The 50 Best Restaurants for Outdoor Dining in Los Angeles

• Neighborhood: Santa Monica
• Address: 1 Pico Blvd.; 310-587-1717
• Price Indicators: $$$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/no

In a creative pandemic-pivot, luxury beachfront hotel Shutters on the Beach turned its former porte cochère into a sparkling, lantern-lit outdoor dining area—and it has been so popular it’s staying that way. Tables with benches are softened by thick linen pillows so you can dine in the ocean breezes on a gorgeous plate of hamachi crudo that's as artfully composed as Shutters' famed art collection (which you'll see in the lobby on the way to the loo). Spicy blue prawns on a bed of eggplant tzatziki are another standout dish, as are the grilled lamb chops served with sour yogurt. Enjoy the savory-yet-light summer menu with a flute of Veuve, but toss all diet caution to the seaside winds and order the famed caramel popcorn sundae to celebrate an evening out.

• Neighborhood: Santa Monica
• Address: 1147 Third St.; 310-451-0843
• Price Indicators: $$$
• Delivery/Takeout: yno/no

This OG power-patio spot has been a permanent fixture in Santa Monica for over 40 years. The leafy interior patio (where now-famous chefs such as Nancy Silverton, Sang Yoon and Jonathan Waxman cut their chops) is the place to sit while dining on the resto's famous California farmer’s market-driven cuisine. You can always count on a warm greeting from owner Michael McCarty and don’t miss the local art collection through-out the two-story space curated by his artist wife Kim McCarty.

• Neighborhood: West Adams
• Address: 5359 West Adams Blvd.; 323-571-4999
• Price Indicators: $$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/no

A sweet back patio to dine under blossoming jasmine is a wonderful way to eat Southern comfort food like cornbread with honey butter, pimento cheese with crackers and pickled veggies and deviled eggs. But since this is LA, there's something for everyone. Case in point: The barbecue sandwich is made with your choice of brisket, chicken or smoked tofu.

• Neighborhood: West Hollywood
• Address: 8715 Melrose Ave.; 323-347-6060
• Price Indicators: $$$
• Delivery/Takeout: yes/yes

The West Hollywood iteration of this chain of seafood restaurant-bars is among the most Instagrammed places in town, thanks to the flower plumes hanging over the open-air archway entrance to the rooftop dining area. But the real draw here is weeknight dining, when the crowds have thinned and you have all the twinkling lights of Hollywood to go with your sushi, sashimi and grilled octopus.

• Neighborhood: Long Beach
• Address: 110 N. Marina Dr.; 562-296-4470
• Price Indicators: $$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/no

Ballast offers one of most gorgeous patio views in Los Angeles with two stories overlooking the Long Beach marina. Turn it into a family event by renting a Waverunner next door at London Boat rentals then rolling in for crowd-pleasing lunch of burritos, burgers and beer.

• Neighborhood: Santa Monica
• Address: 2421 Michigan Ave.; 310-310-3616
• Price Indicators: $$
• Delivery/Takeout: yes/yes

A newly expanded patio section makes dining at this hip Santa Monica spot the ideal way to while away the evening. Enjoy comfort food with a chef-y spin from award-winning Jeremy Fox including the relish tray, “everything” marinated beets, lamb a la saless, Jeremiah’s spiced chicken and steak frites.

• Neighborhood: Malibu
• Address: 22706 Pacific Coast Hwy.; 310-317-9140
• Price Indicators: $$$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/yes

Sure, it's pricey, but for a special occasion, it’s the spot to splurge. Not only does this chic eatery have a crazy-gorgeous setting (a minimalist deck sitting wide on Carbon Beach) but it also boasts beautifully presented and well-executed Pan-Asian food. Don’t miss the yellowtail sashimi with jalapeño and chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s famous black cod with miso. It's celeb-studded (hi, Taylor and Travis), and this seaside dining room’s website crows that it’s one of the most Instagrammed restaurants in the world, so take a picture.

• Neighborhood: Santa Monica
• Address: 395 Santa Monica Pl.; 310-593-8300
• Price Indicators: $$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/yes

Vegans, celiac sufferers, vegetarians: Don’t settle for one or two menu selections like you usually do when dining out with friends. Come here, where bigwig health guru Dr. Andrew Weil and his team will feed you organic kale, butterfly pea flower and a bunch of other dishes with ingredients designed to make you feel great. It might sound tedious and, well, un-yummy, but it’s quite the opposite. The seasonal menu items—such as summer’s heirloom tomato and watermelon soup with turmeric ponzu, and cauliflower polenta bowls with asparagus, snow peas and watermelon radish—are as appetizing as the whole “elevated health food” concept is Californian.

