The Best Outdoor Bars in New York for Summer

The outdoor space behind the Littlefield venue in Gowanus operates as a garden bar on summer evenings when there is no event in the main room. The bar is simple — craft beer on draft, cocktails from a limited list, natural wine — but the space itself is one of the more atmospheric outdoor settings in Brooklyn: string lights, old wooden furniture, and a crowd that mixes neighbourhood regulars with music venue people. Check the Littlefield events calendar to identify the non-event evenings when the garden is accessible without a ticket.

Order: A draft craft beer of whatever is freshest — they rotate the taps regularly and the staff know what is good

The outdoor terrace bar of the St. Ann's Warehouse arts venue in DUMBO, open to non-ticket holders on summer evenings when weather permits. The position — right on the water with a direct view of the Manhattan Bridge and a partial view of the Brooklyn Bridge — is exceptional, and the bar programme has been improved over recent seasons. The crowd mixes arts venue regulars with neighbourhood residents who have figured out that this is one of the best waterfront spots in the borough. Arrive before 7pm for a seat.

Order: The DUMBO Spritz — local vermouth, tonic, lemon, rosemary sprig, served in a wine glass

A bar with a large backyard garden that functions as an outdoor bar from late spring through early fall. The drinks are unpretentious and well-priced, the space is genuinely relaxed, and the crowd that fills it on warm evenings represents one of the more genuine neighbourhood bar cultures in Brooklyn. No table service — order at the window and find a seat. Gets busy from 7pm on Fridays and Saturdays; weeknights are considerably calmer. One of the editors has been going here for six years. The standard has not dropped.

Order: A cold Brooklyn Lager or the house Margarita — both are well-made and fairly priced

The garden behind Employees Only, open from early summer through September, is one of the better outdoor cocktail bar experiences in Manhattan. The quality of the drinks programme carries over from the interior — which is among the best in New York — and the garden setting on Hudson Street on a warm evening is exactly the kind of experience that makes the West Village worth defending as a neighbourhood. Gets busy after 9pm; arrive earlier for reliable seating and a less chaotic ordering situation.

Order: The Provencal — gin, dry vermouth, green chartreuse, cucumber, served long over ice in the garden

A bar on a permanently moored lightship on the Hudson River at Chelsea Piers — one of the most unusual outdoor bar settings in New York and consistently one of the best value options for a waterfront drink. The bar serves a functional but decent range of cocktails, craft beer, and wine, and the nautical setting combined with the Hudson River view makes up for any shortcomings in the programme. Extremely popular on summer weekend afternoons; the weekday evening window from 5pm to 7pm is the sweet spot for atmosphere without the full weekend crowds.

Order: A cold beer on the deck watching the Hudson — the Frying Pan is a setting experience first

The terrace bar at Pier A in Battery Park, with a view across New York Harbor that takes in the Statue of Liberty, Governors Island, and the New Jersey shore. The bar programme is serious — this is a restaurant with high standards — and the outdoor terrace, which wraps around the 1886 pier building, offers the most historically anchored waterfront drinking experience in Manhattan. The summer cocktail menu is built around local spirits and harbour-themed concepts. Worth booking in advance for the best terrace positions.

Order: The Harbor Fizz — Brooklyn Gin, lemon, elderflower, Champagne, served in a tall glass with a view of the statue

One of the best cocktail bars in Queens operating out of a neighbourhood space in Long Island City, with a garden that opens in summer. The cocktail programme — driven by the same serious approach as the interior bar — is among the strongest in the borough. The garden itself is small and intimate, seating about twenty people, which creates a quality control problem in high summer but ensures that the experience, when you get a seat, is excellent. Two stops from Midtown on the 7 train. Worth the commute.

Order: The Dutch Kills Sour — house spirit, lemon, egg white, garden bitters — a bar classic reinvented seasonally

The oldest beer garden in New York City, operating since 1910 in Astoria, with a large outdoor space that holds several hundred people on summer evenings. The Czech lager is poured properly and the food — Czech and Slovak classics — is genuinely good. Not a cocktail destination, not Instagram-optimised, not expensive. The experience of sitting in a large outdoor beer garden drinking a well-poured Czech lager in Astoria on a Tuesday evening in July is one of the most underrated summer activities in New York. Get there by the N or W train.

Order: A half-litre of Pilsner Urquell on draft — poured in the Czech style, with the proper amount of foam

A small waterfront bar at LIC Landing with one of the best views of the Midtown Manhattan skyline available from any bar in the city — looking across the East River at full height. The bar is unpretentious and well-priced, the drinks are straightforward, and the outdoor seating on the water's edge is exceptional. Arrive on a clear evening in late June or July when the skyline is lit and the river is calm. This is the outdoor bar our editors recommend to anyone visiting New York who wants the skyline view without the Manhattan price point.

Order: A cold craft beer or a simple highball — the Manhattan skyline across the water is the cocktail