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Sushi restaurant Chikarashi Isso’s heated outdoor dining structure with a chef cooking in the center Chikarashi Isso [Official]

25 Restaurants for Cozy Outdoor Dining in Manhattan

Outdoor tents, cabanas, individual booths, and more

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With indoor dining currently at limited capacity in NYC, restaurants across the five boroughs, including Manhattan, still rely on an added mix of outdoor dining, delivery, and takeout to keep operations afloat during the pandemic.

Amid the cold weather, restaurateurs are working creatively to keep their outdoor spaces heated so diners feel comfortable — even in frigid conditions. There are individual dining pods, partially-enclosed structures with heaters and blankets, and more innovative moves as restaurants adapt for the winter months.

Here, Eater has rounded up 25 establishments with a variety of heated outdoor dining setups, with the type of seating noted in each write up. Eater will continue to update this list semi-regularly over the winter months as long as outdoor dining is permitted.

NYC restaurants are currently limited to indoor dining at 35 percent capacity (with 50 percent capacity starting March 19) and outdoor dining, along with takeout and delivery. The type of service offered is indicated on each map point. However, this should not be taken as endorsement for dining out, as there are still safety concerns: for updated information on coronavirus cases in your area, please visit the NYC Health Department’s website. Studies indicate that there is a lower exposure risk when outdoors, but the level of risk involved with patio dining is contingent on restaurants following strict social distancing and other safety guidelines.

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Hamilton Hall

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This recently opened Hamilton Heights beer hall has quickly become a go-to destination for brunch in the neighborhood and has installed heated outdoor dining booths along Broadway in front of the restaurant. Menu items include an eggs Benedict sandwich, confit chicken wings, and fish and chips. There are also 14 types of draft beers available at the establishment along with cocktails and wines.

Red Rooster

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Marcus Samuelsson’s hit Harlem establishment has a lush, heated outdoor seating area along Malcolm X Boulevard. The restaurant takes reservations for its outdoor space and is serving a menu comprised of dishes like charred, glazed cauliflower, shrimp and grits, and a jerk salmon bowl.

Disclosure: Marcus Samuelsson is the host of No Passport Required, a series produced by Eater and PBS. This does not impact coverage on Eater.

LoLo's Seafood Shack

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Harlem seafood destination LoLo’s Seafood Shack built out a colorful heated cabana that fits 60 diners and is open daily. The restaurant has built a cult-following over the years for items including the Belizean conch fritters; jerk ribs smoked over a bed of spice berries; and array of saucy seafood boils.

Crab sits in a puffed up plastic bag next to a ginger beer.
Crab boil at LoLo’s
Ryan Sutton/Eater

Amor Cubano

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Longtime East Harlem Cuban establishment Amor Cubano has a semi-enclosed outdoor space along Third Avenue with heaters for added warmth. Cuban sandwiches are the go-to item here, but the restaurant has a comprehensive menu with items like ropa vieja, vaca frita, churrasco, and a large selection of mojitos.

Lucciola Italian Restaurant

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One of the first to jump on the outdoor dining bubble trend in NYC, Upper West Side Italian restaurant Lucciola still has outdoor heated pods set up along West 90th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. The bubbles only seat one party at a time due to ongoing coronavirus-related safety guidelines. Chef Michele Casadei Massari is serving a menu of pizzas, pastas, steaks, and more, paired alongside an extensive wine list.

Plastic bubbles with dining tables and chairs setup inside Lucciola [Official]

Hachi Maki

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Following a winter ramen pop-up, longstanding UWS staple Good Enough to Eat has built out a permanent restaurant next door called Hachi Maki. The sushi and ramen spot is taking over the same space where the pop-up was housed, and will also offer heated outdoor seating in a covered roadside setup. The menu features a wide range of temaki sets and a handful of ramen options carried over from the pop-up.

Diners eat outdoors in a covered plywood shed with electric heaters strung overhead
Eating outdoors at Hachi Maki
Laura Jane Brett/Hachi Maki [Official]

Decades-old German meats shop Schaller and Weber debuted this outdoor dining establishment behind the butcher shop early last fall. The tented space — which has heaters and blankets — serves up Austrian comfort fare like venison goulash and seared duck breast.

The covered seating of the restaurant Hütte Hütte [Official]

Chef Michael White’s one Michelin-starred seafood destination Marea has created a plant-filled canopy for its sidewalk dining setup along West 59th Street. The outdoor dining setup comes with seat heaters, and the restaurant is serving a two-course, $55 prix fixe exclusively for outdoor diners that comes with a complimentary hot whiskey cider drink.