• Neighborhood: Beverly Hills
• Address: 176 N. Canon Dr.; 310-385-0880
• Price Indicators: $$$
• Delivery/Takeout: yes/yes

Even after all these years (the first Spago opened in 1982), chef Wolfgang Puck’s Beverly Hills fine-dining establishment still packs in the celebs, and on any random night you can see them hobnobbing as they walk through the cozy patio anchored by a large stainless-steel outdoor fireplace. Budget be damned, start your meal with caviar accompanied by lemon crème fraîche “snow” and order the summer truffles to be shaved over your handmade agnolotti.

• Neighborhood: Toluca Lake
• Address: 4100 Cahuenga Blvd.; 818-985-4669
• Price Indicators: $$$
• Delivery/Takeout: yes/yes

This charming Italian restaurant has been serving traditional Neapolitan fare to Valley residents for 25 years, and the country-village-style back patio is the place to experience it. Piping-hot fried calamari, roasted beet and goat cheese salad, and pan-seared jumbo scallops are among the favorites here.

• Neighborhood: West Hollywood
• Address: 8700 W. Third St.; 310-859-9859
• Price Indicators: $$$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/yes

Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne’s wine-centric West Hollywood restaurant opened with a then-groundbreaking concept: Tailor a small-plates menu around a carefully curated selection of wines by the glass. That was back in 2002, and since then the restaurant has expanded to a new location on West Third that’s the rarest of finds, a see-and-be-seen lunch spot where the well-heeled and beautiful crowd is happily eating meals like the farmer’s lunch (roasted veg and chickpea puree and toast) and blistered tomato, Meyer lemon and olive focaccia. Cheers to the dozens of wines by the glass, and be sure to check out their new sister restaurant in Brentwood.

• Neighborhood: Venice
• Address: 220 Rose Ave.; 310-399-0711
• Price Indicators: $$$
• Delivery/Takeout: yes/yes

After beloved West Side chef Jason Neroni basically reinvented Santa Monica dining with Superba, he took on making over a neighborhood institution, Venice’s Rose Café. The poky diner was reinvented as a sprawling multi-use complex that includes a place to get your coffee and muffin in the morning, a front patio to watch the crowds go by as you eat lunch, and for a sexy date night, hipster-style, a back garden area where you can’t go wrong with a dozen oysters and the morel mushroom tart. And now there's even more outdoor area thanks to management turning the parking lot into another outdoor patio to accommodate more tables.

• Neighborhood: Downtown LA
• Address: 401 S. Grand Ave.; 213-258-2280
• Price Indicators: $$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/no

Who says you need to be near the beach to enjoy a brisk breeze or a fantastic seafood meal? Not you, after you sit on the shady downtown patio here, enjoying a Pacifico beer–battered crab with green papaya and green bean slaw or grilled shrimp and avocado salad.

• Neighborhood: Malibu
• Address: 23000 Pacific Coast Hwy.; 310-456-8850
• Price Indicators: $$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/yes

Go for a long walk on the beach and then roll in here for breakfast (served on weekends only). The green-eggs-and-ham skillet with Gruyère, chorizo and green harissa, along with a mimosa and the sound of the gulls and the waves, is the feel-good Xanax replacement your busy schedule needs.

• Neighborhood: Beverly Hills
• Address: 9641 Sunset Blvd.; 310-887-2777
• Price Indicators: $$$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/no

One of a handful of special old-school Hollywood places still in operation, this garden restaurant-bar of the Beverly Hills Hotel is all palmy and filled with flowers—and basically a trip back to the past. Lunch isn’t as buzzy-profesh as it once was, but you can still catch sidelong glances of performers during cocktail hour and at dinner. Over a McCarthy Salad (the chopped affair created for a polo player in the ’40s and served here ever since), a glass of wine and the tinkling of a piano player, you’ll be the star of your own show.

• Neighborhood: Venice
• Address: 320 Sunset Ave.; 310-314-0320
• Price Indicators: $$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/yes

This no-reservations Venice spot started as a bakery for the Abbot Kinney anchor fine-dining resto Gjelina, but it has since evolved into a deli-bakery-café-market hybrid—basically, your all-day hang. There’s a patio with roll-back canvas awnings where you can eat your banh mi Americano or porchetta melt from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Mix up your beverage order with a seasonal shrub; like everything here, it’s sourced from five different local farmers’ markets.

