After a winter and spring full of battering storms, it is comforting to know that warm and inviting weather has arrived. And, what better way to celebrate summertime than to enjoy dining outdoors in our river towns. Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown and Irvington offer diners a wide array of restaurants to visit and enjoy a drink, lunch and dinner, or dessert al fresco. Whether you want to marvel at our glorious Hudson River, relax in the calm of an outdoor patio, or take in the liveliness of a vibrant urban “villagescape,” our river towns provide enough choices to keep diners happy all summer long. (Remember: coveted outdoor tables may not often be reserved in advance, but you have an entire summer to get lucky.)

Hudson River Views:

At Irvington’s Chutney Masala Indian Bistro, Chef Navjot Arora will be cooking in the tandoor oven outdoors on the restaurant’s patio Thursday evenings. On these designated Tandoori Nights his famous selection of classic tandoori favorites will be available: fresh-from-the oven chicken and lamb kebobs, free samples of naan also hot from the tandoor, and a wide selection of Indian beers.

Just across the parking lot, Irvington’s newest restaurant, Day Boat Café, has opened an outdoor deck. With room for 24 during lunch and dinner, summer seafood specials abound: choose from a bucket of steamers, seared soft shelled crabs with a balsamic glaze served over a bed of chopped fresh tomatoes and onions, whole roasted bronzino, or pan-seared mahi mahi complemented by brussel sprouts. A crisp glass of pinot grigio or specialty drinks should complete the river view experience.

You can’t get any closer to the Hudson River than to dine on the patio at Red Hat on the River, yards away from the river’s edge, and with a view to both the Tappan Zee and George Washington Bridges. Manhattan rises to the south like the Emerald City, and the Palisades beckon across the Hudson to the north. A comfortable rooftop deck, where diners happily linger over wine and cocktails at tables and lounge areas, offers the same spectacular view. Red Hat’s classic bistro dishes and summer specials seem especially pleasurable when the sun is setting before your eyes.

Bridge View Tavern, at the base of Beekman Avenue in Sleepy Hollow, also provides outdoor tables for drinks and dinner. With a view of the famed 1884 Lighthouse and the breathtaking Palisades close by, enjoy the Tavern’s famous burgers or hearty appetizers with a refreshingly cold beer; it will make summer more relaxing than you could have imagined.

Garden Patios:

Irvington’s Il Sorriso Ristorante Italiano’s comfortable garden patio combines casual al fresco dining under shade-providing umbrellas. You’ll be surrounded by flowers, and have a view to the Hudson River’s shores. It’s a quick walk up from the train station, and you will enter another world. Enjoy authentic wood fired oven pizzas, especially the popular fig jam version, covered with thinly sliced red onions, prosciutto di parma and topped with goat cheese. For summer, a grilled herbed orata (a Mediterranean sea bass) on a bed of fennel, eggplant and zucchini provides a lighter touch. (Watch for $5 martini specials and the weekly “winedown,” $5 a glass in the lounge area: celebrate summer and save.)

The DoubleTree’s Bistro Z can seat 100 and is a perfect garden setting for private parties or a relaxing summer lunch or dinner. Happy hour is from Monday through Thursday, from 5 to7, Friday, 5 to 9, so stop by to enjoy a drink and stay for reasonably priced summer specials. Watch for family night coming soon, Thursdays 5 to 9 p.m.

Rioja, at the Sheraton in Tarrytown, with a 60-seat patio, is open for breakfast as well as lunch and dinner. Chef Cliff Saladin’s classically inspired Mediterranean cuisine matches the garden feel perfectly. Seasonal salads, fish and soups change weekly. Game night specials, according to the sports schedule, are popular as provide themed snack offerings every night. Check out the cart as you enter for popcorn on movie night, chocolate-covered strawberries on Monday, “romance night,” and be surprised each day of the week.

Daniel Damiano Jr’s Finalmente, an instant success in Sleepy Hollow’s burgeoning restaurant scene, has opened his back patio just in time to enjoy the late spring and early summer. Seating for 20 is available, a perfect place to savor Chef Donato Desirio’s ethereal pastas, seasonal soups and traditionally inspired specials. Don’t forget a glass of bubbly prosecco and a biscotti or tiramisu for dessert, and you have a perfect summer meal.

J. P. Doyle’s patio opens in the early afternoon and stays open until midnight every night. Accommodating close to 100, it’s a happening place, with 3 large screen TV’s, a full service bar, a Wednesday night special barbecue from 6-9 p.m., If the weather turns brisk, there are heat lamps provided, so stay and enjoy.

