Sales at hospitality venues in May flagged inflation despite three bank holidays during the month.
UK pubs, restaurants and bars saw a year-on-year sales increase of 5.6% last month, data from the CGA found.
Warm weather and the crowning of King Charles drove pub sales by 8.8% annually, ten basis points higher than the headline CPI figure released on Wednesday.
Bars and restaurants weren’t so lucky.
For bars, sales dropped by 6.6% year-on-year, while restaurants only rose by 2.7%.
Rail strikes and “fragile consumer confidence” were considered driving forces for dampened trading, the data firm said.
Karl Chessell, a director at CGA, remains hopeful about the industry despite it facing several headwinds.
He said: “Eight positive months in a row have shown that demand for eating and drinking out remains strong, especially around holidays and big national occasions.
“As inflation falls and discretionary spending stabilises, we can be cautiously optimistic about a return to real-terms growth in the second half of 2023.”
Paul Newman, head of hospitality at RSM UK, believes that going forward the sector will need to rely on inbound tourism.
“Chinese tourists remain cautious and are staying closer to home for now leaving operators to wonder if the capital’s revival will be sustained during the summer months,” he said.