20 Hidden Backyards, Gardens And Patios For Outdoor Dining In NYC

Go to the contentGo to the footerNo thanksSubscribe

🙌Awesome, you're subscribed!

Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!

The best of New York straight to your inbox

We help you navigate a myriad of possibilities. Sign up for our newsletter for the best of the city.

Enter email addressDéjà vu! We already have this email. Try another?

By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.

No thanks

Awesome, you're subscribed!

Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!

The best of New York for free.

Sign up for our email to enjoy New York without spending a thing (as well as some options when you’re feeling flush).

Enter email address

Déjà vu! We already have this email. Try another?

No thanks

By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.

No thanks

Awesome, you're subscribed!

Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!

Love the mag?

Our newsletter hand-delivers the best bits to your inbox. Sign up to unlock our digital magazines and also receive the latest news, events, offers and partner promotions.

Enter email address

Déjà vu! We already have this email. Try another?

No thanks

By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.

Photograph: Courtesy of Pinto Garden17 hidden backyards, gardens and patios for outdoor dining in NYC

Or at least as hidden as they can be in NYC.

Friday February 17 2023ShareCopy LinkFacebookTwitterPinterestEmailWhatsAppWritten by Amber Sutherland-NamakoRestaurant Critic, Food & Drink EditorContributor: Christina IzzoAdvertising

As the sunny days get longer—blessedly adding more rooftop drinking and outdoor dining minutes to each week—space at New York's top al fresco spots can be limited, with entry as competitive as securing a table at the Waverly Inn circa 2008 or Via Carota in, well, any time really.

Short of making a reservation, one way to secure a spot is to patronize places still unknown to your friends and neighbors, unheard of by tourists and unfamiliar to even the most prolific TikTokers. (But note, being that this is neither the surface of the sun nor the bottom of the sea, there are few places that are truly secret.)

Some restaurants and bars, however, do have areas that are more tucked away than the rest. These are your semi-secret gardens, surprising back yards, unexpected patios and cozy joints where you can feel a little hidden away in one of the biggest cities in the world.

Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.

Sign up to our newsletter to enjoy New York without spending a thing (as well as options when you're feeling flush).Enter email addressDéjà vu! We already have this email. Try another?

By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.

🙌Awesome, you're subscribed!

Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!

Hidden outdoor dining spots in NYC

1. Maison Premiere

• Cocktail bars
• Williamsburg
• price 3 of 4
• Recommended

Maison Premiere has been a Brooklyn favorite for more than a decade due to its abundance of absinthe and oysters, elegantly weathered dining room, and, of course, its charming garden. It’s lined with vines and teeming with greenery, natural light streams in by day, and the whole place takes on a twinkling, magical quality in the evening.

Read moreBook online

2. Pinto Garden

• Thai
• West Village

With beachy white brick walls, sculptural floral chandeliers, real-deal blooms, ruffly green leaves and an angled glass ceiling that cozies up the space, Pinto’s covered garden is as pretty as a birthday cake. Its drinks are also especially festive, including the precious popsicle sangria and the petal-topped Tequila Bloom, which practically push dining here into the immersive experience zone. Read moreAdvertising

3. Ladurée Soho

• French
• Soho
• price 2 of 4

A classic of the genre, Ladurée feels like the archetype secret garden among secret gardens. It’s plenty darling inside, but entering into the backyard kicks up all kinds of whimsy. It’s also the only place in town where we’d actually consider shelling out $160 for a macaron tower, but so far we’ve always stuck to their smaller ticket sweet treats.

Read moreOrder online

4. Palma

• Italian
• West Village
• price 2 of 4
• Recommended

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Palma NYC (@palmanyc)

Now in its 23rd year, Palma is double semi-obscured. It’s the kind of place you’d have had to give knowingly-toned directions to in the days before Google maps. It's also darling even to passersby, who might catch a whiff of pappardelle alla bolognese from the sidewalk, and it’s even lovelier with a glass of wine in the verdant backyard that splits the difference between a garden and a patio. This is also, apparently, the restaurant on Cornelia Street where Lady Gaga used to work.

Read moreBook onlineAdvertising

5. Brooklyn Ice House

• Beer bars
• Red Hook
• price 1 of 4

Brooklyn Ice House is dazzling. But it isn’t just the gruff exterior, the dark-at-high-noon interior, the more-cluttered-than-most rows of bottles behind the bar, the worn and sometimes torn oxblood banquettes, or the rather good cheeseburgers that make it one of NYC's best dive bars. Brooklyn Ice House is dazzling because, on your first visit you’ll think you know exactly where you are, and then you’ll step out onto the gravel in its large, bright back yard and into a seemingly totally different venue.

Read more

6. Wayla

• Thai
• Lower East Side
• Recommended

Wayla opened to acclaim in 2019, diners and critics alike fawning over its homestyle Thai menu and chicly styled back patio that felt like a particularly fashionable friend’s coveted private outdoor space. It also has less-secret enclosed curbside booths.

Read moreAdvertising

7. Cathédrale

• French
• East Village
• Recommended

Being that they are the premier destination for clandestine meetings, it’s hard to tell what’s going on behind closed doors at most hotels. Inside the Moxy East Village, down a staircase, barely in view of an open kitchen that turns out general interest menu items, and just off its cavernous bar and dining room, Cathédrale’s terrace is enveloped in greenery beneath a retractable roof.

