Best Chef Shoes for Kitchen Work and Staying Comfortable

It’s a common saying to spend money on items that separate your body from the ground: tires, mattresses, and shoes. This guide provides a complete handbook for finding the best shoes for current and budding chefs. The list contains the most comfortable chef shoes on the market, based on plenty of testing and research.

Why Are Kitchen Shoes So Important for Chefs?

When working in the fast-paced kitchen environment, chefs face many hazards on a regular basis. Many kitchen tools pose danger to life and limb. If they fall or malfunction, they can cause serious damage to your legs and feet. It doesn’t take much for a serious accident to occur.

Spills also pose a major threat. Not only can hot liquids lead to serious burns on the feet, but slip and fall accidents are common in the food service industry, sometimes leading to serious injury. The staff and the chef must ensure they follow safety regulations. However, even the safest workplace has accidents.

Common Mistakes When Purchasing Chef Shoes

Chefs tend to make persistent mistakes when buying shoes for work. These mistakes happen more frequently when people treat buying chef shoes like a standard purchase. Selecting the right chef shoes differs from buying a pair of pants that will get dirty in a week, or a bandana wiping away sweat. Chef shoes are some of the most important pieces of equipment you purchase as a chef, and it’s important to treat them as such.

When it comes to footwear in the kitchen, function and comfort beat aesthetics. If the shoe delivers on functionality and remaining comfortable, while remaining visually appealing, that’s great. However, practicality and functionality need to take precedence.

Our Selections for the Best Chef Shoes

Through research and testing, both online and in person, we selected these shoes for their combination of comfort, functionality, price, and aesthetics.

• Best Overall: Dansko XP 2.0 - Men's | Women's
• Runner-Up: Birkenstock Profi-Birki
• Best for Traditional Dansko Lovers: Dansko Professional - Men's | Women's
• For Keeping Cool: Skechers Flex Advantage McAllen Slip-On
• Best on Budget: Crocs Bistro Clog
• On a Budget with Personality: Crocs Graphic Bistro Clog
• Best for Durability: Shoes for Crews Radium
• Best for Looking Good: Birkenstock Tokyo Super Grip
• Safety Toe: New Balance 412 Non-Slip Alloy Toe - Men's | Women's
• Best if You Love Crocs: Crocs on the Clock Work Slip-On

Finding the Right Shoe for the Job

A chef needs to take every aspect of their job into accent when choosing their work shoes. What kind of kitchen will you work in? What specific work are you doing? Are there special types of ingredients and tools you will work with? Does your job have specific safety requirements for footwear?

Chefs and cooks have a lot of different responsibilities. These depend on their skills and the volume going through the kitchen. The shoes above provide the best blend of utility, longevity, comfort, and price. Let’s dive into each of the selections to see which needs they meet in the melting pot of chefs and cooks.

Detailed Reviews: Finding the Best Chef Shoes

The world of chef shoes is complicated and expansive. You’d think that a box full of black shoes would be simple. You’d be wrong. Chefs need to ensure they have the right information to make an informed decision that meets their needs. Chefs are on their feet well over 40 hours a week. A pair of high-quality shoes is a must. Anything else over extended time frames will lead to potentially permanent damage down the road.

1. Dansko XP 2.0

The Dansko Pro XP was built to address some of the concerns people had with the original Dansko Professional, and the Dansko XP 2.0 is the latest iteration of the Pro XP line.  These are our top choice because of the quality of the construction, the well-researched slip resistant outsole, and the removable memory foam footbed.

The two primary concerns a chef shoe must address are safety and comfort.  To maximize safety, Dansko upgraded the outsole on the XP 2.0 from the original Dansko Professional with research and testing from SATRA to make sure these shoes wouldn’t slip in the conditions you’re likely to encounter in the kitchen: oily floors, greasy floors, and wet and slick floors. We included details of the outsole in our picture of both the XP 2.0 and the Professional (below) so you can see the difference.

