Top 5 Restaurants with Outdoor Seating near Marion, IL

Outdoor dining has changed over the past few years, but it’s for the better. More restaurants offer outdoor eating spaces than ever before, and many even keep them open even after the temperatures start to drop. Whether you prefer to wait until it warms back up or you like the adventure of eating outside during the winter months, check out these restaurants with outdoor dining in and around Marion.

Tequilas Mexican Restaurant

Tequila’s Mexican Restaurant has a nice outdoor patio that opens up when the weather is nice. The Marion location is the first Tequilas and has been serving delicious Mexican food since 1992. The menu has all your favorites, from nachos to tacos, burritos, and more.

You can start with appetizers such as bean dip, a bowl of chili, and the delicious guacamole. If you want something light, you have several salads to choose from, including the taco salad, guacamole salad, and taco salad fajitas.

There are several house specials on the menu that are must-try dishes. The quesadilla special comes with a grilled flour tortilla filled with Mexican chorizo, cheese, and refried beans. It’s topped with pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream, and lettuce. The taquitos Mexicanos is also a great choice. This entree includes five rolled corn tortillas stuffed with either chicken or beef and then fried and served with lettuce, guacamole, tomatoes, pico de gallo, and sour cream.

Walt’s Pizza & Restaurant

“Pizza” licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Flickr by Matt from London

Stop by Walt’s Pizza & Restaurant at 213 S Court St. for delicious pizza and a great atmosphere. Walt’s offers outdoor seating during the warm months, but you can get great food all year long. This place has been serving its famous double-decker pizza since 1977. This unique pizza starts with a thin crust topped with sauce, cheese, and your favorite toppings. It then has another thin crust on top, with more cheese and toppings. The two crusts are then twisted together before being baked. You can also get pan pizza, crispy thin-crust pizza, and a variety of Italian dishes.

One of the pizza specials you can choose at Walt’s is the Walt’s Deluxe with pepperoni, sausage, onions, mushrooms, green peppers, and green olives. They also have a classic white with marinated chicken, a cream sauce, and mozzarella. The Mexican is just like a taco on a pizza with spicy beef, peppers, black olives, mozzarella, cheddar cheese, tomato, and lettuce.

Pookie’s Beer, Burgers, and Bocce

Pookie’s is one of the best bar-and-grill restaurants in Marion. It has both indoor and outdoor seating, with a large area that opens up in the summer to increase the outdoor space. This is a fun place to go when you want to do more than just sit. You can play bocce on one of the three courts or watch others while they play. Pookie’s also brings in live performers, featuring both local and regional bands on its stage.

If you’re not up for bocce, this bar also has many other games. The DAGZ dice angle game is popular for all ages, or you can play Vegas slots. Corn hole continues to grow in popularity, and it’s also one of the games at Pookie’s.

The snack menu has fun items such as crinkle-cut French fries, fried pickles, fried mushrooms, and pretzel bites when you get hungry. Pookie’s also serves wings, burgers, and sandwiches. You’ll find this establishment at 109 N Madison St.

La Fiesta Mexican Grill

La Fiesta Mexican Grill serves authentic Mexican cuisine in a family-friendly atmosphere. This locally owned restaurant has both indoor and outdoor seating and delicious food. Stop by for lunch or dinner and get started with guacamole, chicken nachos, or a quesadilla fajita. The dinner menu includes the Panchos grill, which features grilled chicken, shrimp, or steak with onions, peppers, and tomatoes on a bed of rice.

The fiesta tacos are always a good choice. You can create your own from ingredients such as chorizo, carnitas, steak, or chicken, and top it with onions and cilantro. Make sure to try the chimichangas. This dish is a flour tortilla filled with beef or spicy chicken and then deep-fried. It comes topped with cheese sauce and is served with lettuce, sour cream, guacamole, rice, pico de gallo, and beans.

La Fiesta’s owners honor their heritage by creating and serving authentic Mexican dishes. They take pride in everything they make and it shows.

Tower Square Pizza

You’ll find Tower Square Pizza on the Square in downtown Marion. This pizza place serves handcrafted pizza and many other freshly-made menu items, from pasta to sandwiches and calzone. They have a raised patio for outdoor dining, with music and special events throughout the season. You can find out more about the events by checking out the restaurant’s blog or Facebook page.

There is a lot to choose from on Tower Square Pizza’s menu, and everything is always made with fresh ingredients. The appetizers include bruschetta, breaded spicy sausage risotto bites, and breaded meat cannelloni bites. Pasta lovers will enjoy the spaghetti with marinara, meat sauce, creamy parmesan alfredo sauce, or the traditional lasagna.

The pizza at this local restaurant is always a good choice. The Deluxe comes with sausage, pepperoni, green peppers, green olives, mushrooms, and onions, while the Hawaiian has Canadian bacon, pepperoni, pineapple, and green peppers. Choose the taco pizza to get your pie with hamburger, cheddar, mozzarella cheese, onions, lettuce, and tomato, or try the vegetarian if you like your pizza with a mix of veggies. The menu also offers Chicago-style pizza, a gluten-free crust, and the two-timer pizza with two times all the toppings and cheese.

These are some of our favorite places in the Marion area where we can get great food and eat outside when the weather is warm. Do you know of any others that we should add to the list? Stop by the dealership and let us know what you like, and while you are at VW of Marion, you can take a look at our inventory and find your next ride.