A few weeks ago we launched what we believe is the world's first ever patio guide iPhone app. It's a guide to more than 300 of Toronto's best patios and lets you look up patios nearby, by neighbourhood and by a host of other criteria (more on that below). The app is free and can be downloaded from the iTunes store here.

Along with the app we launched this companion Patio Guide web site that includes all the same useful information and is synched with the app should you want to share patio info with your friends or create a list of favourite patios.

One of my favourite features of the app and web site is that we've worked hard to list all the beers each bar/pub/restaurant has on tap (and have colour coded the pints) to make it easier to decide what to order (or where to go if beer selection is of prime importance). Other features we've included in the app:

• The ability to look up patios by establishment type (bar, restaurant, pub, nightclub) and patio type (rooftop, backward, courtyard, sidewalk).
• Key information like hours of operation, phone and address info, as well as mapping and direction tools to make it easy to get to.
• Advanced look-up options like the ability to find a patio that's open during a certain day/hours, patios that have a certain capacity (if planning to go with a large group), patios that have pints priced under $5, patios that are heated, covered and/or take reservations.
• The ability to favourite a patio for easy reference.
• You can also shake the app and it will select for you a random patio (for those days/night you and your friends can't agree on where to go.

Android users - we'll have a Patio Guide app for you soon. Sign up here if you want to be notified when it's ready.

Thanks for reading and let us know if you have any feedback or any suggestion for improving the Patio Guide app or web site.

Download the free Patio Guide app here.