• Neighborhood: Downtown LA
• Address: 416 W. Eighth St.; 213-612-0021
• Price Indicators: $$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/no

On top of the Freehand Hotel in DTLA, this poolside bar with small bites has a less corporate, more festive vibe than many places where there’s a premium on communicating “Look at me, I’m on a roof.” Here, the beach-shack bar setup and the oilcloth tablecloths make you feel like you’re atop someone’s Waikiki high-rise, not next to a hotel pool. Tuna tostadas and fried chicken with yuzu kosho are menu standouts, as is the daily punch your server will tell you all about.

• Neighborhood: North Hollywood
• Address: 4824 Vineland Ave.; 818-980-5604
• Price Indicators: $
• Delivery/Takeout: no/yes

Revel in not only the cool night air but also the glories of SoCal programmatic architecture, which was born in the ’40s as business owners built structures in recognizable shapes designed to entice passing drivers into stopping. The front of this bar-brunch spot is shaped like a whiskey barrel, for motorists to stop in and drink during an “idle hour.” (It was declared a cultural monument in 2010.) Around back, there’s a fire pit and another example of the style—a pipe-smoking dog that served as the Bulldog Café until the mid-’60s. Wait out rush hour from 3 to 7 p.m. on weekdays with a happy hour menu of chicken sliders on Hawaiian bread, white-cheddar sloppy Joes and root beer barbecue wings.

• Neighborhood: West Hollywood
• Address: 6500 Selma Ave; 323-785-6669
• Price Indicators: $$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/no

Order beer-infused shrimp or an Impossible burger atop the Mama Shelter hotel. Or keep it alcohol-focused, and wash an order of spiced fries down with one of a handful of Moscow Mule-inspired cocktails in which ginger beer is paired with everything from passion fruit to Jameson. Whichever one you choose, you can enjoy this outdoor spot until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, and no reservations are required.

• Neighborhood: Old Town Pasadena
• Address: 64 West Union St.; 626-564-4200
• Price Indicators: $$$
• Delivery/Takeout: yes/yes

On a second floor overlooking a square in Old Town Pasadena, this restaurant has been a stalwart for 25 years, turning out dependable classic Italian fare on tables dressed in classic white cloth. Mezze like tzatziki and spanakopita followed by a seafood risotto or ravioli. Shopping the cobblestone streets in these parts? Treat yourself to a leisurely lunch or dinner after a day's labor.

• Neighborhood: West Hollywood
• Address: 631 N Robertson Blvd.; 310-734-7764
• Price Indicators: $$$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/no

Soulmate is a Spanish haven on Robertson Blvd. with a plant wall cascading down into an entire alfresco main dining room. Order pans of seafood paella, chicken croquettes and entrée sized fried eggplant. Be sure to sip the rainbow layered “Weekend in Palm Springs” cocktail with vodka and passionfruit by ‘startender’ Naomi Schimek formerly of The Spare Room at Hollywood Roosevelt.

• Neighborhood: Arts District
• Address: 907 E. 3rd St., Los Angeles, 323-849-0480
• Price Indicators: $$$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/no

Manuela in the Arts District has a lovely extended garden patio in the Hauser & Wirth complex for weekend brunch or mid-week lunch. Chef Kris Tominaga uses seasonal ingredients with a Southern-spin that explore ‘farm to artist’ in dishes such as shrimp and rice grits with Hen in the Woods mushrooms, or blistered snap peas with black quinoa, sesame date butter and feta. And, don’t forget you are in the middle of an art gallery and adjacent bookstore so it’s OK to linger.

• Neighborhood: Pasadena
• Address: 40 W. Green St.; 626-389-3839
• Price Indicators: $$
• Delivery/Takeout: yes/yes

This unique spot in Old Town Pasadena is a front-facing cheese and wine shop but also an excellent bar and restaurant with a historic brick laden back patio for grazing on cheese boards, fried cheese curds, pasta topped with burrata and some of the best soft-serve ice-cream in town. If you are lactose intolerant, not to worry, there are plenty of non-fromage options such as charcuterie, salads and the comforting roast chicken on a bed of wild rice pilaf and veggies.

