New research reveals Americans embrace the alfresco dining experience, rain or shine
SAN FRANCISCO, May 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — For many parts of the country, the arrival of the summer season means it’s time to dine outdoors. In fact, new research from OpenTable shows that over half of Americans (55%) prefer sitting outdoors to dine when the weather is nice and a dedicated third (34%) would rather brave unexpected weather than surrender their open-air table.1
OpenTable’s data also reveals the cities where outdoor dining reigned supreme in the summer months last year (from May 1 – August 31), with Austin, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. seeing the highest share of outdoor dining.2 To help locals and visitors find the perfect venues for outdoor dining, OpenTable is debuting a list of Top Restaurants for Outdoor Dining in each city, culled by analyzing over 10 million diner reviews and demand metrics, including a minimum number of reviews mentioning outdoor dining.2
“For some cooler climates, the outdoor dining season is one of the most anticipated times of the year,” said Cheryl Paniagua, VP of Restaurant Sales & Services at OpenTable. “It’s exciting to see cities like Chicago and Boston rank highly for summer outdoor dining demand, and warmer climates like Austin and Los Angeles, too. We know our restaurant partners love the increased revenue outdoor dining brings, and hope our data-backed lists and curated guides help take the guesswork out for diners.”
OpenTable’s research also found that pet parents increasingly seek inclusive dining options, with more than half of dog owners (54%) having shared a meal with their furry companion when dining out.1 Yet nearly two-thirds (65%) say their biggest challenge is finding pet-welcoming restaurants.1 To help, OpenTable’s data-backed outdoor dining list and curated guides denote which are pet-friendly.
From buzzing rooftops to garden patios, these top-ranked restaurants offer the ultimate summer dining escape. For additional inspiration, explore OpenTable’s summer outdoor dining hub.
The Top Restaurants for Outdoor Dining are (* Pet-Friendly3):
Austin
Boston
Chicago
Los Angeles
New York
San Diego
San Francisco
Washington, D.C.
1 Consumer Research Methodology: An online survey was conducted by Walr among 2,000 US consumers. Minimum quotas have been applied to major cities. Fieldwork took place between Thursday 18th April – Wednesday 23rd April 2025. Data has been collected adhering to MRS (Market Research Society) and ESOMAR guidelines to ensure ethical and accurate data collection.
2 Top List Methodology: OpenTable looked at cities (with a minimum of 200k outdoor seated diners) with the highest share of outdoor dining from May 1-August 31, 2024. OpenTable’s Top Restaurants for Outdoor Dining in the US for 2025 list is generated from over 10,000,000 reviews from verified OpenTable diners and dining metrics from 1st April 2024 – 31st March 2025. Restaurants with a minimum threshold of diner reviews were considered and evaluated by a compilation of unique data points, including diner ratings, the percentage of five star reviews, the number of alerts set, the percentage of reservations made in advance, percentage of capacity and direct searches. Metrics were weighted to comprise an overall score. The qualified restaurants were then filtered by having outdoor dining. The resulting list appears A-Z, not in ranked order.
3 OpenTable Dining Data: * indicates that the restaurant is dog-friendly as of May 2025. This is subject to change and is at the discretion of the restaurant as to where pets are allowed.
About OpenTable
OpenTable, a global leader in restaurant tech and part of Booking Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG), helps more than 60,000 restaurants worldwide fill 1.8 billion seats a year. OpenTable’s world-class technology empowers restaurants to focus on what matters most – their team, their guests, and their bottom line – while enabling diners to discover and book the perfect restaurant for every occasion.
SOURCE OpenTable, Inc.
