The best outdoor kitchens on Long Island are not the biggest ones. They are the ones that fit the lot: the grill sits where the smoke drifts away from the table, the cook faces the guests, the gas and power arrive without tearing up a finished patio, and the whole thing respects the town's setbacks. Layout decides all of that before a single appliance is chosen.
This guide is about placing and shaping the kitchen on your property in Nassau, Suffolk, the Hamptons and the North Shore. For the full appliance and utility checklist, our outdoor kitchen planning guide goes deeper.
The short answer
On most Long Island lots, a 7 to 8 foot straight run or an L shape against the house side of the patio works best, with the grill on the short leg and the fridge and sink on the long one. Keep the grill clear of windows and doors and respect the manufacturer's clearances to combustibles (Blaze asks for 14 inches at the sides and 16 at the back; Fire Magic asks for 18 on each side and the rear). Place it so the prevailing breeze carries smoke away from seating, plan gas, power and drainage before the patio is poured, and confirm setbacks and permits with your town or village before you build.
Key takeaways
- Match the shape to the patio: straight run for compact yards, L for most Long Island builds, U or island with seating for larger properties, and a separate fire or pizza zone when there is room to spread out.
- Organize by zones: hot, cold, wet and dry. Cold sits beside wet, and the hot zone gets open counter on both sides.
- Read the grill manual before you draw anything. Clearances to combustible construction vary by brand, and wind, sun and drainage decide where the kitchen should sit.
- Towns treat permanent structures, gas and electric as permit work. Get a current survey and check setbacks before ordering.
In this guide
- Which layout fits your lot?
- How should hot, cold, wet and dry zones be arranged?
- How much landing space and counter depth do you need?
- How far should a grill be from the house?
- Where should it face for wind, smoke and sun?
- How do gas, electric, water and drainage shape the layout?
- Permits and setbacks in Nassau, Suffolk, the Hamptons and the North Shore
- Our recommended models
- Which should you choose?
- Frequently asked questions
Which outdoor kitchen layout fits your lot?
Start with the patio you have, or the one you are willing to build. These are the five layouts we draw most often for Long Island homes.
| Layout | Suits | Why it works | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straight run | Compact yards, side yards, narrow patios | Smallest footprint; prefab islands arrive ready to set | Cook can end up with their back to guests |
| L shape | The corner of a typical rear patio | Separates the hot leg from the prep and serving leg | The inside corner wastes storage unless planned |
| U shape | Larger North Shore and East End properties | Room for grill, pizza oven, sink, fridge and seating | Needs a wide patio and a clear path in and out |
| Island with bar seating | Open patios where the kitchen is the gathering point | Cook faces the guests across the counter | Utilities must come up through the slab |
| Separate pizza or fire zone | Deeper lots with lawn or a second terrace | Splits the crowd; keeps wood smoke away from the table | Wood fire pits carry their own town setbacks |
On compact lots in older Nassau neighborhoods, the straight run is the honest answer. It hugs a fence or the house side of the patio and leaves the rest of the yard open. A prefab such as the Challenger Coastal 7 foot island with a Blaze 32 is about 81 inches long and 25 inches deep, which fits where a masonry build would crowd the patio.
The L is our most common Long Island shape: grill on the short leg, out of the traffic path, with sink, fridge and seating on the long leg. A U makes sense when the patio can hold it with at least 4 feet of clear walkway around it. On sloping lots, a pizza oven or fire feature on its own terrace often works better than one giant counter.
Outdoor kitchen islands Challenger cabinetry
How should hot, cold, wet and dry zones be arranged?
Think in four zones rather than a list of appliances.
- Hot: grill, side or power burner, griddle, built-in pizza oven. Put it at the end of the flow, closest to the dining table but downwind of it.
- Cold: outdoor refrigeration, ice maker, beverage center. Guests use it more than the cook does, so put it on the outside end where people can reach a drink without walking through the cooking area.
- Wet: an outdoor sink. Keep it next to the cold zone and away from the grill so splashing and steam stay off the burners.
- Dry: prep counter, access doors and drawers, trash pullouts. This is the counter between wet and hot where platters land.
The sequence that works is cold, wet, dry, hot: fridge, rinse, prep, grill, table. In an L, the dry zone sits at the inside corner; in a straight run, the sequence reads end to end. Challenger's modular Canyon pieces, such as an 18 inch trash pullout with drawer, let you place each zone exactly where the flow needs it.
From our install team
Before we finalize any drawing, we walk the client through a dinner on paper: where the drinks are, where the platter lands, where the cook turns to talk. If anyone has to cross in front of the open grill to reach the fridge, the zones are in the wrong order.
How much landing space and counter depth do you need?
