Entertainment in your restaurant: eleven ideas and what they really cost

Entertainment in hospitality almost never fails on the idea. It fails on the execution: something that takes too much work, needs too much space, or only works once. Below are eleven forms, with an honest breakdown of what you get back for each one and what it costs you.

Ongoing, every day

1. Games at the table via a QR code

Works every day, takes up no space and no staff time. Fills exactly the gap between ordering and serving. Downside: it's not a reason to come specially; it makes a visit better rather than pulling guests in. See the overview.

2. An open kitchen

The strongest form of entertainment there is, and the most expensive. Only relevant if you're renovating anyway.

3. Board games in a cupboard

Appealing and cheap to start with. In practice pieces go missing and someone has to keep on top of it. Works best in cafés where people stay a long time, less so in restaurants where the table needs to turn over.

Weekly or monthly

4. A pub quiz

The best way to fill a quiet weeknight. Takes two to four hours of prep each time if you write the questions yourself. Covered in full in the playbook.

5. Live music

Draws a crowd and completely changes the atmosphere. Costs money per evening, needs space, and you have to factor in noise regulations and neighbours. Only works if it fits your venue: acoustic in a small restaurant, louder in a café.

6. A theme night

A country, a season, a dish. Works well if you repeat it consistently and your regulars start to expect it. Doesn't work as a one-off.

7. A tasting or workshop

Wine, beer, coffee, cooking. High spend per guest and a strong reason to come, but it takes a staff member occupied with it the whole evening.

Seasonal

8. A terrace activity

Boules, a dartboard, a table tennis table. Works brilliantly from April to September and gets in the way the rest of the year.

9. A match on the big screen

Fills the venue at moments you know in advance. Downside: guests who didn't want to watch a match won't come that evening.

For families

10. A play corner

Draws families, takes up square metres you need on busy evenings, and has to be kept clean. Also see what parents actually look for.

11. Colouring sheets and puzzle books

Cheap and easy to introduce right away. Keeps a child occupied for five to ten minutes and needs restocking.

What suits which moment of the week

Entertainment solves two very different problems, and it helps to know which of the two you actually have.

Filling a quiet evening

Tuesday and Wednesday, when the venue is half empty. Here you need a reason for people to cóme, and that's something you announce: a quiz, live music, a theme. Something that's always there doesn't solve this — nobody comes specially for that.

Making a full evening better

Friday and Saturday, when the venue is packed and the kitchen is running behind. Here you need exactly the opposite: something that's always there, doesn't demand attention from your staff, and bridges the wait. A quiz night on your busiest evening only makes things harder.

Most venues have both problems, and choose one solution. That's why it so often only half works.

What each form costs, side by side

Money is rarely the deciding factor; time is. This breakdown helps show what you're really spending:

• One-off money, no ongoing time: a dartboard, a table tennis table, a cupboard of board games. Cheap to maintain, but seasonal or space-hungry.
• Ongoing money, no time: games at the table. A fixed amount per month and nothing else, not even on a busy evening.
• Money and time each time: live music, a tasting, a workshop. The strongest crowd-pullers and the most expensive form in both respects.
• No money, lots of time: a homemade pub quiz. Works brilliantly as long as the person who writes it keeps it up, and collapses the moment that person leaves.

That last category is the trap most venues fall into. Something that seems free because it doesn't come with an invoice can be the most expensive option of all.

The three mistakes made most often

Introducing something on the busiest night

The temptation is to start when it's packed, because that's when most people see it. That's exactly when your staff have no time for it, and it goes wrong. Start on a quiet night, where a mistake goes unnoticed by no one.

Stopping too soon

The first time almost never works. A quiz night needs three to four editions before there's a regular crowd. Anyone who concludes after one time with eight participants that it's not working, stops exactly too soon.

Three things at once

Anyone who introduces a quiz, a play corner and live music in the same month won't know afterwards what helped and what got in the way. One thing at a time, with two weeks in between.

How you choose

Go through these three questions before introducing anything:

1. Does it work every day, or only on the days I organise it?
2. Does it cost my staff time at the moment it gets busy?
3. Can I tell within two weeks whether it's working?

The formats that score well on all three are the ones that stay. The rest get quietly dropped after a month.

The difference between entertainment that stays and entertainment that disappears is almost always how much work it costs on a busy night.