Nothing screams summer like the great outdoors. Even in this concrete jungle of ours, there are still plenty of ways to frolic and dine in a green, lush space. Here are 5 outdoor dining spots creating buzz this summer.
La Sirena is Mario Batali’s latest creation in the Maritime Building in West Chelsea. As per the NY Post: Batali’s first new restaurant here in 10 years offers Italian cuisine for almost everyone — even for the “wellness-aware” who don’t share the chef’s famous taste for lardo and meaty sauces. And, the scene’s up to the cuisine. A rollicking, mosaic-tiled lounge anchored by a 38-foot-long bar holds two very adult dining rooms at arms’ length. An outdoor terrace, to open in a few weeks, will swell the seat total to 300. The democratically diverse crowd ranges from young families, to snuggling couples, to Jerry Seinfeld hunkered down with two business guys, all three of them in suits and ties.”
Service Station NYC is another Italian restaurant whose patio can seat more than 100. As per its own website: “Opened in the Fall of 2015, the Service Station is now serving up an Italian-inspired menu for diners on the Upper East Side. Tucked alongside the Bentley Hotel on York Ave and East 62nd Street, the new Manhattan restaurant is just what the neighborhood needed. The smell of the specialty pizzas in the brick oven and the spacious tree-lined patio will beckon you in from the sidewalk. If satisfied taste buds and a full belly are what you’re looking for, the Service Station is exactly where you need to be. Fusing imagination and delectable ingredients together, you can’t walk away from this place without being impressed.”
Kingsley’s East Village farm to table offering opened in February and serves French and American dishes, alike. Named #1 Fit for Foodies on Open Table, here’s what Time Out says about this newcomer: “Entering the culinary world as a high-school teen, Roxanne Spruance apprenticed under top Chicago chefs Paul Kahan, Koren Grieveson and Dale Levitski, all before she left for college. After moving to New York, the ambitious young chef landed high-profile gigs at wd~50, Cafe Tallulah and eventually Alison Eighteen, where she received acclaim (and a Slow Food Snail of Approval) for her nose-to-tail cooking. That sustainable ethos carries over to her first solo venture, this 65-seat French-American spot in the East Village, where Spruance flexes her globally influenced training with dishes such as delicate chawanmushi (a Japanese steamed egg custard) nestling escargot and black garlic, and scallops served with sunchoke, walnut and chicharrones.”
Social Drink and Food boasts the greatest outdoor space of these pics, taking over 7,000 square feet via the rooftop at Hell’s Kitchen’s Yotel hotel. Movie screenings and weekly board-game nights keep the scene, well … social! As Urban Daddy puts it: “It’s part indoor and part outdoor, in case water-bearing clouds arrive. Among the foodstuffs are various pizzas, chicken shashlik and a global street fair special that’ll change at the whim of the chefs (menu here). In a hollowed-out pineapple, you’ll find three straws granting access to a blend of rum, pineapple and coconut syrups, and their own special tiki tincture. It’s all called the Tropical Triple. You can look at that and the whole damn place here. The roof is still the spot for the Rooftop Cinema Club, which now features beach chairs.” Llama Inn was launched in November to much fanfare. According to the NY Post: “Former Eleven Madison Park chef Erik Ramirez wanted to put a sleek spin on Peruvian cuisine when he launched Llama Inn. Look for specialities like tuna tiradito laced with avocado, cashew-topped quinoa and the Dolly Llama cocktail (pisco, red wine, strawberries). “We wanted to marry the traditions of Creole dishes with NYC dining,” Ramirez explains. Not only can the rooftop accommodate more than 25 guests, but he’s putting a slushie machine up there to churn out frozen pisco sours. We’ll drink to that!”