Seafood restaurant Marea’s outdoor dining setup, which includes tables and chairs placed under a planted canopy. Marea [Official]

Tori Shin

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One of NYC’s top yakitori destinations is located off a busier stretch of Ninth Avenue running through Hell’s Kitchen and is discreetly hidden behind a small sign. But the Japanese restaurant’s ventilated “cottage” with electric heaters can’t be missed. The outdoor dining setup in front of the establishment seats about 14 people (an employee reached by phone told Eater the area could be expanded as the weather warms up). The menu of charcoal grilled skewers, which includes various chicken parts such a knee gristle and crispy neck skin, is available al fresco.

Outdoor dining at Tori Shin
Tori Shin’s outdoor dining “cottage”
Tori Shin [Official]

Longtime Hell’s Kitchen Italian establishment Nizza has an outdoor seating set up along its sidewalk with ceiling heaters for added warmth. Chef Sean McNorton is serving up favorites like the chicken parmigiana and a calamari pizza.

The exterior of Hell’s Kitchen Italian restaurant Nizza Nizza [Official]

Copinette

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Overhead electric heaters are stationed inside Copinette’s tented roadside setup to keep diners warm throughout dinner. The French-leaning menu includes plenty of dishes to cozy up to, including French onion soup, a truffle risotto, and a pistachio dijon-crusted rack of lamb.

Yoon Haeundae Galbi

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The pandemic has not stopped Korean restaurants across town from serving barbecue outdoors. At Yoon, the team set up a wooden structure, which can also be rented out for private events, with 20 seats dotted with heaters and open windows for maximum airflow. Servers will present guests with a menu full of modern takes on Korean favorites (think: galbi dumplings), as well as a few premium cuts of beef, including porterhouse and tomahawk steaks that are cooked tableside and capable of feeding a small pod.

A view inside a plywood structure with electric heaters and lamps hanging over wooden tables
Outdoor seating at Yoon Haeundae Galbi
Yoon Haeundae Galbi [Official]

Take 31

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Beloved Korean gastropub Take 31, from the hit-makers at Hand Hospitality, has a sturdy wooden outdoor setup complete with electric heaters installed into the ceiling. The spicy seafood soup is a must-order here, as is the crispy corn pancake and the fried chicken tossed with honey butter and mustard sauce and served with a wasabi whipped cream.

Atoboy, the more casual restaurant owned by the crew behind Michelin-starred Atomix, has a heated roadside setup with individual dining pods sectioned off inside the structure. The restaurant launched a five-course prix fixe menu in March for $75 that includes dishes like a king crab salad and octopus with fermented butternut sauce and potatoes.

A white painted outdoor dining structure with clear panels to view tables and chairs inside Atoboy [Official]

Socarrat Paella Bar - Chelsea

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Tapas joint Socarrat has heated outdoor seating at all three of its NYC locations, but the Chelsea outpost has a partially covered, heated backyard for outdoor dining. The restaurant accepts reservations for its outdoor seating and serves up a large selection of tapas including croquettas, fried artichokes, bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with cheese, and of course, a wide selection of paella as well.

The backyard of the tapas restaurant Socarrat, which has a table and a space heater Socarrat Paella Bar [Official]

High Street on Hudson

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High Street on Hudson temporarily closed last summer, and in its place owner Ellen Yin has opened a seafood pop-up called Sandbar on Hudson, a semi-permanent collaboration with James Shields, owner of nearby pizzeria Brunetti. High Street’s outdoor set-up includes covered and heated seating with “lots of space and airflow,” according to the restaurant, which Eater critic Ryan Sutton dubbed one the city’s best new all-day restaurants in 2016.

The interior of a bakery, with kitchen equipment and loaves of assorted colors and shapes of bread leaned against a far wall Paul Crispin Quitoriano/Eater

Jeju Noodle Bar

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Michelin-starred Korean restaurant Jeju Noodle Bar has set up covered, heated tents for diners on the sidewalk lining its corner spot in the West Village. Chef Douglas Kim’s rich, flavorful noodle dishes include options like a truffle bibim myun and wagyu ramyun; the appetizers, including the ja jang-style pork ribs with a maple-black bean glaze, are similarly hard to pass up.

Nami Nori

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Sushi hand roll destination Nami Nori — from Masa vets Taka Sakaeda, Jihan Lee, and Lisa Limb — recently added a sturdy, covered outdoor structure along Carmine Street, in front of the restaurant. Eight tables are separated into cubicles for individual dining parties and have a total of 16 seats, all of which are heated. Taking it a step further, Nami Nori has also added some cold-weather menu items including a seafood hot pot with cod fish, mussels, and shrimp in a lobster broth.

