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 look at what you get back for each and what it costs you.

Ongoing, every day

1. Games on the table via a QR code

Works every day, takes up no space and no staff. Fills exactly the gap between ordering and serving. Downside: it's not a reason to visit specifically; it makes a visit better rather than drawing 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.

3. Board games in a cupboard

Appealing and cheap to start with. In practice, pieces get lost and someone has to keep track of it. Works best in cafés where people stay seated for 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 weekday evening. Takes two to four hours of preparation each time if you write the questions yourself. Described in detail in the guide.

5. Live music

Draws a crowd and completely changes the atmosphere. Costs money per evening, needs space, and you have to take noise regulations and neighbours into account. Only works if it suits 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 regular guests 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 visit, but it takes a staff member occupied with it all evening.

Seasonal

8. An outdoor patio activity

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

9. A match on a big screen

Fills the venue at times 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

Attracts families, takes up square metres you need on busy evenings, and has to be kept clean. See also what parents are really looking for.

11. Colouring pages and puzzle books

Cheap and easy to introduce straight away. Keeps a child occupied for five to ten minutes and needs to be kept stocked.

What suits which moment of the week

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

Filling a quiet evening

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

Making a busy evening better

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

Most venues have both problems, and pick 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-consuming.
• Ongoing money, no time: games on 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 self-written pub quiz. Works excellently as long as whoever writes it keeps it up, and falls apart as soon as that person leaves.

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

The three mistakes that are made most often

Introducing something on the busiest night

The temptation is to start when it's full, because then 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.

Stopping too soon

The first time almost never works. A quiz night needs three to four editions before there's a regular group. Anyone who concludes after one time with eight participants that it doesn't work, stops exactly too early.

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 you introduce something:

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

The formats that score well on all three are the formats that stay. The rest is quietly discontinued 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.