Best Patios in Washtenaw County
Seven outdoor dining spots worth planning your summer around. The season is short. Use it well.
Patio season in Michigan runs roughly May through October. The useful move is to have a plan before the first warm Saturday arrives, since outdoor seating can fill quickly and weather can change the experience from one hour to the next.
These are seven patios where the outdoor space is part of the restaurant's public identity. Verify current hours, seating rules, and weather policies before visiting.
The Rooftop
Jolly Pumpkin (311 S Main St, Ann Arbor) has a rooftop patio on South Main with views across the downtown rooftops. The tap list centers on sour ales, and the kitchen serves wood-fired pizzas and shareable plates. The rooftop can fill quickly on weekends, so confirm seating and current hours before visiting.
The Beer Garden
Sidetrack Bar & Grill (56 E Cross St, Ypsilanti) has a rear patio in Depot Town, shaded by trees and arranged with a mix of picnic and regular tables. The beer list emphasizes Michigan craft, and the burger remains the restaurant's signature order. We have profiled Sidetrack at length. Confirm patio availability before making a summer trip.
The Sidewalk Spots
Aventura (216 E Washington St, Ann Arbor) puts tables on East Washington during warm months, and the sidewalk seating turns a good Spanish tapas restaurant into something that feels like a different city entirely. Patatas bravas, gambas al ajillo, and a glass of sherry on a sidewalk at dusk. Ann Arbor's downtown isn't Barcelona, but on the right evening, with the right plate in front of you, the gap narrows. The tables are close together, which is either charming or annoying depending on your tolerance for proximity. I find it charming.
Spencer (113 E Liberty St, Ann Arbor) offers a few sidewalk tables on Liberty Street, and the combination of natural wine and seasonal tasting-menu-adjacent food in the open air is worth the effort of securing a seat. Spencer doesn't have a large outdoor footprint. A handful of tables, close to the door. But the wine list is one of the best in the state, and drinking a glass of something the staff talked you into while watching Liberty Street go by is a small, specific pleasure. Book ahead for dinner; the outdoor seats go first.
The Covered Patio
Pretzel Bell (226 S Main St, Ann Arbor) has a covered patio on South Main that works in weather that would shut down a fully open space. Light rain, cool evenings in September when other patios have already closed for the season. The coverage extends the usable window by weeks on either end. The craft cocktails are strong, the old-fashioned is a reliable benchmark, and the high ceilings inside carry the same warm-light atmosphere outside under the overhang. It's the patio for people who want to be outside but don't want to gamble on the forecast.
The Country Setting
Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales (2319 Bishop Cr E, Dexter) has a patio that is nothing like its Ann Arbor sibling. Out in Dexter, the taproom faces away from the road, shaded by trees, with enough space that it never feels cramped even on weekends. No traffic noise. No competition for sidewalk real estate. You're drinking oak-aged sour ales and eating wood-fired pizza and looking at woods. We wrote about the Dexter location recently. The patio is the main reason to make the drive, and on a summer Tuesday when you can get a table without thinking about it, there's nothing better in the county.
The Atmospheric
Bellflower (209 Pearl St, Ypsilanti) has two patios: one covered for year-round use, one open-air for summer. The covered patio is the one I think about in winter. It extends the restaurant's dining room into the air of Pearl Street without losing the warmth of the interior. Dan Klenotic's menu changes daily based on what the farms sent, and eating that food outside, in Depot Town, at a table that feels like it belongs to a serious restaurant rather than an afterthought, is one of the better dinner experiences in the county. The open-air patio in full summer is even better. Bellflower's full profile is here. The patios are reason enough to return.
Patio season in Washtenaw County typically runs May through October, weather permitting. Sidetrack and Jolly Pumpkin Dexter have the most spacious outdoor areas. Spencer and Aventura have limited sidewalk seating that fills fast. Plan accordingly, and check ahead on iffy days.