Making More of Your Pub’s Outdoor Space

During the COVID-19 national lockdown when restaurants and pubs could serve people but only outdoors, owners found out the value of having a great outdoor space. Pubs which already had a good-looking and practical outdoor space thrived during this time whilst others rushed to throw up temporary covers and put down benches/tables for people to sit on.

You might not think it with the UK’s temperamental weather but having a great outdoor seating area or pub garden is really beneficial. Sitting outdoors when it’s sunny with a pint in hand is one of us Brits’ favourite things to do, our hearts seriously go wild for beer gardens. If you have a cover for your outdoor space or little seated huts, a lot of your patrons will choose to sit outside come rain or shine, especially if the inside of your pub is busy and there’s nowhere left to sit.

In this blog post, we’re going to run through some of the things you can do to make sure you’re making the most of your outdoor space if you’re lucky enough to have some!

The Indoors & Outdoors Should Match

No one wants to walk into a beautifully furnished pub and then walk outside to the garden just for it to be plain and bleak. A common problem we find in pubs is that the time spent on indoor decorating vs the time spent on outdoor decorating is drastically different – and trust us, your customers can tell.

When looking to improve your pub garden, you’ll need to make sure the indoor area blends seamlessly with the outdoor area – the same theme and colour scheme should be used to create this effect. You don’t want the inside of your pub themed like a rustic smokehouse and the outside looking like a beach party!

Use the same colours, furniture style and lighting, you might also want to think about the kind of plants you can use in your pub garden and match the colour of the flowers to the décor.

We love the Ring O’ Bells’ in Warrington outdoor space, this is one of many Trust Inns pubs to have an impressive garden!

We’re obsessed with the miniature black caravan matching their rattan chairs and wooden tables, a quirky detail that doesn’t go unnoticed by their customers.

Outdoor Seating

When it comes to pub gardens, owners will often opt for the traditional picnic benches. Don’t get us wrong, these can look great – especially if they go with your theme. However, there are plenty more options than the traditional wooden picnic benches that are often overlooked or just not even thought about. Do some research and see what would look best and what would fit with your pub’s theme.

Comfortable seats and enough space for food & drinks on the table is what will keep your customers at your pub for longer and increase the chance of them coming back. No one wants to be sitting on old plastic chairs featuring a wobbly table that’s fixed with a few menus under one of the legs…

Make sure the tables are evenly spaced out! Getting up and having to squeeze past several diners just to get to the toilet because all the tables are crammed together doesn’t sound pleasant for your customers. Not everything has to be even though! A range of table sizes should be used to suit both big parties & small ones.

Adding cushions to your chairs and parasols to your tables can also make a big difference, in both looks and comfort.

Take a look at this Trust Inns pub’s outdoor seating area, the Tywarnhayle Inn, Perranporth. We love their cosy white and blue huts; they keep with the theme of the pub being walking distance from a gorgeous beach.

The Grass & Plants

We can’t stress this enough – mow your grass regularly! An unkempt lawn just looks messy and unorganised. Keep your pub garden’s grass finely cut, this will prevent your customers from tripping on long strands and overall, just looks a lot better.

Next, you need to think about the kind of plants and flowers you want in your pub garden. The biggest thing about plants is that not only do you need to plant them, but you also need to make sure they’re looked after. It’s great having some bright and lively plants for a couple of months but if you don’t take care of them, they’ll end up slowly dying and will make your beer garden look a bit sad.

Your customers don’t want to spend their time drinking around dead plants! The addition of beautiful, colourful and healthy plants can be a level up for your beer garden.

Another one of Trust Inns’ pubs, the White Bull in Preston, sets this example with some lovely shrubs and well-kept grass.

Keeping Customers Warm

The weather is something we can’t control, although we all wish we could! If it were up to me, Britain would be just as hot as sunny Spain. However, it’s not even close. Don’t fret though – we’ve got a solution to keep your customers from shivering whilst downing their last pint of the day.

Many pubs use outdoor heaters and firepits to keep the cold away, they’re a great investment for when the night is closing in and it’s beginning to get colder and colder in your pub garden. They also look extremely stylish and they’re very versatile – there’s probably one to match every theme out there.

Protection from the wind can also make a big difference, putting up a gazebo for those cold & windy days or even extending your pub’s roof will make sure your customers are a bit warmer.

Outdoor Entertainment

A great way to keep your customers happy is some outdoor entertainment!

Hosting a live band at your pub will create a positive atmosphere, attract more customers, support your local musicians and your customers will most likely spend more money as they’ll want to stick around for longer and have a bit of a dance! Live bands and pubs are a match made in heaven.

Outdoor television – now, what’s better than sitting outside in the sun with a pint? Sitting outside in the sun with a pint watching the football! Having a big television in your pub garden means you can stream the biggest sporting events including the World Cup, the Euros, Wimbledon and the Olympics.

It’s no secret that hundreds of thousands of us go to the pub to watch live sports, your beer garden could attract many sport-lovers if you streamed the big events.

The View

If you’re lucky enough to own a pub with a stunning view such as the beach or mountains, make sure not to block it off from your garden with walls, trees or bushes!

Sometimes a beautiful view is just about as much decoration as you need.

Take a look at the Lock Keeper in Chester, this is one of our pubs with a lake next to their outdoor seating area.

We hope you enjoyed our blog post all about how you can make the most of your pub garden and it helps to improve your outdoor space!

< Back to Blog