Five Great ... Restaurants and Pubs With Outdoor Seating
Tara Burghart Monday, June 6, 2011 at 1:30PM 
Photo by adventurejournalist on Flickr.Last week, I spent a beautiful evening outside with a close girlfriend, catching up over dinner and drinks. We were seated in the charming, fenced patio area at Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant in the Arboretum shopping complex in South Barrington. That experience made me think about how, when the weather is right, I love dining outside.
But although that evening inspired the idea for a “Five Great … “ list, I was a bit stumped to come up with five suburban restaurants, bars or pubs with good outdoor seating areas, and the few I did think of were heavily concentrated in the Tri-Cities area.
So for the first time ever, we have a fill-in-the-blank “Five Great … “ list So can you help me fill in the following blank?
“When I want to dine outside, or just a drink or dessert with friends, one place I like to head to is __________.”
Reader Comments (11)
Daddyo's diner in batavia
Porter's Pub in Bowes Creek Country Club in Elgin has outdoor seating. Plus an amazing view of the golf course to enjoy while you eat.
Turf Room in North Aurora, Chef Amaury's Epicurean Affair in Aurora or Ballydoyle's in Aurora.
Since I'm a downtown gal, it's Chef Amaury at 33 West or River's Edge Cafe -- there is also Ballydoyle Aurora, but their menu doesn't always suit us vegetarians. We had DAAM on the deck last week at 33 West and it was fabulous!
Niko's Lodge in Wasco! Just discovered this little gem-they have great food, nice outdoor dining, and you can roast s'mores over their fire pits after you eat!
We love Harry's in downtown Arlington Heights, it's a great pub with great food and awesome people. It's very casual and kinda feels like home.
In Sycamore it's got to be PJ's Courthouse Tavern-Grille.
What great suggestions! These are all going on my list for this summer. In fact, I might not eat a meal inside a restaurant all summer long! One that instantly sprung to mind for me was the Filling Station in St. Charles, on the corner of Main Street and Third Street. It has a large walled courtyard and delicious pub grub.
I just tried the Tap Room Grill in Oswego near the river. Not a huge outdoor patio, but it is really nice and the food is great. My husband loved the unusual tap beer menu.
Meson sabika in Naperville. Huge, gorgeous outdoor patio & great food & sangrias.
Adrienne
One of our favorites is Gratto in downtown Geneva on Third St. - great tapas-style food and very relaxing atmosphere!