The Great Outdoors

Lazy Daisy’s

1515 Gerrard St. E., lazydaisyscafe.ca

1 It’s hard to have a bad day at this east-end hangout. The menu is chock full of comfort classics (fried chicken on waffles, biscuit-based smash burgers, cinnamon-bun pancakes), and the new backyard patio (its entrance is off Coxwell Avenue) is scattered with picnic tables and decorated with greenery and painted daisies. It couldn’t be any cheerier if it tried. Add in a list of crushable local beers, wines, cocktails, lemonades and lattes, and you get an excellent place to linger on lazy summer afternoons.

Eat this: The Daisy Duke, a Big Mac on a biscuit

Drink this: Cans of hyper-local beer from Black Lab, Saulter Street, Blood Brothers and Great Lakes Brewery

Doc’s Green Door Lounge

3106 Dundas St. W., docslounge.ca

2 On any given afternoon, every seat of this streetside Junction patio is taken. With a drink list of excellent espresso-based beverages, icy martinis and natural wines, it’s no wonder. The bar’s snack menu is short and sweet (olives, breads and dips), but Doc’s has lined up a summer of guest pop-up chefs, including the Stop’s Denis Ganshonkov (for eastern European dishes) and Josh McIlwaine of Mac’s Pizza (for New York–style pies).

Eat this: Whipped brie topped with hot honey and served with bread from nearby bakery Noctua—or whatever the guest chef is cooking up

Drink this: The rum punch for two

Taverne Tamblyn

1426 Danforth Ave., tavernetamblyn.com

3 Everything at this Danforth corner bistro feels exceedingly and charmingly French. There are œufs mayonnaise and gruyère-­topped gougères, ratatouille, and raclette cheese–laden steak haché. There’s even a full menu dedicated to moules frites—including a particularly Parisian version that involves sparkling wine and crème fraîche. And the patio, situated on a side street and covered by a burgundy-and-white-striped awning, is plucked straight from the 11th arrondissement.

Eat this: A bowl of moules with beef-fat-fried frites or some of those cheesy gougères

Drink this: Aperitif-style cocktails, like La Fleur d’Or, made with gin and elderflower

AP

55 Bloor St. W., 51st floor, aprestaurants.com

4 Antonio Park’s high-flying pan-Asian spot sits at the top of the Manulife Centre, a jaw-dropping 51 storeys above Bay and Bloor—it takes nearly a full minute in a private elevator to reach it. For anyone without a crippling fear of heights, the rooftop terrace offers the best, most sweeping skyline view outside of the CN Tower. Plus, there’s top-notch nigiri, rock shrimp tempura and Wagyu gyoza, among other delightful noshables. Tip: arrive just before dark for a cinematic sunset.

Eat this: The king salmon sashimi, with jalapeño ponzu, cilantro, tare and crispy shallots

Drink this: Sake coladas and yuzu spritzes

La Plume

453 Wellington St. W., laplumebrasserie.com

5 The Well has an abundance of places to eat and drink, but La Plume is the only one with two patios: a street-level terrace and a second-level balcony. There’s no wrong choice, but upstairs offers the best people-watching. The menu, which focuses on fresh and French seaside flavours, lists five types of tartare (beef, trout, scallop, venison and mushroom) and just as many takes on steak frites (including one made with luxe M5 Wagyu strip loin).

Eat this: Oysters with a shallot mignonette

Drink this: The pretty-in-pink Qu’est-ce Que C’est, a berry-forward gin-based cocktail with peach syrup and a splash of sparkling wine

Sunnys Chinese

60 Kensington Ave., units 6–14, sunnyschinese.com

6 Sunnys took over Cold Tea’s old space in Kensington Market but kept the perfect patio intact, complete with twinkly fairy lights and a dedicated outdoor kitchen area that has, on at least two occasions, doubled as a DJ booth. Outside, diners are treated to a different menu than the one served inside the restaurant. A fired-up grill turns out snacks like spicy skewered pork. And a robust selection of cocktails, beers and baijiu takes the party from your typical summer patio sesh to the ultimate backyard barbecue.

Eat this: Spicy pork skewers with cumin, shaoxing and fennel

Drink this: Mala on My Mind, a potent mix of mezcal, tequila, Cynar and tepache, rimmed with mala spice

Prime Seafood

944 Queen St. W., primeseafoodpalace.ca

7 Matty Matheson’s cathedral to protein is priced for special-occasion splurges. But here’s a pro tip: the Scandi-influenced outdoor courtyard is more casual—and (slightly) less costly—than Prime Seafood Palace’s main dining room. The restaurant is a self-appointed palace, though, so indulgences (like caviar service) are still abundant. Lean in to it: settle into one of the comfortable deep-set Muskoka-style chairs and order a round of champagne to celebrate the season in style.

Eat this: Crudité platters, with vegetables from Blue Goose Farm, or the seafood cocktail

Drink this: A glass of custom-blended bubbly