Fri-yay!
After a busy week, the SoGlos team couldn’t wait to make our way out of the office and into the sunshine. And what better way to start a weekend, than in the chilled-out surrounds of The Outdoor Inn, drinking local beers and ciders, wearing our sunnies?
Launched in April 2019, the garden-bar with its festival-style flags, beanbag chairs, and reclaimed barrel ‘stage’, has already made quite a name for itself in Cheltenham, with a dedicated crowd claiming the best seats in the house as soon as 5pm rolled around.
The Outdoor Inn combines the idea of a German beer garden with some of the best alfresco bars around the world, and has created a bijou-but-perfectly- formed haven, on a former wasteland in the heart of Cheltenham.
The brainchild of Matt and Jay, The Outdoor Inn opens Thursdays to Sundays throughout summer, and on an ad-hoc basis when the county is blessed with some nice weather, meaning people in Cheltenham will never be without a friendly place to enjoy a summer’s drink.
Festival feels
Arriving to find a cluster of beanbags lovingly arranged around a tyre table, the fun and informal atmosphere of The Outdoor Inn was utterly infectious. Bright and colourful graffiti adorned the walls in front of a free-to-play tactical beanbag game known as cornhole, while shredded fabric flags surrounded the venue’s extremities, setting the festival mood from the second you walk ‘inside’.
Circling around the horse box bar, we selected our drinks, opting for some local draught ciders and IPAs from Dunkertons and Cotswold Brew Co, before settling down on our beanbags, to enjoy some live music from Chaz Thorogood.
The Outdoor Inn regularly hosts acoustic Barrel Sessions (set up near some old barrels, in case you were wondering!) where they showcase a range of acts from around the South West. Good booze, sunshine and live music – the perfect cocktail for a summer’s evening amongst friends.
Pop Up Surprise
As if a cool beer in the sun wasn’t already the perfect Friday tonic, The Outdoor Inn is working with local street food vendors in a series of popups, to keep its guests fed, as well as watered.
During our visit, we were invited to try a range of delicious curries from the team at The Indian Guy. Specialising in authentic vegetarian Indian street food, the SoGlos team were wowed by the delicious dishes which were both elegantly spiced and lovingly prepared.
What’s more, you can even get your food delivered to the venue by Deliveroo and eat on site, meaning you don’t even need to leave your beanbag to enjoy dinner!
SoGlos loves
In July 2019, The Outdoor Inn secured a bus, which is soon to be renovated into a bar with undercover seating, making The Outdoor Inn a far more all-weather venue.
The team had originally started a crowdfunding campaign to buy a bus, but as was covered by SoGlos in our news article, the team was gifted the bus from a scrapyard in Twickenham.
It’s hoped the indoor bar at The Outdoor Inn will be up and running by September 2019.
Book now
For more information, see The Outdoor Inn, or visit theoutdoorinn.co.uk/ directly.
By Melissa Hamblett
