Guide to the Best Kitchen Display System For Your Restaurant (2025)
Want faster service, fewer mistakes, and a smoother kitchen? You need a Kitchen Display System (KDS). Not just any screen slapped on a wall - but the right system built to handle the chaos of delivery and in-house orders. Whether you're a small independent restaurant or running a high-volume chain, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know.
We’ll break down what a Kitchen Display System does, why it matters for your bottom line, what to watch out for, and finally, we’ll show you a next-gen option that goes way beyond the competition.
What is a Kitchen Display System (KDS)?
A Kitchen Display System (KDS) is a digital screen that pulls orders straight from your POS or online platforms and blasts them right to the right prep station, no mess, no guesswork. It’s like giving your kitchen a clear playbook, showing what to cook, when to cook it, and in what order. This means fewer mistakes, faster prep times, and a kitchen that runs like a well-oiled machine. If you want to cut the noise, boost speed, and keep orders flowing smooth as butter, a KDS is non-negotiable. It’s how you stay sharp, competitive, and profitable in today’s fast-paced restaurant game.
Simple in concept, but game-changing in execution.
But the best Kitchen Display Systems? They do way more than just display orders.
They manage them. Organise them. Time them. They help you optimise kitchen operations, reduce prep errors, and cut down wait times. Think of a KDS as the digital heartbeat of your back-of-house.
Imagine this:
A chef sees exactly what to cook, when to cook it, and for which driver.
No need for your team to decode messy handwriting or shout across the line.
Orders are colour-coded, intelligently routed, and bumped off as each item is completed.
It’s not just about looking cool. It’s about restaurant efficiency, AI powered optimisation, and giving your kitchen staff the breathing room to focus on what they do best - cooking great food.
This isn’t a luxury anymore. In 2025, if you’re still relying on paper tickets, you're bleeding time and money.
Why Every Modern Restaurant Needs a Kitchen Display System
Here's the cold truth: kitchens without a proper KDS are falling behind. And it’s not just about convenience, it's about survival.
A strong Kitchen Display System will:
Increase order accuracy (No more missed extras or wrong sauces)
Improve restaurant efficiency (Less yelling, more cooking)
Handle multi-channel madness (POS, Uber Eats, Deliveroo - all on one screen)
Sync with drivers (So no food sits dying under a heat lamp)
Provide live data (See exactly who or what is slowing down the line)
The result? Faster service, happier customers, lower refund rates, and reviews that don’t scare away your next diner.
It’s like switching from a flip phone to a smartphone. The difference is night and day.
Real Impact on the Customer Experience
Let’s be honest, in 2025, people expect food fast, hot, and right. Delivery optimisation has become the norm. If your kitchen can’t keep up, your reviews are going to take a hit.
A strong Kitchen Display System protects your rep.
Here's how it helps:
1. Speed
Orders show up on the screen instantly. No printing. No delays. Just bang, it’s on the line.
2. Accuracy
Digital orders mean no misread handwriting. Everything is itemised, clear, and customisable.
3. Communication
No more front-of-house walking into the kitchen shouting updates. Everyone sees what’s happening in real time.
4. Multi-Order Management
Got a dine-in order, a pickup, and a DoorDash all at once? A good KDS sorts them, prioritises them, and paces the kitchen accordingly.
5. Less Stress = Better Food
When your kitchen isn’t in constant panic mode, the food quality goes up. Happy staff make better meals.
Key Features to Look For in a Kitchen Display System
All KDS aren’t built the same. Some POS companies tack on a basic screen. Others give you fancy hardware with no real brains.
Here’s what you actually need:
1. Real-Time Order Management
Instant updates. Colour-coding. Order grouping by station. No refresh button needed.
2. Multi-Channel Integration
Whether it’s Just Eat, Uber Eats, your website, or dine-in, your KDS should handle all of it. Seamlessly.
