The July Hit List: Barrio Lowertown, Martina, Guacaya Bistreaux, and More

When summer hits, Barrio’s east metro location opens up its sidewalk café, a compact collection of bright red tables. The urban oasis is an ideal spot to soak in the evening while sipping one of the 10 house margaritas and noshing on made-to-order guacamole or fried yucca with chimichurri. Those with bigger appetites can select from quesadillas, enchiladas, burritos, and a dozen or so tacos, such as beer-battered fish, pork belly, grilled steak, or carnitas.

Pedro Wolcott has created a tapas bar and restaurant that blends key stages of his life: the Panamanian soul of his childhood and accents from New Orleans, where he cut his teeth as a chef. The menu offers big and small dishes: ceviche, gumbo, crawfish pies, a deep-fried whole fish, shrimp and grits. The cheery and affordable cocktails ($12 and under) come from the minds of the team at Meteor bar, with options such as the magenta-hued La Loba Rosa — rum, grapefruit, crème de fleur, lime, and hibiscus — and the choose-your-own-booze Leche de Tigre (orange, lime, ginger, jalapeño, chile, and salt). Fire pits ensure that patio seating will last beyond summer.

No reservations. Find more info here.

With a year under its belt and the prestigious (and recently acquired) James Beard award for best new restaurant on its shelf, Owamni is continuing to ride high — just try getting your hands on a table. Fortunately, for those willing to take their chances, the Indigenous restaurant also offers first come, first served seating on a terrace overlooking the river. There, you’ll enjoy the same menu (available in English and Dakota) as those indoors: dishes featuring Native ingredients such as game, fish, wild rice, corn tortillas, and seasonal fruits and vegetables. For drinks, check out the zero-proof cocktails, aka “plant medicine,” crafted using Indigenous fruits and herbs.

One of the newest scoop shops on the scene isn’t just a scoop shop. Sure, you can get flavored cake cones, pints, floats, and shakes in “how can I choose just one?” flavors such as Monkey Bread Praline, Cookie Dough and Fudge, Chocolate Pretzel Brownie, and Dad’s Root Beer. But you can also tack on a smash burger with bacon and cheese, a lobster and shrimp roll, or an order of cheese curds or fries. The latest endeavor from the team at Travail is counter-service only. Order, grab one of the adult- or kid-sized picnic tables ringing the building, and the staff will bring your food out to you.

No reservations. Find more info here.

As if there weren’t enough reasons to love this modern Argentinian restaurant (with hints of Spain and Italy as well), summertime provides the topper: primo outdoor seating that can be reserved, whether you’re indulging in a weekend brunch or lounging over dinner. The daytime menu trends upscale comfort — steak and eggs, crab Benedict, almond flour pancakes, lobster toast — while night leans toward pastas and options that take full advantage of the wood-fired grill (pork chops, octopus, steak, a variety of vegetables). Never fear: the celebrity-status potato churros and leek-and-gorgonzola empanadas star on both menus.

From the expansive third-floor terrace of this Seventh Street staple, you can enjoy more than just the Italian food for whicht the owners, the Cossetta family, are famed. From certain vantage points, you also get a gorgeous view of the Cathedral of Saint Paul. The outdoor menu is a bit smaller than the one offered indoors, but you can bank on an assortment of appetizers, pastas (the rigatoni norcino — cured pork cheek, Italian sausage, and mushrooms in a garlic cream sauce — is a popular pick), main courses, and sides. Fans of limoncello will want to try Louis’ version of a collins cocktail, which pairs the liqueur with gin and housemade grenadine.

In keeping with the Hawaiian vibe here, outdoor dining doesn’t happen on a mere patio. Rather, diners get to hang out on a lanai, a covered, open-sided terrace with large ceiling fans that keep things cool. While there’s plenty of seafood on the menu — coconut shrimp, a tuna poke stack, smoked salmon, a blackened mahi-mahi sandwich — there are enough other items to satisfy the surf-averse in your group: steak, burgers, a selection of creative pizzas, kalua pork. That same house-smoked pork shows up among the brunch offerings, gracing both a Benedict and an omelet. Special cocktails pop up on Sunday mornings, including a Pau Hana Bloody Mary spiced up with a little red chile paste.

While this alfresco Italian restaurant in the exquisite new Four Seasons hasn’t been getting as much buzz as its dining companions in the hotel, it has charms that ensure it’ll be a key downtown destination this summer. Located on the fourth floor, it offers lovely views of the skyline. Seating ranges from cafe tables to casual couches to stools at the bar. For food (currently lunch only), expect snackables like arancini and eggplant fries, a curated selection of main dishes (a skirt steak pasta, pan-roasted salmon), and desserts like hazelnut profiteroles, and tiramisu. Come to eat, drink, and — most definitely — see and be seen.

Call 612-895-5700 for reservations.

When talking about eating in the great outdoors, we’d be remiss not to mention a true summer gem: lakeside dining. The deck at 6Smith, right on Wayzata Bay, doesn’t disappoint. If you’re stopping in for brunch, lunch, or dinner, you won’t lack for choices. The menus are dense with classic seafood and steakhouse fare like raw oysters, jumbo scallops, lobster rolls, USDA prime steaks, pan-seared Atlantic salmon, and a special Juicy Lucy made with Kobe beef. During happy hour, which happens daily in the main level bar (check the website for the schedule), you can snag tap beers and rail drinks for $4, “good wine” for $9, and “better wine” for $10, plus deals on a variety of apps, burgers, and tacos.

Call 952-698-7900 for reservations.

American and French influences mix on the menu at this spot in the northern suburbs. That means French onion soup, poutine, and beef bourguignon sit alongside crab cakes, lobster tail, and steak Diane. The wine list is extensive, spanning not just regions but price ranges; you’ll have no problem finding the right pour, whether you’re looking for something more casual or wanting to go big and celebrate. If one of those celebrations is a birthday or wedding anniversary, let the staff know: Celebrants are offered free wine or Champagne and dessert. Take advantage of the nice weather and stop in for the twice-monthly live music nights on the patio, happening this month on the 13^th and 27^th.