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A group of diners enjoying the weather at Ceres Bistro in Worcester, MA

Central Massachusetts’ all too short outdoor dining season has begun…with many local eateries capitalizing on the good weather and offering dining al fresco!

Dining outdoors means different things to different restaurants. Some restaurants, like Volturno, Lock 50, La Scala, Vintage Grille and The Mill 185 have built large open-air patios outfitted to take advantage of the good weather months. Others like Nuovo, Meze, Brew City and Corner Grille set up tables on the sidewalks in front of their restaurants giving your meal a bit more of an urban feel. Mezcal in Worcester brings the outdoors inside by opening the floor-to-ceiling glass doors while their Leominster location offers patio dining under umbrellas. Looking for waterfront dining? Guiseppe’s in Northborough offers upscale dining on a deck overlooking Solomon Pond and Point Breeze on Lake Webster bring deck dining (and drinking) to a whole new level. Still others like Smokestack, The Citizen and VIA offer covered patios to extend the outdoor dining experience even when Mother Nature doesn’t fully cooperate.

So whether it’s a quiet spot to enjoy a romantic dinner, a sun-drenched patio to people watch or dinner on the deck lakeside with cocktails and friends, there is an al fresco spot to match any occasion and mood!

Here are a few of our favorite places to eat, drink and enjoy the good weather months while they last!

Ceres Bistro

One of Worcester’s most elegant outdoor dining experiences, Ceres Bistro offers full-menu dining in the garden patio surrounded by luxurious plantings, flowers and landscaping. Live jazz on Thursday evenings and drinks at the open-air bar are also popular in the warmer months!

Flying Rhino

For outdoor dining, Flying Rhino has it all. Tables with umbrellas on the sidewalk for that urban feel, a huge outdoor deck for a more casual, relaxed experience and one weekend every summer, they transform their parking lot into a full blown, stick your feet in the sand beach and cookout experience that will make you forget you are on Shrewsbury St. One of the more popular decks in Worcester so get here early if you want a table.

Zorba’s

At Zorba’s Worcester location, you can enjoy a full Greek dining experience under an enormous covered patio that runs the entire length of the front of the restaurant. A summer experience not to be missed is enjoying one of their famous sangrias and a selection of meze’s on this patio! And for when the weather isn’t perfect, Zorba’s patio is covered to make sure you can still enjoy the experience.

NU Café

Located right outside the front door, the big comfortable patio at NU Café features lots of tables with umbrellas to relax and enjoy coffee, fruit smoothies, breakfast and lunch. A great place anytime of the day, the patio at NU Café sits off the street, making it a quiet oasis from the hectic pace of the day.

The Small Cowper Madonna by Raphael on display at the Worcester Art Museum

Gazing at Raphael’s The Small Cowper Madonna currently on exhibit at the Worcester Art Museum (through September 27th) the simile between art and food is glaring: an artist uses brush strokes like a chef uses ingredients, both resulting in a work of art.

Not everyone likes certain types of food—I, for one, used to carefully remove even the smallest chopped onion from my dish. Similarly, not everyone likes certain types of art—I, for one, don’t understand something that could be “re-created by chance.” But, for all intents and purposes, the masters behind their craft have a vision and passion in what they are creating. Often inspired by experience, a true chef will see their dish from creation through consumption, but the biggest challenge a chef faces is consistency. Unlike a classical painter who spends years creating and refining a masterpiece, a chef has a finite time to create and re-create a dish, consistently. And every time the dish is served, it starts an endless cycle: between those who are trying the dish for the first time and those who have returned to relive their first experience.

As a frequent diner in Worcester, I enjoy eating as much as I enjoy wandering the halls of WAM. The restaurant scene in the city has evolved. Chefs truly are artists not only creating signature dishes that are unique to their restaurant, but consistently reproducing the dining experience time after time. Whether a restaurant like Nuovo where Chef Gjonca painstakingly fuses classic ingredients with contemporary flavors, Armsby Abbey’s Chef Evangelous who constantly “sketches and paints” a new menu every single week for his “collectors,” Chef Bowser who has introduced a new category at The Urban that, arguably, our city hasn’t seen yet, or newly hired Chef Rogers who is taking the successful dishes from Bocado and Mezcal and evolving them in a manner that “favorites” won’t be lost. Chefs aren’t just throwing ingredients from a pan onto a dish; they are creating art.

The next time that you dine out, let the chef choose his or her favorite dish—and don’t ask them to “hold the onions.” Like art, you may not like a certain piece, but when you do, you may be turned onto a world previously unknown. That’s the art of love in Worcester.

Tag: Nuovo

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