The other big improvement Dansko made when designing the XP 2.0 was implementing a removable memory foam footbed.  The lack of a removable footbed was a deal breaker for a lot of people when they considered the Dansko Professional.  If you need custom orthotics the XP 2.0 has you covered.

Finally, the XP 2.0 is made with the same high-quality construction techniques as the original Professional model.  That means the upper is hand stapled to the outsole to ensure the shoe isn’t going to come apart on you.  The XP 2.0 also has an inner frame made of thermoplastic so the shoe won’t deform on you over time (especially important if they are going to withstand the wet conditions of a kitchen).

For more details read our complete review of the Dansko XP 2.0.

2. Dansko Professional

The Dansko Professional is one of the most distinctive (opinions differ on whether this is a good distinctive or bad distinctive) chef shoes available.  Although Dansko introduced the Pro XP and Pro XP 2.0 (above), the Dansko Professional maintains an intensely loyal following amongst chefs around the world.

One of the reasons that the Dansko Professional has such a strong following is that they are incredibly comfortable if you are on your feet all day.  Dansko builds them with a rocker bottom that helps you move around while minimizing pronation and providing lateral support.  This leaves your feet and calves less tired, leading to fewer injuries and less pain after a long shift.

The other feature that sets Dansko apart is the way you walk in them.  By design, your heel should move up and down as you walk in Dansko clogs.  This takes a bit of getting used to, but is really comfortable once you catch on.

The major downside people find is that if you have larger feet, the padded instep across the bridge of the foot is tight.  The padding is there to help alleviate this, but isn't sufficient for some people. 

For more details read our complete review of the Dansko Professional.

3. Birkenstock Professional Slip Resistant Work Shoe (aka, Profi-Birki)

Available for Men and Women at

Birkenstock offers quality shoes. This goes not only for their standard footwear offerings, but also their work shoes and chef shoes. While Birkenstock prices the Professional series at a premium to some other brands, they maintain a cult following. Every shoe serves a purpose, and these shoes are a top choice in professional and commercial kitchens.

You can replace the soles, which means that after extended use, you can swap them out for new ones. This tell you about expected longevity of the uppers, putting them in the same quality category high-end dress shoes. This means you can expect to use these for a long time, making the cost more reasonable.

Our favorite thing about these shoes is their toughness and indestructibility. In fact, you can throw them in the dishwasher at the end of each shift for a good scrub. This is an incredibly unique feature, and you can wash these shoes without worrying about wear and tear. However, it’s important to remember that Birkenstocks tend to run large, typically fitting a size above your typical shoe size.

For more details read our complete review of the Birkenstock Professional Profi Birki Slip Resistant Work Shoe.

4. Skechers Flex Advantage McAllen Slip On

Available for Men and Women at

The Skechers Flex Advantage Mcallen Slip-on looks quite a bit different than the rest of the chef shoes on our list of the Best Chef Shoes. This footwear is mesh fabric compared to solid around the toe. However, the question lingering in the air is a good one: What happens when I drop a pan or knife on my foot?

Compared to alternatives on our list, these shoes do not provide the best protection around the toe. For this reason, they might not be the strongest choice if you are permanently located in the back of the house, grinding away in the kitchen. However, if you spend a lot of time running around a restaurant and aren’t firmly planted with a knife in your hand, these are a great option.

The main reason we included them in our list is because they contain an extremely comfortable memory foam insole. This makes them by far the most comfortable option we reviewed, and are a great choice if you are in a position with a lower risk of dropping knives or heavy pieces of equipment on your feet.

For more details read our complete review of the Skechers Flex Advantage Mcallen Slip-On.

5. Crocs Bistro Clog and Graphic Bistro Clog

Crocs take a good amount of beatings due to their appearance. Many believe Crocs makes relatively ugly shoes. However, the comfort and utility is almost unmatched, especially at the price point. For all this abuse and negativity, the shoes have not suffered from sales, with everybody from Prince George to Michelle Obama photographed wearing Crocs.

