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?

This. I agree it's cheeky etc and wouldn't do it myself.....BUT even if they weren't eating their own food they would still be occupying the table. Eating the pubs food, eating their own food, or just drinking, it wouldn't increase the available space for anyone else who wants to sit down, so I wouldn't get as het up about it as a lot of other posters seem to.

If the pub is absolutely dead and your going to buy a couple of drinks then I’d do it, have done when out walking - come across a really quiet pub no one in the garden, eaten my own sandwich and bought a pint and a coffee to go. Spending money there is better than nothing. Staff didn’t have an issue. If it was busy and people were wanting the table to buy food and spend more money it’s totally out of order !!

Nope that's not on.

I once saw a family come in to Morrisons cafe with chips from the chip shop. They even went and asked the staff for plates, then helped themselves to cutlery and condiments!! They even left all their mess and rubbish on the table and floor. Couldn't believe the cheek!!

I've done it because pubs don't tend to trouble themselves with catering for those with celiac, even especially if they make a big thing about catering for vegetarians and vegans.

But it was easier to just not bother going in the first place. So they'd technically lose out on the income from drinks and food from others in the group as well - but if they're busy, that's not really a concern for them.

I like the pubs near FIL's home. They've got proper old style ones that don't do food, so encourage people to buy stuff from the restaurants, shops and takeaways nearby and bring them in to eat with drinks.

But there's only one Spoons, so they're helping one another to compete against the aggressively marketed and deliberately undercutting chain pubs so nobody goes out of business and provides another opportunity for other chains to muscle in on the area.

I've got no idea, I remember going to a pub that had this policy once, I think they just said you couldn't for 'health and safety' reasons. It was about 15 years ago though so maybe less of a thing now.

It was definitely weird!

I used to work in a bank. There was a chip shop over the road. One day a family (Mum, Dad and two small children) brought their chippy tea in, sat at a table in the banking hall (complete with pens on chains) and proceeded to have their tea.

I used to work in a place on the sea front with seagulls - we did let people eat outside but warned them that they might have uninvited and aggressive guests if they did.

People still complained and held us responsible
🤷🏼‍♀️

They're nasty bastards over food, I went out to clear one day and there were two fighting over a half eaten plate of chips and they wrecked the table, smashed the glasses and turned on me when I tried to shoo them away. I hated clearing outside!

That's so cheeky!

This is sort of thing that I imagine my dickhead sister would do, then claim to be clueless that there was anything wrong with doing it.

I think if the pub are serving food then no but if they aren't and drinks are bought from the pub then it's fine.

Only if the place was absolutely dead and you'd bought drinks and didn't stay longer than it took to finish the drinks.

Cheeky fuckers
People have no shame

But then someone else comes in and sees you eating your own food and think “oh I’ll do that next time..”. It soon becomes a picnic spot not a café. Or they might think the limp, nasty sandwiches are what I sell and be put off! You’re more than welcome to take a drink in a takeaway cup from my café and have it with your picnic elsewhere.

I know a pub very close to a (renowned) fish and chip shop. It only does occasional pizzas and actively welcomes people eating their fish and chips there, if they buy drinks of course. Win win, lovely place. Not what you are describing at all, though.