Food & Drink

Get outside: new map shows every cafe with sidewalk seating in NYC

You want to get in that space where the bar begins and the sidewalk cafe ends. Photo via Bar Bruno.
In between where the bar begins and the sidewalk cafe ends is the sweet spot of summer. Photo via Bar Bruno.

We can almost hear the death knell of summer; what is it, three weeks until Labor Day? Get outside! Even on a scorching hot day like today, you’ve got to remember how you’ll long for it in just a few short months, when instead of lounging with a bloody mary in some epic bar backyard, you’ll be sitting inside, clutching a hot coffee, filled with dread at the thought of having to leave the house again. Just remember: sweating>shivering.

To help you get outside and fight, fight against the dying of the summer heat and light, the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs has released an interactive map of every licensed sidewalk cafe in New York. For your outdoor alcohol imbibing needs in Brooklyn, our outdoor bar guide has got you covered. But for sidewalk coffee shop, restaurant and cafe hangs, do check out the map. 

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Every licensed sidewalk cafe in NYC! via NYC.gov
Every licensed sidewalk cafe in NYC! via NYC.gov

The map enables you to search by business or location. The location markers are color-coded to indicate the different types of sidewalk cafes, namely, enclosed or unenclosed, which might be of interest to dog owners who’d like to dine outside with dog. While dogs are legally allowed at outdoor cafes, the NYC Dept of Health stipulates that the cafes implement barriers to limit contact between dogs in the outdoor cafe and sidewalk traffic. (It’s unclear how often this is actually enforced).

If you want, you can nerd out even more by learning all the different rules and regulations governing sidewalk cafes, in case that stuff interests you. But mostly, this map is to help point you to places where you can maximize your time eating, drinking and hanging outside! Get to it.

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