Why all this use? These shoes are practical, quick and easy to slip on, and borderline indestructible. The likelihood for chefs is that investing in a pair of these shoes will lead to a lack of worry for a good bit of time.

The Crocs Bistro Clog has a sturdy, non-slip Crocs Lock tread. There is also a heel strap, providing solid room for the ankles to breathe, and alleviating the persistent heel blisters all too common with most inexpensive, lower quality chef shoes currently on the market.

For more details read our complete review of the Crocs Bistro Clog.

6. Shoes for Crews Radium Slip-Resistant Kitchen Clog

Available for Men and Women at

A newer brand to the footwear market, Shoes for Crews stormed into the work, industrial, and non-slip shoe scene with flying colors, quickly becoming a customer favorite for hard workers. We've seen some kitchens that require Shoes for Crews as part of their uniform. They have shoes to meet non-slip safety standards that corporate kitchens might need to satsify. This is mainly due to the extensive warranty services and high level of confidence they have with all their products. This is evident with the Radium, a wonderful shoe for chefs.

The Shoes for Crews Radium meets all testing standards for non-slip and non-skid work shoes. They also feature a luxurious footbed of memory foam, and are water and stain resistant, perfect for the hard-working chef. Shoes for Crews continues upward growth in their shoe line, and are a power player in the workwear market.

7. Birkenstock Tokyo Super Grip

Available for Men and Women at

While there are less expensive brands and styles of chef shoe with similar shapes for challenge-to-fit feet, they often make them from plastic-based materials that lack breathability. In comparison, Birkenstock makes the Tokyo Super Grip from high-quality, naturally breathable leather. This leather upper allows chefs and cooks to work a full shift without sweat soaking through their socks.

As is standard with the Birkenstock brand, the natural materials they use for these shoes (cork and leather) take some time to break in. However, once broken in, these could very well be the most comfortable pair of shoes you’ve ever owned.

Additionally, the Super Grip section of the Birkenstock Tokyo Super Grip Leather Work Shoe is a high-quality nonskid sole, keeping you from slip and fall injuries. This type of injury is one of the most common in fast-paced kitchens. As far as chef shoes go, these are worth every penny.

For more details read our complete review of the Birkenstock Tokyo Super Grip.

8. New Balance 412 Slip Resistant Alloy Toe

New Balance built these wide-fitting alloy-toe shoes with comfort and safety in mind. However, note that you'll need to wear these shoes a few times to break them in. As such, some people find them uncomfortable straight out of the box.

They are some of the more expensive shoes on our list, as we expect for shoes with safety-toe features. These actually come at a completely reasonable price point for safety shoes from a top manufacturer like New Balance. Maybe we're used to safety shoes for industry and construction that typically come in about 50% higher in price than these.

Some kitchens require a safety toe shoe. We'd say it's not typical, but gets more common each year. While they'll certainly protect against falling knives, a good leather or synthetic clog will almost certainly protect your toes in that situation as well. The one area a safety toe does offer an advantage is protection against heavy falling objects. Anyway, if your job requires a safety-toe, this is the direction we'd go.

9. Crocs on the Clock Chef Shoes Work Slip On

Available for Men and Women at

The Best Kitchen Shoes are About More Than the Price

High-quality chef shoes are not something that comes cheap. A chef might have second thoughts about spending a good bit of money on a work shoe that will get dirty and covered in food almost immediately. However, is your safety, security and comfort in the workplace the best place to try and save money?

It should also be mentioned that shoes that cost more do not necessarily correlate to higher durability and functionality. Many chefs and cooks will fall into the trap of purchasing the inexpensive ten-dollar slip-on shoes from big box retail establishments. The issue with this is two-sided.

For one, this increases the chances of a workplace-related incident. The slip-resistance of a ten-dollar shoe will pale in comparison to its fifty-dollar alternative. Additionally, the footwear will need replacing at a far higher rate than more expensive options with higher utility. What would be better, spending $25 on shoes every six months, or spending $100 on shoes every three years? Exactly.

