Want to eat out(side)? Here are 30 spots to enjoy food and drink al fresco
One of the best parts about living in our fair city and its environs is that we get to enjoy outdoor living for a significant part of the year. In fact, according to the World Data Center for Meteorology, an agency that is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Sacramento is the sunniest place on earth for four consecutive months each year, June through September.
So it should come as no surprise that we are also home to a very large number of places where we can enjoy food and drink al fresco.
There are scads of places that have at least some outdoor seating, but we’ve curated a list of our favorite places where sitting outside is the main draw. Here’s where you can enjoy a nibble or sip on a sun-soaked patio, in an enchanting courtyard or with an amazing view.
Open patios
A mainstay of capital workers and conventioneers alike, Cafeteria 15L at 1116 15th St. in downtown Sacramento has a large enclosed patio with views of the Capitol Mall. The restaurant serves an extended menu of American fare, including sandwiches, burgers, salads small and large and hearty mains, as well as soft drinks, mocktails and cocktails.
Nestled within the confines of the soon-to-be-renamed Cesar E. Chavez Plaza, Mexican restaurant La Cosecha at 917 9th St. in downtown has outdoor seating along its periphery, and the adjacency to the park makes it feel verdant and vast. La Cosecha serves up classic Mexican fare executed well, right down to the beans and rice.
The Land Park location of Sellands at 915 Broadway serves up a wildly eclectic array of American and international fare, although their Swedish meatballs are legendary. The enclosed patio is a great place to soak up some sun while sipping an artfully arranged Sellands cup or one of their seasonal iced teas.
Shangri-La, at 7960 Winding Way in Fair Oaks, lives up to its name with its tropical-themed outdoors replete with palm trees and cabanas. Misters keep things cool in the summer heat, and fire pits make cool evenings cozy. Diners can choose full table service via reservations, or go for counter service and take your food over to one of the various casual spots such as the fire pits. Shangri-La is launching brunch as of May 17.
A heavy hitter both for its beer and its barbecue, Urban Roots Brewery & Smokehouse at 1322 V St. in Sacramento has two open patios — one in the front, and another in a back courtyard. Urban Roots serves a variety of smoked meats of different American styles, including Texas-style brisket, chicken with Alabama white sauce, pulled pork and more. Its sister restaurants Cerveceria at the Shack, Good Neighbor and Bawk also have outdoor seating.
Covered patios
The newest addition to the downtown dining scene, fire grill-driven Mediterranean restaurant Aiona has taken over the former Esquire Grill space at 1213 K St. In addition to the main dining room, owner Deneb Williams blew out the front patio area by an additional 1,500 square feet for a total of 7,700 square feet. The patio is shaded and glassed in, but with open panels above to allow for airflow.
Touting itself as Sacramento’s most-awarded brewery, Alaro Craft Brewery at 2004 Capitol Ave. has a few tables out front, but the back patio is more expansive and sheltered. Aside from its own selection of craft beers, Alaro serves craft cocktails and European wines, as well as a menu centered on Spanish classics like croquetas, patatas bravas and gambas al ajillo.
Italian-inspired East Sacramento fine dining restaurant Allora at 5215 Folsom Blvd. has an enclosed and covered patio lined with planter boxes for a garden vibe. Allora offers three, four and five-course tasting menus, including a fully realized vegetarian and vegan menu.
Another East Sacramento fine dining destination, Canon at 1719 34th St. has an enclosed patio with panels that shade the area from the afternoon sun, but can be opened once the sun sets. Canon focuses on shareable plates with a farm-to-fork sensibility. Standard dishes are their housemade tater tots with mole, chicken drumsticks and roasted Nantes carrots, with larger plates that feed at least two people.
Oak Park Brewing Co.’s flatiron corner lot at 3514 Broadway is half-covered by an awning, and half open and occasionally covered with sun sails. One of only two Black-owned breweries in Sacramento (the other being Urban Roots), and relatively few in the country, Oak Park Brewing gained fame by celebrating Black history with an “Icon Line” of cans dedicated to significant figures such as Fredrick Douglass and Sojourner Truth.
Charming courtyards
Nestled in Old Sacramento, The Firehouse Restaurant at 1112 Second St. hides a secret tree-filled back courtyard along the alley. Public seatings are Mondays and Tuesdays only, though the space is popular for private events. In the evenings, string lights bring the courtyard to life.
Land Park Puerto Rican restaurant Lola’s Lounge at 2424 16th St. has one of the best-kept secret patios in town; in fact, you have to trundle past the kitchen to get to it. El Jardin de Elda, as they call it, is named after Lola’s grandmother, who is the inspiration for the restaurant and the source of most of its recipes. The space is colorful, playful and surprisingly quiet considering the adjacency to the freeway and Broadway.
Straddling the space between its main dining room at 1215 19th St. and its event space, midtown’s Mulvaney’s B&L has a quaint courtyard that feels like a tiny escape. It’s especially delightful on warm evenings when the lighting gives it a warm glow. Mulvaney’s serves ultra-seasonal American cuisine using locally sourced ingredients.
A midtown classic, Paragary’s at 1401 28th St. has a lush, sheltered back patio with greenery climbing tall trellises. It’s an especially lovely space for brunch, where you can enjoy dishes such as smoked salmon toast, shakshuka or the requisite Benedict. The Italian-inflected dinner menu features housemade pastas and pizzas as well as wood-grilled chicken and steak.
