After a couple of years of limiting your visits to restaurants, a spring or summer evening at a downtown patio, drinking craft beer and sharing from one of the best snack menus in Edmonton sounds pretty awesome. Campio Brewing Co. has established itself as one of the finest small breweries in the city, but the beer is only part of the story here. The patio is a stone’s throw from Rogers Place, and the MacDavid pizza is a cheeky take on McDonald’s famous burger — while also honouring the closest thing we have to a demigod in this city. It features lettuce, ground beef and a tangy sauce on a crust so thick, heaving a slice might be certified as weight training. Get outside, see friends, raise a glass and share the thinly sliced, fried pickle chips or the Wagyu beef carpaccio. Sorry, if you’re looking for the same old, same old pub fare — the soggy cheese nachos and the cooked-till-black burgers — you’ll have to go somewhere else. – Steven Sandor
10257 105 St., NW, 587-635-1952, CampioBrewingCo.com
One word to describe Shōjō Izakaya’s patio is magical. Driving up to the restaurant, you’ll see the show stopping patio before the restaurant, which is located underneath Wilfred’s in the Brewery District. Despite being below ground level, the patio is bright with an abundance of twinkling lights strung across and hanging down. The patio features greenery up the cement wall and heat lamps for those extra chilly nights. Sip on a seasonally crafted cocktail or chilled glass of sake, or order sushi, noodles or one of the fried and grilled dishes. Even during the day, it feels like you’re dining under the stars at Shōjō Izakaya. – Katrina Turchin
10425 121 St., NW, 780-540-4800, ShojoIzakaya.com
At the time of writing — as pipes freeze and frost seems to hover in the air — the idea of sitting on a patio doesn’t just seem like a luxury, it seems like a foreign concept. But as soon as the temperature shows a “20” without a minus sign in front, we’ll race to one of the best patios in the city. Confederation is obviously luxurious, with its high-quality drinks and castle-like background, but there’s something casual about looking out on the river valley as the sun sets after work. Going to The Harvest Room for dinner is a special occasion, but Confederation Lounge is a place you can go to on a whim. – Cory Schachtel
10065 100 St., 780-424-5181, Fairmont.com
