Banqueting Tables: Which Size Fits Your Venue

Most seating problems at events trace back to one thing: nobody measured the room before the tables were ordered. Here's a quick checklist, with the full breakdown in our Table Buying Guide.

Round or rectangular?

Round tables suit formal dining and encourage conversation across the whole table. A 5ft round seats 8 comfortably, a 6ft round seats 10. Rectangular trestle tables (6ft x 2ft 6in) fit more guests per square metre and work better in narrow rooms or long banqueting halls, expect 6 to 8 per table depending on how tight you set the chairs.

Space per guest

Allow 0.6 to 0.7 square metres per seated guest once you include chair space, walkway gaps, and room to serve. For a sit-down meal with waiter service, add another 10% so staff can move between tables without turning sideways. For the full room-by-room workings, see our Venue Capacity Guide.

Working backwards from the room

Measure the usable floor area first, subtract space for a top table, dance floor, or bar, then divide by the per-guest figure above. That gives you a realistic guest cap before you have ordered a single table.

Skirting and finish

Trestle tables look unfinished without skirting at a formal event. Table skirting clips straight onto our trestle and poseur ranges and comes in black or white, ordered alongside the tables rather than as a separate fitting job on site.

Our stock

We hold both round and rectangular banqueting tables in Birmingham, available for next-day collection or delivery. See the full range on our tables page, with trestle, round, and poseur options alongside matching skirting.