To ask what does your local pub do to impress you?

I think that’s fair. Decide who your demographic is.

Stuff that worked well in the pub in the village we used to live in was being attuned to the seasons, a bonfire night bonfire, an Easter egg hunt, games in the garden for children at Halloween, and dressed up skeletons at the bar — people came in after trick or treating to eat and drink, and the atmosphere was always lovely (though I’m sure some locals avoided it on those nights). It opened for coffee for the school run SAHPs in the mornings. But actually, I went there because it had a wood fire in winter and a lovely garden with a view over open countryside on summer evenings, with horses leaning over the stile. . It had an Aunt Sally and a boules ground, which was home to two teams who were active in leagues, so a lot of business came that way.

Oh and friendly, chatty staff.

Good selection of quality hand-pulls preferably from local breweries if you have any and maybe a craft tap. Decent wine. Dog friendly. Kids curfew

They run afternoon events when they would usually be more quiet so Saturday late morning till early afternoon Halloween craft market, or Xmas market with local vendors, film screenings, video game or board game sessions.

Do you know any minibus drivers that could do a pick up and drop home again from your nearest village / town, either you pay them or they offer it at 50p per person to run once an hour or something?

thats such a good idea! There is sod all public transport or taxi services in rural areas which means ppl having to drive if they can’t (or won’t) walk.

Omg - I LOVE a Ploughman’s. Any pub that does this is a winner for me. Once went to a pub up North somewhere and my ploughman’s arrived on 3 different plates. It was EPIC.

Honestly though, if you do really good food, great ales, good selection of gins, good soft drink options, and a real fire / wood burner, you can’t go far wrong. If you need people to book a table for food, a big winner for me would be being able to book online and not having to phone.

An active Facebook page (I’m 45, other younger people may use different social media) is always good. Themed food nights. Maybe start a boozy book club? Discounted dinners for OAPs on certain days / once a month? One free drink on your birthday (must show driving licence / passport / birth certificate), buy 2 large wines and get the rest of the bottle free. Sponsor a local sports team so you get your name on their shirts. Free squash / lemonade for kids when parents buy a drink (not unlimited). Do you know any minibus drivers that could do a pick up and drop home again from your nearest village / town, either you pay them or they offer it at 50p per person to run once an hour or something?

Do you have much outdoor space / parking? My local has family fun days on a bank holiday with bouncy castles and local teenagers with their bands playing outside - it's always busy!
They also have a local organic / homemade dog treats supplier with a stall once a month and have a doggy deli get together 😀
Friday nights in the summer are biker nights which are super busy but you need a big car park - lots come along and park the bikes up and everyone goes for a nosy and a look at the elaborate bikes. It's far more friendly than it might look tbh.

Also freshly made rolls every day. Lots of choice and they know they can ask for something to be made if it's not there. Crisps, scratchings and chocolate sell really well too.

Fellow landlady here, ours is a village pub too.
Good local food for lunches and dinners, vege and vegan menu is pretty good too. Local guest ales changed every week, live music every other weekend, bar snacks on Sundays, we have also got a good name for Sunday lunches. Meat raffle every week for a voucher for local butcher there are 3 prizes and only a pound a ticket. People pop in to get a ticket and often stay for a drink. Tea and coffee and a good selection of soft drinks. Christmas party every year with happy hour all night and live music ( staff drink for free and have outside staff working). Christmas meat draw every year, again vouchers for local butcher. Saturday bonus ball so everyone has a number bonus ball wins the cash, 59 pounds. Bingo on a Friday afternoon has boosted us like you wouldn't believe. The bar is full for it, all book money is in prizes and a raffle which we supply a prize for and local charity benefits from it. We are dog friendly which helps such a lot, water bowls and dog treats on the bar. We have 2 cleaners who are just amazing, so important to be clean. Lots of seating in the garden and there's a wooden gazebo if the weather is bad. Happy friendly staff is vital. Also Xmas draw 50 p a square and use it all to buy prizes, again people pop in and stay for a drink. Hope this helps.

Kids disco, someone doing balloons and giving them glowsticks. Do it during the day on a weekend and incentivise families to stay for dinner.

I have 42 pubs within a 12 minute walk of my house. Yes, I’ve counted.

But only one that I consider to be my local that I am a regular in. It must be good with all that competition!

it doesn’t serve food. That means it can concentrate on being a great pub.

among things I love about it:

• really good house wine, reasonably priced
• great selection and good rotation of good beers and ales
• live music regularly
• a nice garden that is covered by a heated teepee in the winter (they do a deal with the company who get the benefit of a winter rental)
• great bar staff who know my name and remember what I drink
• a friendly but buzzy vibe with a good variety of customers.
• comfortable chairs! (I’m old!)