3. Live Driver Sync
Drivers arriving early or stuck in traffic? Your KDS should know and adjust prep times accordingly.
4. Powerful Analytics
You should know bump times, prep delays, and performance by staff or shift. Use that to schedule smarter and fix weak links.
5. Bump Logic
Let the system route and bump items by prep station. No more confusion about what’s done or where it should go.
6. Customisable UI
Every kitchen is different. Your system should adapt to your layout and workflow.
7. Ease of Use
Your chefs aren’t tech pros. A good KDS has large text, minimal clutter, and fast onboarding.
Who Needs a Kitchen Display System the Most?
This tech isn’t just for the big guys. It’s mission-critical if you:
Run a fast-casual or quick-service restaurant
Offer delivery or pickup
Use multiple third-party platforms
Have busy weekend rushes
Operate with high staff turnover
From small pizza shops to national chains, if your team is juggling tickets during peak hours, a KDS will be your best investment.
Is This the Right Time for a KDS? (Quick Buyer’s Checklist)
Still unsure if you actually need a Kitchen Display System?
Here’s a rapid-fire checklist to make it obvious. If you answer “yes” to two or more, you’re overdue for an upgrade:
Are your staff juggling tickets from multiple platforms like Uber Eats, Just Eat, or your own app?
Do you frequently deal with order errors or missed modifications?
Are drivers waiting more than 3–5 minutes for food that’s not ready?
Is your team shouting across the kitchen to track down orders?
Do you struggle with consistency during weekend rushes?
Are you relying on paper dockets or outdated printers?
Would better data help you schedule smarter or improve prep times?
If you checked even a few of these, it’s not a workflow issue, it’s a systems issue.
Your kitchen isn’t broken. It’s just under-equipped.
Top Kitchen Display Systems in 2025
The KDS space is growing fast, and there are a few well-known names on the market. Here’s how the major players stack up:
1. Toast KDS
Best for: Restaurants already using Toast POS
Toast KDS is tightly integrated with the Toast ecosystem, making it a natural fit for existing users. It handles dine-in orders smoothly and offers decent customisation. However, it’s not built with delivery-heavy or multi-channel restaurants in mind, limited when it comes to driver syncing and real-time optimisation.
2. FreshKDS
Best for: Simpler setups that want a clean interface
FreshKDS is a lightweight, cloud-based option that works independently of your POS. Its ease of setup and clean UI make it appealing for small teams. But it lacks advanced features like AI routing, detailed analytics, or real-time driver integration, which can be a dealbreaker for high-volume or delivery-first restaurants.
3. Square KDS
Best for: Small cafes and coffee shops using Square
Square’s KDS is free with Square POS, making it a good entry-level option. It’s easy to use and fine for low-volume operations. That said, it doesn’t scale well. There’s no robust kitchen logic or delivery optimisation, so when rush hour hits, things can fall apart fast.
4. Lightspeed KDS
Best for: Lightspeed POS users wanting moderate insight
Lightspeed KDS is functional and provides basic kitchen flow management. It offers some analytics, but lacks advanced features like smart bumping, AI optimisation, or deep third-party integrations. A solid choice if you’re staying fully within the Lightspeed ecosystem, but again, it’s more of a support tool than a performance engine.
Introducing RocketBox: The AI-Powered Kitchen Display System
This is where things level up.
RocketBox isn’t just another Kitchen Display System. It’s air traffic control for your kitchen, coordinating chefs, drivers, and prep stations with the precision of a mission control centre.
While traditional KDS solutions simply display tickets, RocketBox uses AI powered optimisation to actively manage the flow of service. It doesn’t just show you what’s coming, it thinks. It adapts. It keeps your kitchen calm, even when chaos hits.
Why RocketBox Stands Alone:
1. AI Sorting: Prioritise What Matters, Instantly
RocketBox automatically sorts and queues tickets based on prep time, delivery urgency, station workload, and driver ETA. That means:
No more long prep items clogging up the pass.