The exterior of Nami Nori which has a semi circular tent covering tables and chairs. Nami Nori [Official]

Modern Korean restaurant Oiji has created an enclosed space outside with private dining booths that serve one dining party at a time. Each of these pods is fitted with dual heat lamps, and Oiji has brought back some warming foods to the menu including the truffle seafood broth with crispy rice. Oiji has a total of seven dining cubicles, most of which accommodate four diners at a time, though some have room to seat six.

Oiji’s outdoor dining tent with diners inside Oiji [Official]

Soho Diner

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Soho Diner recreated its neighborhood diner vibe outdoors with both heated and covered roadside seating and a heated backyard garden. Come for the all-day breakfast with egg choices galore, and stay for the molten peanut butter banana split and selection of slices from Petee’s Pie.

Dr. Clark

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Yudai Kanayama’s newest restaurant, Dr. Clark, was inspired by his roots in Hokkaido, Japan. Every detail is planned out in this love letter to his hometown: the vintage-looking glassware, the Bode-designed coats the servers don and even a disco ball floating outside. But perhaps the most inviting element for guests is the kotatsu dining table. Guests remove their shoes, take a seat at a low wood table and drape themselves in a flannel blanket while a heater underneath keeps the lower body warm. The jingisukan, a style of lamb barbecue popular in Hokkaido, also adds warmth as it’s cooked tableside. Eventually, there will be karaoke that will surely bring back memories of Winnie’s, the beloved Chinatown dive bar that once occupied this space.

Chikarashi Isso at Hotel 50 Bowery

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Japanese restaurant Chikarashi Isso’s pop-up at Hotel 50 Bowery is continuing with the addition of this open, cabin-style outdoor dining structure. Each side has openings on top for airflow, and the sides have sliding doors so two sides remain open at all times. The 10 heat lamps inside combined with the chef’s counter that seats 10 makes for a cozy dining setup where diners can partake in the restaurant’s 13-course kappo-style yakitori omakase.

Sushi restaurant Chikarashi Isso’s heated outdoor dining structure with a chef cooking in the center Chikarashi Isso [Official]

Shanghai Asian Cuisine 上海小館

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Longtime Chinatown establishment Shanghai Asian Cuisine received assistance from nonprofit NYCxDesign and the New York City Economic Development Corporation to create a covered outdoor dining area along an alley next to the restaurant. The setup, which has some heaters provided by the Chinatown Partnership, seats about 14 people between four tables. Be sure to call before you go as the hours might change depending on the weather and temperature.

The outdoor dining setup for Chinese restaurant Shanghai Asian Cuisine Shanghai Asian Cuisine [Official]

Wu's Wonton King

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Wu’s Wonton King took full advantage of the expansive stretch of sidewalk right outside the restaurant and set up a sprawling covered outdoor dining structure with many spaced-out tables set up under string lights and well-positioned electric heaters. The roving menu has everything necessary for a hearty winter feast, including twelve different kinds of congees and sixteen varieties of noodle soups.

The Lovelace

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Pearl Street cocktail bar the Lovelace has created a comfortable outdoor dining setup with a covered heated seating area and four private dining pods. Cozy up with a gin flight or order a plate of Irish bangers and corned beef potato cakes. There’s live music on weekends, along with a 90-minute bottomless brunch of mimosas and bloody marys. The bar is also open for 35 percent indoor dining. 

Hamilton Hall

This recently opened Hamilton Heights beer hall has quickly become a go-to destination for brunch in the neighborhood and has installed heated outdoor dining booths along Broadway in front of the restaurant. Menu items include an eggs Benedict sandwich, confit chicken wings, and fish and chips. There are also 14 types of draft beers available at the establishment along with cocktails and wines.

Red Rooster

Marcus Samuelsson’s hit Harlem establishment has a lush, heated outdoor seating area along Malcolm X Boulevard. The restaurant takes reservations for its outdoor space and is serving a menu comprised of dishes like charred, glazed cauliflower, shrimp and grits, and a jerk salmon bowl.

Disclosure: Marcus Samuelsson is the host of No Passport Required, a series produced by Eater and PBS. This does not impact coverage on Eater.

LoLo's Seafood Shack

Harlem seafood destination LoLo’s Seafood Shack built out a colorful heated cabana that fits 60 diners and is open daily. The restaurant has built a cult-following over the years for items including the Belizean conch fritters; jerk ribs smoked over a bed of spice berries; and array of saucy seafood boils.

