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 The back patio at Del Fuego
The back patio at Del Fuego
Photo: Brasted

Where To Dine & Drink Outdoors This Fall In Nola, Freshly Updated

Holy moly, here are 60+ options to fulfill all of your outdoor dining and boozing needs.

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The back patio at Del Fuego
| Photo: Brasted

With more new restaurants opening this fall, it's time to update the best outdoor dining and boozing spaces in town. Here now are 61 options around New Orleans for all your al fresco needs.

Don't see a patio, courtyard, or balcony that absolutely deserves to be on the map? Leave a comment, and let us know your favorite.

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Del Fuego Taqueria

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Tongue tacos and margs on the deck overlooking Magazine, or on the cute patio outback. Either way, it's a do.

CellarDoor

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The swanky new gastrolounge features a patio with an urban feel: string lights and lounge seating.

Dat Dog Frenchmen St

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Balcony views of Frenchmen Street means epic people watching at all hours of the day, along with a great selections of brews and hot dogs.

Root Squared

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Classic and molecular cocktails, charcuterie, amazing service and beautiful view of Magazine make this LGD lounge a hotspot.

bar redux

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This colorful new Bywater bar in the former Joint space features ample seating on their back patio, including a covered section.
The deck features picnic table seating and on the weekends, chef Michael Gulotta usually throws a hog on the fire pit.
This Mid City small plates and cocktail hub from the Finn McCool's family, often features art markets and even art classes in their courtyard.

Cane & Table

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This quiet, salvaged courtyard is a great escape from the French Quarter. Between Adam Biderman's island-influenced cuisine and Nick Detrich's proto-tiki cocktails, you'll feel transported to old Havana in no time.
A Bywater courtyard for the hipster set with craft cocktails and small plates galore.

Doris Metropolitan

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Another reason to visit this wonderful steakhouse in the Quarter? A tranquil courtyard.
Vietnamese dining on Carrollton Avenue, with umbrellas for shade and heaters for cooler nights.

Felipe's Taqueria

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The Mid City location of Felipe's is great for outdoor dining or just taking in some margaritas.

Bacchanal Wine

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This Bywater icon is home to hands down the best outdoor dining in New Orleans. Renovations have made for a new kitchen, headed by Joaquin Rhodas, and live music prevails in the relatively untouched, and gorgeously shabby, backyard. Bonus points: A new upstairs dining area for when it gets too crowded.

Pizza Delicious

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Last year, Pizza Delicious jazzed up their outdoor dining game with a sleek look and warm, romantic lighting. Or take a pie to go over the big rusty arc into Crescent Park and have yourself a picnic on the river.

Pagoda Café

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Awesome thing about Pagoda Cafe? There's only outdoor seating, and a lot of it is shady.

Café Amelie

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For a truly unique dining experience in a wonderfully lush French Quarter courtyard, folks head to the courtyard of the romantic Cafe Amelie.

Bayona Restaurant

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Susan Spicer's impeccable French Quarter restaurant also boasts an intimate back patio, with a gurgling fountain, shade from the sun at lunch via umbrellas, and romantic lighting and white table cloths in the evening.

Martinique Bistro

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Chef Eric Labouchere continues to impress with his seasonal interpretations of French cuisine at this Uptown haunt. The outdoor dining area is quite romantic, surrounded by giant shrubbery (for privacy) and lit ever so gently.

Feelings Cafe

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This Marigny restaurant is known for their sunlit courtyard at brunch, and when the sun sinks low, an intimate respite from the grind of the neighbhorhood. There's usually live music, or the soothing sound of a fountain to accompany the dining experience.
The balcony seats at Anne Churchill's upscale vegan cuisine also overlooks Feeling's Courtyard.

Commander's Palace

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Nothing beats twenty-five cent martinis at lunchtime, or Tory McPhail's exceptional menu of New Orleans classics like turtle soup, except maybe enjoying it all on Commander's enticing patio.

The Rusty Nail

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The Warehouse District bar has a pretty epic back patio. It's a true urban oasis, so nice that lots of people actually rent it out for private functions.

Cafe Degas

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The entire dining room is basically a covered deck. When the weather is nice, nothing beats brunch or an early dinner at Degas in the open-air, overlooking the chess players in Fortier Park across the street.

Sylvain

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This French Quarter gastropub also features seating in the courtyard, a good option when the weather cools off and you refuse to be indoors.

Parkway Bakery & Tavern

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Po' boys and outdoor seating? Yeah, you right. This Bayou St. John staple has lots of tables outside, most of them covered to protect you from the elements.

Dat Dog

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The Freret Street location of Dat Dog, also known as their 'beer garden,' has tons of picnic tables with umbrellas in their signature primary colors.

Cowbell

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Chef/owner Brack May always has an insanely delicious special up his sleeve, especially on Saturdays when brunch plates like shrimp and grits are known to make an appearance. That's on top of the amazing burgers. There's lots of outdoor seating in the sun or the shade.

The Delachaise

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Drive by this St. Charles favorite in the evenings or late at night, and the front patio is bound to be packed with revelers. Cheese plates, cocktails, and a streetcar view... Who can blame them?

Napolean House

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Sure you can sit inside like Willem Dafoe in a Mercedes commercial, but you should venture out onto the first floor patio to enjoy your Pimm's Cup and a midday feast.

St. James Cheese Company

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Here's a great date idea. Grab your guy/gal, head to St. James, order a cheese plate and a bottle of wine, and enjoy it out front, overlooking Prytania, or on the shady patio. Dogs, btw, are always welcome here.

Bayou Beer Garden

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This Mid City bar is home to a giant covered back deck, and it gets pretty packed for Saints games. It's also great for taking in live music, or just enjoying a beer and a plate of gravy debris fries with friends.

The Velvet Cactus

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This Lakeview Mexican restaurant (on Harrison Ave) has a huge outdoor dining area that usually packs to the max when nice weather rolls into town. The entire restaurant actually has an open-air feeling.

Dante's Kitchen

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This Riverbend brunch and farm-to-table innovator has a great little courtyard that's equally no-frills as it is romantic. And, oh yeah, they've been serving black and gold jam at brunch.

K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen

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Feast on Cajun classics in a 'climate-controlled' French Quarter courtyard, or sit on the balcony for a truly lush experience overlooking Chartres.
The Freret Street's impeccable craft cocktail bar is non-smoking inside, so the smokers do tend to flock to the outside patio. But earlier in the evening, during happy hour, when the sun dips low enough to not sting, this patio is perfect.