The corner courtyard of Tower Cafe at 1518 Broadway in Land Park is so thoroughly shrouded in the canopy of trees, you can almost forget you are at the intersection of two major roadways. Tower Cafe serves “global comfort food,” including an East African veggie burger, a Malaysian chicken sandwich and a Shanghai noodle salad. It’s a reliable place to take vegetarians.
Rooftops
Clayton Club, at 1122 7th St. in downtown, describes itself as “the tallest rooftop bar in Sacramento.” Located on the roof of the Hyatt Centric hotel, the bar has curated cocktails, and offers an array of bites from sister restaurant 7th Street Standard on the street level of the hotel, including chicken tandoori lollipops and charred rapini flatbread.
Darling Aviary, 712 K St., also in downtown, bills itself as “Sacramento’s premier rooftop bar … with stunning downtown views, eclectic ambiance, and signature cocktails.” The bar hosts a happy hour Monday through Friday from 3 to 7 p.m., as well as brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Yet another downtown rooftop bar, Revival at the Sawyer at 500 J St. offers a beach club-like atmosphere overlooking the DoCo shopping center, pairing craft cocktails with shareable dishes from culinary artisan Chef Sam. The downtown rooftop bar hosts a “Golden Hour” Monday through Friday from 4 to 6 p.m. and all day Sunday.
Aptly named, The Rooftop, above Sacrament Brewing at 1616 J St. in midtown, has been operating since 2021. Aside from beers from Sacrament, The Rooftop has a fairly extensive wine list as well as a full bar with custom and classic cocktails. Fridays and Saturdays the bar hosts local DJs.
The flagship location of Brazilian cafe Tupi Coffee, located at 1901 8th St. in Southside Park, has a rooftop deck where they host live music and listening parties for select albums of the month. Tupi serves coffee drinks, beer and wine, as well as Brazilian-style tapas, such as heart of palm salad and chicken strips or brisket sliders with a Brazilian BBQ sauce.
Beer and cider gardens
Midtown’s Der Biergarten at 2332 K St. serves an array of German, Belgian and craft beers alongside beer-friendly food such as sausages, schnitzels and “Belgies,” savory Belgian waffle sandwiches. Der Biergarten recently announced that it would be opening a second location in Old Sacramento, in a space adjacent to the former Rio City Cafe.
The curvilinear, shingled building at Drake’s The Barn at 985 Riverfront St. in West Sacramento is eye-catching, and the gateway to the sprawling open yard behind. San Leandro-based Drake’s Brewing Company took over operations in 2017, not long after the building was christened, and it serves their signature beers and batched cocktails alongside pizzas, burgers and shareable plates.
The ghost kitchens at Garden at the Line started in 2022 as a direct response to pandemic lockdowns; the management opened the on-premise dining element in 2024. Diners can order from more than 10 restaurant concepts, each completely independent and operated by some of Sacramento’s best restaurateurs, all on the same tab. The Garden, located at 6415 Elvas Ave., offers 71 draft handles between two bars. The selections include craft beer, sake, cider, kombucha and seltzers as well as low- and no-ABV cocktails.
Kathrin’s Biergarten, at 4810 Granite Drive, Suite 1A in Rocklin, brings the German biergarten concept to the Sacramento area. Look for traditional German fare such as sauerkraut balls, schnitzels and buletten (meatball sandwich), and of course plenty of German beer. Nightly specials highlight the diversity of German cuisine.
Nitty’s Cider’s East Sacramento tasting room at 3201 Folsom Blvd. has a rotating food truck to complement its selection of fruit-forward ciders, or you’re encouraged to bring your own food as well. The cidery does a Take Five Thursday, with $5 pints and $10 flights if you want to sample multiple pours. Inside is a gamer’s paradise, with Skee-ball, mini-golf and arcade games.
Waterfront spots
While there’s nothing about the food at the Natomas location of Chevy’s Fresh Mex at 1369 Garden Highway that sets it apart from the others in the chain, the riverfront location certainly does. Perched above the marina, you can take in views of the berths and the river while enjoying your chips and salsa with margaritas.
Immediately beneath, Crawdads on the River at 1375 Garden Highway gets you even closer, resting directly on the river so you can watch the current flow by. The restaurant has a youthful, Instagrammable vibe. Crawdad’s has a sister establishment on Folsom Lake unsurprisingly called Crawdad’s on the Lake, at 9900 Greenback Ln. in Folsom.
Also in the same complex, Roosters on the River at 1379 Garden Highway serves up Mexican-inspired fare, notably including breakfast seven days a week. Sister restaurant to the original Rooster’s in River Park, the riverfront restaurant also serves up the establishment’s famous oversize mimosas.
In the Westin Sacramento Riverfront Hotel, Scott’s Seafood Bar & Grill at 4800 Riverside Blvd. has an open-air patio overlooking the Sacramento River — although for about half the year a tent structure for their event space along the river obscures much of the view. Still, it makes for a pleasant open-air dining experience with a mainly American, seafood-forward menu with a few twists like miso-marinated salmon and macadamia nut crusted halibut.
Close by the airport and very nearly under I-5, Swabbies on the River at 5871 Garden Highway stands out as a live music venue as well as a restaurant. Swabbie’s offers a pub grub-style menu to enjoy while swaying to a rotating roster of tribute bands.