The rule of thumb designers use is at least 24 inches of open counter on one side of the grill and 12 on the other, and never a grill or sink at the very end of a run. A 32 inch grill with those landings already needs about 68 inches of counter. Add a fridge under one landing and you arrive at the 7 to 8 foot run most Long Island patios can hold.
Depth matters as much as length, and it is where prefab and custom builds part ways.
- Prefab islands: the Challenger Coastal islands are 25 inches deep and take a grill cutout up to 30.75 inches wide and 22.5 inches deep, which suits most 32 inch and smaller grills.
- Larger grill heads: the Fire Magic Echelon Diamond E790i head is 30 1/2 inches deep overall with a 37 by 23 1/2 inch cutout. A counter built around it has to be deeper, which is why custom masonry or modular cabinetry with a deeper top usually follows a 36 to 42 inch grill.
- Bar seating: 36 inches is counter height, 42 inches is bar height. Allow roughly a foot of overhang for knees, and if the cook side and the seating side share one slab, the island grows well past 3 feet deep.
For exact cutout measuring, see how to measure a built-in grill cutout.
How far should an outdoor kitchen grill be from the house?
The grill manual answers this, and the answer differs by brand. Two examples from manufacturers we install:
- Blaze: minimum clearance to adjacent combustible construction of 14 inches from the sides and 16 inches from the back, with 6 feet between the countertop and any overhead construction. Blaze also says its grills are not designed for installation near a window or vent that goes into the house, and that all islands must be non-combustible or use an insulated jacket.
- Fire Magic: its product specification guide requires 18 inches from combustible surroundings on each side and the rear, and calls for an insulating liner in a combustible island.
Vinyl and cedar siding, wood trim, a wood fence and a pergola beam all count as combustible. So does a wood-framed island skinned in stucco or stone. On Long Island that usually means one of two plans: pull the kitchen off the house wall, or build the wall behind the grill and the island itself from block, steel studs and cement board. If a covered porch or pergola is in the picture, read our guide on vent hoods over outdoor grills first, and browse outdoor vent hoods.
Not sure what fits your space? Send us your survey or a photo of the patio and we will sketch where the kitchen can sit with clearances, setbacks and utilities marked. Book a free design consultation and we will help you narrow it down.
Where should an outdoor kitchen face for wind, smoke and sun?
Wind is the factor people forget until the first party. Blaze warns against using its grills in windy conditions and notes that wind entering the rear of the grill can push heat toward the control panel, so a wind block behind the grill may be needed. Smoke follows the breeze, so the goal is simple: grill downwind of the dining table and the back door, never upwind.
- South Shore: summer afternoons often bring an onshore sea breeze off the ocean and the bays. Spend a few evenings watching which way the flag or the trees move before you fix the grill's position.
- North Shore bluffs and open East End properties: exposure is the issue. A back wall or a tall section of counter behind the grill does double duty as a wind block and a clearance wall.
- Sun: summer sun sets in the west, so a cook facing west at dinner squints into it, and dark granite in afternoon sun gets hot to the touch. Shade the bar side, or turn the cook toward the guests with the sun behind them.
How do gas, electric, water and drainage shape the layout?
Utilities are the most expensive thing to move later, so they pull the kitchen toward the house. The closer the island sits to the gas meter and the electric panel, the shorter and simpler the trench.
- Gas: natural gas is the default where the street has service. Propane works on a one-family home, but the tank needs a vented home, such as Challenger's vented propane tank pullout. Enclosed islands need ventilation either way; Fire Magic calls for at least four openings of 10 square inches each, two at floor level and two 16 inches above the floor.
- Electric: a refrigerator, lights, rotisserie and many grill ignitions need 120V. Plan GFCI-protected outdoor receptacles inside the island, on a circuit your electrician sizes.
- Water and drainage: a sink needs supply and a drain, and every line has to be drained before a Long Island winter. Our winterizing guide covers the shutoffs. Slope the patio away from the house and away from the island's base so rain does not pool around appliance feet.
- Before anyone digs: New York 811 is the one-call center for New York City and Long Island, and the rule is notice two full working days before digging, not counting the day of the call.
If you are building a new house, raise gas early. New York's All-Electric Buildings Act targets fossil-fuel equipment in new buildings, and enforcement is paused while the court challenge finishes. Whether a grill line fed from a new home's gas service is affected is a question for your building department. Our Long Island gas ban guide tracks the status. Existing homes are not covered by the act.
What permits and setbacks apply in Nassau, Suffolk, the Hamptons and the North Shore?
Long Island has 13 towns, two cities and dozens of incorporated villages, and each writes its own building and zoning rules. If you live in a village, the village code may govern rather than the town's. A few things hold almost everywhere we work:
- Permanent structures need to meet zoning setbacks. The Town of Huntington's filing guidelines state plainly that all structures must meet zoning setbacks. Its permit list includes barbecues 4 feet and taller, exterior wood or gas fireplaces, pergolas, and patios 30 inches or higher, and it asks for a current survey dated within six months of filing.
