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How to choose a metal garden table

Updated: 22 October 2026

You have a patio or a balcony, and every amazon.co.uk result is titled metal garden table. Some listings are 35 cm plant stands. Some are four-seat dining tops. One folds, and it costs £189. If you buy from the title, you can end up with a surface you cannot eat from, or a dining square that will not fit once the chairs pull out. Name the job, measure the floor, then read the metal and the review sample. Named picks stay on the [metal garden table comparison](/hub/garden-furniture/metal-garden-table). Peter F. checked the five amazon.co.uk listings on 22 October 2026. This is not a laboratory test.

You have a patio or a balcony, and every amazon.co.uk result is titled metal garden table. Some listings are 35 cm plant stands. Some are four-seat dining tops. One folds, and it costs £189.

Our top picks

BrackenStyle BrackenStyle Newark folding bistro table

Best overall

BrackenStyle BrackenStyle Newark folding bistro table
6.3/10about £189.00
View offer
Grand patio Grand patio round side table

Rank 2

Grand patio Grand patio round side table
8.8/10about £26.98
View offer
YITAHOME YITAHOME square dining table

Best value

YITAHOME YITAHOME square dining table
8.0/10about £49.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What you are actually buying
  2. 2.Size and clearance
  3. 3.Frame, top and load
  4. 4.Parasol hole and feet

What you are actually buying

A metal garden table here means an outdoor table with a steel or aluminium frame, and sometimes a metal top. Dining height in this set is about 74 cm, so a normal garden chair can slide under. A bistro table seats two and is often 60 to 70 cm across. A side table holds a drink or a plant and stands about 35 to 50 cm high. The YITAHOME square is the dining example: about 78 x 78 x 74 cm, an aluminium frame, a stated load of 75 kg, £49.99, and 4.3 from 132 reviews. The Grand patio round table is the side example: about 45 cm across and 45 cm high, powder-coated steel, £26.98, and 4.4 from 281 reviews. The BrackenStyle Newark is a folding bistro, 70 x 70 x 74 cm, a wood top on powder-coated steel, £189, and 5.0 from only three reviews.

Size and clearance

Furniture in Fashion uses about 60 cm of table edge per person and about 90 cm behind each chair so you can push back. Lafuma talks about room to walk past, in the region of 110 cm where a path runs beside the set. Lazy Susan has described about 75 cm as a sitting depth. Treat these as layout rules of thumb from UK retailers, not as proof that any listing here meets BS EN 581. On a 78 cm square, one person per side clears 60 cm. Two people on that same side share about 39 cm each. The YITAHOME bullets say up to four people only as one diner on each side. If the balcony is under that clearance, the small metal garden table for a balcony page is the next step.
BrackenStyle BrackenStyle Newark folding bistro table

Testsieger

BrackenStyle BrackenStyle Newark folding bistro table
6.3/10about £189.00
View offer

Frame, top and load

Aluminium does not rust the way iron-bearing steel does. Powder-coated steel looks tidy until a chip lets water under the coat. Metal and rust-proof are not a specification. Only the YITAHOME frame is stated as aluminium. The Grand patio table and the Newark state powder-coated steel. The Taylor & Brown and ZEECER pages say metal and stop. The longer comparison is on aluminium or steel garden table. The Newark lists a wood top. The YITAHOME bullets say resin, the technical details say WPC, and one UK review calls the top plastic. The YITAHOME page states 75 kg. The Grand patio bullets say 25 kg and the technical details say 50 pounds. Three listings state no kilogram rating.

Parasol hole and feet

UK poles are often 38 mm or 48 mm. The hole lines the pole up. It does not hold the canopy in a gust. You still need a weighted base. The Newark states a 40 mm hole and a metal ring, with a parasol sold separately. A 40 mm hole will not take a 48 mm pole. The other four listings do not publish a diameter. The Grand patio listing gives four height-adjustable levels. The YITAHOME listing has foot pads. The Newark has plastic anti-slip feet and does not state a height range. Who each listing is for is on best metal garden table.

Common questions

What size table seats four?
A four-person metal garden table needs dining height, about 74 cm in this set, and about 60 cm of edge per person as a retailer rule of thumb, not a lab result. A square near 78 cm can take one person per side. It does not give two people a comfortable share of one 78 cm edge. You still need about 75 to 90 cm behind each chair, so the floor is much larger than the top.
How much space do I leave behind the chairs?
Furniture in Fashion uses about 90 cm behind a chair so you can push back. Lazy Susan has described about 75 cm to sit, and Lafuma mentions about 110 cm where people walk past. Use the larger figure if a path runs behind the seat. These are layout guides from retailers, not a test of the five tables in this comparison.
Does a parasol hole replace a base?
No. The hole aligns the pole, and the wind load sits on a weighted base. A 40 mm hole, which is what the Newark listing states, suits a slim pole around 38 mm and not a 48 mm pole. None of the other kept listings publishes a hole diameter. A review that mentions an umbrella is not a size you can order a pole against.
What load should I look for?
Use the kilogram figure printed on that listing, and plan below it. Here, the YITAHOME page states 75 kg. The Grand patio bullets say 25 kg and the technical details say 50 pounds, so the two lines are not one number. Three listings do not state a load at all.
What if the holes do not line up on arrival?
Stop, and check the fixings against the instructions before you oval a painted hole with a longer screw. UK reviews of the YITAHOME table include holes that do not line up, bent metal and screws that are too short, alongside reviews that found the build easy. A new table that will not assemble as described is a quality problem against the listing. Photograph the parts while they are still complete.

Related pages

Metal garden table care

Metal garden table

Aluminium or steel garden table: rust, weight, wind

Best metal garden table: side table or dining height

Small metal garden table for a balcony or courtyard

Sources

Public UK sources used for this comparison, last checked on 22 October 2026. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk lines saved for this set. There is no laboratory test.

  1. General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. BS EN 581-1:2017 outdoor furniture safety (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. BS EN 581-3:2026 outdoor table tests (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. Designated standards notice 0004/21 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. RHS, maintaining garden seats and tables (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. Harbour Lifestyle aluminium care (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  8. Furniture in Fashion, parasol holes (retrieved 22 October 2026)