Read moreBook online

8. French Louie

• French
• Boerum Hill
• price 2 of 4

Busy Atlantic Avenue buzzes outside of French Louie’s twinkly dining room, which leads to a pretty patio in the back. It’s framed by foliage from neighboring lots, string-light lit in the evening and feels both in and apart from the city at once, with a Parisian detour via steak frites, moules, escargots and duck au poivre.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by French Louie (@frenchlouienyc)

Read moreBook onlineAdvertising

9. The Waverly Inn

• American
• West Village
• price 2 of 4

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Wild West Village, NYC (@wildwestvillage)

The atrium-style garden at the Waverly is so secret that it’s finally easy to actually get into the erstwhile hotspot. The formerly impossible-to-book restaurant has matured into a mainstay, and a lovely place to enjoy weekend brunch or dinner amid ivy-covered brick walls and rows of plants overhead.

Read moreBook online

10. Bacchus

• French
• Boerum Hill
• price 1 of 4

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bacchus Bistro & Wine Bar (@bacchusbistrowine)

Without any windows on its east or west walls, this Atlantic Avenue bistro is dimly lit any time of day, but still skews more toward a romantic wine cellar than, say, a scary bat cave. Make your way to the back, however and the light at the end of the tunnel is revealed to be a big, beautiful backyard garden anchored by the Platonic ideal of a leafy tree. Bacchus is so pretty, in fact, that they do a swift wedding business back there, so have a backup plan if your heart is set on dining outdoors in the area.

Read moreBook onlineAdvertising

11. Sweet Afton

• Beer bars
• Astoria
• price 2 of 4
• Recommended

Boldly claiming a name as “The Astoria Local,” Sweet Afton has seats out front on 34th Street, space for a few dozen inside, drinks, elevated bar food and a blue-hued back patio that’s photogenic enough without looking like this is the moment you’ve been waiting for. Its curbside "boardwalk" is also semi-enclosed.

Read more

12. June

• Wine bars
• Carroll Gardens
• price 1 of 4
• Recommended

A Court Street date and meet-cute destination since 2015, June’s lovely little garden seems made for romance. It's natural wine-focused with an abundance of options in the category, plus cocktails and beer. It’s the area’s closest approximation to having your own backyard, sans the crabgrass.

Read moreAdvertising

13. Maracuja

• Williamsburg

This longstanding Grand Street staple's sweet back garden was closed for years until new owners recently tended to it once more. Imbibe among the flora and time it right for happy hour oysters.

Read more

14. Popina

• Italian
• Cobble Hill

This is exactly the kind of place people refer to as “off the beaten path” even though it’s about as close as you can get to a bus stop. The Columbia Waterfront District restaurant’s Italian-adjacent menu includes spaghettini with crab, pappardelle with ham hocks and shishitos, and hot chicken Milanese, all available with wine, beer and cocktails in a large backyard peacefully distanced from the thoroughfare beyond the front door.

Read moreAdvertising

15. Gallow Green

• Cocktail bars
• Chelsea
• price 3 of 4
• Recommended

From the sidewalk, you’d have no reason to know that Gallow Green is overhead. And, once you’re on the colorful, densely lush rooftop, you might, for a moment, forget about the busy streets below. Along with being one of the lushest rooftop bars in the city, Gallow Green will hosts special events throughout the season, including family-friendly Potions & Planting tea parties on select weekends.

Read moreBook online

16. La Grande Boucherie

• French
• Midtown West

Sixth-and-a-half Avenue sounds like a detour you might hear in Wonderland, but it’s actually a passage between 51st and 57th Street on Manhattan’s west side. Around 53rd Street, it is also home to La Grande Boucherie, a French restaurant with strong indoor/outdoor crossover on a little block some people aren’t even aware of.

Read moreBook onlineAdvertising

17. Hortus NYC

• Contemporary Asian
• Flatiron
• price 3 of 4

At $70, Hortus' tasting menu is on the more affordable side of a dining category that typically exceeds $100 and much more. Choose from apps like yellowfin tuna crudo and mains like spicy braised short ribs on its enclosed back terrace.

Read more

Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.

Sign up to our newsletter to enjoy New York without spending a thing (as well as options when you're feeling flush).Enter email addressDéjà vu! We already have this email. Try another?

By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.

🙌Awesome, you're subscribed!

Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!

Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.

Sign up to our newsletter to enjoy New York without spending a thing (as well as options when you're feeling flush).Email addressDéjà vu! We already have this email. Try another?

By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.

🙌Awesome, you're subscribed!

Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!

Recommended

[image][title]

Popular on Time Out

[image]

[category]

[title]

More on Love Local

[image]

[title]

Latest newsMore news

[image]

[category]

[title]

Discover Time Out original video

 

AdvertisingEnter email addressDéjà vu! We already have this email. Try another?

By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.

🙌 Awesome, you're subscribed!

Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!

Back to TopClose

Get us in your inbox

Email addressDéjà vu! We already have this email. Try another?

By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.

🙌 Awesome, you're subscribed!

Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!

instagramtiktokfacebooktwitteryoutube

About us

• Press office
• Investor relations
• Our awards
• Work for Time Out
• Editorial guidelines
• Privacy notice
• Do not sell my information
• Cookie policy
• Accessibility statement
• Terms of use
• Copyright agent
• Modern slavery statement
• Manage cookies

Contact us

• Get Listed
• Claim your listing
• Local Marketing Solutions
• Advertising
• Time Out Market

Time Out products

• Time Out Worldwide
• Guidebook
• Movies
• Music Lists
• Restaurants
• Neighborhood Guides

Site map© 2026 Time Out England Limited and affiliated companies owned by Time Out Group Plc. All rights reserved. Time Out is a registered trademark of Time Out Digital Limited.