June 22, 2023

Summer didn’t waste any time blazing into Sioux Falls, and sometimes the only thing to do is embrace it and soak up memories to hold you through a long winter like last year’s. Here are five new and newer patios across the city where you can enjoy everything from a glass of wine to a pint of craft beer to a jumbo margarita.

Maribella Ristorante/Brix Wine Bar

Maribella Ristorante, the new upscale Italian restaurant in downtown’s Washington Square at 12th and Main, opened its patio earlier this month.

“There is nothing quite like dining al fresco with authentic Italian food, a great bottle of wine or a spritz and great service to match,” said Riccardo Tarabelsi, who opened Maribella with his wife, Marybeth, late last year.

The patio’s tables and chairs were imported from Italy, and most of them seat four people, with total patio capacity at 45. Red and orange umbrellas provide shade for the west-side patio until the sun sinks behind the Washington Pavilion across the street.

A sofa area provides a comfy spot to enjoy a cocktail or glass of wine while waiting for a table.

At the north end of the building at Brix Wine Bar, which the Tarabelsis also own, a dozen guests can find seating outside.

Neither patio takes reservations. Both are full-service – you can even order Maribella’s food over at Brix – and guests should check in before grabbing a table, Tarabelsi said.

Hours for both are 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 4 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Paramount Cocktails & Food

In the heart of downtown, find four tables nestled between the sidewalk and Phillips Avenue at the reopened Paramount Cocktails & Food.

The lounge from neighboring Minervas closed in the spring of 2020 as the pandemic began and reopened late last year. The east-facing patio offers seating for up to 16 customers at four tables sprouting two green and two blue umbrellas.

The tables are first-come, first-served, and people should pop into the lounge first to let a server know they’re there.

Paramount has a full liquor license and also offers featured drink choices perfect for sitting outside and watching people walk and drive by. Current choices are Tito’s blueberry basil lemonade, Bacardi blueberry mojito and Ciroc honey melon fizz.

The lounge serves a menu of small plates with choices like buffalo meatballs and a shrimp cocktail. Recent additions are Pierogi Pasta and prime rib sliders. Diners can order a trip through the Market Bar at Minervas and also order from the restaurant’s dessert menu.

Hours at Paramount, 307 S. Phillips Ave., are 4 p.m. to close – typically 10 or 11 p.m. — Wednesday through Saturday.

Plaza Azteca

Plaza Azteca, an upscale Mexican restaurant on 69th Street west of Louise Avenue, opened its new patio a couple of weeks ago.

It’s on the south side of the restaurant, and the highlight is eight barstools lining a large opening to the bar inside, making it easy to order a margarita. Plaza Azteca has a full liquor license, so that’s actual tequila in those drinks and not a malt-beverage knockoff.

The main patio offers a mix of regular and high-top tables, providing seating for up to 52 customers. Umbrellas provide welcomed shade. Servers wait on customers, and the made-to-order guacamole cart even makes trips outside.

The restaurant at 3500 W. 69th St. doesn’t take reservations, so all spots are first-come, first-served. It opens daily at 11 a.m. and closes at 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Roundhouse Brew Pub

The new patio at Roundhouse Brew Pub offers a mix of fully outdoor and partially enclosed seating.

The taproom for the Minnesota-based brewery, which also features a menu of burgers, pizza and more, built an addition at the front that connects to the main building with a door. The new space features two large garage doors that open to the patio, which is surrounded by a metal railing separating it from the parking lot of the retail center on 69th Street east of Cliff Avenue.

The new area and patio provide seating for about 50 people. Yet to come: a fire pit outside with comfy seating around it. Tables are first-come, first-served, and guests should check in to be seated.

In addition to Roundhouse’s craft beers, some of which feature railroad-themed names like Coal Train Porter and Golden Spike Imperial IPA, the pub serves other beer, wine, cocktails and spirits.

Hours at Roundhouse, 1515 E. 69th St., are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.

The pub’s late-night menu of appetizers and pizzas takes over during the final hour.

The Wine Bar at Allure

You might feel like you’ve escaped to a resort at the new patio for The Wine Bar at Allure.

The outdoor seating area for the bar that focuses on wine and beer is on the east side of Allure Health along Minnesota Avenue south of 77th Street. A row of new shrubbery along the sidewalk eventually will shield the view of traffic.

The two-story building at 7000 S. Lyncrest Place provides plenty of late-afternoon/early evening shade on the tables for two. A table for four sits under an overhang that leads into Allure, which offers a multispecialty clinic, IV club and fitness center.

There’s seating for about a dozen now, and more tables are coming at the end of July, said McKenna Geringer, the chef who creates the bar’s tapas menu and works with bartender Natasha Thacker.

“We have a very good selection of wine, beer, champagne and mocktails,” Geringer said.

Hours for The Wine Bar at Allure, which originally was called Thalia Bar, are 3 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.