Diving Into the Importance of Chef Shoes

High-quality chef shoes, like the options reviewed above, allow cooks and chefs to perform their work at high levels of efficiency, while simultaneously ensuring safety and comfort. Additionally, chef shoes need to have some form of practicality. They need to be comfortable, resistant to spills, slip resistant, and sturdy to a point where they can protect the feet from heat and falling objects.

These aspects are all vital to the safety, security and efficiency of the chef. They absolutely need to be covered and included in a pair of good quality chef shoes. But there is another, obvious factor in play as to why a pair of chef shoes is crucial.

Wearing chef shoes in the workplace is often mandatory, and a requirement for most health and safety standards, especially those set forth by OSHA for food service establishments. In these cases, it is almost always the responsibility of the employer to enforce the rules, however it is the responsibility of the chef to purchase and maintain their own footwear.

While comfort and functionality are extremely important, work standards and regulations for safety in the workplace are an equally crucial role, and should be considered as well when making purchase decisions for chef shoes. To ensure the safe, productive, uninterrupted operations of a restaurant, it is vital to comply with these safety regulations.

Why Are Chef Shoes So Vital?

Compliance with safety regulations cultivates a safe and secure work environment. This benefits everyone involved in the process, from the chefs to the waiters. Establishing work safety standards allows employees to carry out daily activities in a safe manner. 

If relevant authorities and inspections uncover any deficiencies or discrepancies in the safety of a restaurant during a check, penalties can become substantial. With proper assessment of risk and compliance with regulations, restaurant owners can avoid these problems. This avoidance drastically reduces the chances of workplace accidents, and proper footwear is one of the main points of concern.

Finally, another step of the risk assessment process includes the identification of workplace hazards. This encompasses potential issues regarding safety gear, such as chef shoes. If a cook does not wear a regulated pair of chef shoes, they can expose the establishment to legal disputes, while simultaneously endangering their safety and the safety of others.

Regulations of Labor Safety for Kitchens

Shoes designed to enhance workplace safety, including those made specifically with chefs in mind, are often provided by the workplace. They are responsible for determining the rules workers must follow regarding footwear. They are also responsible for what types of extra protection these chef shoes need to have.

When making a footwear purchase, chefs need to select products that meet the standards of safety set forth by their workplace. For this reason, when switching jobs or restaurants, it’s important to pay attention to their specific requirements for workplace footwear. Some places are far more stringent than others.

Looking from the Point of View of the Chef

There is more to the concept of workplace safety in the kitchen than simple regulatory aspects. There are other reasons why chef shoes are incredibly important. This feature allows chefs to perform their workplace duties at a very high level. Any professional, from a cook to a plumber to a teacher and beyond, can only provide their best work if there are no distractions.

It’s about far more than just comfort, as we have stated throughout this guide. It’s also about practicality, style, and functionality. While style might not be the most important trait to look for in a chef shoe, if it’s something that can be discerned, why not do so?

Guidelines for Selecting Chef Shoes and Our Research

There are three main criteria that these selected chef shoes are required to meet for us at Shoe Guide to consider them adequate: Practicality, functionality and design. Let’s dive into each of these in detail to tease out the specifics that are considered when deciding on the best chef shoes.

Criterion 1: Practicality

Practicality is inclusive of many other sub-factors, including ergonomics, comfort and design. Regarding ergonomics, selecting a chef shoe with ideal ergonomic qualities is very important, and for more reasons than simple comfort and safety. The proper shoe selection provides ergonomic support for the unique wearer, based on their specific needs and biological characteristics of their feet.

Ergonomics

If a chef shoe is ergonomically sound, it will meet many needs, including:

• Manufactured from high-quality materials.
• Provides plenty of arch support for chefs with flat feet.
• Allows the feet and legs to move in a natural way.

Shoes that fit too snugly, or cannot provide the arch support needed, can be disastrous for long-term health, and lead to extensive problems over time. The proper shoe helps cooks and chefs prevent injuries to the ligaments, and alleviate some of the more common, short-term problems like calluses.

