Los Angles has nailed the year-round open-air dining with exquisite renderings of waterside seats, nature-filled decks, and lovely courtyards. An al fresco patio is a great spot to spend time with friends while enjoying delightful food and beverages amidst sunsets, ocean breezes, string lights, and abounded umbrellas.
These are the spots where you may listen to the surf crashing, see the city lights dazzle from a rooftop, or get lost in the incredible beauty surrounding your table. While the city has ample picturesque places to eat outside, some stand above the rest. Here are a few spots for the best outdoor dining in Los Angeles worth visiting for the views.
Best Outdoor Dining Los Angeles
Nobu Malibu
Nobu Malibu is one of the stunning places situated so close to the beach that you may hear the sounds of children playing while enjoying the restaurant’s minimalist aesthetics, along with delicious sushi and modern Japanese food, complimenting the natural environment of the outdoor dining. Mini tacos are stuffed with creamy uni, and Nobu’s distinctive tiradito—thin slices of whitefish sprinkled with chili—is fantastic.
Alta
Nobody denies enjoying Southern comfort foods like cornbread with honey butter, pimento cheese with crackers and pickled vegetables, and deviled eggs for dining with a lovely back patio under blooming jasmine, adding serenity to the ambiance. It’s the specialty of the ALTA. However, since this is Los Angeles, there is something for everyone. At Alta, the barbecue sandwich is served with brisket, chicken, or smoked tofu of your choice.
Catch
The flower plumes hanging above the open-air archway entry to the rooftop dining space make the West Hollywood location of this seafood restaurant-bar business one of the most famous in town. The main allure here is evening dining when the crowds have thinned, and you can enjoy all of Hollywood’s glittering lights alongside your sushi, sashimi, and grilled octopus.
Ballast point testing room
With two stories overlooking the Long Beach waterfront, Ballast has one of the most beautiful patio vistas in Los Angeles. Make it a family gathering by renting a Waverunner next door and then rolling in for a crowd-pleasing meal of burritos, burgers, and beer.
Butcher’s daughter
Your vegetarian restaurant and the wonderful people-watching place are open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., with contactless payment and plenty of fresh air. Take avocado toast for breakfast. Order a strawberry and fennel salad with pea shoots around lunchtime. And for supper, share the pad Thai with your partner.
Birdie G’s
With a recently extended patio portion, eating at this chic Santa Monica location is a great way to spend the evening. Enjoy award-winning Jeremy Fox’s comfort food with a chef-y twist, such as the relish tray, marinated beets, lamb a la saless, Jeremiah’s seasoned chicken, and steak frites.
Gracias Madre
This vegan Mexican restaurant’s Cali-glam terrace is like a journey to a funky estancia, complete with grilled corn with cotija and guac with pico de gallo, Macadamia ricotta enchiladas, and organic tequila.
Ca Del Sole
For the past 25 years, this lovely Italian restaurant has served classic Neapolitan cooking to Valley residents, and the country-village-style rear terrace is the spot to savor it. Popular dishes include piping-hot fried calamari, roasted beet, goat cheese salad, and pan-seared giant scallops.
Pez Cantina
Who says you have to live near the seaside to enjoy a cool breeze or a delicious seafood meal? Not until you eat a Pacifico beer-battered crab with green papaya and green bean slaw or grilled shrimp and avocado salad on the shaded downtown terrace here.