Urbanscapes:

Tarrytown is bustling, and numerous restaurants provide their customers ample opportunity to enjoy people-watching from ringside seats. Sweetgrass, on Tarrytown’s Main Street is offering a new lunch menu, courtesy of Theresa McCarthy and Dave Starkey’s talented Chef Tom Lasley. He’s created a tempting choice of spring/summer soups: early carrot, chilled spring pea or roast chicken and parmesan. Or, if you prefer, they offer the freshest of locally grown salads: Jersey asparagus, strawberry and arugula, and going further afield, the lump blue crab salad is first-rate. Small plates include steamed buttermilk cornbread with roast Berkshire pork, a crackling fried farm egg, seared scallops or Sweetgrass Sliders.

Fernando Cabral’s Caravela welcomes diners with the perfect patio spot to sip Portuguese wine and taste his classic renditions of traditional Portuguese fare. Colossal shrimp Paulista, hearts of palm salad, mariscada seafood stews or pork alentejo (with little neck clams) are perfect dishes for summer months, not to mention an ethereal flan accompanied by a glass of port.

Jill Rose’s Chiboust, another signature Tarrytown restaurant, boasts a number of outdoor tables, excellent for coffee and indulging in one of her award-winning pastries: passion fruit Chiboust, chocolate ganache or linzer tart. Chiboust serves brunch and a special small plates menu – perfect for tasting and sharing: crispy flatbread, truffle crusted mac-and-cheese, or a Wagyu burger. Complimentary wine tastings add to the allure on the third Wednesday of every month from 6 to 8 p.m.

Capri Pizza and Pasta, a bright star in Tarrytown’s South End, will be updating and expanding the patio area. Open for lunch and dinner, Capri invites patrons to enjoy dining on the patio as it bustles with a lunchtime crowd and stays lively well into the evening. An instant success for family dining, Capri offers a full array of specialty pizza, pizzas to order with any number of toppings, antipasti, and hearty pasta dishes – something for everyone to choose from.

Elias and George Samara’s Santorini continues to offer healthy and plentiful Greek fare, on Valley Street in Sleepy Hollow. At sidewalk tables, patrons can enjoy lunch or dinner, generous Greek salads, paninis, Santorini’s pita pizza, homemade soups, souvlaki, traditional Greek cuisine and Elias’ Special appetizer platter – enough for the table to share.

Across the street, Que Chula Es Puebla’s al fresco dining is perfect for sipping margaritas, enjoying live music on the weekends, or dipping into guacamole, nachos or enchiladas with friends and family. Happy hour, with free appetizers, goes from 3-6 Monday through Friday, and stay for the regional Puebla specialties this restaurant is known for.

Silver Tips Tea, Anupa Miller’s expanded tea room, accommodates patrons outside in a cozy spot where enjoying any one of her vast selection of teas, especially iced teas in summer time, can be accompanied with any one of a number of wraps, hearty soups and sandwiches. Having High Tea while nibbling one of Silver Tops’ famously rich scones and watching the world go by on North Broadway, you’re sure to see someone you know.

Rainwater Grill, is creating a streetscape buzz in Hastings, with high bar and dining-style tables on the sidewalk open to the bar and its lively happy-hour scene weekdays from 4 to 7 p.m. Three draft beers and 5 wines by the glass are available, and are especially in demand during the Thursday jazz scene starting at 7:30 p.m. Full brunch, lunch and dinner menus are available outside as well.

Our regions’ newest modern Indian restaurant, Orissa, has opened its French doors to Dobbs Ferry’s inner-village sidewalk, creating an inviting indoor/outdoor feel, thanks to architect Niall Cain. Stopping to sip a glass of wine accompanying steamed mussels with a tomato, garlic and mild Indian spice reduction. or grilled shrimp, chicken or seared paneer over micro greens is a light and engaging way to welcome summer. Even Orissa’s desserts, the much-praised cardamom-scented brownie and a new coconut flan tart, both redolent of classic Indian spices, are tempting “takes” on traditional Indian desserts.

Our local destination restaurant, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, combines garden patio dining with a unique view: the vista of an organic farm spread before you as you drive in and as you dine. It’s an indoor/outdoor panorama that takes your breath away. From the Blue Hill Café area, where patrons chose salads, soups, teas, cookies from an engaging “corner store,” patrons enjoying lunch can gaze on the farm’s inner courtyard and hay barn, or take in the woodlands, stream and outlying pastures. Blue Hill’s main dining room offers a snack menu: pork belly, asparagus and pancetta, charcuterie, local cheese troutlings and farro crackers, along with specialty seasonal cocktails, which can be enjoyed on a patio filled with trees, flowers and native edibles. Weather and space permitting, diners can choose to have their appetizers on the patio, dine in the comfort of the main room, and then wander outside to enjoy dessert – book-ending an unforgettable meal with views to the farm from which your ingredients were just harvested.

Summer is definitely here, so savor this season in our river towns with outdoor dining – glorious food, views and ambience to match.

Visit www.thehudsonindependent.com for restaurant information and links.