While wearing inadequate shoes might not seem like a problem in the short term, it can wreak havoc on the lower extremities and back over time. If a shoe is ergonomically friendly, it allows the feet and legs to exhibit proper blood flow, while reducing bodily wear and tear. This goes double for the bones, joints, muscles, and ligaments of the legs. After all, we all remember the old song Dem Bones:

The toe bone's connected to the foot bone / The foot bone's connected to the ankle bone / The ankle bone's connected to the leg bone / Now shake them skeleton bones! / The leg bone's connected to the knee bone, / The knee bone's connected to the thigh bone / The thigh bone's connected to the hip bone

It may be a children’s song, but it brings about a solid point. The bones are connected, and bone-related issues can radiate upwards and affect the entire body.

Comfort

Comfort is incredibly important for work shoe practicality. Unless your working hours are minimal, chefs can spend anything from eight to 12, to 14 or more hours at their place of work in a single shift. Most of that time is spent on their feet, either standing or moving around. In uncomfortable shoes, chefs might get distracted, leading to mistakes. Mistakes in kitchen environments never have positive outcomes.

Orthopedic shoes might be the exception to this, though. They don’t often feel comfortable to the wearer. However, this discomfort has its own purpose: correcting bad posture and additional non-degenerative issues. Shoes that are correctly sized and manufactured from high-quality materials are usually more comfortable. However, again, there are exceptions. If possible, chefs should try the shoes on before they buy, or at least purchase from a place such as Amazon that allows returns.

Design

Whether a chef purchases a slip-on (like all the options we tested and suggested as the best) or lace-up work shoe, it is vital to select footwear that is appropriate for the work environment in which they will be worn. If the kitchen back of the house area tends to heat up regularly, breathable shoes are the best design type. Slip-ons are typically superior for chefs, as our own research and testing showed. However, some cooks just simply prefer the snugness and support that lace-up shoes provide.

The other important aspect of design is the weight of the shoe. Shoes need to be more than simply comfortable and flexible. Ideally, they should not be too heavy or bulky. Wear and tear tends to set in far faster if the shoes are heavier in weight. Any chef shoe should provide fast, easy movements around the busy kitchen.

Criterion 2: Functionality

Functionality includes several other sub-factors: material, breathability, water-resistance, grip, and ability to be cleaned.

Material

The material of the shoe is extremely important. Essentially, a chef would be on the lookout for a flexible design with durable upper, as they experience consistent standing and movement. Moving back and forth constantly in a hot kitchen environment can put extreme wear and tear on chef shoes.

If these shoes cannot withstand the daily pressures that a chef goes through, there is a chance that deterioration of the upper and sole could begin to occur within a few weeks of the purchase. The proper materials can take a beating and remain in great shape for years before the material begins to decline. Look at some of the options above. We’ve listed options from shoes that can be tossed in the dishwasher, to shoes that have the option to replace the soles, meaning the upper is borderline bulletproof.

Breathability

The aspect of breathability can truly make or break any chef shoe, and have a major effect on the satisfaction with a purchase. In a hot kitchen environment, sweat is a serious commonality. While that may seem gross, it’s just all part of the process, and typically cannot be helped.

Moisture needs to evaporate. If moisture does not have access to evaporation, shoes will quickly become uncomfortable. Even more concerning than discomfort, humid environments, like those inside sweaty socks and shoes, are breeding grounds for bacterial growth.

Footwear that is made from higher quality, breathable materials eliminates this issue through allowance of the feet to breathe. Additionally, enhanced breathability assists to wick moisture and sweat from the shoes, while still protecting the feet. Breathability is an incredibly underrated aspect of high-quality chef shoes, and is something that should be considered heavily when performing due diligence and finding the best chef shoes.

