Arlington Restaurant Ranks Among Top 100 In Nation For Outdoor Dining

ARLINGTON, VA — An Arlington 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.

Ruthie's All-Day cracked the Top 100 list, which was released by OpenTable on Wednesday. The family-friendly restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and brunch on weekends.

Its wine list includes old-world classics and new world producers. It also offers cocktails with twists on classic favorites, and a rotating eight draft beer program from local breweries.

"We are an unpretentious chef-driven restaurant with an emphasis on using locally-sourced seasonal ingredients," Ruthie's All-Day says on its website.

Ruthie's All-Day, at 3411 5th St. South, just off S. Glebe Rd., received an average rating of 4.7 stars in more than 1,564 online reviews.

According to OpenTable, the number of restaurants offering outdoor dining grew by more than 54 percent 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."

Metro areas with some of the greatest increases in outdoor dining reservations from May to June included the Washington, D.C., area, at 9 percent.

Ruthie's All-Day received a rating of 4.8 for its food, according to reviewers, while the restaurant's ambience and service received a rating of 4.6.

OpenTable's 100 Best Restaurants for Outdoor Dining in America was generated from more than 13.6 million verified OpenTable diner reviews collected between May 1, 2021, and April 30, 2022.