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Todd Caine, Karen Dexter and Cyrus Dadci lunch at Waterbar in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, August 13, 2020.

Foreign Cinema in the Mission neighborhood in San Francisco is known for its courtyard and movies projected onto a wall via 35mm film projector.

Already well-known as a magnet for foodies, the Bay Area upped its outdoor dining game during the pandemic, with parklets and patios proliferating across the region and becoming a permanent part of the restaurant scene.

So it makes sense that no fewer than nine Bay Area restaurants landed on reservation website OpenTable’s newly released list of 100 Best Outdoor Dining Restaurants across the country.

California dominated this year’s list with 37 restaurants - more than three times runner-up Florida, with 11. While Southern California was the state’s al fresco powerhouse, the Bay Area had a respectable presence in the top 100, with four restaurants in San Francisco, three in Wine Country, one on the Solano County waterfront and one on the Peninsula.

According to data from OpenTable, the number of restaurants listing outdoor dining options has grown 126% in San Francisco since 2019, before the pandemic started, compared to 54% nationwide.

One restaurant that made both OpenTable’s top 100 and The Chronicle’s list of best outdoor restaurants was Foreign Cinema in the Mission.

Co-owner and chef Gayle Pirie described its outdoor courtyard with twinkling string lights as “piazza-esque,” where you get the feeling that “you’ve been transported to another place.” At dusk, movies are shown on a wall via an old school movie projector using 35mm film and vintage drive-in speakers.

Waterbar and Epic Steak, which are next door to each other on the Embarcadero waterfront and share the same owners, also made the list. Both restaurants offer sweeping views of the Bay Bridge. Seafood is king at Waterbar and, as the name suggests, hardwood-grilled steaks are front and center at Epic Steak.

Just up the Embarcadero about a half mile is another waterfront restaurant, La Mar Cebicheria Peruana, which serves Peruvian cuisine and is known for its ceviches and, of course, its views.

Wine Country offers a slew of places to grab a bite outdoors. Among the OpenTable top 100 was Bistro Don Giovanni, an Italian mainstay north of downtown Napa on lush grounds with a fountain, garden and vineyard views.

“It’s a beautiful setting,” said owner Giovanni Scala. ‘’We are very lucky.”

While the patio is roomy, Scala said the kitchen isn’t that large, so the restaurant takes reservations - which also helps maintain a seating capacity and gives guests more space.

Other Wine Country locations on the list are Spanish restaurant Bravas Bar de Tapas in Healdsburg and El Dorado Kitchen in downtown Sonoma. Both feature patio spaces suited to a leisurely lunch. Brava also has a bar that opens up to the outdoor area.

The Village Bakery and Cafe in Woodside also made the list, with its charming back patio and comfy seating. In Benicia, Bella Siena offers an Italian menu at its quaint courtyard with views of the Carquinez Strait.

The top al fresco dining list was generated from nearly 14 million verified OpenTable user reviews collected between May 1, 2021 to April 30, 2022, and includes only restaurants in the OpenTable network. Qualified restaurants have “outdoor dining” as a special feature, and a minimum overall score that is calculated from a number of metrics including diner ratings and total number of reviews.

Kellie Hwang is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kellie.hwang@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KellieHwang

Kellie Hwang is the engagement reporter for The San Francisco Chronicle. Before returning to the Bay Area, she held roles as transportation reporter and trending news reporter at the IndyStar in Indianapolis. Previously, Kellie covered dining news and trends, visual arts, events and nightlife for the Arizona Republic, and freelanced for the former Contra Costa Times. Kellie also serves as co-director of the Asian American Journalists Association Features Forum. She is a University of Washington graduate.