Rock and roll bingo nights

Quiz nights weekly, dominoes and darts, decent food, don’t close early on nights when quiet as then people think you aren’t reliable, bingo nights, things like horse racing nights (tv/video ones!), themed nights. Warm, inviting staff! And nice loos and keeping the place warm x

A good range of non alcoholic drinks which aren't a rip off would be good.
Decent house wines for less than a fiver a glass.
Pub grub which is of good quality and varied. Specials change regularly.
Do decent chips - golden brown and crispy! Not floppy and anaemic.
I prefer no TV and especially not sports events on full blast with yahooing blokes taking over the space.
Personally I don't want kids hanging around the actual bar or running about. By all means have a family friendly area but allow for those who want the pub to be an adult environment. It's hard to do both in reality.
No 'open mic' nights or other cringeworthy cheapo entertainment.

I guess it really depends on whi you want to attract. There's certain things recommended in this thread that would 100% make me avoid the place to be honest. So you need to figure out the market you're after before getting ideas. Some pubs "do it all" and it's not always a good thing - jack of all trades, master of none - IYSWIM.

Not read the whole thread so apologies if this has already been addressed. I just felt compelled to comment after reading some of the suggestions that would put me off. X

And put out on your Facebook/insta something like "the nights are drawing in, if you want to bring your bookclub here, we can reserve a cosy spot and have snacks at the ready etc". Tell people what you're up for hosting. Means they don't have to summon up courage to contact you cold.

And yes to spotless loos

One of my locals hosts a trad music night , lots of local musicians young and old play together always gets a crowd.

Quiz nights

Basics good friendly service.. if its dog friendy. Bowls of water and give them a treat without asking

Try to remember everyones names and what they drink (write it down for next time!l

I travel further to go to a pub that does excellent food, and has a good selection of meals available in a smaller portion size. They also have a good variety of drinks. It's more expensive than my local but it's worth it.
They have different events - christmas markets, a cheese and wine day, charity walks etc.
The service is excellent and the beer garden is a nice space.

Im going to repeat scrupulously clean loos because it so important! And they cant have that cheap disinfectant smell. And please dont place a table near them especially of you expect people to eat there!

Staff who can see women at the bar would be nice.

Staff who recognise regulars . My local has staff that look at me blankly even though we are regulars and tend to order the same thing.

A good mix of tables available for reservation and some kept free ( if you have the space)

Also depending on space - a separate family room for parties with kids and babies.

Bacon Fries and Scampi Fries!

I don’t go to the pub often but when I do I want -

To order at the bar or table. Don’t make me use an app.

A decent gluten free menu. Including puddings. I can rarely have dessert.

Comfy seating. I don’t want to perch on a stool at a high table or eat dinner on a wooden chair with no cushions.

What I don’t want -

Dogs sniffing round me when I’m eating.

Loud music so I can’t hear conversation.

Dirty toilets with doors that don’t lock.

Overpriced food that is obviously microwaved.

Our village pub runs some Art nights with Pizza ( local artists runs the class and pub provides the Pizza), occasional Festive Craft Evenings ( Christmas wreaths etc), Open Mike Nights ( very popular) Quiz Nights and Theme food nights- eg Italian , Mexican menu. They organise a Santa parade, Father Christmas with grotto, and have the Christmas tree.
They also are very popular for informal small Wedding receptions as well as Wakes.

A clear identity and personality to the place.
Maybe on a theme night, see if you can partner with someone who might be available to be booked as a taxi.
A clean place, comfortable seats with little nooks for groups to chat.
Good lighting, cosy and dim, not bright and industrial.
A menu that's simple, does a few things really well, local suppliers if possible. I like to read their stories too. There may be distinctive products locally that you could use in interesting ways.
Somewhere that advertised itself as a place for local groups to meet and figures out what they might like.
Parking and a well lit car park.
Clean bathrooms.
I guess the important thing is that you've to divide each customer group up and figure out what each needs. Not one thing does it, but a variety.
Using all the social media channels and speaking directly to those groups helps. The outside of your pub might signal that it's for one type of clientele, so you need to make it clear who you'd love to see in.
Partnerships with local creatives.
The pub holding the identity of the place it is in, local references and art/decor etc., so it feels unique.