No more early-bumped orders dying under heat lamps.
Your kitchen gets a perfectly timed, intelligently prioritised flow of orders, every single shift.
It’s smarter than FIFO (first in, first out). It’s kitchen-aware and customer-focused.
2. Multi-Channel Mastery: One Screen to Rule Them All
Today’s restaurants aren’t just dealing with dine-in, they’re juggling Uber Eats, DoorDash, in-house online orders, and walk-ins all at once.
RocketBox integrates with them all, and displays everything in one unified dashboard. It:
Displays all of your orders in one place with updates made in real-time.
Tags orders by source (POS, Deliveroo, own app, etc.).
Syncs timings with driver arrivals so everything is ready on time, every time.
Whether it’s a €50 delivery order or a €12 takeaway, every order gets the respect it deserves.
3. Driver ETA Sync: Kitchen Meets the Street
RocketBox doesn’t just track what’s happening in your kitchen. It tracks what’s happening outside too.
It syncs with delivery apps and knows:
Which drivers are nearby
Which are stuck in traffic
Who’s about to arrive
How many orders each driver is taking
Then it adjusts prep flow to match. Your kitchen won’t rush food out early or scramble when a driver arrives unannounced. Orders are timed to land hot and fresh, not early and soggy, or late and cold.
You don’t adapt to the chaos, RocketBox adapts for you.
4. Analytics on Steroids: See It All, Fix It Fast
RocketBox doesn’t just show you what happened, it helps you predict what’s going to.
With deep, real-time analytics, you can:
Track average bump time by screen, station, or shift
Identify bottlenecks down to the minute
Compare delivery performance across platforms
See staff performance over time and schedule accordingly
No more guessing why service slowed down. You’ll know exactly where to improve and when.
5. POS Agnostic: Use What You Already Have
You don’t need to rip out your tech stack to use RocketBox.
It works with any POS, meaning:
No expensive migrations
No retraining your team
No locked-in contracts
You get flexibility without friction. Just plug it in and go.
6. Built by Restaurateurs: Real Kitchens, Real Problems
RocketBox wasn’t built in a boardroom. It was built on the line by a team with real experience.
Every feature solves a real kitchen problem. Every screen layout, every timing feature, every alert, crafted by operators who’ve lived through Friday night madness and know exactly what matters.
This isn’t tech for the sake of tech. It’s practical innovation that gets out of your way and just works.
7. Flexible Setup: Start Small, Scale Fast
Whether you run one food truck or fifty fast food restaurants, RocketBox grows with you.
Start with one display. Add more as you need. Installations take minutes, not hours. Onboarding is simple, most teams are live in under a day.
No IT team? No problem.
8. Built for Delivery Pressure: Handle the Heat
Your kitchen doesn’t get to hit pause during a rush. RocketBox was engineered for the highest pressure moments:
50 orders in the queue?
5 different delivery channels pinging?
10 drivers waiting at the counter?
RocketBox orchestrates it all without breaking a sweat. It keeps your staff focused, your food hot, and your operation under control.
It’s not just a display. It’s your kitchen’s command centre.
Final Thoughts: Upgrade the Backbone of Your Kitchen
Here’s the truth, your kitchen doesn’t need more staff. It needs a smarter system.
A proper Kitchen Display System is the fastest way to:
Cut chaos
Boost consistency
Protect your delivery ratings
And save money on refunds, delays, and remakes
RocketBox isn’t just another screen. It’s your kitchen’s co-pilot, making split-second decisions that keep food flowing, drivers moving, and customers happy.
It doesn’t matter if you’re running one location or ten. The restaurants winning in 2025 all have one thing in common: they’ve modernised the back-of-house.
Ready to ditch the chaos?
Book a 15-minute demo HERE and see RocketBox in action.
Because in this game, seconds matter and RocketBox gives every one of them back to you.
