Eat your own picnic at outdoor table at pub

[4am]

Is this a thing now?

When is it OK to occupy an outdoor table at a pub and consume your own picnic food that you've brought from the supermarket next door?

Family of 5 - 3 adults. If you've bought drinks from the pub, does this make it acceptable? Pub has a menu offering a comprehensive range of meals; starters, mains, puddings, sharer plates & snacks.

Sunny afternoon - pub heaving, table space space.

This has to be the highest level of CF*ckery, surely?

Sunny afternoon - pub heaving, table space space.

Well, they’d still be taking up the space as you say they’d bought drinks but just eating their own food. No, shouldn’t be doing it but should people with just drinks be forced to stand so you can order food?

The land lady at my my local allows the older teenagers to have their pizza delivered there late on Friday nights. It's an older pub with a snug. A group of teens sit in the corner have a few beers, some food and are no bother. My son used to do it when he was younger.

I don’t take much notice of the voting on here. There’s always people that will press YABU just to be contrary when it’s obvious that the poster isn’t being. 🤷‍♀️

The cafe owner insisted I ask him to leave as he was frighted he would get thumped if he asked. No worry about me getting thumped

In fairness in public even a violent man would be much less likely to physically attack a woman than a man due to society's views than men attacking women is much worse than men attacking men so I can see the cafe owner's point.

I did politely ask him to but I was scared and I left the job soon afterwards (gave weeks notice, owner was really horrible that last week so to make me walk and not have to pay wages* and then on the last day tried to pay me less than I was owed)

*the other employees said he always tried that so I hung on determined to get paid

Cafe owner was a coward and a bully

Customer left without fuss

I can't get get up over this tbh.
Theyve bought drinks and are at a table that they'd be at regardless.
Perhaps the pub needs to review why their charges are so out of reach of so many at this time... And it cannot all be justified by covid and inflation...

Does the pub allow food (their own) to be eaten outside? I know some don't. Possibly Wetherspoons?

I don't know any pubs, including Wetherspoons, who don't allow you to eat food from their menu food in the beer garden? What would be the point in that?

Some don't because of aggressive birds - food outside attracts birds like seagulls who can cause injury.

Yes, sounds like a complete tosser. Well done for hanging in to get your wages!

No it's not unless they don't serve food, ours let's you order food or bring in chips etc. some nights there's a group order of dominos. Great little place

Assuming the pub serves food, of course it's unacceptable to take a picnic.

However some pubs who don't serve food do allow customers to bring their own. There's one quite near me that does this.

It means they get money from drink sales that they wouldn't otherwise.

But it's quite rare and I'm sure if this was that type of pub, the OP wouldn't even have started the thread.

I can't get get up over this tbh.
Theyve bought drinks and are at a table that they'd be at regardless.
Perhaps the pub needs to review why their charges are so out of reach of so many at this time... And it cannot all be justified by covid and inflation...

We don't even know the prices are out of reach, but that is irrelevant, eat before you come out or after.

Some don't [serve food outside] because of aggressive birds - food outside attracts birds like seagulls who can cause injury.

That would equally apply to food brought in from Tesco.

Yes, I agree - I was replying to a post questioning the idea that some pubs don't even allow their own food outside.

I have picnic benches at my outdoor café. I’ve had a couple of occasions when people have bought a coffee then got out a picnic. One lot asked, the others didn’t. I don’t want to run a picnic area, I need to make a living.. Of course I can’t match the prices of a homemade picnic and still pay my bills/make a wage..

Ive also had a couple of mums change baby’s nappies on the picnic benches without a mat! It’s an outdoor kiosk with no toilet, I get that, but even so - people have to eat at that bench!

Some pubs popular with hikers allow packed lunches if you are buying drinks- I imagine otherwise they wouldn't get the drinks custom. But I have never seen it in a non rural pub.

I wouldn’t do it, but it is 100% normal to occupy a pub table and have drinks, without even packets of nuts / crisps. So it’s the same to the pub as a ‘drinks only’ table. As long as all the mess is cleared up, rubbish taken away and you don’t use the pub condiments.

But as I say I wouldn’t do it and I understand why pubs wouldn’t allow it.

Going to a pub for lunch today. Can almost guarantee that despite the “extensive menu” there will be nothing for me to eat. I’ll be taking food assuming that is the case.

my dm went to a cafe but took a mcdonalds burger for my ds when he was quite young, she is quite proud of herself!
noone said anything

It’s not the highest level of CF but yanbu as it’s rude and looks very miserly and entitled. I definitely wouldn’t be out or sit with with a group who did this!

I do know some pubs allow this though, including getting fish & chips ordered from a local takeaway- but this has been when they aren’t serving food and also is not the norm at all ime.

I think I clicked the wrong button- I meant they were unreasonable to bring the food from the supermarket.

I’ve seen parents change nappies on the table 😮 and let their baby/toddler eat making a massive mess on the floor as they will do but leave it for the staff to be cleared up, no effort to even pick up some of the bigger bits. The entitlement of some parents is shocking!