Best Bar Mats for Australian Hospitality Managers: 2023

The best bar mats for your bar top, floor, and entrance. Plus, what to look for in your mat provider.

Bar managers know what a job it is to keep your establishment clean. Between emptying drip trays and herding unruly customers, you’ve got a lot on your plate. At Matshop, we see you. That’s why all our advice is aimed at everyone: customers and non-customers.

We want to help you make the best decisions for your business. So, here’s what to look for in your search for the best bar mats, looking into 2023 and beyond. If you’re not quite there yet, check out our checklist for opening a new bar first.

If you are ready to buy mats, but you’re not sure what you need yet, here is an outline of the types of bar mats you might need:

Types of Bar Mats

• Bar top mats: the most obvious mats are the ones that run along your bar top. These absorbent mats collect drips from the bottom of glasses, reducing the stickiness of your bar.
• Bar entrance mats: Entrance mats are critical in every customer-facing establishment, but even more so in bars. With the number of drunk patrons you might see at night, preventing slips, trips, and falls is essential.
• Back bar mats: As important as protecting your customers is keeping your bartenders and bar backs safe and comfortable. Non slip anti fatigue mats keep workers comfortable while working on their feet.
• Kitchen mats: If your bar has a kitchen, your chefs and dishies need the same level of protection your bar workers do. Heavy-duty rubber-backed bar mats in the kitchen need to be grease and oil-resistant

The best bar mats

1. Best bar top mats

Bar Runners need to be absorbent. They are most likely there to catch spilt schooners and condensation, so the more liquid they can hold the better.

They also need a non slip backing. Rubber backings hold the mats in place, keeping pots wherever they’re put.

Example: High Absorption Bar Runner - Blue

2. Best entrance mat for bars

Any customer-facing area needs entrance mats for two reasons: to avoid accidents and reduce cleaning. With drunk patrons stumbling through your entranceway (we hope not!) this is even more important.

The best entrance mats for bars have a non slip rubber backing and an absorbent carpet surface. Always remember to pair your entrance mat with rubber outside door mats together, so they can work as a team to keep all dirt and liquid outside.

Example: Nylon Carpet Surface Custom Printed Logo Mat

3. Best bar back and kitchen mats

The best bar floor mats are non slip and drain water easily. Holes and channels are ideal for preventing water from pooling on a mat’s surface. Pooled water is a major cause of slips, trips, and falls, and no one wants wet shoes for a whole shift.

Behind the bar, mats need to drain liquids, prevent slip and trip accidents and provide comfort to bartenders. In the kitchen, they also need to be durable against spilt oil and grease.

Example: Grease Resistant Rubber Safety Mat with Holes

How to choose the best bar mats

The best way to make sure bar mats are great quality is to do your research on the supplier. An established business with happy customers is highly likely to offer the best products.

Here are some points you can use to evaluate different bar mat retailers:

• Reviews: This is our number 1 tip for any online purchase. Check out the reviews and see what most people are saying about the brand and its products. Every business will inevitably get a couple of bad ones, but the majority should be great. Check out impartial services like Product Review AU for unbiased accounts from real customers.
• Guarantees: If money is your main barrier to buying, this is a great one for reassurance. If a company has confidence in their products, they will show it in their guarantees. Generous guarantees like a 365-day return period imply that it’s uncommon for customers to use them.
• Warranties: Like guarantees, long-term warranties show an unlikeliness that you will find anything wrong with a product. You can generally assume that any product will outlast its warranty, so the longer the better.
• Customer service: A company’s customer service team reflects how they value their customers. Helpful employees are more likely to work at companies selling high-quality products. Plus, if anything was faulty or substandard, you are likely to have an easier and more pleasant experience returning it.
• Samples: To check specific products before committing, ask for samples. Small sections of the whole product are enough to get a feel for the quality. You should be able to assess the durability, absorbency and look and feel of your bar mats from even a very small sample.

Stuck? We’re happy to help

If you’ve read through this article and you’re still not 100% sure what you need, our friendly team of matxperts are happy to help. As always, you can reach us on 1300 628 746, by using the chat function below, or at [email protected].

We love helping you make the right decision, so we hope you’ve found this post useful. For more information on the mats you need for hospitality success, check out this post on the mats you need for events.