About Open-Air Dining
The height of a DC summer isn’t when we’d typically put together a guide to eating alfresco. Nowadays, though, a restaurant’s plant-filled rooftop or charming patio feels as important as its food. If you’re ready to get out, here are 77 favorite ways to dine under the sun, shade, and stars (and stay six feet apart!) right this very moment.
Part of our series of 77 favorite ways to dine under the sun, shade, and stars (and stay six feet apart!).
The Parking-Lot Tasting Menu
At Clarity in downtown Vienna (442 Maple Ave. E.), chef Jonathan Krinn has turned his restaurant’s parking lot into an alfresco dining room, complete with a prix fixe menu and barbecue-and-oyster tent.
The Private Glass House
The Eastern Shore’s Inn at Perry Cabin (308 Watkins Ln., St. Michaels) lets you dine in a tiny greenhouse tricked out with a table for two, a sitting area, and lots of greenery. Bonus: a view of the Chesapeake Bay.
The Urban Cabana
Looking for a little privacy for your pod? Hook Hall (3400 Georgia Ave., NW) in DC’s Park View is renting out nooks with ceiling fans, USB ports, and a bottle of bubbly. Wunder Garten (1101 First St., NE) in NoMa features curtained cabanas with bottle service and burgers. And the Anthem (901 Wharf St., SW), the concert venue at the Wharf, has set up private tents with picnic tables.
The Streetery
Blocks-long stretches in Dupont Circle, Bethesda, and Annapolis have been closed to vehicle traffic and filled with well-spaced outdoor tables. Get your takeout from a local restaurant, then grab a seat.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
