This neighborhood restaurant and beer garden has a large red tent setup that is well-suited for group hangs. Stop by the covered patio rain or shine to order from this Harlem spot’s extensive menu of pub fare like buffalo chicken wraps, steak tacos, and fried green tomato flatbreads. 

Dagon’s airy and sunny dining room translates well to the outdoors, where the sidewalk seating area along Broadway is dotted with plants and hanging lights. The Mediterranean restaurant’s lively energy, including the thumping Israeli pop music, makes it a fun backdrop for the menu of mezze (labneh, Moroccan carrots, and sasso chicken liver mousse are just a few options), salads (think fattoush and a Levantine take on a Caesar salad), and shareable plates such as crispy roasted lamb, harissa barbecued chickens, and dry-aged beef kebabs.

Bilao on the Upper East Side restaurant opened when a few Filipino nurses wanted a spot for breakfast that served their native country’s most well-known dishes. Their tiny storefront has more seating outdoors than it has inside, but wherever diners decide to sit, it’s “one of the best overviews of the national cuisine that NYC has seen,” Eater critic Robert Sietsema noted. Classic Filipino dishes like crispy pork or a hearty stew of taro leaves swimming in coconut milk are just a few options available from breakfast through dinner.

Acclaimed Thai spot Soothr, known for its flavorful noodle soups, has a leafy backyard space tucked behind the restaurant’s main dining room. On particularly warm nights, the restaurant will also set out tables and chairs in front of the restaurant for extra outdoor seating.

Simone Tong of fast-casual noodle shop Little Tong partnered with Emmeline Zhao to open up the upscale, inventive spot Silver Apricot in 2020, and Eater critic Robert Sietsema later declared it one of the city’s most exciting new restaurants. The small restaurant offers both an outdoor patio on Cornelia Street and a cozy backyard garden.

It’s not exactly like dining al fresco on a Roman piazza, but Forsythia’s sturdy outdoor dining structure, which resemble Italian pergolas, includes sliding doors and windows, well-spaced tables, decorative greenery, and AC for the warmer weather. What started as a pandemic pop-up has become a destination for pastas — the cacio e pepe and the short rib-filled agnolotti are popular — anytime of the year.

This French-Indonesian restaurant has been holding things down in Nolita since 2019, drawing crowds for its East-meets-West menu and dining room that Eater once called “dark and sexy.” No surprise here, but the outdoor setup is just as stunning: There’s potted plants, patterned wallpaper, and decorative lanterns.

Head out back at this Lower East Side bar for an outdoor beer garden vibe with plenty of room to spread out. The backyard’s picnic tables are great for groups, as are the restaurant’s oversized pretzels, bratwurst, schnitzel, and beer (available by the half liter and liter in most cases).

Wu’s Wonton King took full advantage of the expansive stretch of sidewalk outside the restaurant and set up a sprawling covered outdoor dining structure with spaced-out tables set up under a string of lights and well-positioned electric heaters in colder months. The vibe out front, where a BYOB policy reins supreme and whole suckling pigs are occasionally carried out to tables, is just as good as inside — and possibly better if dining in a group, as tables out here can be rearranged to fit larger parties with a little notice.

The sturdy outdoor structure at Golden Diner is often just as packed as its indoor dining room. It’s heated for chillier days, well-covered if there’s a chance of rain, and well worth a stop to hang out on Madison Street and dig into some crispy Korean fried chicken wings, griddled tuna melts, and overstuffed chicken katsu clubs.

Watermark is a sprawling waterfront event venue and outdoor cafe located on the edge of Pier 15 in the Seaport District that’s open seven days a week. Grab a dozen oysters, a cocktail carafe for the group, and pull up a seat along the edge of the East River.