• Neighborhood: Downtown LA
• Address: 114 E. Second St.; 213-788-1191
• Price Indicators: $$$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/no

What started as a wedding and special event space (and they still have plenty of those going on) in the back garden of Chef Neal Fraser’s Redbird-Vibiana space, has become so popular that it’s now a permanent dining area for brunch or dinner (when it’s not booked). Dig into everything from wild boar pasta to a porterhouse for two amid the bucolic setting which feels like you’re in Europe, not downtown Los Angeles.

• Neighborhood: Los Feliz
• Address: 1730 N. Western Ave.; 323-672-8990
• Price Indicators: $$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/no

This boutique hotel off the beaten path in Loz Feliz actually has three different white-washed patios for dining and all of them will make you feel like you’re ensconced in a private Mediterranean villa complete with 100 olive trees in terracotta pots. Add to the escapism with a whole roasted branzino or lemon fettucine, where can even drizzle a tiny tableside bottle of olive oil made from the owners’ French family farm during lunch, brunch or dinner.

• Neighborhood: West Hollywood
• Address: 9040 W. Sunset Blvd.; 424-310-1572
• Price Indicators: $$$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/no

This romantic restaurant is so enshrouded in greenery that it’s almost hard to tell where the outdoor space begins and ends. In keeping with the verdant decor theme, the menu showcases veggie-forward and ‘flexitarian’ dishes from Michelin-star chef John Fraser who was mentored by chef Thomas Keller at The French Laundry in Napa. Here you will find light-as-a-feather milk bread encrusted with beefsteak tomatoes, arugula farrow risotto and cauliflower caccio e pepe. Cocktails range in color codes from a “clear” garden vodka to an “orange” blanco tequila with carrot juice—it’s so LA.

• Neighborhood: Silver Lake
• Address: 3626 Sunset Blvd.; 323-928-2098
• Price Indicators: $$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/no

One of the most beloved and romantic patio escapes right off Sunset Boulevard for decades was Cliff’s Edge. Thanks to Mediterranean-themed mini-chain Bacari, they are back in business serving plenty of the brand’s popular cicchetti appetizers and lamb stuffed eggplant under twinkling lights and clinking glasses of Prosecco rosé.

• Neighborhood: West Hollywood
• Address: 8715 Beverly Blvd.; 424-431-6717
• Price Indicators: $$$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/no

A sexy French patio that's open to the stars where you dine on a Japanese-accented tasting menu by candlelight? Sounds like the makings of a marriage proposal or otherwise elevated celebration, thanks to El Bullí-trained chef Dani Chavez-Bello. Be sure to stipulate Le Patio & Le Jardin when reserving, to make sure you get the full WeHo experience.

• Neighborhood: Downtown LA
• Address: 1000 S. Santa Fe Ave.; 213-205-1000
• Price Indicators: $$$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/no

This is a first: the revamped ground-floor Mediterranean garden patio restaurant at members-only Soho Warehouse in the Arts District is also open to the public. And it’s like you’ve taken a vacation to Greece or Turkey with mezze platters, grilled octopus, chicken kebabs and Ouzo cocktails.

• Neighborhood: West Hollywood
• Address: 189 The Grove Dr.; 323-874-9596
• Price Indicators: $$$
• Delivery/Takeout: yes/yes

The latest must-see Mexico import landed at Rick Caruso’s The Grove and it’s a two-story beauty. The ground floor holds a lively taqueria with an ample long bar and plenty of outdoor space for a taco trio (the rib eye with cilantro is a stand out) or queso ‘chicharrones’ and 100s of agave spirit bottles. Upstairs screams date night with a more formal setting and custom brand tequila flights.

• Neighborhood: Echo Park
• Address: 1542 Sunset Blvd.; 213-266-8006
• Price Indicators: $
• Delivery/Takeout: no/no

This feels like you rolled up to a particularly good house party, since this Echo Park favorite is basically a casual taco grill and cocktail bar where you grab your drink and tacos up front, then settle in around the back patio to enjoy the evening—open 'til 2 a.m., every day of the week. No reservations taken—that would ruin the house party vibe, anyway.

• Neighborhood: Beverly Hills
• Address: 225 N. Canon Dr.; 310-860-7886
• Price Indicators: $$$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/no

This British-owned hotel has brought a quintessential English tea service to its Terrace restaurant overlooking Beverly Gardens Park where you can extend your pinky with the famous Claridge’s house tea blend from London and loads of tiny sandwiches and pastries. If you linger into the dinner hour, order whole grilled branzino with heirloom tomatoes and all of the pasta options—just plan on starting your diet tomorrow.

