2 Illinois Restaurants Rank Among Top 100 In Nation For Outdoor Dining

ILLINOIS — A pair of Illinois restaurants have been lauded for their outdoor dining spaces and are among the top 100 places to dine al fresco, according to customers who reviewed the eateries online.

Piccolo Sogno in Chicago and Hardware in North Aurora both cracked the Top 100 list, which was released by OpenTable on Wednesday.

Piccolo Sogno, which features Italian cuisine and is located in Chicago’s River West neighborhood, received an average rating of 4.5 stars in more than 5,600 online reviews.

Hardware, which features a contemporary American menu and boasts its use of locally grown sustainable ingredients, was also a 4.5-star destination by the nearly 2,800 customers who reviewed the restaurant on OpenTable.

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."

Chicago ranked second among colder-climate cities in increases in outdoor dining reservations between May and June 2022, according to Open Table. Chicago saw a 49 percent bump in outdoor dining requests, according to Open Table, finishing only behind Pittsburgh, which saw an increase of 53 percent.

Hardware received a rating of 4.8 for its ambiance, according to reviewers, while the restaurant’s food received a rating of 4.7.

Piccolo Sogno received a rating of 4.7 for both its food and ambiance.