Nine pictures that give a taste of what Covid-friendly restaurants will look like

Summer doesn't officially begin until you've had a pint in a beer garden (we don't make the rules). But fear not, because in just over a week, on July 4, restaurants and pubs across the country will be able to open their doors for the first time since the start of lockdown.

Yet even as we welcome their return, these joints will look different to the places we remember. For starters, you will need to register to go out for a meal (so you can be tracked and traced if a fellow diner comes down with Covid). Then there's the 'one metre plus' rule, meaning you'll need to be socially distanced from other punters.

Whether you agree with our columnist Allison Pearson that these restrictions make it not worth going ("you would need to be utterly desperate to go to a pub or a restaurant under the glum circumstances"), or whether you can't wait to get dressed up and out of your house, the new dining world will be a key part of our 'new normal'.

But what will that 'new normal' look like? We have gathered nine images of the innovations from pubs and restaurants in the UK, and around the world, to get an idea of what we'll see on an evening out in summer 2020...

1. Perspex igloos

Those who are still nervous about venturing out of the house will find comfort at The Barn restaurant near Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. The chef has spent £12,000 installing perspex bubbles (similar to the igloos rolled out in Melbourne and Sydney bars) which hold up to six people in each, and will allow 48 diners to eat outside with peace of mind.

2. Miniature greenhouses

Inspired by the Mediamatic in Amsterdam, The Cartford Inn in Little Eccleston, Lancashire, has set up its own 'quarantine greenhouses' for diners to enjoy.

3 & 4. Plastic screens

Pub chain Wetherspoons is preparing to reopen its doors, with plastic dividers inserted between tables at this branch in Muswell Hill. It is unclear whether this measure will be rolled out across all 875 Wetherspoons pubs as they prepare to reopen.

Other restaurants may be following suit. RIBA restaurant in Stillorgan, Dublin, tweeted that is has introduced screens and that they create a romantic atmosphere. In New York, some restaurants have introduced Perspex screens for outdoor dining, too.

5. Socially distanced queuing

At the same Wetherspoons in Muswell Hill, stickers have been put in place for punters to stand on as they queue for the bar. Customers are encouraged, however, to opt for table service and order food and drinks using the Wetherspoons app. Other measures put in place at this pub include a hand sanitiser machine on the wall, and a notice that publicans cannot move the furniture, as it is organised to allow social distancing.

6. Plastic lampshades

This futuristic plastic 'lampshade' design, Plex'Eat, is the brain child of French designer Christophe Gernigon. It covers individual diners in an effort to curb the spread of the contagious illness, and has already received interest from France, Belgium, Canada, Japan and Argentina. Could it come to the UK?

7. Mannequin diners

The manager at Elpaso Bar in Turkey had an innovative solution to social distancing: have mannequins dotted around the room to ensure other diners have to keep their distance. There are also mannequins at the bar.

8. Plastic boxes

Going one step further than Perspex dividers, one restaurant in Spain has separated diners from their partners, using a box-like structure. In theory, this could allow you to meet up with someone from outside of your household or bubble.

9. Table for one?

Bord For En (Table For One) might just have been a pop-up restaurant in Sweden, but we think this idea has potential in the UK. The restaurant is set up to cater for a solo diner. How much more isolated could you get?