• Neighborhood: Beverly Hills
• Address: 9960 Santa Monica Blvd.; 310-405-0155
• Price Indicators: $$$
• Delivery/Takeout: yes/yes

For delicious Italian fare inspired by the Amalfi Coast, and excellent cocktails and service, the newly revamped back patio at this 90210-staple is the place to be. Watch old black and white Italian movies while you swirl plates of the house spaghetti alla Nerano and sip negronis. Ah, those perfect summer nights.

• Neighborhood: Beverly Hills
• Address: 453 N. Canon Dr.; 310-651-8553
• Price Indicators: $$$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/yes

This Spanish import from Madrid and Ibiza has a front patio for people watching on buzzy Canon Drive in the heart of Beverly Hills, and boasts an even larger back patio for lunch and brunch with open faced steak and Manchego sandwiches drizzled in chimichurri or the jamon Iberico and egg —don’t forget to order a side of potatoes bravas or the bottomless sangria. They also have live entertainment in the main dining room during dinner that ranges from music to dancers.

• Neighborhood: Silver Lake
• Address: 2815 W. Sunset Blvd.; 310-426-9023
• Price Indicators: $$
• Delivery/Takeout: yes/yes

If you didn’t know you were on Sunset Blvd., you might mistake this festive patio for Tulum, Mexico. Dig into vegan chorizo tacos that are so tasty you might never go back to the real thing. The cocktail game is also strong with mezcal variations—and there is even a tucked-away speakeasy-style bar you just might notice and slip into on your way to the powder room.

• Neighborhood: Lincoln Heights
• Address: 2118 N. Broadway; 323-686-4133
• Price Indicators: $$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/yes

If you have your heart set on the succulent Texas-Cali brisket or pork verde sausages at this popular BBQ spot, go early, because it's a no-reservations situation. When you do get your tray of meats, smoked turkey and sides, grab a beer and head out past the Wagner-Junker murals to the side patio with picnic tables, kick back and relax.

• Neighborhood: Pacific Palisades
• Address: 1038 N. Swarthmore Ave.; 424-238-5870
• Price Indicators: $$$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/no

The westside now has an outpost of beloved Angelini at the Palisades Village outdoor lifestyle mall. This small street-facing patio is buzzing with well-heeled ladies who lunch on warm octopus salad or grilled Mediterranean branzino filet. For dinner, start with a build-your-own Spanish gin & tonic before ordering the iconic lasagna verde and Italian bread pudding.

• Neighborhood: West Hollywood
• Address: 7511 Santa Monica Blvd.; 562-841-4688
• Price Indicators: $$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/no

Tucked behind the well-respected Las Perlas bar (known for its hefty selection of small-batch agave spirits), follow the neon taco sign pointing to a colorful, small patio where you can order guacamole with chicharron, shrimp and potato taquitos and a trio of cochinita pibil (pork shoulder) tacos.

• Neighborhood: West Hollywood
• Address: 8490 Sunset Blvd.; 310-859-4903
• Price Indicators: $$$
• Delivery/Takeout: no/no

This family-owned and celebrity favorite spot from Beverly Boulevard (and a temporary stint in 90210) moved to 1 Hotel West Hollywood. Italian comfort food is the name of the game here with mouthwatering dishes like scampi, lobster spaghetti and veal Milanese on the menu, along with a lovely city view from the patio. This calls for a negroni or two.

• Neighborhood: Hollywood
• Address: 960 N. LaBrea Blvd.; 213-319-7850
• Price Indicators: $$$
• Delivery/Takeout: yes/no

Award-winning chef Michael Mina is back in LA with an ode to healthy-comfort cooking—yes, it’s a thing. And you’ll find it on the rooftop of the new HEIMAT five-story wellness concept building on LaBrea designed by Martin Brudnizki. The menu speaks to diets like keto, plant-based, anti-inflammatory and brain-boosting which is perfect for Angelenos. Start with trio of humus dips or the caviar service (Mina has his own bubbly label too) with dill pickle potato chips and an addictive sour cream and onion mousseline dip. Follow up with pasta, duck, steak or seafood—all options will ensure you will feel satisfied when you leave but not bloated. Hurrah!