12 best spots for outdoor brunch in Boston

Located steps from TD Garden in the West End, the patio views at Alcove are unparalleled. The restaurant balances guests feeling like they’re in the middle of the city’s hustle and bustle, alongside strong service and welcoming vibes. Settle in to a view of the Zakim, order the pastry basket to start (the chocolate chip bread is so cozy) and move on to a breakfast sandwich, scramble plate or grilled shrimp tacos.

The perfect casual brunch option in Fenway, Audubon has a slightly secret patio out back that you shouldn’t sleep on. Dine outside in a bamboo covered space (that’s heated if there’s a chill in the air) on French toast, breakfast burritos and excellent burgers, away from the traffic and hustle of Fenway. If you show up during an F1 race, or any local sports on TV, expect a fun crowd of fans, as the patio is fitted with screens and Audubon is Boston’s top F1 viewing spot.

Bistro du Midi complements its nouveau French cuisine with a striking view of the Public Garden, and there’s no better place to take in the food and the view than the patio at brunch. This romantic spot calls for splitting a bottle of rosé (Côtes de Provence is always a good call), a dozen oysters and ricotta pancakes or the bistro burger while watching the world go by with your favorite person.

We believe brunch should be a good time, and Bowery Bar delivers the fun, with an expansive patio dotted with bright umbrellas and even cooling mist on those particularly hot days (during the winter they have private yurts). Go with a group, order adult iced coffees (spiked with vanilla vodka and hazelnut liquor), breakfast tacos and donut holes for the table.

This rotisserie and wood-fire grill, housed in a 1918 armory building in Watertown, has one of the most charming patio spaces around—and a killer brunch on Saturdays and Sundays to match. While the menu is ever changing, you can always count on their famous rotisserie chicken (served with house sauce or piri piri style), breakfast and lunch options, as well as the mandatory mimosas and bloodys.

Biscuits and gravy while sitting on a sprawling patio on Comm Ave? Count us in. Chef Jason Santos’ crowd-pleaser always delivers when it comes to Southern-influenced favorites and Hurricane cocktails (they’re on tap because this place is that fun). The restaurant's Watertown outpost has expansive patio seating in the warmer months as well.

Coming onto the Boston dining scene hot, this Irish pub is already getting raves for the incredible food and easy-going atmosphere. If you’re in the Government Center area and are looking to dine outside, you can tuck into the Dubliners patio. There, enjoy a full Irish breakfast, baked eggs or the house smoked salmon on a bagel, and you can almost pretend you’re in the Irish countryside for brunch.

A go-to in Cambridge for almost 50 years, it’s hard to beat the food, service and, of course, the famous garden patio at Harvest. With an outdoor fireplace and twinkling lights, the patio is a year-round favorite, and bites like chocolate babka and steak and eggs are not to be missed.

If you haven’t headed to Southie for brunch, do you even live in Boston? Publico’s chic internal atrium brings the outdoors inside, which can be clutch on a rainy summer day. Make a reservation and nosh on menu items like acai bowls, hot fried chicken Benedict and breakfast pizza.

Enjoy a French-inspired brunch on a sprawling, bustling patio situated smack dab in the center of Back Bay. If you love to enjoy a side of prime people-watching with your bucket of bubbles, croque monsieur and ricotta pancakes, this is the en-plein-air place for your crew.

We have a couple of things to say about Yellow Door Taqueria, but let’s start with something important: They serve pancake tacos for brunch! Dine al fresco on this place’s sprawling patio –  with cheery, bright yellow tables –  that put you right in the center of a lively brunch scene. Order up some of the award-winning tacos and brunch-only options, like the aforementioned pancake tacos, breakfast tacos with chorizo and, of course, all the margaritas you could ever ask for.

We’re unapologetic fans of Kristin Canty’s farm-to-table vision and execution: Serving modern, seasonal dishes using ingredients that are organic, non-GMO, that come from local area purveyors. But beyond the food – and it’s fantastic, get the lobster popover – the expansive views of the bay on the enormous patio will make you fall in love with Boston all over again.