Can you meet in a cafe or restaurant with people not in your household

[User5666]

In tier two? I think not However a family member is arguing with me that you can.

I was talking to a friend about this today and couldn't work it out. Are cafes going to be open in England on Wednesday?

No, I don’t think you can.

I assume so might be wrong though. The rules aren’t very clear.

So I could go with DH to a cafe but not meet a friend?

You can only meet indoors if you are part of the same household or a support bubble. Indoors includes cafes as well as private households.

It says here no mixing of households indoors.

I suppose you could meet up and sit outside.

No. In tier 2 you can only meet with people not in your household outside. There is no indoor mixing as that is high risk for virus spread.

You can meet outside though ie going for a walk and the rule of 6 applies.

No. In tier 2 I think you can only meet with other people outside.

In outside areas only I think...

How on earth are cafes going to know who lives with who?

I don’t think you can. I was pondering the same earlier. Awful for hospitality if we’re right but I can’t imagine many people are going out with the people they see 24/7 anyway.

So I could go with DH to a cafe but not meet a friend?

Yes, that's correct, assuming you live with your husband!

Ask for ID? Need to take details if you don't have the app anyway

How on earth are cafes going to know who lives with who?

At one point the government were saying businesses should ask. That would be ridiculous and easy to fall into discrimination territory.

In reality, no one is going to check if your coffee mate lives with you or not.

@Hayeahnobut

So I could go with DH to a cafe but not meet a friend?

Yes, that's correct, assuming you live with your husband!

Yes he has the pleasure of living with me I have the App for what it's worth. I can see people who don't live together saying they do.

I might go to one on my own and sit at a table for 4.

@Hayeahnobut

How on earth are cafes going to know who lives with who?

At one point the government were saying businesses should ask. That would be ridiculous and easy to fall into discrimination territory.

In reality, no one is going to check if your coffee mate lives with you or not.

Imagine the abuse they will get for daring to ask!

Only outside with rule of 6. I suppose some cafes will ask if people are in the same household. Others may not say anything if there are only 2 adults.

To avoid being discrimatory they would have to ask every time there are 2 adults or more.

A couple of cafes locally (Worcestershire) have posted on FB to say they aren't going to bother reopening until they hear more.

@Spikeyball

To avoid being discrimatory they would have to ask every time there are 2 adults or more.

I could take Sparklingcat for a Latte then.

Sorry @Spikeyball didn't mean to quote you.

We have cafes near us (tier 2) that have outdoor spaces with heaters etc. You could meet them there. But not inside sadly. Only with your family bubble inside. See if you can find somewhere near you. There’s a theatre restaurant near us that has a lovely outdoor space with firepits for each group. And a cafe that at night has street food and singers outside with patio heaters and bring your own blankets

Before lockdown where I live was on the border of tier 1 and tier 2. The tier 1 pubs were asking for proof of address for everyone wanting to sit inside because their were so many groups living in tier 2 who were trying to go in. This time it is tier 2 tier 3 border so I expect it will be happening again for the pubs that are staying open.

You see this outside meeting was actually quite nice in the Summer but on a drizzly day in December in minus temperatures the appeal sort of fades a bit.

Several local pubs, restaurants and cafes are not reopening because you cant mix households indoors so you can’t have a meal indoors with friends and they dont fancy their chances on outdoors in December.