Yes, Washington Square’s Oceanaire Seafood Room is a chain, but the tucked-away rear outdoor dining area is anything but the norm. Umbrella-covered tables sit on a spacious paved patio that’s perfectly insulated by sleepy buildings, a traffic-free alley, and the swanky St. James’s well-manicured garden. So diners get not only a quiet reprieve from the popular Center City outdoor dining philosophy of let’s-just-throw-a-few-tables-on-this-crowded-uneven-sidewalk, but a great urban spot to mow down freshly shucked oysters, sip chilled chardonnay, and pretend you’re anywhere but three blocks from touristy Liberty Bell hell. [CLOSED AS OF JULY 2009]

Oceanaire Seafood Room | PA