How many kilograms of ice per day do I actually need for my size of bar or café?

Use your peak service to size the machine, then add a buffer for busy days and warm weather.

Quick rule of thumb for drinks-led venues: plan on 150 to 250 g of ice per iced drink (more for shaken cocktails and iced coffees).

Convert your peak hour to a daily figure: if you sell 60 iced drinks per hour for 4 busy hours, that is roughly 36 to 60 kg/day (60 × 4 × 0.15 to 0.25).

Add a safety margin: add 20 to 30% if you regularly do events, outdoor service, or long queues.

Match to the right Unifrost “small” bracket: compact undercounter cube makers such as UB25-15 and U40-15 are typically aimed at venues needing roughly ~20 to 40 kg/day in a tight footprint. If you are regularly above that, you are usually better looking at a head and bin setup (for example U165‑125 or U230‑175 with a matching bin) rather than oversizing an undercounter unit.

If you tell your supplier your busiest hour drinks count and the type of drinks you serve, they can sanity-check the kg/day and the storage you will actually need.

Read the full guide: Unifrost Small Ice Machine Model Comparison for Irish Bars & Cafes.