- Front and street side yards are usually off limits. Huntington's guidance for accessory structures says none can sit within the required front yard or long street side yard setback. Expect similar logic in other towns.
- Gas and electric are permit work. Have the licensed plumber and electrician pull them, and keep the paperwork for the eventual sale of the house.
- Fire features have separate rules. Islip, Brookhaven and Southampton use 25 feet from structures and combustibles for recreational wood fires, and Huntington and North Hempstead add their own distances. Our fire pit rules by town guide has the details.
In the Hamptons and on larger North Shore properties, the questions shift toward lot coverage, waterfront and wetland setbacks, and village architectural review. Talk to the building department before you settle on a layout, not after the stone is ordered.
From our install team
The separate fire zone is where setbacks bite hardest. A wood fire pit that needs 25 feet from the house often belongs out on the lawn, while a gas fire table or outdoor fireplace can sit closer to the kitchen. Our outdoor fireplace vs fire pit guide walks through that choice.
For the finish side of the build, see natural stone and wood outdoor kitchens. For budget ranges by layout, see how much an outdoor kitchen costs.
Our recommended models
These are islands and appliances we specify for Long Island layouts, chosen to cover each common shape. Every one is in the store today.
For a dedicated pizza zone, the Lynx Napoli 30 built-in oven shares the grill's gas line, while the Gozney Dome Gen 2 stand package creates a second destination on its own.
Built-in natural gas grills Islands Insulated jackets Fire Magic Blaze
Which should you choose?
Choose a straight run if:
- Your patio is compact or the yard is narrow.
- You want the kitchen running in days, not months.
- A 32 inch grill and a fridge cover how you cook.
Choose an L if:
- You have a patio corner to work with.
- You want the grill out of the traffic path.
- You need a sink and real prep space.
Choose a U, island or separate zone if:
- The property is large enough to keep wide walkways.
- You want bar seating or a pizza oven of its own.
- You entertain big groups and want to split the crowd.
For most Long Island homes we recommend an L of 10 to 14 feet total, set beside the house but clear of windows and doors, with the grill on the short leg downwind of the table. If the lot is tight, a well-equipped 7 to 8 foot straight run will serve you better than a cramped L. Add the separate fire or pizza zone only where the setbacks and the walking paths allow it comfortably.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best outdoor kitchen layout for a small backyard?
A straight run of 7 to 8 feet against a fence or the house side of the patio. It holds a 32 inch grill with landing space on both sides plus a fridge, and leaves the rest of the yard open.
How far does a built-in grill need to be from the house?
Follow the grill manual. Blaze requires 14 inches at the sides and 16 at the back from combustible construction, and Fire Magic requires 18 inches on each side and the rear. Siding, trim and wood framing count as combustible, and Blaze says its grills are not meant to sit near a window or vent into the house.
Do I need a permit for an outdoor kitchen on Long Island?
Usually, for some part of it. Towns treat permanent structures, gas piping and electrical work as permit work, and the Town of Huntington, for example, lists barbecues 4 feet and taller, exterior fireplaces and pergolas. Check with your town or incorporated village before you build.
How deep should an outdoor kitchen counter be?
Prefab islands such as the Challenger Coastal are 25 inches deep and fit grills up to 32 inches. Larger grill heads need more depth; the Fire Magic E790i head is 30 1/2 inches deep. Add about a foot of overhang where you want bar seating.
Which way should an outdoor grill face?
Place the grill downwind of the dining area and the back door so smoke drifts away from people, with the cook facing the guests. Avoid a west-facing cook position if you grill around sunset, and add a wall behind the grill on exposed lots.
Talk to a specialist
Let us draw the layout around your yard
We have been designing, selling, installing and servicing fire features and outdoor kitchens for over 30 years across New York City, Long Island, Westchester, New Jersey and South Florida. Bring your survey and a few photos, and we will show you where the kitchen belongs on your lot.
Book a free consultation Call 718-326-4328Showroom: 58-30 Maspeth Ave, Maspeth, Queens. Our Greenvale, Long Island showroom at 13 Glen Cove Road opens winter 2026. Plan your visit.
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Written by the NYC Fireplaces & Outdoor Kitchens team. Last reviewed October 2026. We sell, install and service the products discussed here.
Sources: Blaze LTE grill user manual, Fire Magic product specification guide, Town of Huntington building department filing guidelines, Town of Huntington accessory structure guidance, Common Ground Alliance, New York one-call requirements, NY Energy Law section 11-104, Mulhern Gas Co. v. Mosley docket. Specifications change; always confirm with the manufacturer's current installation manual.