Types of Commercial Kitchen Faucets | Complete Guide & Buying Tips

It’s impossible to run a food service establishment without a reliable water supply. In a commercial kitchen, water serves countless purposes, from cooking ingredients to keeping everything spotless.
The commercial kitchen faucet is the key component that ensures a steady delivery of fresh water, supporting your entire operation.

Before you make a purchase, we’ll walk you through the most common types of kitchen faucets, followed by essential buying tips to help you choose a durable and efficient industrial faucet for your restaurant.

Types of Commercial Kitchen Faucets

When it comes to comparing different types of kitchen faucets, it's indispensable to understand not only their design but also their specific applications in a demanding environment. In this section, we'll break down their features, from their advantages and design to how they work, helping you make a wise choice.

Pre-Rinse Faucets

The pre-rinse faucet is a high-pressure fixture you’ll find in almost every commercial kitchen, especially those with heavy dishwashing demands. It's a key tool for efficiently cleaning dishes. The faucet features a flexible hose with a powerful spray valve that blasts away food debris before items go into the commercial dishwasher. This high-pressure flow dramatically cuts down on scrubbing time and saves water compared to the traditional method of soaking.

Built to withstand constant use, these industrial faucets are made from durable materials like brass or stainless steel. Many models also have a spring-action gooseneck for extended reach, making them exceedingly versatile. A pre-rinse faucet is the perfect choice for two and three-compartment sinks, allowing staff to quickly spray dishes on one side before washing them on the other.

Gooseneck Faucets

Designed with high, arched spouts, gooseneck faucets are generally used to fill large stockpots or buckets and to wash bigger dishes. With their natural vertical height, they are the ideal solution for hotels or institutional kitchens where large-quantity cooking is a routine. Gooseneck faucets often include swivel capabilities, making them perfect for deeper sinks.

While the added clearance is beneficial, it requires careful measurement to ensure compatibility with overhead shelving.

Swing Faucets

Swing faucets, also known as swing spouts, allow the staff to rotate the neck of the faucet to the left or right. These industrial faucets are especially effective for multiple-compartment sinks or stations. Swing spouts come in different lengths from 6 to 18 inches, which allows customization to match sink width and counter depth. Their flexibility makes them a staple in commercial kitchens that require frequent repositioning without sacrificing water flow.

Pot Filler Faucets

Especially designed for the cooktop area, pot filler faucets are the ideal choice for any hot cooking line. This type of kitchen faucet's purpose is to eliminate the risk of carrying heavy, water-filled pots across the kitchen. With a pot filler, staff can fill stockpots directly above the stove. Their primary advantage is convenience, making them perfect for commercial kitchens that frequently prepare soups, sauces, or pasta.

Double-Jointed Faucets

With a unique two-jointed arm and high flexibility, that's the reason why double-jointed faucets have become a popular faucet option. This design allows its spout to fold or extend to a significant length fully. The key benefit of this type of kitchen faucet is its extensive reach and precise positioning. You can easily guide the water flow to any corner of a sink or even across to a nearby workstation.

They are extremely useful in commercial kitchens where equipped with island suites for different purposes, allowing you to supply fresh water to multiple areas without disrupting other operations. When not in use, the faucet folds neatly against the wall or sink mount. This design is often found in fine dining restaurants or catering kitchens where space and efficiency must balance.

Workboard Faucets

Workboard faucets are practical in bars, cafes, or small commercial kitchens where space efficiency is critical. Their simple and compact design makes them a go-to choice for versatile prep areas. These commercial kitchen faucets are typically mounted on the workboard behind the sink, providing a clean water source for washing vegetables, preparing ingredients, or quickly rinsing dishes.

Compared with pre-rinse faucets, they deliver a gentler flow, making them ideal for delicate prep work rather than heavy-duty cleaning. Their main advantage shines in their space-saving design and versatility, making them perfect for kitchens where multiple activities, such as chopping, washing, and prep, occur at the same sink.

Mop Sink Faucets

Mop sink faucets are robust and built specifically for cleaning and maintenance areas. These industrial kitchen faucets are typically installed above a low-set mop sink; they're primarily used for quickly filling buckets, rinsing mops, or handling large volumes of dirty water. Their design is exceptionally durable, featuring sturdy handles and high-flow spouts to ensure rapid filling. The unique advantage of these commercial kitchen faucets is their sheer toughness and high efficiency, which provides strong support for the daily cleaning routines in hotels, restaurants, and institutional dining halls.

Glass Filler Faucets

Glass filler faucets are a type of commercial kitchen tap engineered for the quick and efficient filling of glasses or pitchers. Typically installed at beverage counters or service stations, they feature a valve that's activated by either pushing up or pressing down with the cup, enabling simple one-handed operation.

This specialized design ensures that service staff can respond to customer requests rapidly, dramatically cutting down on serving time. The core advantage of these commercial kitchen faucets is their speed and ease of use, making them an excellent fit for self-service cafes, bars, and cafeterias. Their simple form and highly efficient mechanism make them an ideal choice for quick beverage service.

How to Choose the Right Commercial Faucet

Picking the best commercial kitchen faucet is about more than just a quick comparison. You need to match the faucet's features to your specific workspace, the tasks you perform, and your existing plumbing. Here are the main factors to consider before you buy.

Mounting Options

First things first, check how many holes are in your counter or sink. Deck-mounted faucets need one to three holes, while wall-mounted faucets attach directly to the wall. Most commercial sinks are pre-drilled, but choosing the right mounting style is crucial to avoid costly installation issues.

Handle Types

Commercial kitchen faucets typically come with single or double handles. A single-handle faucet is great for fast-paced kitchens as it allows for quick water adjustments. A double-handle faucet offers more precise control over hot and cold water, which is useful when temperature consistency is key. Lever handles are a popular choice because they are easy to use, even with wet or gloved hands.

Size and Height

Your faucet's size should match your sink and kitchen tasks. A faucet that's too small limits its use, while one that's too big can cause splashing or interfere with shelves. Industrial kitchen faucets have larger spouts and more clearance to fit large cookware. Always measure both the vertical and horizontal space before you buy.

Pull-Down Sprayer

Many commercial kitchen faucets include a pull-down sprayer. This feature combines high water pressure with excellent flexibility, making it easy to rinse dishes and clean large sinks. A commercial kitchen faucet with a sprayer is especially useful in restaurants that handle a variety of cookware. When considering this option, check the hose length and water pressure to ensure it fits your needs.