We’d hoped it would be a little warmer by now. It’s June and, instead of endless sunshine, we’ve had grey skies, splotches of rain and a bitter wind. But it’s going to get warmer (it’s got to, right?) and when it does, we’ll be ready for some outdoor dining, or as the Italians say, alfresco.
Thankfully, OpenTable has revealed its Top 100 Restaurants for Outdoor Dining for 2024. And while no Birmingham restaurants feature, many from surrounding areas do – including one nearby in Wolverhampton, plus, from Worcestershire, Shropshire, Warwickshire, and Gloucestershire.
The list is generated from over 2.2 million UK-verified OpenTable diner reviews. It also took in the percentage of five-star reviews and reservations made, direct searches, and the number of alerts set. Any qualifying restaurants were ranked by the percentage of reviews with the tag ‘outdoor dining’.
OpenTable said: “As the weather warms up, it’s time to dine outdoors. To help find the perfect alfresco spot, OpenTable has scanned diner metrics and over 2.2 million reviews to narrow down the restaurants where Brits love dining outdoors. The result is our annual Top 100 Restaurants for Outdoor Dining, offering delicious food at alfresco hotspots nationwide.”
The only “Birmingham/West Midlands” inclusion was Fiume in Wolverhampton. Located on the water’s edge, it’s ideal for watching canal boats and dining alfresco on a hot summer day. Opened in 2013, this independent, family-run restaurant offers authentic Italian cuisine with particular influence from Sardinia and Basilicata – from pasta and pizza to arancini and calamari. Oh, and it’s dog-friendly too!
Other nearby restaurants to feature include The Charlton Arms (Ludlow) and The Lion at Leintwardine (Craven Arms) in Shropshire; The Ewe and Lamb (Bromsgrove) and The Fleece Inn (Evesham) in Worcestershire; and Fleur de Lys (Henley-in-Arden), The Rose Inn (Atherstone) and The Throckmorton (Alcester) in Warwickshire. To see OpenTable’s Top 100 Restaurants for Outdoor Dining head here.