Any newly-added outdoor dining west of Boston?

Now that we are vaccinated, friends would like to get together for a late lunch/early dinner somewhere in the general vicinity of Rte 495 between Rtes 9 and 3. We’ve gone to Red Raven (Acton) in the past. Just wondering what restaurants may have expanded into outdoor seating over the last year. Type of food not important as long as it’s tasty; liquor license is not a factor, but handicap access is.

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Sounds like fun! We’ve only dined outdoors a couple of times since the pandemic. Alas, I’m no help on specific recommendations as we’ve only gone up to Cape Ann.

Yet I have a couple of ideas that may help.

I just tried a Google search for “outdoor dining near me” and was surprised to see the number of accurate results that pop up.

And on my drives around for errands, I have noticed that many restaurants that offer inside table service have also set up outdoor tents or patios. Lots of creativity going on. So if there’s a place you and your friends enjoyed in the past, you might give a call to ask if they have an outdoor option.

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1 recommendation - The Farmers Daughter in Sudbury -
534F Boston Post Rd, Sudbury, MA 01776. They have accessible outdoor seating. Caveat open 8 am to 2 pm with a boozy brunch if a beverage is a thought. Check out the menu.

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Jack’s Abbey in Framingham has a nice beer garden

Beer Garden Hours
Mon & Tues: CLOSED
Wed & Thu: 3pm – 10pm
Fri-Sat: 12pm – 10pm
Sun: 12pm – 8pm

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Find myself ISO path/outdoor dining in the Chelmsford/Burlington area for a weeknight dinner. Not an area I have driven around or followed. All the websites I checked so far none mention patio. All recommendations are welcome! TIA

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In Chelmsford Center, both Fishbones (seafood restaurant) and Max & Leo’s pizza have set up outdoor dining.

Both are hybrid patio/parking lot situations that the restaurants have done their best to make accommodating. Solid, if not destination-worthy, food at both (they’re in our rotation).

I should mention that Fishbones is especially popular with the local and business crowd and can get extremely busy.

ETA: I have noticed that restaurant websites generally lack info about outdoor dining. Yeah, still. If there’s a dining spot you prefer, you might give them a call to see if they’ve added outdoor seating for the season.

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Row 34 just replaced Island Creek Oyster in Burlington. We haven’t been so not sure about outdoor dining options. https://www.row34.com/burlington

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I have a crush on Row 34 (Portsmouth, Boston). Not sure if Row 34 offers outdoor dining in Burlington—would be my pick if so.

Osteria Nino also had expanded outdoor dining patio last time we were at Wegmans. We’ve never eaten there.

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Thank you both. Birthday person is a Fishbones regular so taking a page from Denise’s earlier I searched for outdoor dining. Reading results carefully I offered : Tuscan Kitchen (Burlington), Moonstones (Chelmsford), Rapscallion Table & Tap (Acton), Red Raven (Acton), Adelita (West Concord) Fishbones (Chelmsford). Picked - Rapscallion Table & Tap (Acton). Have not been there since it was a french restaurant in prior incarnation.

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Thanks, Digga. I tend to lean away from Italian but offered Tuscan as a just in case.

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Rapscallion served up solid pub food pre-pandemic, which was the last time we were there. Convivial place.

They have outdoor tables with umbrellas on a proper patio next to the pub itself. We had really pleasant lunches there a couple of times in summers past.

Enjoy and best wishes to the birthday person!

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Row34 Burlington. Yes I ate outside recently. I found the entrees lacking. I would go back for oysters and drinks only.

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I know that the place in Lowell that used to be the Southeast Asian Restaurant and adjacent market was spruced up and renamed Tasty Dumplings, and has outdoor seating. But I haven’t been. It gets good Yelp reviews. 351 Market Street, corner of Worthen Street, a block from City Hall. Closed Mondays.

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fwiw, local denizen Peter Sward wrote that one up positively awhile back and has pics of the outdoor seating in his review: http://thedailylunch-woburn.blogspot.com/2020/08/tasty-dumplings-lowell.html

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Chiming in with another report on Lowell’s Tasty Dumplings by @grumpyspatient.

Somehow I still haven’t tried this place yet.

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