Summer in NYC, marked
A curated summer bucket list for New York – 50+ outdoor dinner parties, pool passes, boat bars, neighborhood pop-ups, and seasonal specials
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about summer in New York, it’s that it ends as suddenly as it starts. The first real heat wave hits and the whole city moves outside – to stoops and rooftops, backyards and ferries, and basically any patch of grass we can find. This is the running list of what I try to do every year before that one, sudden 50-degree day in September.
Every year I go looking for ideas, and every year it’s the same recycled listicle: catch a free outdoor movie, hit a couple of rooftop bars, maybe a greenmarket. So, I made the list I always wished someone would just hand me. The branzino pop-up in Greenpoint that sells out in minutes. The secret floating bar on a dock you need a gate code to reach. The rooftop pool as long as a city block. The figure-drawing night in a garden with a lilypad pond, where you sketch a live model. The tiny Portuguese dinner party you book by sliding into their DMs a week ahead. There are 50+ of them below – and, luckily, 110 days left of summer to cross them off. Let’s do it together?
Sidewalk sip like it’s Europe
A sidewalk table, a glass of wine and people watching.
Natural wine and a scoop of ice cream: A wine bar with a few sidewalk tables in Chinatown, where the real draw is the rotating, wildly creative ice cream. Think guava or corn-flavored – scooped into little metal coupes to enjoy alongside your glass. Lai Rai is walk-ins only, so get there before it fills.
A sidewalk table at Le Dive: The quintessential corner bar in Dimes Square where the bistro tables spill onto the street. Get there by 5pm if you want a chance at an outdoor seat. There’s now a second, bigger Le Dive in the West Village with an even larger sidewalk patio – it’s on the top of my list to try this summer.
Schnitzel salad in a strawberry box: A food cart pop-up from two chefs whose menu changes by the day, parked on a corner in Soho. Order the chicken schnitzel salad – it comes spilling out of a little green strawberry container, and whatever their drink special is for the day. Brothers Original is a walk-up street cart with little blue stools for seating and hours that vary, so check their Instagram. Lately it’s been Wednesday to Friday, 11:30am–8pm.
A spritz at a marble sidewalk table: An all-day Italian café, across from Via Carota, open from morning espresso through the evening Negroni. Grab one of the little marble sidewalk tables at Bar Pisellino, order the Sgroppino – lemon sorbet, prosecco, and vodka – and people watch the West Village.
A glass of wine and a bowl of cherries: A lace-curtained café-wine bar on the Lower East Side, serving morning lattes and late-night natural wine. Grab a sidewalk table at Casetta for a glass of orange and a bowl of cherries on ice.
Your summer calendar
The recurring dinners, pop-ups, and niche events to book in advance.
The backyard branzino pop-up: Chef Mason grills whole branzino – served with focaccia and slaw, and a sprinkle of blackberries – on the back patios of different bars in Brooklyn. It’s called Piscator, you pre-order on Hotplate, and it sells out in minutes, so set a reminder for the drop.