What Is Dining Al Fresco?
Al fresco comes from an Italian word meaning fresh or open air. Dinner al fresco, therefore means dining outside. There are a number of benefits associated with eating dinner al fresco, and you can take advantage of these many benefits by finding a restaurant in your area that offers al fresco dining.
What Does Dinner Al Fresco Mean?
Dinner al fresco can refer to eating outside at any number of restaurants that offer outdoor seating. Commonly, bistros and cafes are both known for having outdoor tables. Small wrought iron tables on a little patio bring to mind Paris streets in summer time or little Italian Cafes and restaurants throughout the world have tried to capture this quaint feeling you get when you dine al fresco on the Champs Elysee in Paris. Other restaurants can also have al fresco dining, which is normally open during only the spring and summer months on days when it is most likely to be nice outside.
Al fresco dining usually takes place on a patio off of the main restaurant, although some restaurants- especially in warmer climates- have entire outdoor dining rooms. Al fresco dining is available at both sit-down restaurants and restaurants where you order your food at the counter. Normally, at sit-down restaurants, the waiters and waitresses will tend to the outside tables in the same manner as they tend to the inside tables, bringing food and drink and taking orders.
Dining al fresco can be a great way to enjoy dining out without giving up precious summer sunshine to sit inside. Dining al fresco has many benefits. First, not only will you get to eat out, but you will also get to soak up the sunshine and perhaps even enjoy some people watching if the patio overlooks a populated street. Getting some Vitamin D from the suns rays and being outside during the summer is important for staying healthy and staving off depression, and al fresco dining gives you an opportunity to do that.
If you are interested in dining al fresco, ask local restaurants in your area if they offer outdoor seating. Your own favorite restaurant may put tables out front in the summer, giving them more seating space and reducing the wait table for a table. Because al fresco dining is often in demand in the summer, make sure you specify that you do want an outdoor table if you call ahead to make reservations when dining out.