Where to Dine Outside in Atlanta Right Now

This Roswell hot spot has two outdoor dining spaces—the patio and the garden—which have distinctly different vibes. See and be seen on the patio facing Green Street or relax in the quiet tranquility of the backyard garden. In both spaces, you’ll enjoy seasonal beverages like the lavender latte and dishes like the B.E.L.T., a fresh take on a BLT with braised kale on homemade sourdough, or the lemon ricotta hotcakes. Whatever you do, don’t skip on the freshly baked cookies or the sourdough cinnamon roll, which is big enough to share … but you don’t have to.

Considered by many to be one of Atlanta’s best Italian restaurants, BoccaLupo is located inside a quirky square bungalow, on an elevated perch at the corner of Edgewood Avenue and Waddell Street, and has on its porch one of the city’s coolest outdoor dining setups. The funky, angular windows offer reflected views of the building’s flower garden and the ever-flowing foot traffic coming in and out of Inman Park, making it a great place to see and be seen. Even the GM says the best seat in the house is “the L-shaped couch on the patio,” and tends to be is a favorite spot for celebrities, yet you’ve got a good chance of scoring it by request if you’re “cool.”

No matter the weather or the time of day, The Chastain’s cozy courtyard is always a welcoming escape from Atlanta’s hustlemania, with its wall of shrubs separating your breakfast, lunch or dinner rendezvous from Powers Ferry pedestrians, and a tent setup to keep the warmth from gas heaters inside and chilly breezes out. The bistro also has seats in the area adjacent to chef Christopher Grossman’s onsite garden, which is a perfect place to enjoy weekend brunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

It’s hard to compete with a restaurant that overlooks Tanyard Creek and Bobby Jones Golf Course, and even more difficult when the cuisine and the service are both casually simple and upscale at once. Stop by and gaze into the surrounding natural wonders while enjoying a Gulf shrimp po boy at lunchtime, chili dusted pork tenderloin over celery root puree for dinner, plenty of wines by the glass, or of course the house version of the bourbon sour “Bobby Jones” cocktail.

Delbar gives sunny and joyful vibes both inside and out, but the restaurant’s patio has its own special energy, thanks to an abundance of potted plants and assorted trees that flank the wooden tables outside, whose cream-colored patio umbrellas throw the sort of shade we appreciate. Another great location for enjoying Delbar’s exceptional Iranian, Turkish, Lebanese and Israeli food is the enclosed sunroom, where white brick, a neon version of the restaurant’s logo and Persian rugs interact with tons of natural light to create the feeling of al fresco dining but under controlled temperatures. See also: Delbar’s sister location in Old Milton, which boasts its own gorgeous outdoor dining space.

The heated patio mirrors some of the impeccable brasserie-and-then-some design of the interior, and all the crucial culinary elements are still very much in effect: Hawaiian rolls and shrimp cocktails to start, steakhouse classics — and, yes, the raw bar, including the always-impeccable selection of oysters from both coasts that have made this a cult favorite in Decatur since its 2013 opening.

Chef Steven Satterfield continues to charm Atlanta with dishes like its farm egg baked in celery cream with grilled bread, and roasted poulet rouge with ricotta dumplings and spring peas. A truly excellent and extensive wine list brings in oenophiles, while its cocktail menu provides refreshing options for patio sipping.

It’s hard to imagine al fresco dining being more awe-inspiring than this north-OTP concept situated atop downtown Alpharetta’s Liberty Hall, where an abandoned gas station was replaced with a four-story development that got its own rooftop restaurant. The 300-seat, brick-walled, wood-floored, indoor-outdoor eatery boasts a wraparound terrace which looks out over the city and all the way to Kennesaw Mountain, and offers sharable small plates like lettuce wraps and charcuterie board, as well as lamb sliders, a double-stack “Royale with Cheese” smash burger, and plenty of dishes from land and sea.  While you’re up there, don’t miss out on “elevated classic” cocktails like the bourbon, strawberry, lemon and peppercorn “Dad Joke,” handcrafted bottled cocktails, and plenty of beers and wines by the pint or glass.

This spacious, walled-in Mexican restaurant’s outdoor section has space heaters throughout (to combat ATL’s notoriously shifty weather), and is halfway covered with a floating trellis, with patio umbrellas to keep you dry and un-sunburned on the other side. It’s a great place for a variety of drinks, including a tequila or mezcal flight, several iterations of margaritas, or a refreshing michelada, and a meal on the lighter side (say their spicy ceviche Jalisco with citrus-marinated fish, octopus and shrimp), or an achiote-marinated salmon salad with pumpkin seeds and grilled corn.

The patio at Riccardo Ullio’s 23-year-old casual Italian institution offers views from Elizabeth Street and North Highland Avenue, looking downward toward the bustling intersection of the Old Fourth Ward and Inman Park. Outdoor seating is open year-round, and you’ve got some of Atlanta’s best pizza (try the cotto e funghi, with bunapi and oyster mushrooms, and cotto ham) and gelato that ranges from stracciatella to pistachio.

Chef Mimmo Alboumeh took over the former space of Watershed on New Year’s Day 2021, and since then turned the building into an always-booming lounge for Spanish, Mexican and Mediterranean foods. The patio, which looks out onto Peachtree Street, is a great place to enjoy six-ounce crispy lobster tail, an array of tacos from chicken shawarma to brisket barbacoa, or entrees like the Alaskan salmon with spinach, corn and quinoa. You’ll also find well-balanced (yet noticeably strong) margaritas and other cocktails.

Call (404) 228-6358 to make reservations. 

One of Atlanta’s OGs of outdoor dining, this northwest institution sits on a beautifully maintained section of the Chattahoochee River and continues to function as both a neighborhood restaurant (for those blessed enough to live there), and a destination worth visiting for any reason at all, be it romantic or business-related. Whether your patio seat positions you in front of the blue metal bridge, or a different portion of the riverfront, it’s a classic place to enjoy lunch, brunch, dinner or dessert, before or after taking a leisurely stroll along Canoe’s inviting walkways through naturally colorful gardens.

Call (770) 432-2663 for reservations.

Equal parts courtyard, bar, and restaurant, Westside Motor Lounge is essentially an indoor-outdoor complex full of vibrant color and lots of activities, where you can choose your own experience. The three-acre, dog-friendly development also hosts a cocktail lounge, a listening room, a game room and a half-acre courtyard with a stage for live music, a beer garden, shuffleboard courts, cabanas, fire pits and a food truck. But the main spaces serve plenty of great drinks and good food, with ingredients sourced from local farms.

See the menus here.