Stonington Restaurant Ranks Among Top 100 In Nation For Outdoor Dining

STONINGTON, CT — A Stonington restaurant has been lauded for its outdoor dining spaces and is among the top 100 places to dine al fresco, according to customers who reviewed the eateries online.

The Dog Watch Café at 194 Water Street cracked the Top 100 list, which was released by OpenTable on Wednesday.

The dockside eatery, which features a deep menu including a raw bar and "build-a-burger" right up through truffled scallop risotto and "the best bouillabaisse in America," received an average rating of 4.7 stars in more than 2,300 online reviews.

According to OpenTable, the number of restaurants offering outdoor dining grew by more than 54 since pre-pandemic times. As the COVID-19 pandemic set in, many restaurants were forced to rely on outdoor seating to accommodate guests due to restrictions placed on businesses and restaurants to allow guests indoors.

"Outdoor dining played a major role in buoying the restaurant industry over the last few years, and restaurants took note – whether adding, expanding, or elevating their offerings," Susan Lee, chief growth officer for OpenTable said in a news release. "Offering outdoor dining is now a key part of restaurants' business, and we're happy to see that diners continue to embrace it."

While nationwide, the number of restaurants listing outdoor space grew significantly, at the city-level, many saw double and even triple-digit increases. New York (141 percent), San Francisco (126 percent) and Las Vegas (108 percent) saw the greatest increase in the number of restaurants listing outdoor dining space compared to pre-pandemic 2019.

The Dog Watch Café scored a 4.7 across the food, service and ambiance categories, and received a rating of 4.6 for its value, according to reviewers.