The best outdoor dining restaurants in Raleigh and Durham

Now that spring is upon us, we’re ditching the heat lamps and fully embracing alfresco dining.

• Here are some of our outdoor dining restaurants.

Raleigh

• Standard beer + food: One of Raleigh’s most consistent hangouts, offering its own signature beers and locally sourced food.
• Stanbury: A low-key neighborhood spot with no reservations and a frequently changing menu of delicious small plates.
• Whiskey Cooking: Its dining area facing Nash Square might be the most prominent patio in all of downtown Raleigh. It also serves some of the best cocktails in town.
• Wye Hill Kitchen & Brewing: The panoramic views of the city center from Wye Hill Lookout on Boylan Bridge are the best in the city. But the food is good enough to distract you from the skyline.

Durham

• Engine: With one of the largest patios in Durham’s Central Park District, Motorco is one of the city’s most popular music venues. The on-site bar, Parts & Labor, offers a great selection of food, including a rare menu item for the area: poutine.
• Surf Club: A dive bar with an incredible beer list and occasionally loud DJ sets, the Surf Club’s large patio includes bocce courts, an outdoor bar, and dozens of picnic tables.
• Our: The bamboo garden of this popular Korean restaurant serves as an oasis near the onslaught of traffic on US 15-501.
• google: The cafe patio is one of the most popular entrances for a weekend lunch and transforms into a delightfully cozy biergarten at night. It remains one of the few places to find German pastry and cuisine.

Cary

• Bond Brothers Beer Co.: Not only does Bond Brothers make some of the best beers in the region, but its downtown location also has the busiest outdoor space in Cary.
• Mayton Inn: The downtown boutique hotel’s Peck & Plume restaurant spills out onto a spacious terrace. It serves excellent cocktails and a great view of the future Downtown Cary Park.

• Superica: A new entrant to Cary’s dining scene, the Patio Tex-Mex restaurant puts you right in the middle of the city’s new Fenton shopping district.

Chapel Hill/Carrboro

• Carbide: Many would argue that these are the best burritos in the Triangle and pair perfectly with a cold drink on the restaurant’s intimate patio.
• Weaver Street Market: The organic grocer’s front lawn has essentially become Carrboro’s main square, where neighbors mingle and occasionally do yoga or hula hoop. It’s a great place to have lunch and people watch.
• Caffe Driade: Nestled in the woods near Bolin Creek, Caffe Driade is one of the Triangle’s best places to study or daydream over a cup of coffee.