Five Summer Spots to Eat, Drink and Be Merry Outdoors

This is just one installment of 37 Things a Man’s Gotta Do This Summer, our annual compendium of everything worth seeing, doing, eating, drinking and generally making time for in your neck of the woods between now and September.

You know the summer drill:

Find al fresco spot that you will anoint your local. Eat. Drink. Be merry. Repeat.

Next question: Where? Find those answers here, in our roundup of L.A.’s best new outdoor dining venues.

Swinging chairs and oysters by the pool. A patio with a dedicated Negroni menu (it’s the ultimate summer cocktail, after all). A sake tasting under the stars.

Dine on and drink well, my friends.

For poolside snacks and cocktails: The Rosy Oyster
Hollywood

Eat oysters and sip on rosé from a swinging rattan egg chair at the Rosy Oyster, a new 35-person oyster bar in the back corner of the Roosevelt’s Tropicana Pool. Open evenings only, Tuesday through Saturday.

7000 Hollywood Blvd (map)
Website

For daytime face-stuffing: Los Angeles Taste of the Nation, June 11 12-4pm
Culver City

Maple Block’s smoky pulled pork, Kato’s gooey truffle grilled cheese and Salt & Straw’s wildly flavorful ice creams are among the many offerings at Taste of the Nation. Don’t let its name fool you: this food fest comprises Los Angeles’s best restaurants. The Nation part owes to the charity being honored, No Kid Hungry.

9070 Venice Blvd. (map)
Website

For rooftop drinking: Filifera
Hollywood

L.A. is starving for great rooftop bars, and the new Proper Hotel in Hollywood fills the void with aplomb. The palomas will hit the spot after a hot day; get some olives and a cheese plate if you’re hungry. And whatever you do, enjoy the view of the Hollywood hills.

1550 El Centro Ave (map)
Website

For stargazing and sake-tasting: Starry Night Sake Tasting, July 21
Little Tokyo

You will need to eat rice balls, sushi and ramen to handle the 50-some-odd different sakes at this downtown festival. Leave the car at home, and consider stumbling down to EightyTwo after to play video games.

231 E. 3rd St # G101 (map)
Website

For a reliably great (and available) patio: The Ponte Restaurante
Beverly Grove

Nosh on the creamy hotness of eggs in purgatory or a burnt-bottom pizza on this glorious patio. Ponte is Chef Scott Conant’s newest restaurant, and it doesn’t disappoint. The negroni menu is a great bet to start the night.

8265 West Beverly Blvd (map)
Website