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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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.