Naglee Park Garage is one of downtown’s hidden gems: tucked away in a shopping center near a 7-11 and a hot dog shop, the 30-seat restaurant serves some of downtown’s most polished meals in a welcoming and non-pretentious setting. Diners can eat in the tiny indoor dining room or a pleasant, Spanish-style courtyard, where live music is performed almost every Wednesday evening. The menu features hearty seasonal dishes and a carefully curated selection of craft beers.

SP2 Communal Bar + Restaurant has a beautiful outdoor lounge area, with spacious seating good for large parties or more intimate gatherings. The sleek, trendy ambiance befits the crowd, which is lively and well dressed. SP2 is open for brunch, lunch, dinner and happy hour, so there’s plenty of times to toast to the warm summer days ahead. The bar specializes in craft cocktails and the dining menu features creative comfort food like pancetta and kale cheddar mac 'n' cheese and ginger soy glazed baby back ribs.

Aqui is neighborhood gathering spot with locations in Campbell, Willow Glen, Blossom Valley and Cupertino. The restaurant serves healthy Cali-Mexican fare in a casual setting with affordable prices, drawing in crowds of families, groups of co-workers and longtime friends. While the fresh, organic meals bring people in (think grilled salmon with polenta and sweet potato taquitos), what Aqui is best known for is its industrial-strength margaritas: a seasonally rotating roster of blended margaritas swirled with another spirit. They’ll sneak up on you: the restaurant advises not to have more than two.

There are very few places in San Jose that can make one feel as if they’ve been transported to Europe, and Left Bank Brasserie is one of them. The restaurant serves traditional French cuisine in a cavernous and elegant dining room. Left Bank is somehow simultaneously perfect for brunch with the girls, a business lunch or date night. Outdoor seating offers some of the best people-watching in town.

Often referred to as “The Wagon Wheel” or simply as “The Wagon,” The Old Wagon Saloon and Grill is the type of that would survive even if nobody knows its real name. Visitors will find good food, good drinks, plenty of TVs to watch the Sharks and a generous outdoor patio that hosts fire lamps and (on occasion) beer pong tables.

Mezcal is located in a gorgeous space with a large, enclosed patio. Their restaurant serves beautiful Oaxacan fare. Simply put: This is not your grandma’s taqueria. Mezcal pulls off what other restaurants only dream of: authentic, traditional meals in an upscale, urban setting. Whether it’s mezcal-based cocktails, Oaxacan moles or traditional chapulines (salty, fried grasshoppers), Mezcal delivers with an accuracy that’s hard to deny.

Loft is home to one of the very few rooftop dining spaces in Silicon Valley. On the sunny patio diners can enjoy Loft's wide-ranging menu of hearty pastas and surf and turf favorites like the grilled pork tenderloin marinated in red wine or the scampi prawns in garlic white wine butter cream sauce. Loft also boasts a full bar and a lengthy wine list.

What's Mexican food without a chance of a Mariachi band showing up? The large patio in the front of El Amigo has been known to host Mariachi bands from time to time, but even if one doesn't show up, there's still the authentic Mexican cuisine. El Amigo has everyone's favorite Mexican dishes, plus some great deals during their happy hour.

The Brit is the place to go for sports fans, whether it's before the big Sharks match down the street or just to hang out with a brew and watch the game. In addition to their drinks, the Brit serves some classic tasty pub fare like fish and chips, plus some unexpected dishes like the shrip po boy. While the downtown Britannia Arms might be one's first thought for outdoor dinner and drinks, the other locations in Cupertino and Almaden have spacious patios as well.

The downtown San Jose location of this Los Gatos brew pub features a nice patio out in the back. Their beer is brewed on site and augments their wide variety of drinks and wines, in addition to some solid California cuisine. They've got all sorts of sandwiches and burgers, plus slow-roasted baby back ribs, lamb sirloin and a variety of pizzas.