Summer Guide: Where to Get a Meal in the Sun

Outdoor dining is not only an excellent way to savor the fresh air, but to enjoy scenery of all kinds. Here are some of our favorite places for outdoor dining, where the food, the views, and/or the action excel.

Agua Verde You want to rent a kayak from Agua Verde and paddle around Lake Union? Make your reservation a month in advance. But to secure a spot on the patio for fish tacos and pitchers of margaritas, you only have to line up for an hour. 1303 N.E. Boat St., 545-8570, aguaverde.com. U DISTRICT

Anita's Crepes Strolling around the farmers markets with one of Anita's lemon-sugar crepes, marveling over the bunches of local kale and plumcot pyramids, it's hard not to fall in love with Seattle. Ah, the yuppie life. anitascrepes.com. VARIOUS LOCATIONS

Black Bottle Here is how to feel at home on Black Bottle's patio: Do a sweep-through of Design Within Reach beforehand so you can loudly name-check designers. Do wear expensive glasses. And do order the blasted broccoli and one of the flatbreads. 2600 First Ave., 441-1500, blackbottleseattle.com. BELLTOWN

The Broadway Grill Is the point of dining here the food? Good lord, no—stick to their burgers and sandwiches. But the Grill is still the best people-watching spot on Broadway. By "people-watching," we mean marveling at the human spectacle before you. And by "marveling," we mean trying to pick up. 314 Broadway Ave. E., 328-7000. CAPITOL HILL

Cactus Kirkland's version of a Parisian sidewalk cafe, substituting chicken fajitas for steak tartare, a margarita for a demi-pichet of Beaujolais, and clean lakeside air for cigarette smoke. 121 Park Lane, Kirkland, 425-893-9799, cactusrestaurants.com. EASTSIDE

Cafe Presse While the bar fills up with European soccer fans, Cafe Presse's deck packs in the hipsters for $5 omelets, the city's best green salad, and a chance to look around blithely in their best stunner shades. 1117 12th Ave., 709-7674, cafepresseseattle.com. CAPITOL HILL

Cedars Restaurant Seeing as how the Northwest is short on muggy nights, there's also a dearth of verandas. As close as you'll get to a Mississippi evening is to sit on Cedars' second-story porch with a plate of barbecue (aka tandoori chicken) and a mint julep (well, mint chutney will have to do). 4759 Brooklyn Ave. N.E., 527-4000, cedarsseattle.com. U DISTRICT

Coastal Kitchen You have to be lucky or run a savvy campaign to score a table on Coastal Kitchen's hidden back patio, but it'll make up for all the time you spent out front rubbing coffee cups with North Capitol Hill's hoi polloi. 429 15th Ave. E., 322-1145, chowfoods.com/coastal. CAPITOL HILL

Flying Fish What would beat a warm Friday night on Flying Fish's sidewalk seating, sharing a glass of sauvignon blanc and a platter of oysters? If they made the 25-cent oyster happy hour year-round. 2234 First Ave., 728-8595, flyingfishseattle.com. BELLTOWN

Gilbert's Main Street Bagel Deli Rumor has it that many a Bellevue suit sneaks out to Gilbert's sidewalk for crepes and salads, catches a little too much vitamin D, and never returns after lunch. Employers have started calling it the Bermuda Triangle of the Eastside. 10024 Main St., Bellevue, 425-455-5650. EASTSIDE

Grand Central Baking Company On sunny days, eat your sandwich on the cobblestones of Occidental Park, when the susurrating trees lull both office workers and drug addicts into a yogic state of grace. The park feels like a retreat from Pioneer Square itself. 214 First Ave. S., 622-3644, grandcentralbakery.com. PIONEER SQUARE

Greenlake Bar & Grill A burger and a beer always taste better with the knowledge that you'll work part of them off walking around the lake afterward. That patio's so sunny and comfortable, though, that dessert often consists of another round and a nap. 7200 E. Green Lake Dr. N., 729-6179, greenlakebarandgrill.com. GREEN LAKE

Meskel Patios like Meskel's were made for late summer evenings, when you can gather over bottles of Harar for hours, languorously picking at platters of injera, lamb tibbs, and berbere-coated chicken. 2605 E. Cherry St., 860-1724, meskelrestaurant.com. CENTRAL DISTRICT

Pink Door Yes, it has been the most famous patio in Seattle for a couple of decades. But a bowl of pappardelle with Bolognese sauce and a view of the Sound will justify the wait. 1919 Post Alley, 443-3241, thepinkdoor.net. PIKE PLACE MARKET

Place PigallePlace Pigalle is already one of the Market's secret treasures; even lesser known is its tiny patio, which offers a chance to admire the Sound in quiet comfort while you dine on steamed mussels and duck aux cerises. 81 Pike St., 624-1756, placepigalle-seattle.com. PIKE PLACE MARKET

Ponti Grill Just call your view from Ponti's patio, which overlooks the Ship Canal and the bridges of King County, "industrial chic." One of the few outdoor-dining venues in town where a tie doesn't look out of place. And people do love Ponti's way with Northwest fish and crab. 3014 Third Ave. N., 284-3000, pontiseafoodgrill.com. FREMONT

El Puerco Lloron A rickety metal table on El Puerco Lloron's patio, a plate of handmade tortillas filled with carnitas, and a giant glass of horchata are known to incite a fervent prayer: Please don't let the tourists discover the Pike Street Hillclimb. 1501 Western Ave. (on the Hillclimb), 624-0541, elpuercolloron.com. PIKE PLACE MARKET