10 Very Special Outdoor Tables in Boston

The 16-year-old French restaurant is turning its stretch of Columbus Avenue into the Champs-Élysées with the help of a sidewalk patio featuring café-style seating. Adding to the impression are bistro classics like beef tartare, mussels in a white wine and garlic butter broth, and coq au vin. Naturally, the experience wouldn’t feel complete without a half-dozen local oysters and a bit of Loire Valley sauvignon blanc.

The farm-driven Mediterranean spot operates one of Boston’s greatest unsung patios. Chickadee’s outdoor eating environ occupies a wide swath of the Innovation and Design Building’s outdoor deck, furnishing diners with sidewalk-style seating and plates of semolina gnocchi with braised artichokes, fried cauliflower with sasla verde, and black-truffle bigoli with wild boar Bolognese.

Oleana’s leafy backyard patio is no secret, but that doesn’t diminish the bucolic delights of this garden-like space. The setting should only enhance your enjoyment of its spice-laden, Eastern-Mediterranean fare, including standouts like kohlrabi pancakes with hot-pepper labne, and braised lamb chops with tomato brown butter.

On the inside, Burro Bar is all plush red sofas, sleek marble countertops, and thumping bass; but the irreverent Mexican spot is hiding a back-deck patio that’s pure South End charm. Claim your seat at a four-top table under strung lights with red brick on all sides, and enjoy the beet and sweet potato tacos, roasted chipotle chicken enchiladas and dragon fruit-infused margaritas that are sure to follow.

The Somerville market provides plenty of outdoor seating — including greenhouses and fire pits — where you can enjoy the food and drink proffered by its many independent vendors. The choices are abundant, but we can say confidently you won’t leave unhappy after North Shore-style bar pizzas and roast beef sandwiches from Hot Box, vegan poutine from Saus and naturally inclined wines poured by Rebel Rebel.

While the Assembly Row location of Smoke Shop BBQ also boasts a worthy patio, the outdoor spread at its original location— smack in the heart of Kendall Square — remains our favorite. Make a reservation to secure your seat, and spend some time pondering tough decisions like whether you want your Texas-style brisket plate accompanied by honey butter-glazed corn bread or pimento mac and cheese.

The Venetian-style bacaro serves its aperitivi and cicchetti across two outdoor settings: a front-facing patio on Columbus Avenue, and a larger back deck set against the ivy-covered walls of neighboring brownstones. Whatever the location, you can expect the housemade pastas, polpette and Aperol spritzes to hit just the same when it reopens March 18. (Book now, though.)

When Naco Taco opened in 2015, it aimed to bring the experience of the sprawling, outdoor, West Coast taqueria to New England. Six years on, it’s safe to say they succeeded — thanks to that oversized patio flush with umbrella-shaded tables, strung lights and even a stationery taco truck. But just as important to the mise-en-scène are fried cod tacos with chipotle aioli; tortas stuffed with flank steak, Oaxaca cheese and ancho Chile aioli; and plenty of frosty Modelos.

Loyal Nine’s patio has the feeling of a backyard family gathering, a fitting match for its unfussy yet thoughtfully prepared New England-centric fare. After claiming your al fresco two-top with a well-timed booking, you’ll partake in Rhode Island-style salt and pepper calamari, fried local oysters rolls on potato buns, and parsnip and fresh cheese pierogi with roasted pears and cabbage.

Bolognese nachos, short rib pizza, garlic aioli-slathered bacon cheeseburgers on pretzel rolls; we’d happily accept these tuned-up comfort foods on any outdoor deck. But Six/West’s al fresco set-up isn’t your average one: it also happens to be one of the city’s few rooftop patios, offering ample views of South Boston and the local skyline. Naturally, no rooftop patio is complete without a good drink, and Six/West takes care of that by serving barrel aged rum Manhattans alongside Monkey 47 martinis kicked up by Greek olive oil.