If you are anything like me, as soon as I see a hint of sunshine and feel even the slightest of warmth, I'm ready to dine outside any time I can. No matter if it's during the day with friends or on a summer date night with your boo, there's nothing like ordering a shellfish tower and dining al fresco when the weather is gorgeous. But! I wouldn't be me if I didn't tell you a way to have a better dining experience during patio season because believe it or not; dining outdoors can be a little difficult to maneuver. And since I am your favorite restaurant insider, here are my 3 tips to have a better dining experience outdoors this warm weather season. 

Ask If There’s A Plan For Rain - the weather is incredibly unpredictable especially here in NYC and on a bright gorgeous sunny day, a random rain shower can come out of nowhere. Typically we, the restaurant staff do in fact follow the weather trends through out the day and the week and will move all outdoor reservations indoors if it's going to rain, but always ask what the rain plan is when reserving an outdoor reservation.

Start Backwards - if you want to dine outdoors but don’t want to chance getting rained on, make your reservation for inside as normal and in the reservation notes, add something to your notes to the effect of -“would love to dine outside if weather permits”  You can also call the restaurant and make this note or when you arrive ask the hostess if you can switch your current reservation that’s inside to an available table outside. It’s harder to come inside than it is to dine outside.

No Shade, But You Should Be Sitting in As Much Shade As Possible - In the thick of summer and summer heat waves, no matter how much you love the sun, dining outside can be a bit too much and sometimes the table umbrellas just aren’t big enough. Typically guests ask to come inside with the AC and sometimes we just can’t accommodate these requests if we already have a full dining room. Make sure to check the humidity on the day that you want to dine outdoors.

I hope these 3 key tips help you enjoy your shellfish tower and that much needed catch up session with friends outdoors a little bit more fabulously this patio season!