The Citiblog
Rooftops and Gardens Await from Some of NYC’s Premier Dining Destinations
April 11, 2024, 7:55.32 pm ET
Photo: Chez Zou
Chez Zou is the chic cocktail lounge from the team behind Zou Zou’s, the buzzy Eastern Mediterranean restaurant on Manhattan’s west side. Located just a few floors up from the restaurant, Bar Director Joey Smith offers inventive and playful cocktails highlighting flavors inspired by the eastern-Mediterranean region, categorized by Stirred, Shaken, Rums & Coladas, Highballs & Spritzes, and more. The expansive patio boasts comfortable seating and string lights overhead and a dedicated outdoor bar.
Photo: Bar Blondeau/Liz Clayman
Bar Blondeau is a French-style bar in Williamsburg with unobstructed views of the Manhattan skyline. From the team behind Le Crocodile at Wythe Hotel, Bar Blondeau opens their expansive terrace for the season on Saturday, May 18th. All summer long, Bar Blondeau is hosting “Sunset Hour” from 5-7pm, which features $9 wine/beer and $11 cocktails along with small bites.
Photo: Maison Premiere
Maison Premiere is the Williamsburg cocktail bar and restaurant best known for its supreme oysters and unique New Orleans flair. Maison Premiere has grown from humble beginnings to become a major player in both the craft cocktail revival and the bar and restaurant renaissance. This spring, visitors can dine in Maison’s lush backyard garden, which offers seating under the wooden pergola with string lights interwoven with running vines, large hanging ferns, and other vibrant foliage.
Photo: Greywind/Evan Sung
Greywind from James Beard Award-winning Chef Dan Kluger is located on the edge of Hudson Yards offering a seasonally driven, vegetable-forward menu. Enjoy a meal this spring at Greywind’s breezy outdoor dining terrace where you can select from classic and seasonal bites and cocktails organized by primary flavor profile (from “Apple” to “Vegetable” to “Berries” and beyond), alongside artisanal New York spirits, beers and wines.
Photo: Huda
Huda is the new Middle Eastern restaurant and bar that celebrates Levantine culture and cuisine in East Williamsburg. Inspired by owner Gehad Hadidi’s Syrian-American heritage, and his grandmother’s home cooking, the menu incorporates influences from Syria, Lebanon, and beyond. Huda will open their outdoor patio for the summer season on May 1st where they will serve the full menu and cocktail offerings in addition to their regular indoor service.
Photo: Libertine/Evan Sung
Libertine, located in the West Village, is throwing open its French doors and offering drinks and light bites in their streetside dining area, which will house about sixteen tables. Libertine is offering a menu that focuses on cuisine du marché, the greenmarket-guided cooking found in bistros across the French countryside, alongside an entirely all natural French wine list and cocktails made with small batch French spirits. Outdoor dining at Libertine is available for walk-ins only.
NoHo Hospitality, the group behind adored and sought-after New York restaurants such as Locanda Verde, The Dutch, and Lafayette, open their second location of the beloved Bar Primi in the heart of Midtown’s Penn District (349 West 33rd Street, between 8th & 9th Ave). This new opening includes expansive indoor dining and a lush and outdoor dining area hidden away from the bustling streets to enjoy and intimate meal and Italian-inspired cocktails in a warm setting.
The year-round garden at Olmsted, the acclaimed restaurant from chef Greg Baxtrom (also behind Patti Ann’s and 5 Acres), offers a picturesque oasis in Brooklyn’s Prospect Heights. Known for its creative use of seasonal produce, Olmsted sources not only from local farmers but from the garden in their own backyard. Look for things like Kale and Crab Rangoon with sweet and sour sauce, Carrot Crepe with carrot butter, clam and sunflower seeds, and Rutabaga Tagliatelle with black truffle and brown butter. Guests can also make their own S’mores melted over a personal pit of warm coals.
Photo: Peasant
Located in NoLita, Peasant is an Italian restaurant from acclaimed chef and restaurateur Marc Forgione, specializing in handmade pastas, wood-fired dishes, and Italian wines served in a warm and refined setting, and has been an NYC neighborhood favorite for over 20 years. Diners can visit Peasant’s outdoor patio featuring a comprehensive spritz bar of 20 Italy region inspired drinks. The outdoor dining area overlooks the beautiful and intimate Elizabeth Street Garden nightly starting at 5pm.
Serafina Restaurant Group, the restaurant group founded by Vittorio Assaf and Fabio Granato nearly two decades ago. Guests can enjoy spring in the city at Serafina’s extensive outdoor patios found at various locations throughout the city including Serafina Tribeca, Serafina 38th, Serafina Vino e Cucina 110 University Place, Serafina Always (E 61st St), Serafina Broadway (55th St), Serafina (77th St UWS), and Serafina (105th St UWS). Look for handmade pastas and creative Italian wine lists.
Photo: Silver Apricot
Silver Apricot is the New-American-Chinese restaurant in the West Village from the acclaimed team previously behind Little Tong Noodle Shop. Through a Chinese-American-inspired menu of small plates that rotate with the seasons, Silver Apricot tells a story of what it means to be Chinese-American today. Enjoy the full food and beverage menus in their backyard garden patio, open all year round and perfect for any intimate spring date.
Enjoy dining out on the plaza at Zou Zou’s, the lively modern Eastern Mediterranean restaurant located on Manhattan’s West Side. Chef Juliana Latif offers a menu inspired by and celebrating the cuisine and flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean region, bringing in influences from Lebanon, Israel, Turkey, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, among others. The beautiful, jade green interior is complemented by outdoor dining tables just steps from Penn Station and the Pendry Hotel.
Photo: As You Are
As You Are is the all-day bakery, restaurant, and bar re-imaged in partnership with Chef Camille Becerra, located at The Ace Hotel Brooklyn. The menu brings a modern take on American classics, oftentimes utilizing superfoods and offering more vegetable-forward and vegan-friendly dishes. Enjoy the full food and beverage menus in their outdoor patio, opening at the end of April, perfect for people watching.
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