The Best Restaurants for Outdoor Dining in New York City

The patio garden at this Italian gem will transport you to a trattoria in Umbria. MICHELIN Guide Inspectors advise not missing Ammazzacaffè’s expertly prepared pasta dishes, like ondine with shrimp in a punchy tomato sauce, or entrées such as grilled branzino with cauliflower, roasted grapes, wilted spinach, almond purée and verjus. Sunday evenings are especially appealing: not only do they offer their chicken parm-aggedon with Parmesan fonduta, but there’s also live jazz that pops up on the patio in nice weather.

Just steps from the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Prospect Park, Café Mado is an all-day café that is lively, relaxed and deeply connected to the neighborhood. There’s more than meets the eye here, especially in its sunny back garden, where string lights, flower-filled planters and a towering tree beckon. By day, it’s an easy place to linger over coffee, but at dinner the menu shifts toward refined, vegetable-forward small plates. Begin with the pissaladière, a warm round loaf topped with anchovies, caramelized red onions and olive spread, or a seasonal dish like summer melon with lime granita and habanada (a type of habanero pepper), before moving on to pasta, such as pici (a rustic spaghetti) with pesto Genovese.

Coastal Italy meets New York power dining at Marea, located at the southern edge of Central Park near Columbus Circle. Inside, the restaurant pairs elegant interiors with meticulous seafood and pasta. When warm weather arrives, the terrace becomes one of the city’s most appealing outdoor dining spots, complete with park views and an aperitivo bar reminiscent of Italy. Settle in with freshly shucked oysters, crudo and raw fish preparations, and pastas like casarecce with lump crab, uni purée and tomato.

Miss Ada uses local and seasonal ingredients to put a modern spin on Middle Eastern cuisine. This Fort Greene charmer features a cozy dining room, but in warmer months, the backyard patio and sun-drenched garden provide not only outdoor seating, but also fresh herbs that make their way onto a menu filled with dips, vegetables and grilled meats. Inspectors highlight the whipped ricotta with brown butter, sage and honey; the hummus topped with tender lamb shawarma; market salads; and charred skewers like halloumi with green tahini.

Roberta’s is an endlessly hip spot that continues to draw crowds for its wood-fired Neapolitan-inspired pizzas, house-cured meats, handmade pastas, and seasonal seafood and vegetable dishes — many made with ingredients grown on-site. The sprawling dining room is anchored by a massive pizza oven and strung with lights, but the outdoor spaces are equally compelling. Grab a pizza and park under the covered and heated tiki bar lined with string lights, or head out to the sunny patio filled with picnic tables, patio umbrellas and neon signage.

Between the outdoor patio, rooftop garden and secluded greenhouse wrapped in greenery and natural light, Sunday in Brooklyn offers multiple places to settle in and stay awhile. Everything is baked on-site, so start with crusty sourdough and creamy beer butter or one of the warm, sticky buns fresh from the oven. While the restaurant serves guests from morning through dinner, Sunday in Brooklyn is especially beloved at brunch, when the signature Sunday pancakes make an appearance. Come evening, the menu shifts to crowd-pleasing dishes like wood-fired pizzas, vibrant salads, pesto lasagna, grilled flat-iron steak and line-caught hake served in a creamy coconut broth.

Since it first opened, scoring a reservation at Tatiana has felt a bit like winning the lottery. The good news: once summer arrives, the patio opens on a first-come, first-served basis. Set in sprawling Lincoln Center, the restaurant benefits from plenty of open air and one of the city’s livelier cultural backdrops. Here, Chef Kwame Onwuachi draws on his West African roots and the flavors of his childhood in the Bronx and beyond. Even on the hottest nights, the egusi dumplings — filled with crab and sea bass in a brick-red sauce — are hard to pass up, as is the oxtail, served in a large pot with two glistening pieces resting in a rich, thick sauce.