Guide
The Sonny Guide to Patios That Feel Like Vacation
Italian gardens, Mediterranean rooftops, breezy riverfront tables, and lakeside lunches that make an ordinary afternoon feel beautifully elsewhere.
JUL 27, 2026 · 8 min read · By Sonny team
There is a particular kind of Chicago patio that changes the pace of the entire day. You arrive for lunch and suddenly it is late afternoon. Another bottle appears, the light moves across the table, and whatever you had planned next quietly stops mattering.
The best of these places are not simply outdoor dining rooms. They have a world of their own: a garden hidden behind a city façade, a riverfront terrace that borrows its mood from the Italian coast, or a table so close to Lake Michigan that the air feels different. You may still hear the train or glimpse a familiar building, but for a few hours, Chicago recedes pleasantly into the background.
These are the patios we choose when leaving town is not on the schedule, but feeling away is.
Best for
- Long lunches in the sun
- Ordering the second bottle
- A little escape from the city
- Dinner with nowhere else to be
Our favorite places to feel somewhere else
01
An Italian Summer
Pizzeria Portofino · Piccolo Sogno
Pizzeria Portofino turns the Chicago River into its own version of the Italian Riviera, with hand-stretched pizzas, grilled seafood, coastal wines, spritzes, and a bright riverfront patio. Piccolo Sogno is quieter and more transporting: a secluded garden filled with trees, handmade pasta, wood-fired cooking, and the easy elegance of a long dinner somewhere in the Italian countryside. One is sunlit and social; the other feels like a secret.
02
The Mediterranean Mood
Aba · Beatnik on the River
Aba’s expansive rooftop patio brings Mediterranean cooking and California ease to Fulton Market, with low lounge seating, greenery, shared mezze, and the sort of atmosphere that encourages everyone to order slowly. Beatnik on the River is more theatrical, drawing from Morocco, Italy, and the Mediterranean countryside with richly layered interiors, tropical cocktails, and tables tucked directly beside the water. Both feel immersive, though in entirely different ways.
03
California for the Afternoon
Summer House Santa Monica · The Oakville Grill & Cellar
Summer House Santa Monica brings the brightness of a coastal beach house to Lincoln Park, with whitewashed details, an all-seasons courtyard, a front patio, and a menu made for brunches that stretch well beyond brunch. The Oakville draws from California wine country instead, pairing a relaxed Napa-inspired mood with seasonal cooking, wine, and a garden terrace tucked into Fulton Market. These are the places for chilled rosé, abundant sunlight, and an afternoon with no urgency.
04
Lunch Beside the Water
Waterfront Café · Caffè Oliva
At the Waterfront Café in Edgewater, the tables sit on an open-air lakeside patio within Berger Park, with seafood rolls, tropical drinks, skyline views, and live music carrying through the evening. Caffè Oliva is the beachier option: a large patio at Ohio Street Beach with cabanas, cocktails, music, and the lake only steps away. Neither asks you to choose between a proper lunch and an afternoon by the water.
Plan your afternoon
Stay a little longer
Find the patio that fits the light, weather, and mood right now.