Stainless Steel Work Tables

Stainless Steel Work Table Buying Guide

A work table looks like the simplest thing in a commercial kitchen, and it is the one people most often buy twice — because the first one flexed under a mixer, or pitted where the citrus and the sanitizer sat. Three specifications decide whether that happens: the grade of the steel, the gauge of the top, and what the legs are made of. Size is the easy part.

First: a work table is not a prep table

A stainless work table is an unrefrigerated surface on legs. A refrigerated prep table is a cooler with a chilled pan rail on top. If cut produce, sliced deli meat or dressed greens have to sit out during service, they have to sit in refrigeration — a work table will not hold them at temperature, however heavy the stainless is. Prep table guide →

304 or 430 stainless

This is the corrosion decision. 304 is the austenitic grade with nickel in it — markedly better against salt, acid, citrus and harsh sanitizers, and the grade to specify for a wet station, a dish area, a seafood or pickling bench, or anywhere the table gets scrubbed hard every night. 430 is ferritic and nickel-free: it costs less and is perfectly adequate for dry storage, plating, packing and back-of-house assembly, but it will spot and pit faster where moisture and chloride sit on it. If in doubt in a wet room, buy 304 once.

16-gauge or 18-gauge

Gauge runs backwards — a lower number is thicker steel. 16-gauge is the heavier top: it resists denting and flexes far less under a slicer, a mixer or someone leaning on the middle of a 72" span. 18-gauge is thinner and lighter, fine for light assembly, packing and light-duty stations. Any table that will carry equipment rather than just hands should be 16-gauge.

Legs

• 201 stainless legs — the standard pairing with a 16-gauge 304 top. Stainless appearance at a lower cost than 304 legs.
• 304 stainless legs — matched to the 304 top for wet and washdown areas, where the leg and crossbar get as much water as the surface does.
• 430 stainless legs — paired with 430 tops for dry areas.
• Galvanized legs — the value option under an 18-gauge top. Strong, but not for a washdown environment.
• Adjustable bullet feet come on every table here, which is what levels a heavy top on an uneven kitchen floor.

Sizing

• Depth: 24" fits a standard aisle and suits a single person working one side. 30" gives room for a cutting board plus pans behind it, or two people working opposite sides.
• Length: 12" to 72". Allow about 24" of length per person working at the table, plus space for whatever equipment sits on it permanently.
• Height: 35" on these tables — standard counter height, so they line up with most undercounter refrigeration and dish tables.
• Undershelf: every table here has one, which doubles the storage without adding floor space. Shelf ratings are per size — the 30" × 60" model is rated at 520 lb.

ChefAsst work table series

All ChefAsst work tables: undershelf, adjustable bullet feet, 35" working height, 1-year warranty, free shipping in the continental US. Read the work table guide →