Cafe Reality Buyer’s Guide: Cafe Tables

Café furniture plays a very important part of in the overall feel of the restaurant and the tables, like the chairs are a huge part in this. It is on these tables that your customers will be dining or drink their coffees so you really want to make sure that the tables not only best represent you, but also set the right image for the café as a whole. Customers are going to be sitting and looking at these tables so make sure that proper maintenance of the tables is taken care of.

So once you have planned your area (for help on this visit our Café Furniture Buyer’s Guide), you will now be ready to started looking for the café furniture (for chairs please visit our Café Chairs Buyer’s Guide) below is some information to help you in choosing the right café tables.

With café tables you normally choose the base and then the tops as most, not all, are sold separately, however some table bases do come complete with table tops.

 Below are some examples of table bases for your consideration:

Chrome table bases

This is probably the most common form of café table base.  The reason for this is that the chrome can give the overall look of the café a more contemporary feel as well as being easy to clean. They are usually made from steel and for indoor use only, chrome bases come in many different forms, from pedestal bases (single column) to three and four legged options. Below are a few examples of these:

Cast Iron table bases

These table bases are for indoor use but are popular in giving a more traditional vibe to a café or bistro. The reason for this is that even though they can be pedestal bases, there are also intricate ornamental styles of base which give a classic look. Nearly always in black, below are some picture examples of these:

Aluminium tables bases

I am sure, no matter how old you are, you will have definitely seen or used this type of furniture. A favourite amongst café/bistro/restaurant owners as this type of furniture can be used outdoors. It is durable against all weather conditions and rust resistant. Their lightweight means that they can be moved around easily and stored when not in use. Another advantage to these tables are that they are easily cleaned and come in either a polished or matt finish however can come in black too. Below are some typical examples of these:

Wooden table base

These bases are used to give more of a traditional or rustic look to the dining area. They are less popular than metal bases, for a couple of reasons. The first is a maintenance issue; the wooden tables tend to need treating after a while whereas the metal ones do not. It is also common for pedestal bases to have a wooden column and metal feet to give a more contrasting look. Not only this, but metal bases tend to be a lot cheaper than wooden tables too. Having said this, instead of thinking about price, think more about what will look better in your establishment as it can pay to spend that little bit more. Wooden table bases tend to appear in pubs, golf clubs, rustic restaurants etc...  however there are no rules when it comes to café design, only guidelines. Below are some pictured examples of wooden table bases:

Silver table bases

Another steel table base, but this time finished in an EPC paint, which gives a matt look to the table base. Also available are stainless steel bases that look more like chrome yet not as reflective. These are available in pedestal versions or legged versions. It depends on the look of the area, but these bases tend to give a modern feel to the café/bistro where they are being used. Below are some picture examples:

Designer table bases

This section covers all the other table bases. These can be one of the above, but usually encorporate more of a design feature rather than the standard pedestal or legged base. Some bases may feature different colours such as black chrome, satin silver or perhaps may include some form of clear plastic. Some examples of these are pictured below:

What about the functionality?

There are really just two types of café table bases, a pedestal base and legged base. A three or four legged table base is a standard shape and provides adequate support across the whole table. The advantage of this type of base is that they are capable of holding large café table tops; however the disadvantage to these bases is that the legs can get in the way the more people sit around the table.

A pedestal base does not have this problem. The leg is in the centre of the table making it easier for more people to sit around. You must be careful when fitting a top to this type of base as there are strict health and safety rules to the size top that can fit on the base and it is best to contact the retailer for advice on these. If you have a particularly large table top for example 1200mm x 800mm, there are twin pedestal bases that have two columns side by side to support the tops.

For more café table bases or to purchase any of the bases picture visit our café table top section.