Sips worth the trip Restaurants around the region are serving up nibbles, drinks and elbow room,
The area’s top al fresco eats
FOR New Yorkers craving social distance from the city itself, get away safely to one of these area restaurants. From out east to down the shore, they boast ample elbow room, bucolic views and crave-worthy summertime bites.
HAMPTONS Sel Rrose
Fashionable Lower East Side cocktail and oyster bar Sel Rrose has outfitted its Montauk outpost with a beachy backyard gravel garden crawling with pale pink rosé bushes, chic vintage rattan armchairs and a prim white lattice wall with a riot of blushing flowers and greenery. It’s a dreamy seaside setting to dish on your favorite summertime staples, from frosé to lobster rolls with truffle fries. Info: SelRrose.com/Montauk
HUDSON VALLEY Las Mañanitas
With a sprawling grassy lawn and tiered flagstone patio perched high above the East Branch Reservoir, Las Mañanitas is a festive destination restaurant for upscale Mexican cuisine in Brewster, NY. Tuck into the red snapper
Veracruz — with a margarita, of course — and soak up the fresh air and panoramic views of rolling green hills right from your table. Info: LasMananitas Restaurant.com
Blue Hill at Stone Barns
Pioneers of the farm-to-table movement, Blue Hill at Stone Barns has reopened to the public for lavish picnic basket dinners set across its grounds. Stocked with lobster salad, pork marmalade, farm-fresh vegetables and various other accoutrement, picnickers can opt to add pre-batched bottled negronis and sommelier-selected wines for an idyllic, pastoral evening on the farm. Info: BlueHillFarm.com; reservations only
CATSKILLS High Voltage Café & Creek Bar
Follow a path past the garden into the wooded glen behind High Voltage Café in the sleepy Catskills town of Mountain Dale for barbecue and craft brews at the newly installed Creek Bar. With a constellation of string lights in the trees overhead, sheepskin rugs strewn over logs, picnic tables and a vintage trailer converted into a cocktail bar, the vibe is all bohemian magic — especially with the soundtrack of a babbling creek and kielbasas sizzling on the smoker. Info: HighVoltageCoffee.com
JERSEY SHORE The Seafarer
Situated on Baker’s Marina in the Highlands with views stretching across Sandy Hook Bay to the New York City skyline, The Seafarer (inset) is a funky, familyowned waterfront tiki bar with dockside picnic tables, Adirondack chairs, fire pits and a solid lineup of live musicians. The on-site Local Smoke BBQ food truck turns out everything from St. Louis ribs to grilled local clams. With your toes in the sand and a Dark & Stormy cocktail in hand, you might just feel like you’re in the Florida Keys, even for a moment. Info: SeafarerBar.com