooking equipment on its worktop — a griddle, fryer or benchtop oven sits on top while refrigerated drawers below hold the ingredients for that station. It compresses cold storage and the cooking surface into a single footprint, which is why fast-paced grill lines rely on them.
Can I get drawer freezers in Australia?
Yes — drawer freezer variants are sold alongside drawer fridges and hold frozen product at the station, so fry cooks aren't walking to a chest freezer mid-service. Some combination cabinets pair fridge and freezer drawers in one unit; check the temperature range on each product page to confirm which you're buying.
Do drawer fridges take gastronorm pans?
Most commercial drawer fridges are sized around standard gastronorm pans, with each drawer typically taking GN 1/1 pans or fractional combinations. Pan depth matters as much as footprint — a shallow 150mm-deep drawer suits garnish and portions, while deeper drawers take bulkier product — so confirm the GN capacity on the spec sheet before you order.
Do you deliver drawer fridges across Australia?
Yes. Commercial Kitchen Store ships nationwide, and Australian-based phone support is available on 1300 111 901 if you need help matching a drawer unit to your cookline. Every product page carries verified customer reviews, so you can see how each unit has performed in other Australian kitchens.