Crab sits in a puffed up plastic bag next to a ginger beer.
Crab boil at LoLo’s
Ryan Sutton/Eater

Amor Cubano

Longtime East Harlem Cuban establishment Amor Cubano has a semi-enclosed outdoor space along Third Avenue with heaters for added warmth. Cuban sandwiches are the go-to item here, but the restaurant has a comprehensive menu with items like ropa vieja, vaca frita, churrasco, and a large selection of mojitos.

Lucciola Italian Restaurant

One of the first to jump on the outdoor dining bubble trend in NYC, Upper West Side Italian restaurant Lucciola still has outdoor heated pods set up along West 90th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. The bubbles only seat one party at a time due to ongoing coronavirus-related safety guidelines. Chef Michele Casadei Massari is serving a menu of pizzas, pastas, steaks, and more, paired alongside an extensive wine list.

Plastic bubbles with dining tables and chairs setup inside Lucciola [Official]

Hachi Maki

Following a winter ramen pop-up, longstanding UWS staple Good Enough to Eat has built out a permanent restaurant next door called Hachi Maki. The sushi and ramen spot is taking over the same space where the pop-up was housed, and will also offer heated outdoor seating in a covered roadside setup. The menu features a wide range of temaki sets and a handful of ramen options carried over from the pop-up.

Diners eat outdoors in a covered plywood shed with electric heaters strung overhead
Eating outdoors at Hachi Maki
Laura Jane Brett/Hachi Maki [Official]

Hütte

Decades-old German meats shop Schaller and Weber debuted this outdoor dining establishment behind the butcher shop early last fall. The tented space — which has heaters and blankets — serves up Austrian comfort fare like venison goulash and seared duck breast.

The covered seating of the restaurant Hütte Hütte [Official]

Marea

Chef Michael White’s one Michelin-starred seafood destination Marea has created a plant-filled canopy for its sidewalk dining setup along West 59th Street. The outdoor dining setup comes with seat heaters, and the restaurant is serving a two-course, $55 prix fixe exclusively for outdoor diners that comes with a complimentary hot whiskey cider drink.

Seafood restaurant Marea’s outdoor dining setup, which includes tables and chairs placed under a planted canopy. Marea [Official]

Tori Shin

One of NYC’s top yakitori destinations is located off a busier stretch of Ninth Avenue running through Hell’s Kitchen and is discreetly hidden behind a small sign. But the Japanese restaurant’s ventilated “cottage” with electric heaters can’t be missed. The outdoor dining setup in front of the establishment seats about 14 people (an employee reached by phone told Eater the area could be expanded as the weather warms up). The menu of charcoal grilled skewers, which includes various chicken parts such a knee gristle and crispy neck skin, is available al fresco.

Outdoor dining at Tori Shin
Tori Shin’s outdoor dining “cottage”
Tori Shin [Official]

Nizza

Longtime Hell’s Kitchen Italian establishment Nizza has an outdoor seating set up along its sidewalk with ceiling heaters for added warmth. Chef Sean McNorton is serving up favorites like the chicken parmigiana and a calamari pizza.

The exterior of Hell’s Kitchen Italian restaurant Nizza Nizza [Official]

Copinette

Overhead electric heaters are stationed inside Copinette’s tented roadside setup to keep diners warm throughout dinner. The French-leaning menu includes plenty of dishes to cozy up to, including French onion soup, a truffle risotto, and a pistachio dijon-crusted rack of lamb.

Yoon Haeundae Galbi

The pandemic has not stopped Korean restaurants across town from serving barbecue outdoors. At Yoon, the team set up a wooden structure, which can also be rented out for private events, with 20 seats dotted with heaters and open windows for maximum airflow. Servers will present guests with a menu full of modern takes on Korean favorites (think: galbi dumplings), as well as a few premium cuts of beef, including porterhouse and tomahawk steaks that are cooked tableside and capable of feeding a small pod.

A view inside a plywood structure with electric heaters and lamps hanging over wooden tables
Outdoor seating at Yoon Haeundae Galbi
Yoon Haeundae Galbi [Official]

Take 31

Beloved Korean gastropub Take 31, from the hit-makers at Hand Hospitality, has a sturdy wooden outdoor setup complete with electric heaters installed into the ceiling. The spicy seafood soup is a must-order here, as is the crispy corn pancake and the fried chicken tossed with honey butter and mustard sauce and served with a wasabi whipped cream.

Atoboy

Atoboy, the more casual restaurant owned by the crew behind Michelin-starred Atomix, has a heated roadside setup with individual dining pods sectioned off inside the structure. The restaurant launched a five-course prix fixe menu in March for $75 that includes dishes like a king crab salad and octopus with fermented butternut sauce and potatoes.

