There are only two words you need to remember when thinking about summer dining in Maine: Get out.

We’ve just about arrived at the precious window of time when it’s safe (and comfortable and beautiful) to dine outside all over Maine. Many summer spots opened their oceanside or poolside or riverside dining areas by early June.

There are also places you might not think of for outdoor dining, like in Portland’s East End or on the Saco River. Some are relatively new, some are newly renovated.

Here then are a few suggestions to help you plot your Maine outdoor dining adventures this summer.

RIVER VIEWS 

Run of the Mill Public House & Brewery, Saco

This brewpub  on Main Street is in the former Manufacturing Mill No. 3, in a sprawling mill complex that spreads from Saco into Biddeford. The outdoor patio gives diners views of the Saco River as it winds through the historic red brick buildings. The beer selection is extensive, including ones with fun names like Bug Zapper Superlager and Dunkel John’s Band.

Sea Dog Brewing Co., Bowdoin Mill Island, Topsham 

This casual restaurant and brewpub is located in an 1868 paper mill and its patio has dramatic views of the Androscoggin River and downtown Brunswick.

Gritty McDuff’s, Main Street, Auburn

This venerable Maine brewpub is located in Auburn, just across the Androscoggin River from downtown Lewiston. The large back deck has picnic tables with high-backed benches and umbrellas, and views of the river, Lewiston and the Longley Bridge. The other Gritty’s location is in Portland’s Old Port, which opened in 1988.

The Quarry Tap Room, Water Street, Hallowell

The folks who run this restaurant and bar describe it online as “a modern day saloon” that might make people think of the days when the Kennebec River flowed with ice and timber in this historic small town, just south of Augusta. The name of the place comes from Hallowell’s history of granite quarries. The outdoor dining is on a spacious patio and beer garden, with tables underneath umbrellas, overlooking the river. The place is also known for a lively schedule of local musicians playing there.

OCEAN VIEWS

The Chart Room at Black Point Inn, Prouts Neck, Scarborough

The Black Point Inn’s grand porch is a great dining spot to enjoy sunsets against an ocean backdrop, while enjoying a bite to eat and something to drink. There’s a new menu and a new chef this season. Built in 1878, the inn gives you a taste of Maine’s vacationland history. It’s been visited by lots of famous people, including artist Winslow Homer, who painted nearby. And it’s just a minute down the road from Ferry Beach in Scarborough.

Diamond’s Edge Restaurant, Great Diamond Island, Casco Bay

Take a Casco Bay Lines ferry from Commercial Street in Portland or your own boat to this waterfront restaurant, nestled among the neat and historic brick buildings of the former Fort McKinley. There are 14 tables on the deck under an awning, plus about 20 on the lawn closer to the water. It’s open for lunch and dinner though hours vary, so check the website. There are also plans to have live music, with a schedule of performers coming soon.

Archer’s on the Pier, Rockland

Just off Ocean Street and minutes from downtown, this restaurant’s massive deck juts out into Rockland Harbor. There are covered areas, sunlit spots and umbrellas, plus ocean and boats wherever you look. The menu is upscale Maine, from local wild oysters to a “Lazy Lobster” where the staff does the work for you.

WORKING WATERFRONTS

The Bait Shed, Pine Point, Scarborough

A quintessential Maine experience, eating fresh seafood on a dock. It’s next to the Town Landing, just a couple minutes from Pine Point Beach. It’s run by the Bayley family, who began digging clams and trapping lobsters in the area in more than 100 years ago. Clams and lobster of course are all over the menu.

Harraseeket Lunch and Lobster Company, Freeport

This restaurant is on a dock on the South Freeport waterfront, where you can sit on a picnic table under a canopy and gaze out at a harbor full of fishing boats and pleasure craft. The Coffin family has run the restaurant and its fishing business, for more than 50 years. The place is full of Maine summer staples, like fried clams scallops, haddock sandwiches and whoopie pies.

McLoons Lobster Shack, South Thomaston

This picturesque and slightly out of the way casual lobster shack is on Spruce Head Island, south of Rockland and just across the water from the area’s oldest working lobster wharf. The menu of course includes lobster rolls, lobster dinners, chowders and oysters. Dine at picnic tables on the wharf (some covered) or in Adirondack chairs on the grass, just steps from the water.

RESORTS AND INNS

Latitudes, Nonantum Resort, Kennebunkport

Latitudes is an indoor/outdoor restaurant on the Kennebunk River, with a pool bar, that is open to the public. It’s just a three-minute drive from the hustle and bustle of Dock Square, and because it’s on a resort, it’s sort of a secret. Until now.

The Burleigh, Kennebunkport Inn, Dock Square, Kennebunkport

This gastropub at the Kennebunkport Inn is open for dinner Wednesday through Sunday, with seating for 35 on a cozy patio and for 50 on a spacious sundeck.

The Boathouse Restaurant, Kennebunkport

Located at the Boathouse Waterfront Hotel on the Kennebunk River in downtown, this eatery has two outdoor deck areas, one covered and one not. So you can get some sun or stay out of the rain.  The place also has live music, cornhole, and other outdoor games. You can get drinks from the bar and local New England bites like lobster fried rice and Maine crab cakes.

Shade: The Eatery at Higgins Beach Inn, Scarborough

The three-season porch at Shade lets you enjoy a sit-down meal or cocktail with ocean breezes, just a block or so from the ocean. It’s a place for a little something more upscale than ham sandwiches in your beach chair. Though it’s only a few minutes’ walk from said beach chair. It’s open for dinner Wednesday through Sunday, for the season.

SIDEWALKS AND DOWNTOWNS

Via Vecchia, Old Port, Portland 

This Italian restaurant at 10 Dana Street has outdoor seating where you can watch people strolling along the cobblestone streets past the Old Port’s historic brick buildings. There are about 20 seats at tables under umbrellas just a few steps from Via Vecchia’s lush, ivy-covered facade.

LB Kitchen, East End, Portland 

This breakfast and lunch spot on Congress Street added new outdoor seating last year. There are tables and wooden benches, with backs, under umbrellas, on the sidewalk. The place is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m, with a focus on breakfast classics, toasts and sandwiches, bowls and salads, slushies and smoothies.

Noble Kitchen & Bar, The Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick 

This downtown Brunswick hotel and landmark reopened in May after a five-month renovation, which included a lot of work to the outdoor dining patio. The patio has new lighting, a full outdoor bar and new spring menu by chef Ken Burkett. There are also fire pits and warming towers. It’s close to the Maine State Music Theatre, Bowdoin College and the Amtrak station.