The great outdoors

To my right: a hulking three-family house painted a bizarre baby blue, a shade reminiscent of the Caribbean. To my left: the startling, deafening roar of an MBTA bus barreling by. In front of me: the hoods and bumpers of a row of parked cars.

Now, a quiz. Where am I?

Paradoxically, I’m seated on the delightful outdoor deck at Sabur, one of my favorite Teele Square restaurants, which removed a hunk of its parking lot three years ago to make room for a patio. This being Somerville, dinner on the deck remains an unmistakably urban experience, as evidenced by the aesthetically challenged three-decker next door. Yet people still flock here, drawn by the fleeting seasonal opportunity to eat outside.

Plenty of local restaurants have open-air patios that attract throngs of customers in warm weather. The Back Bay and South End are lined with sidewalk cafes. Charlestown’s Tavern on the Water is blessed with two decks by the harbor. In Cambridge, Oleana has its garden patio, Harvest its courtyard, Dante its veranda on the Charles.

But other restaurants do even more with less. Like Sabur, they took cramped, awkward, or seemingly unusable outside spaces and, with vision and creativity, turned them into coveted dining destinations. We decided to explore a few of these oddball places. Because the only thing better than snaring an outdoor table on a perfect summer day is finding outside seating where you least expect it.

Sabur

212 Holland St., Teele Square, Somerville. 617-776-7890.

Some people saw two handicapped-parking spaces. But Harris Jusufbegovic saw a patio in the making. It took him two years to win neighborhood support, but Jusufbegovic — by redesigning his restaurant’s parking lot — finally made his goal of opening an outdoor deck a reality.

Beautiful handiwork went into Sabur’s cedar deck, which looks like a little patch of suburbia in the city. It’s protected by a natural fence of evergreens, rimmed with lovely cross-hatched railings, and overlooks a darling plot of marigolds.

Jusufbegovic, who opened this Mediterranean restaurant with a partner in 2001, could have just put tables on the sidewalk. But that wasn’t good enough. ‘‘We all wait for summer to come so we can eat al fresco,’’ he said, ‘‘so I really wanted to make something nice.’’

Blissfully oblivious to the Holland Street traffic, we ordered a summery meal of cinnamon-dusted vegetable tagine ($14.75) and an appetizer plate ($13) of lamb paprikash, grape leaves, pita with vegetable spread, and a cheese-filled phyllo pastry called burek.

The patio, which seats 28, must be cleared by 10 nightly so that neighbors have late-night quiet. That’s its only drawback, other than the blindingly blue three-decker beside it. But this wouldn’t be Somerville without houses whose colors defy the laws of nature.

Saluté

4257 Washington St., Roslindale. 617-325-1000.

Syringes, garbage, piles of debris. That’s what cluttered the crumbling alleyway next to this sleazy Rozzie Square bar that, after a radical renovation, reopened as a chic restaurant called Saluté earlier this year.

Siblings Beth McNichols and Michael Sousa transformed this former gin mill into a neighborhood prize, and they also turned that bad-news alley into a pretty patio with cranberry-colored umbrellas and seating for about 20.

‘‘It was more or less a dump site: beer bottles, crap, you name it,’’ said McNichols. ‘‘Someone told me I should use the space to expand the restaurant, but I said, ‘Nah, I don’t think so. I’d rather put a patio there.’’’

So she did. Contractors poured concrete, erected a tall wood fence, installed a wrought-iron lamppost and gate, and planted rhododendrons. The end result is a delight.

What’s surprising is how well this place fits into the neighborhood. Saluté has a bistro feel, but it’s not out of place amid the old-timey, low-rent, slightly tattered businesses around it: shoe repair shop, bottle redemption center, meat market, comic book store, furniture restorer.

Here’s a charming secret: Behind the patio’s back fence, McNichols grows herbs, corn, tomatoes, squash, and onions. Some of these crops occasionally show up in the food, which includes wood-grilled pizzas ($8-$12); excellent Sardinian seafood stew ($19) loaded with halibut, salmon, shrimp, scallops, and mussels; and roasted pear salad ($8) marred only by gritty lettuce that needed to be washed on our visit.

‘‘Everybody likes to eat outside,’’ McNichols said. ‘‘It’s just such a nice feeling.’’

