Want to feel like you're at a beach party in the middle of the Upper West Side? Head over to Tiki Chick. You can sit on a lawn chair on Amsterdam Ave and drink a piña colada while your neighbors walk by with groceries and dry cleaning. Food options include shrimp cocktail, a few fried chicken sandwiches, and a foot-long hot dog topped with chili—all of which cost exactly $5. There are two outdoor setups on either side of the sidewalk, and both tend to be full on weekends.

We're fans of the Israeli food at Laser Wolf, particularly the kebabs, grilled trout, and bottomless platter of vegetarian mezze. But the view will always be the main reason to eat here. This Philly import is located on top of the Hoxton Hotel in Williamsburg, and all of the seating is on an open-air terrace where you can take in the Manhattan skyline. Even when the rooftop is enclosed during colder weather, it's still impossible to get a reservation. So plan a few weeks in advance.

Grand Banks has opened for the season, which means it's officially summer in New York City. Before it gets packed with interns and tourists, grab a drink and some oysters on this historic wooden boat docked at Pier 25 in Tribeca. Most of the seafood entrees, like a lobster roll and a scallop salad, are on the pricier side (i.e., over $30), but a meal here is a fun, unique experience, and the view of the Hudson is obviously very nice.

The Bonnie’s backyard patio is equipped with picnic tables long enough for six to share piles of rather large shishito peppers or a few slices of the best zucchini bread in Astoria. Stop by for Happy Hour or bottomless brunch, or spend an evening here under the many trees adorned with string lights. This place is really busy on weekends, so make a reservation ahead of time if you plan on bringing a group.

We’ve heard the airy patio at Oxomoco described as “so LA,” but don’t let that deter you. Like the restaurant, the patio is sleek and airy, and there are plant boxes of cacti separating it from the street. Make a reservation for a low or high-top table where you can enjoy a frozen paloma, a spring pea tlayuda, and perhaps a few West Coast vibes.

This quaint restaurant in Dumbo (or, technically, Vinegar Hill) has one of the best outdoor dining setups in the whole city. Order their chicken liver mousse, cast iron chicken, or one of their rotating pastas. If you come for brunch, the must-order item is the sourdough pancake that's cooked in a wood-fired oven. It’s custard-like in the middle and might come with strawberries, apples, or peaches depending on the season. (No matter what it comes with, just get it.)

In terms of outdoor dining, Wayla outshines nearly every other restaurant in the neighborhood. This Lower East Side spot has a beautiful back garden filled with plants, wicker furniture, and twinkling string lights. The next time you want to make it seem as if you know about cool things, bring a group here and share a bunch of Thai food. Order the crispy fried chunks of branzino, the slightly sweet noodles spilling out of a lobster’s head, and the crunchy noodle-wrapped meatballs.

You might not know it, but you want some khachapuri penovani right now. So head to Chama Mama in Chelsea, which has some of the best Georgian food in Manhattan. This place is ideal for group dinners because of their great shareable dishes like beef-and-lamb kebabs wrapped in flatbread and creamy megruli karsho. When the weather's nice, we suggest sitting in their large, covered backyard that's filled with huge potted plants.

Cafe Spaghetti has wonderful, back-to-basics Italian food, but our favorite thing about this Cobble Hill restaurant is the backyard. It has small round tables under yellow and red umbrellas and a mess of charming vines. This outdoor space is the perfect spot to park your imaginary Vespa and eat spaghetti pomodoro that tastes like your everyday spaghetti if it went through an episode of Rustic Rehab on HGTV.

Sugar Freak is a Cajun/Creole restaurant a block off the stretch in Astoria known as Little Egypt, but the big, often-packed space feels like a New Orleans-themed party no matter what day of the week you come. Beads hang from the light fixtures, and the space is usually full of groups sharing seafood boils and jambalaya. They also have a covered front patio where you can people watch and enjoy a bowl of crawfish étouffée.

Silver Apricot in the West Village serves Chinese-American small plates like mini croissant-like scallion puffs with scallion butter, deviled tea eggs, and a grilled cheese with duck cofit. The semi-secret back patio is a great choice for when you want to prove to a date that you still have the whole restaurant-choosing thing down.

Checkered floors, colorful banquettes, and globe lighting are consistent fixtures inside the dining area and outdoors on Bandits’ open-air patio, which deserves some kind of design award. On a scale from dive to fancy cocktail bar, this place sits right in the middle, with beer-and-shot specials and elaborate cocktails on the menu. While you’ll definitely need a reservation to hang out here on weekends, it’s a great place to go with a big group.

From the pastel pink arches to the checkered flooring, eating lunch on Guevara’s patio feels like attending a party in Betsey Johnson’s backyard. This sidewalk seating area is first come, first served, and you can stop by and enjoy some plant-based Cuban dishes like an excellent breakfast torta with trumpet mushroom bacon. Or you can always pick up a new ficus tree at the plant shop inside.

From the excellent mole selection to its brightly-painted sidewalk patio, Ruta Oaxaca takes the maximalist approach at every turn. And that’s exactly why we love this Mexican restaurant in Astoria. The electric pink hut out front has four walls, a periwinkle carpet, huge windows, and a sliding door that stays open at all times. Come enjoy some mole-covered enchiladas and tender short ribs, or grab a table at brunch and take advantage of the 2-for-1 cocktail special.

This outdoor-only Williamsburg spot looks like it could win a garden design competition show. The restaurant is essentially one huge covered patio surrounded by hanging plants, towering trees, and potted plants. Up front, they’ve got a row of picnic tables that work for small groups, plus there’s a quieter corner in the back with a bunch of two-top tables.

The patio structure at Thai Diner is a miniature version of the Nolita spot’s impressive dining room. It’s all-bamboo-everything, from the wallpaper to the chairs, complete with heaters hanging above every table and shiny checkered floors that’ll make you feel the sudden urge to do the lindy hop. Every New Yorker should strive to eat the egg sandwich wrapped in flaky roti at brunch, or the creamy khao soi, fried chicken larb, and cabbage rolls stuffed with ground turkey and mushrooms at dinner.

Claro’s big backyard full of trees, string lights, and aqua-colored patio furniture is always one of our favorite places in the city to eat outside. This Gowanus spot’s fantastic Oaxacan food is currently being offered as a $75 four-course meal, which involves dishes like octopus tostadas and mole negro with seared duck. There's also a $45 three-course brunch. Make a reservation online, and be sure to book a few weeks ahead if you want to reserve a table outside.

The backyard at Lolo’s in Harlem is the perfect place to drink rum punch while eating large quantities of crab, shrimp, or other types of seafood. It feels sort of like dining on an oceanless beach, so head here the next time you want to sit outside and get peel-and-eat shrimp all over a paper bib.

The plant-filled back patio at this Middle Eastern spot in Fort Greene is surrounded by brick walls and murals of people drinking wine, and it’s a wonderful place to have dinner with someone you like. If there are no reservations available in the back, though, know that everything from the sweet whipped ricotta to the creamy hummus with lamb shawarma tastes just as good on their shaded patio out front.