18 Must-Try Restaurants In Los Angeles With Outdoor Seating

Los Angeles is a city of many delights, one of which is its fantastic gastronomy culture, with eateries ranging from hole-in-the-wall gems to exquisite Michelin-starred dining lining the streets of each area. While the city’s rush and bustle may lead people to feel that outside eating is out of the question, rest assured that there are several excellent restaurants we enjoy that provide both an amazing outdoor setting and, of course, delectable food. Let’s start with our top list of the 18 best restaurants in Los Angeles with outdoor seating!

18 best restaurants in Los Angeles with outdoor seating!
18 best restaurants in Los Angeles with outdoor seating!

The Courtyard At 1 Pico

The Courtyard At 1 Pico
The Courtyard At 1 Pico

Address: 1 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica

Shutters on the Beach, a premium beachfront hotel, transformed its former porte cochère into a dazzling, lantern-lit outdoor eating area—and it is so well-known that it’s remaining that way. Thick linen pillows soften tables with benches so you may dine in the beach winds on a stunning plate of hamachi crudo as artfully prepared as Shutters’ legendary art collection (which can be seen in the lobby on your way to the restroom).

Another noteworthy dish is the spicy blue shrimp on an eggplant tzatziki bed, as well as the barbecued lamb chops with sour yogurt. With a flute of Veuve, appreciate the savory-yet-light summer cuisine, but throw all diet caution to the wind while you’re at the beach and order the renowned caramel popcorn sundae to cap off a fun night out.

Nobu Malibu

Nobu Malibu beach view
Nobu Malibu beach view

Address: 22706 E Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu

Nobu Malibu is one of those places where you can find yourself muttering, “Is this your real life?” The landmark restaurant overlooking Surfrider Beach and Malibu Pier, with a menu prepared by famous chef Nobu Matsuhisa, is so near to the shore that you’ll overhear kids playing on the sand.

It’s simple aesthetic compliments the natural surroundings, and the sushi and modern Japanese meals are as deceptively lovely as the location. Mini tacos are loaded with creamy uni, and Nobu’s distinctive tiradito—thin slices of whitefish sprinkled with chili—is fantastic. Take note: Reservations are required here. 

Spoke Bicycle Cafe

A rest stop for bicycler
A rest stop for bicycler

Address: 3050 N Coolidge Ave

This cafe/bike shop in Frogtown has LA’s nicest daytime patio. Long, shady picnic tables are crowded with pals drinking beer and selling pilot scripts, families fuelling up on sandwiches before cycling down the river, and solitary laptop warriors listening to records and possibly getting some work done.

You are not required to make reservations (since they don’t accept them), and outside of some peak hours on weekends, there will always be an available table or two. Maybe you’re looking for a day date or want to show out-of-towners a side of Los Angeles that they haven’t seen on reality TV. Nothing beats a bright morning or day at Spoke.

Castaway

Castaway has one of L.A.'s most beautiful views
Castaway has one of L.A.’s most beautiful views

Address: 1250 E Harvard Rd, Burbank

Burbank’s terrace is hardly a hidden gem. In fact, it has been one of the San Fernando Valley’s go-to spots for special occasions for decades. But the Castaway that native Angelenos may have visited before prom has taken on a new look: Today’s Castaway has a new menu and a sleeker, fresher décor, but its fantastic, panoramic views of the Valley, Downtown, and beyond remain as stunning as ever. Steaks, whole roast fish, stunning charcuterie boards, and delicious pasta are now the standard, making for the ideal snack, complete supper, or breakfast on that expansive terrace with one of L.A.’s most beautiful views.

True Food Kitchen

A restaurant with an "elevated health food" concept
A restaurant with an “elevated health food” concept

Address: 10250 Santa Monica Blvd Suite 1400

Vegans, celiacs, and vegetarians: Don’t limit yourself to one or two menu options, like you may while dining out with friends. Visit here, where bigwig health expert Dr. Andrew Weil and his crew will serve you organic kale, butterfly pea blossom, and a slew of other meals with feel-good components.

It may appear monotonous and, well, unappealing, but it is quite the contrary. Seasonal offerings, including summer’s heirloom tomato and watermelon soup with turmeric ponzu and cauliflower polenta bowls with asparagus, snow peas, and watermelon radish, are as appealing as the overall “elevated health food” concept.

Violet Bistro

Violet bistro offers you a finer French cuisine
Violet bistro offers you a finer French cuisine

Address: 1121 Glendon Ave

We never imagined we’d say it, but Westwood has the most charming patio in Los Angeles. Violet is a large French restaurant that provides pricey, fussy dishes that are generally good if you enjoy finer French cuisine. The true draw here, though, is the tucked-away rear patio with tons of vegetation, brick walls, and tile rooftops—it appears to be a secret passageway from the village where Beauty and the Beast take place. It’s beautiful during the day, but we love it even more at night as the strings of bistro lights above illuminate the entire space.