Ristorante Fiore

250 Hanover St., North End. 617-371-1176.

The North End’s three-floor Ristorante Fiore has not one but two outdoor-eating options: a street-level patio and a large roof deck. We were so eager for a rooftop table that we waited nearly an hour for one on a recent weeknight.

‘‘Pretty much everyone wants to be up there on a nice night,’’ said Sarah Wiggin, director of operations, explaining why long waits are common.

When our names were finally called, we excitedly headed upstairs — only to be walloped by the acrid odor of cigarettes. Many customers like Ristorante Fiore’s roof specifically because it allows smoking, but we found the stench of so many congregated smokers off-putting. There’s also a frat-party mood on the roof, a prime after-work gathering spot for young singles sporting flip-flops, toe rings, and copious cleavage.

All that made us cranky at first, but the service is fast and gracious, and the food is quite good. We shared a great spinach salad ($9), grilled asparagus ($9, which is steep for six spears), and fusilli pasta ($16) tossed with wild mushrooms, onions, and prosciutto.

Half of the roof, which has room for up to 100 people, is a bar area, and after 11 nightly the whole thing is outfitted with cocktail tables. Thanks to heat lamps and retractable awnings, the roof is open for business even on rainy and chilly days.

‘‘It’s a very unique atmosphere up there,’’ said Wiggin. ‘‘There’s kind of a tropical feel.’’ As for its popularity, she added, ‘‘It’s insane.’’

Casa Romero

30 Gloucester St., Back Bay. 617-536-4341.

I’m embarrassed to admit I didn’t know Casa Romero existed until a friend recently mentioned its courtyard to me. An obscure alleyway entrance leads to this basement Mexican restaurant, which has one of the coziest and most colorful, inviting dining rooms around.

But the real jewel is in the back, where a brick patio surrounded by towering apartment buildings is tucked away. It feels like Spain here, or maybe Mexico. I arrived after a midday rain shower, and the patio was damp, cool, and irresistibly enticing. It’s prettied up with potted plants and hanging flowers and can be covered by a canvas awning. A ceiling fan spins lazily beneath a balcony overhang.

Leo Romero bought this building in 1972, turning its basement apartment and yard into a restaurant with a patio. It’s remained that way ever since. ‘‘It’s a little oasis,’’ said Romero, who, at age 72, has ‘‘kind of retired,’’ which means he works only about 40 hours a week. ‘‘It’s sheltered with high walls around it, so there’s no wind, and it remains cool because it doesn’t get much sun during the day since it’s sandwiched between two buildings.’’

A few mosquitoes were nipping on the night I visited the courtyard, which seats 27, but I didn’t mind as I enjoyed my jicama-orange salad ($5.50), fish taco ($6.50), and grilled vegetables with corn tamale and refried beans ($18).

‘‘Half the people who come this time of year want to sit in the courtyard,’’ Romero said. ‘‘It’s a haven, and that’s why people prefer it to other outdoor dining areas.’’

Wonder Spice Cafe

697 Centre St., Jamaica Plain. 617-522-0200.

At the rear of this Thai restaurant is the cutest, funniest patio I’ve ever seen. It’s behind a chain-link fence that’s painted white and strung with Christmas lights. Its cracked green asphalt floor looks like a neglected tennis court. The decor is pure mishmash: a pagoda statue, a potbellied Buddha, fake palm trees made of brown plastic trunks and green plastic fronds, a bunny rabbit figurine.

The comically tacky trees are ‘‘symbolic of where we came from,’’ explained Davy Heder, a native of Cambodia who opened Wonder Spice with her friend Chanpen Wongbaht in 2001. As for the rabbit, ‘‘I like it in general,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s a nice, cute animal.’’

About 25 people can fit on this patio, which has a view of a parking lot, condos, and the backs of several stores. It’s within eyeshot and earshot of passing traffic, so you certainly won’t forget you’re in a busy urban area.

We liked the Khmer rolls and shumai ($5.50 each), but the shrimp in the pad Thai ($8.95) was flaccid and soggy; the loc lac ($12.95), peppery cubes of sirloin that can be so fabulous when well prepared, was basically boring steak tips; and a chicken-veggie dish called Broccoli Lovers ($9.95) was fine but forgettable.

Still, despite our disappointing meal, I’d give Wonder Spice another try just for the amusement of spending another evening on its enchanting patio. Bunny rabbit and all.