Aberdeen in the sunshine is unbeatable – but where are the best places to eat alfresco when the weather plays ball?
The range of choices is as long as Aberdeen beach, which incidentally is a good place to start if you are looking for some fresh air dining.
In the city itself, there are a host of beer gardens and patios to park yourself with friends and family.
Or alternatively grab a takeout and enjoy one of Aberdeen’s many green spaces.
Just watch out for those seagulls. They can ruin even the best-laid picnic plans.
Inversnecky Cafe
Famed for its humorous chalk boards, Inversnecky Cafe is one of the best spots on the beach to eat alfresco.
The food is good and the people-watching opportunities near endless.
You can also rest easy in the knowledge you are following in the footsteps of Aberdeen royalty – the city’s legendary 1980s football team would drop for a bite to eat after beach training.
Maybe all that sea air was why the squad won so many trophies. So grab your own share.
Books and Beans
Walk down to the middle of Belmont Street and you’ll find a large patio area servicing a number of the restaurants on the city centre road.
One of them – Books and Beans – is a great spot in which to order food and a coffee and watch the world drift by.
The restaurant’s huevos menu is a top recommendation and a favourite of the food team at the Press & Journal.
The Chester Hotel
The Chester Hotel in Aberdeen’s west end is a belt and braces type of place when it comes to alfresco eating.
The hotel has a large garden, but in typical Scottish canniness the owners have built a summer marquee – no doubt based on the highly probable chance the weather will at some point chuck it down.
But, rain or shine, the marquee is a beautiful outdoor spot from which to enjoy the Chester’s exemplary dining.
Siberia Bar & Hotel
Walking into Siberia for the first time, you may be surprised to learn it has an outdoor section.
But head through to the back and you’ll find an extensive patio with a decent view of Union Terrace Gardens.
Here, you’ll be able to enjoy one of Siberia’s fantastic cocktails in the sun.
Meanwhile, the patio will be ground zero for some of the upcoming events at Aberdeen Cocktail Week, due to be held in October.
We can’t guarantee the sun will be shining that late into Autumn, but Siberia does provide some outdoor heating to keep the chill away.
The Ivy Lodge
Another place with outdoor heating is the Ivy Lodge.
The restaurant and bar’s fantastic outdoor seating area is well catered for when clouds gather, or when day turns into evening and the temperature drops.
As for food, the Ivy Lodge is home to Hole in the Wall Pizza Co, which – as the name suggests – is delivered through a hatch to the side of the restaurant.
Hole in the Wall’s music themed menu includes favourites like Tropic Like It’s Hot and Smoke on the Water.
Inn at the Park
This long-standing restaurant and pub could well lay claim to having the biggest outdoor space in Aberdeen as it’s only a short walk from Duthie Park.
But Inn at the Park has a spacious al fresco area of its own where customers can chose from a choice of traditional pub meals or from the restaurant’s Italian dinner menu.
Plus, you know you’re in good hands. Owners Stephanie and Ronnie Caird won their episode of Channel 4’s Four in a Bed.
Ferryhill House Hotel
Housed in a former family home dating back to the 1900s, Ferryhill House Hotel has plenty of places to enjoy the outdoors.
If it rains, you can withdraw to the hotel conservatory, where at least you can still see what’s happening outside.
The best thing about Ferryhill is that it is designed for families, and what better way to entertain the kids that to let them run about outside?
The menu also keeps the young ‘uns happy once they’ve worked up an appetite.
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