Ka’Teen

Perfect place for a date night
Perfect place for a date night

Address: 6516 Selma Ave

Ka’teen channeled scenery Tulum resorts with a reed tunnel entry, a lush outdoor dining area, and a vast, Yucatan-inspired menu by Wes Avila, who also possesses Chinatown’s Angry Egret Dinette. The former head chef of Guerrilla Tacos serves a variety of crowd-pleasing small meals here, but larger format entrees like lamb neck barbacoa and Pescado zarandeado (grilled whole fish) quickly steal the show at Ka’Teen. The attractively furnished room is ideal for a sophisticated girls’ night out, a classy date night, and, well, any night for the regular neighborhood audience. 

El Cid

El Cid, a hidden gem
El Cid, a hidden gem

Address: 4212 Sunset Blvd

El Cid is unknown to many people, which is what makes it so remarkable. Step through the freestanding door frame on Sunset in Silver Lake, down the steep stairs, and you’ll emerge on a patio you won’t want to leave. This is a perfect venue for a quick nightcap and munchies after a date, with two distinct levels, lots of seating, and classic black-and-white movies displayed on the walls.

Inside, there is also a proscenium theater with a dinner-and-a-show package that operates every Saturday and Sunday night, as well as solid-enough Spanish food to keep everyone in your group pleased. After the show, get another cocktail from the bar and move the group outside.

A.O.C.

A.O.C brings a romantic atmosphere
A.O.C. brings a romantic atmosphere

Address: 8700 W 3rd St

At A.O.C.’s Mid-City location, the French countryside meets Napa, and the outdoor terrace combines the finest of both worlds. The West 3rd Street restaurant and wine bar aren’t totally outside, but the inside dining area flows out onto a beautiful open-air environment with a small balcony peeking out over diners and flora creeping up the restaurant’s walls.

On bright days, large umbrellas provide shade, while heat lights provide warmth at night—though the wine also does a fine job at this. Suzanne Goin’s bright small plates and shareable appetizers only add to the romantic atmosphere.

L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele

Address: 1534 N McCadden Pl

This upmarket pizzeria, situated on a peaceful side street a few streets from Hollywood and Highland, appears a world away from the frenetic neighborhood in which it is nestled. While we would come here for the outstanding Neapolitan pizza (the place is known for making pies in Italy since 1870), the amazing back patio is the main reason why we’ll stay all night.

This expansive space has all the characteristics you expect in a beautiful patio, like red brick walls, string lighting, a real fireplace, and plenty of trees to be regarded as a little forest, but it’s the glass window that peeps into the pizza kitchen that elevates it to a whole new level.

The Polo Lounge

The Polo Lounge
The Polo Lounge

Address: 9641 Sunset Blvd, Beverly Hills

This garden restaurant bar of the Beverly Hills Hotel is beautifully palmy and packed with flowers—basically a trip back in time—and one of a handful of exceptional old-school Hollywood venues still in business. Lunch is not as buzzy-profesh the way it once was, but you may still catch a glimpse of a performance around a cocktail hour or supper. You will be the focal point of your own show over a McCarthy Salad (the chopped dish designed for a polo player in the 1940s and offered here ever since), a glass of alcohol, and the tinkling sound of a piano player.

Benny Boy Brewing

Benny Boy Brewing
Benny Boy Brewing

Address: 1821 Daly St

Benny Boy Brewing combines everything stereotypically macho—beers, brews, fire pits, and, of course, the namesake boy—to create a stylish Lincoln Park hangout that sounds like an adult summer getaway. This brewery, cider house, and beer garden are ideal for large groups to assemble, split beer flights, and consider taking an axe-throwing class together. The massive patio is packed with wooden seating, tree stumps, and metal structures, giving it an ideal industrial feel, as though it were auditioning for a West Side Story set piece. In addition, food pop-ups are open most nights.

Idle Hour

A favorite bar-brunch spot in Los Angeles
A favorite bar-brunch spot in Los Angeles

Address: 4824 Vineland Ave

Enjoy not just the crisp evening air but also the glories of Southern California programmatic architecture, which began in the 1940s when company owners built structures in distinctive forms to lure passing drivers to stop. This bar-brunch spot’s façade is designed like a whiskey barrel, inviting motorists to come in and drink during “idle hour.” (In 2010, it was designated a cultural monument.) A fire pit and another example of the design—a dog that smoked a pipe and served as the Bulldog Café until the middle of the 1960s—can be found in the backyard. During the week, from 3 to 7 p.m., a happy hour special of chicken sliders on Hawaiian bread, white-cheddar sloppy Joes, and root beer BBQ wings is available.