Water Resistance

Wearing water resistant (or sometimes waterproof shoes) in the kitchen is an important thing. At the very least, the upper sole of the shoe needs to be able to withstand significant moisture for safety reasons. In a bustling kitchen, chefs are always near hot oil and boiling water. This makes the potential for catastrophic spilling accidents an ever-looming danger.

These accidents should be avoided at all costs. However, sooner or later, even the most adept chefs are going to find themselves in a situation where the possibility of spills is inevitable. The environment is just so fast-paced and unpredictable.

With low-quality shoes, hot cooling oils, molten animal fats, and boiling water can easily maneuver its way inside of the shoe, and cause serious damage to the feet. Purchasing a pair of water-resistant or waterproof shoes alleviates this danger.

Grip

One of the most common mishaps that occurs in a kitchen environment is a slip and fall accident. While these are sometimes unavoidable (see above, and how spills are a given in such a fast-paced setting), many times they result from ignored or loosely defined safety regulations.

Chefs should always have on anti-slip footwear offering great grip. This way, even when spills occur, they can stay on their feet and handle the situation appropriately. This is why all our suggested chef shoes have strong grip.

Ease of Care

The highest quality chef shoes for the kitchen are quick and simple to clean. When under constant use, the bustling kitchen environment will cause buildup on footwear in no time. It doesn’t matter if a chef starts with a brand-new pair of shoes. By the end of a long shift, they will be dirty and covered with spills and spatters.

Most chef shoes require daily care, whether that be throwing them in a dishwasher, giving them a rinse with a hose, or just wiping them off with a cloth. For this reason, they should be quick and easy to clean.

Criterion 3: Style

While style in general commands less of a dire need in the kitchen than practicality and functionality, it is inevitable that style will play a role in the purchase of a pair of chef shoes. There are two main style types that comprise all chef shoes currently on the market: slip-on and laces.

Slip-ons are often far more ideal for chefs, and comprise all the options we have suggested to chefs for shoes. This is because they are far easier to put on and take off. The lack of lacing also means that there is little chance for them to come loose and cause slip and fall hazards.

Another factor for slip-on shoes is food safety. When chefs need to stop and tie their shoes, they must wash their hands afterwards. If a chef’s shoes are ill-fitting and lacing is consistently coming undone or loosening, this can be a substantial inconvenience and time waste. This can be problematic in a setting where timing is everything.

With slip-on chef shoes, cooks can easily avoid the above problems. However, it is vital to select a model that can hold the heels firmly. Crocs are a popular brand for this, and while chef shoes with heel straps are safe, they might lack in the comfort department.

Shoes with lacing are fine, until the need arises to ensure coverage. Are the shoes water resistant? Do they have strong uppers? While lace-up shoes are more breathable than slip-on alternatives, they also leave the wearer vulnerable to liquids and spills seeping in, and weaker uppers that are split into two pieces.

Find the Best Chef Shoes: Summing it All Up

The highest value chef shoes are both practical and functional, while also providing the user a comfortable experience. It is vital to find specialized footwear designed by people who have been in and around the kitchen environment. These people understand the speed at which tasks are done, and the challenges that occur when in the kitchen.

Some brands took this challenge to heart, and have already delivered wonderful products. A good piece of news is that the chef shoe manufacturing industry is ever evolving. Specialized footwear for the working-class hero is gaining traction year over year across all industries, not simply food service. Sometimes it boils down not to innovation, but instead to regulation.

Dependent on the state or country, regulations for kitchen work vary drastically. Some workplaces have enacted rules that demand specific safety codes. However, in other regions the decisions might be left up to the chef. Even if the safety regulations fall on those who essentially live in the kitchen. But even when this is the case, proactivity will pay out.

Having the correct kitchen footwear is vital, whether regulations demand it or not. The proper equipment can assist professional cooks in preventing accidents. This allows chefs to concentrate on their craft, and the quality of the work. Chef shoes should be durable, water resistant, non-slip, and ideally crafted from breathable material. When these combinations are all present in a shoe, it can provide a perfect marriage for the daily challenges of the demanding profession of the chef.