Bistro Sets (Outdoor & Patio Furniture)

A bistro set is two chairs and a small round table at dining height, usually 24 to 30 inches across the top, standing on a footprint near 5 by 5 feet including the space to push a chair back. That size exists for one reason: it is the largest arrangement most balconies and stoops can hold.

Folding is the defining mechanism in this style. Slatted metal or teak chairs fold flat to 3 or 4 inches and hang on a hook, and folding tables collapse the same way, which turns a balcony back into a balcony in winter. Cast iron and cast aluminum versions do not fold and weigh 15 to 30 pounds a chair. This is exactly what keeps them on a high floor in wind. Because the hinges take the whole load, check them before anything else: a riveted steel hinge outlasts a pressed one, and any hinge with visible play is telling you what year two sounds like.

The Patio Dining Set is the same idea grown to four or more seats and a 36 inch or larger top. A Conversation Set seats four but drops 12 inches lower, and it cannot hold a meal. Adirondack Chairs suit the same tight spaces and offer no table between them at all.

Balconies, narrow side yards, small stoops and morning coffee for two are where this style belongs. Apartment renters gain most, since the whole set carries down a stairwell in one trip. Anyone who hosts more than two people should skip it, because pulling in a third chair leaves nowhere to put a plate.

Set the table on the actual paving before you commit and check for rocking, since a 24 inch top on uneven tile wobbles at every sip. Look for adjustable feet and plastic glide caps on the tube ends. Fold and store the set indoors over winter, and wipe rain off a metal folding hinge, because a seized hinge ends most bistro sets rather than a broken frame.