Best Outdoor Dining in the East Bay

Add open-air lounging to good food and drinks, and you’ll really appreciate being where the fog doesn’t roll in. The East Bay is primed with al fresco eateries to help you take advantage when the season lures out the sun, and here are some BARTable spots to go when you want to breathe a little easier during your next meal. Table conversation not so entertaining? Sit back and ponder what images you can spot in the clouds overhead.

Want more? Explore our San Francisco outdoor dining guide.

Serving wood-fired pizzas amidst a wood tavern vibe steps from Downtown Berkeley Station, Jupiter’s cozy and social patio is a must.

Jupiter

Downtown Berkeley

A menu of grilled foods against a graffiti mural-laden backdrop welcomes all to Telegraph in classic Oakland style.

Telegraph

19th St. Oakland

Stargaze by the fire pit and heat lamps steps from the open-air back bar or enjoy Oaxacan cuisine beneath the canopy.

Comal

Downtown Berkeley

Lunches with Brazilian flavors under white umbrellas on a patio in Preservation Park make this cafe a standout amongst the usual raucous brewery listmakers.

Rio California

12th St. Oakland City Center

Because we can’t get enough of string lights, fire pits, exposed brick walls and, yes, roof beams without a roof.

Drakes Dealership

19th St. Oakland

by Linda Koffman

Linda Koffman is an SF-based freelance writer and editor. Also a beginner gardener by day/performing songwriter by night, she feels grateful to live a life of extremes balancing plenty of contemplative silence with rocking out in a band. When not writing, she keeps her hands busy (and dirty) with old guitar strings and soil, and enjoys engaging with the Bay Area’s diverse environmental and cultural beauty. She loves puns to a fault and shamelessly laughs at her own jokes.