Dinner by Heston Blumenthal's sumptuous terrace
Unless you were speed-dialling your favourite restaurants the second that the roadmap to recovery was announced in February, you may be thinking that an outside table in the UK is now rarer than an AstraZeneca-induced blood clot.
The River Café, for instance, is fully booked until June, as is Michelin-starred Hambleton Hall and its terrace overlooking Rutland Water.
Which is not to say that an alfresco table at one of Britain’s best restaurants isn’t out of the question this side of the summer solstice. There are Michelin-starred terraces reserved for walk-ins if you’re feeling spontaneous and while it’s worth planning now for the restaurants that have delayed their reopening until 17 May, many still have plenty of alfresco tables available. Some of the finest kitchens in the country, meanwhile, save the outside seating for their more casual spin-offs.