Outdoor Dining Tips: How To Elevate Your Table
Photo: Tessa Neustadt
Many outdoor dinners can look a bit thrown together. A vinyl tablecloth, mismatched plastic cups, the plates from a child’s birthday party because nobody remembered to buy outdoor dinnerware, and a citronella candle in the middle of the table doing nothing.
A good outdoor dinner doesn’t necessarily require buying new things. It requires deploying what you already own correctly, creating a vibe, and skipping the moves that say “we’re outside, so this is informal.”
Here are my best tips for outdoor dining that feel elevated but are easy to pull off on a weeknight with your family.
See more of my outdoor dining tips, like How to Host a Dinner Party Without Losing Your Mind and The Best Outdoor Furniture That Lasts Through Heat, Humidity & Rain.
outdoor dining tipS
The Main Rule
Treat the outdoor table like an indoor table.
Plates, not paper. Real glassware, not plastic. Cloth napkins, not paper towels. A real centerpiece, even a small one.
The instinct to “make it casual” because it’s outside is the whole problem. Casual reads as careless. Intentional reads as warm. The difference is significant.
Want an easy outdoor dinner option? Check out The Best Outdoor Pizza Ovens Worth The Money.
Photo: Kara Mercer
outdoor dining tipS
The Surface
Your patio table is fine. You don’t need a new one. What you might need:
A table runner. Not a printed tablecloth. The runner gives the eye a path down the table and unifies whatever plates and vessels you’re putting on it.
A clean wipe-down. Bird droppings, pollen, dust. Notice what’s on the table before you start setting it.
If the table is ugly, cover it with a single linen sheet or a drop cloth. Costs nothing. Reads like a Provence farmhouse, not a backyard.
Then set the table like you would indoors
Need a table setting refresher? Learn How to Set a Table Properly.
Photo: Kara Mercer
outdoor dining tipS
Lighting is Key
If you do one thing on this list, do this.
Outdoor dinners that happen in good daylight always look fine. Outdoor dinners that run into dusk and beyond are where it gets either magical or grim, depending entirely on how you’ve lit the space.
The setup:
Two or three pillar candles in glass hurricanes down the center of the table. Glass hurricanes are windproof. Bare candles are not.
Portable Table Lamps also work well (as long as they have a warm light setting and can be dimmed.)
String lights overhead, not too dense, hung at about 9 to 10 feet. Globe-style bulbs, warm white.
A lantern or two on the periphery for ambient depth.
That’s it. No overhead floodlight. No string lights so dense they look like a Christmas display. Layered, warm, intentional.
Learn How to Create an Outdoor Living Room That Actually Gets Used.
Photo: Tessa Neustadt
outdoor dining tipS
A Simple Centerpiece (Using What You Have)
The centerpiece is usually the death of an outdoor dinner. People either skip it (the table looks bare) or buy something themed (the table looks costume-y).
What works: things you already own, used differently.
A wooden cutting board down the center of the table, with three small ceramic bowls of olives, almonds, and lemon wedges. Functional and beautiful.
A clear glass pitcher with herbs or flowers from the garden. Basil, rosemary, mint. Looks intentional.
A low ceramic bowl with a few lemons or limes in it. Three or five, never an even number.
A small plant in a clay pot, taken straight off the patio. Set it on a wooden trivet so the table doesn’t get dirty.
The wooden cutting board trick is the single best outdoor entertaining hack I know. It’s a board, a tray, and a serving piece all at once. It absorbs spills. It looks intentional. You already own one.
outdoor dining tipS
What to Skip
Citronella candles in the middle of the table. They don’t work at close range, and they smell like bug spray. Use a Thermacell or fan instead, at the edge of the space.
Paper plates on a “nice” night. If you’re investing in lights and a runner and good food, the plates need to match the effort.
Pre-poured drinks that wait too long. Wine in glasses 45 minutes before dinner is wine that’s gotten warm. Pour as people sit.
Heavy fabric napkins on a 75-degree night. Linen, breathable, light. Heavy hemmed napkins are for restaurants.
outdoor dining tipS
The Final Check
Walk away from the table for five minutes and come back. Look at it like a stranger would. What’s missing? What’s competing? What’s just visual noise?
Usually you’ll spot one thing. A plate that’s the wrong color. A napkin folded wrong. A bottle of something that should have been moved. Fix that one thing. Then sit down and enjoy your dinner.