Cafe 27

Cafe 27
Cafe 27

Address: 1861 N Topanga Canyon Blvd

The days of Topanga Canyon’s LSD-fueled counter-culture commune are long gone, yet this location is still strange as hell. You will come across crystal shops, open Shakespeare theaters, and works of art that has become local landmarks as you ascend from PCH. It’s a nice day excursion that’s enhanced by lunch at Cafe 27. The almost fully outdoor area is constructed into the slope of a hill, with a multi-level terrace that seems like you’re dining inside your childhood dream treehouse. Instead of snacking on M&Ms and juice boxes, you will refuel with omelets, sandwiches, and some pretty good avocado toast.

Damian

Ideal place for social distancing or any private gathering
Ideal place for social distancing or any private gathering

Address: 2132 E 7th Pl

City of Mexico Enrique Olvera, a Michelin-starred chef, is driving this modern, stylish south-of-the-border café in a renovated warehouse location downtown. The industrial-chic patio combines polished concrete with wooden accents surrounded by an abundance of vegetation, making it ideal for social distancing or any private gathering—not to mention a selfie that appears to be taken in Mexico City.

To complete the appearance, choose the grilled lobster, uni tostada, and tamal de elote with a selection of over 40 agave beverages. And, because we all know that food images look best in natural light, plan to visit their fresh brunch for a breakfast burrito (presented crepe style) with Korean-style crispy fried chicken on brioche.

Mírate

The courtyard is a remarkable point of Mírate
The courtyard is a remarkable point of Mírate

Address: 1712 N Vermont Ave

Mirate’s food can be hit-or-miss, but it does possess one huge advantage: its courtyard. This Mexican labyrinth in Los Feliz appears to be a luxury, multi-story treehouse erected for a billionaire fleeing the IRS in the forest. The huge tree towering through the middle deserves the kind of calm admiration normally reserved for mountain tops or a wonderfully ripe avocado.

This restaurant is certainly lovely, whether you are sitting at one of the lighted tables or in a separate bar space. Stop here for some tacos and some remarkable cocktails, such as a fiery margarita blended with lacto-fermented chorizo.

Ardor

Ardor
Ardor

Address: 9040 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood

The Superba in Venice has long been a good option for chicken-pasta-salad breakfasts and lunches, but the Hollywood version is a must-visit. The food is excellent; customers will be reminded of why the restaurant’s full name is Superba Food + Bread by the vegan breakfasts with eggs and bakery pastries.

Later in the day, there are salads, enormous sandwiches, pasta, and meatier options, the majority of which come with large sides. But what about the space? We would spend every morning on the terrace, nibbling at olives and devouring books with little action if we hadn’t got anything else to do. There are numerous citrus trees and yellow-striped umbrellas to make you think that you are in the Mediterranean.

De Buena Planta

A vegan Mexican restaurant
A vegan Mexican restaurant

Address: 2815 Sunset Blvd

This vegan Mexican restaurant has a site at Silver Lake, which has one of the Eastside’s most verdant outdoor areas. It’s tucked away inside a sizable 5,000-square-foot eatery on Sunset that manages to cram a tiki bar, plant shop, DJ booth/stage, and a ton of bright patio furniture into its small footprint.

With all due respect, this patio seems more like a hybrid of the Jurassic Park set and a Malibu Barbie dream home. Yes, there is space for you and everybody you know. There is greenery everywhere you turn. People are taking shots of rum in the corner.

Bacari Silver Lake

Bacari Silver Lake
Bacari Silver Lake

Address: 3626 Sunset Blvd

Bacari Silver Lake is influenced by Tuscan life, much as the romance/drama with Diane Lane that came out in 2003. There are enormous, rustic tables in all corners of the expansive courtyard, as well as numerous fire pits to keep you comfortable. The courtyard is covered by a dense canopy of trees. In the way that we want our shared backyard might be (we are developing it), it’s farmhouse chic.

You’ll find Italian pizzas and burrata caprese along with lamb kabobs, Oaxacan spaghetti, and shrimp ceviches on the somewhat less narrowly focused menu. Go for brunch—it occurs every weekend and, sure, it’s bottomless—bring a date who would like to see under soft, seductive lighting.

Conclusion

Los Angeles is a culinary haven where dining al fresco turns ordinary meals into special occasions. The city’s diversified culinary scene and pleasant weather make it the perfect place to explore the wide variety of eateries with outside dining. Los Angeles has it all, whether you’re looking for a quiet place to have a leisurely lunch, a fun brunch with friends, or a romantic evening beneath the stars.

 Every outdoor dining place, from hip restaurants on busy boulevards to secret gems tucked away in quiet neighborhoods, contributes its own special touch to the fabric of LA’s culinary culture. So just dive into the foodies’ haven on the next trip you visit this beautiful city. Hope that our list of restaurants in Los Angeles with outdoor seating help you find your favorite!

Above is the list of restaurants in Los Angeles with outdoor seating we suggest you should try when you travel to Los Angeles from Skyspace-LA. Hope you are satisfied with this information.

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