A white painted outdoor dining structure with clear panels to view tables and chairs inside Atoboy [Official]

Socarrat Paella Bar - Chelsea

Tapas joint Socarrat has heated outdoor seating at all three of its NYC locations, but the Chelsea outpost has a partially covered, heated backyard for outdoor dining. The restaurant accepts reservations for its outdoor seating and serves up a large selection of tapas including croquettas, fried artichokes, bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with cheese, and of course, a wide selection of paella as well.

The backyard of the tapas restaurant Socarrat, which has a table and a space heater Socarrat Paella Bar [Official]

Related Maps

High Street on Hudson

High Street on Hudson temporarily closed last summer, and in its place owner Ellen Yin has opened a seafood pop-up called Sandbar on Hudson, a semi-permanent collaboration with James Shields, owner of nearby pizzeria Brunetti. High Street’s outdoor set-up includes covered and heated seating with “lots of space and airflow,” according to the restaurant, which Eater critic Ryan Sutton dubbed one the city’s best new all-day restaurants in 2016.

The interior of a bakery, with kitchen equipment and loaves of assorted colors and shapes of bread leaned against a far wall Paul Crispin Quitoriano/Eater

Jeju Noodle Bar

Michelin-starred Korean restaurant Jeju Noodle Bar has set up covered, heated tents for diners on the sidewalk lining its corner spot in the West Village. Chef Douglas Kim’s rich, flavorful noodle dishes include options like a truffle bibim myun and wagyu ramyun; the appetizers, including the ja jang-style pork ribs with a maple-black bean glaze, are similarly hard to pass up.

Nami Nori

Sushi hand roll destination Nami Nori — from Masa vets Taka Sakaeda, Jihan Lee, and Lisa Limb — recently added a sturdy, covered outdoor structure along Carmine Street, in front of the restaurant. Eight tables are separated into cubicles for individual dining parties and have a total of 16 seats, all of which are heated. Taking it a step further, Nami Nori has also added some cold-weather menu items including a seafood hot pot with cod fish, mussels, and shrimp in a lobster broth.

The exterior of Nami Nori which has a semi circular tent covering tables and chairs. Nami Nori [Official]

Oiji

Modern Korean restaurant Oiji has created an enclosed space outside with private dining booths that serve one dining party at a time. Each of these pods is fitted with dual heat lamps, and Oiji has brought back some warming foods to the menu including the truffle seafood broth with crispy rice. Oiji has a total of seven dining cubicles, most of which accommodate four diners at a time, though some have room to seat six.

Oiji’s outdoor dining tent with diners inside Oiji [Official]

Soho Diner

Soho Diner recreated its neighborhood diner vibe outdoors with both heated and covered roadside seating and a heated backyard garden. Come for the all-day breakfast with egg choices galore, and stay for the molten peanut butter banana split and selection of slices from Petee’s Pie.

Dr. Clark

Yudai Kanayama’s newest restaurant, Dr. Clark, was inspired by his roots in Hokkaido, Japan. Every detail is planned out in this love letter to his hometown: the vintage-looking glassware, the Bode-designed coats the servers don and even a disco ball floating outside. But perhaps the most inviting element for guests is the kotatsu dining table. Guests remove their shoes, take a seat at a low wood table and drape themselves in a flannel blanket while a heater underneath keeps the lower body warm. The jingisukan, a style of lamb barbecue popular in Hokkaido, also adds warmth as it’s cooked tableside. Eventually, there will be karaoke that will surely bring back memories of Winnie’s, the beloved Chinatown dive bar that once occupied this space.

Chikarashi Isso at Hotel 50 Bowery

Japanese restaurant Chikarashi Isso’s pop-up at Hotel 50 Bowery is continuing with the addition of this open, cabin-style outdoor dining structure. Each side has openings on top for airflow, and the sides have sliding doors so two sides remain open at all times. The 10 heat lamps inside combined with the chef’s counter that seats 10 makes for a cozy dining setup where diners can partake in the restaurant’s 13-course kappo-style yakitori omakase.

Sushi restaurant Chikarashi Isso’s heated outdoor dining structure with a chef cooking in the center Chikarashi Isso [Official]

Shanghai Asian Cuisine 上海小館

Longtime Chinatown establishment Shanghai Asian Cuisine received assistance from nonprofit NYCxDesign and the New York City Economic Development Corporation to create a covered outdoor dining area along an alley next to the restaurant. The setup, which has some heaters provided by the Chinatown Partnership, seats about 14 people between four tables. Be sure to call before you go as the hours might change depending on the weather and temperature.