Outdoor dining is back in New York City, so find a table and some fresh air.

The roadway cafes that popped up across the city during the COVID pandemic had to be taken down last year, but they've now become seasonal, running from April 1 to Nov. 29. Meanwhile, sidewalk seating will be allowed year-round. 

The city says it received more than 3,400 applications for the outdoor dining program, which has grown more than two and half times the size it was before the pandemic. Of the 3,400 application, 600 roadway structures and 1,850 sidewalk setups have been approved.

NYC outdoor dining near me

In order to find out which restaurants have been approved for outdoor dining this season, it's, well, complicated. 

The city's Department of Transportation, which oversees the program, says a total of 2,600 restaurants have some type of approval.

The DOT maintains three separate lists on its website. The first is an interactive map where you can search for a restaurant's name or location to see if a license has been issued. 

If you search by each borough, Manhattan and Brooklyn each have 18 restaurants, Queens has seven, the Bronx has four and Staten Island doesn't have any. 

The second is a list of restaurants that received conditional approval for roadway cafes, as of March 25. Lastly, there is a list of all the restaurants that applied for sidewalk seating by the August 3 deadline last year. 

Due to a backlog, the DOT recently announced restaurants that had cleared certain steps would receive conditional approval to operate while their applications are processed.

NYC outdoor dining guidelines and rules

The city has several requirements for outdoor dining related to cleanliness, smoking, noise and hours. There are rules for specific setup areas, the size of the structure, and and requirements for easy assembly and removal. 

Roadway and sidewalk cafes will be allowed to operate seven days a week from 10 a.m. to midnight on Sundays and 8 a.m. to midnight every other day of the week. 

Areas must be kept "clean, well-maintained, and clear of trash, debris, graffiti, vermin, food scraps, and unsanitary conditions," the DOT website says. 

Restaurants that fail to comply will be given 30 days to correct the violation before facing a $200 fine. Second and subsequent offenses face a $500 fine, and repeat offenders risk having their licenses suspended or revoked. 

For more information about the requirements and other resources, CLICK HERE.

Not everyone wants a taste

When Le Dive opened in 2022, it served cozy meals outside, akin to a winter cabin -- but on the Lower East Side. 

"We had 18 seats on the sidewalk here and roadway over here," owner Jon Neidich explained.

Under the city's new Dining Out program, the restaurant is losing 25 percent of its seating and can only put tables in the confines of designated staging areas. 

"We are no longer allowed to have an awning, because we have a stop sign here. So we become really weather dependent," said Neidich. 

The onerous regulations prompted restaurants like the Empire Diner in Chelsea, which once had an iconic street structure, to not even apply. 

Meanwhile, the Consulate on the Upper West Side said the DOT made it remove a $20,000 vestibule but allowed it to keep some tables. 

"As a French American modern restaurant, I think it gives that flair," manager Tonci Antunovic said. 

Some say the process is inequitable -- for example, the Bronx had only 30 restaurants with outdoor dining before the pandemic, and then there were more than 600. Now, the number is back down, only eight roadway cafes are set to open in the borough. 

On Monday, the New York State Latino Restaurant Bar and Lounge Association stood by Assemblyman Tony Simone, who just introduced legislation that would make sure the program runs year round. 

"The cost is just not feasible for them -- these structures, having to remove them in November," said Sandra Jaquez, president of the NYS Latino Restaurant Bar & Lounge Association. "Our restaurants really need the space for their yearly parties, Christmas parties."

Further complicating matters, restaurants that want to serve liquor to outdoor dining guests could only apply for a state license to do so once the city approved their design plans. 

"It's super important to be able to serve alcohol in the seats," Neidich said, adding, "When we have all the outdoor, we're able to employ another 15 to 20 people."

The state Liquor Authority says it reviews most applications within seven to 10 days of receipt. 

To help restaurants with their bottom line, the DOT created a Dining Out NYC Marketplace where businesses can sell or rent approved outdoor dining setups and services. Rentals start at $33 a day, and restaurants won't have to find storage for them when the season ends.