If you’re looking for some of the best bars in New York, there’s no better place to start than on a roof. At these lofty bars you’ll regularly encounter elevated price tags and throngs of birthday parties, but that’s OK – after all, you’re here for the unparalleled views, a bit of sunshine and at least one order of chips and guacamole. These are Manhattan’s best rooftop bars at which to enjoy some high-elevation drinking.
Enjoy a tipple at The Top of the Standard and Le Bain
Bar, Nightclub, Pub Grub, $$$$
Le Bain is perched atop The Standard, High Line hotel | © travelstock44 / Alamy Stock Photo
For those looking for a bona fide party, there’s no better place to let loose than one of The Standard’s rooftop fêtes. During the day, The Top of the Standard serves tea and drinks, but once the sun sets, the illustrious bar turns into a cocktail party and supper lounge complete with live jazz and small plates. After 10pm, Le Bain (the eminent nightclub) opens, jammed with dance parties and featuring a plunge pool and a crêperie.
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Party like Gatsby at Elsie Rooftop
Bar, American$$
Perched on the 25th floor of a Midtown building, Elise Rooftop is a trip to the luxury and glamour of the Roaring ’20s. Inspired by New York City socialite and interior designer Elsie de Wolfe, the penthouse bar provides a space to soak up the skyline and live out your Gatsby fantasies. Cocktails are simple yet elegant, and can be paired with a roster of food items such as lamb sliders and lobster rolls.
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Look down on Wall Street from JIMMY at The James Hotel
Bar, Cocktail Bar, Pub, Contemporary, $$$$
JIMMY at The James Hotel regularly sees dance parties break out on its rooftop pool deck during the summer | © FOHNYC
Once you’ve ascended the 18 stories up to JIMMY, you’ll be rewarded with a panoramic view of Wall Street, Midtown and the Hudson River. Nurse grilled pineapple mojitos and mint sazeracs by the towering windows, or if the weather’s nice, head to the outdoor deck, one hand holding a cocktail, the other a plate of truffle-dusted fries.
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Indulge in mojitos at Fifth Rooftop Bar
Bar, American, $$$
Fifth Rooftop Bar is the city’s largest rooftop bar | © 230 Fifth
Mingle with all of New York at the city’s largest rooftop bar. The party space spills out onto the building’s entire roof, studded with umbrellas and palm trees in the summer and intimate, heated igloos built for sipping hot fireball cider in the winter. The bar hosts a calendar-worthy list of events, from happy hours to dance parties and brunch buffets, but you can always just simply stop by for a gin cucumber mojito and a giant pretzel glazed with mustard.
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Browse literary-themed drinks at Bookmarks Rooftop Lounge
Bar, American, $$$$
Bookmarks is a refuge for writers and book lovers | © Stefano Pinci
With literary-inspired cocktails (think drinks dubbed ‘F Scotch Fitzgerald’ and ‘Catcher in the Rye’) and quiet areas perfect for reading and writing, Bookmarks is a refuge for writers and book lovers. Come alone with a book or a group of friends willing to share a cheese plate, then camp out at the outdoor seating area kept warm in the winter with heat lamps.
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Watch over Central Park at The Met Roof Garden Bar, New York
Bar, Cafe, American$$
The Met Roof Garden Bar, New York, is located five floors above Central Park | © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
It should come as no surprise that the bar crowning the Metropolitan Museum of Art would flaunt an artistic fusion of cocktails and towering sculptures. This seasonal outdoor bar (open from mid-April through October) is five floors above Central Park; the bar offers a small sampling of spirits, cocktails, beer and wine, all consumed under a backdrop of the park’s verdant treetops.
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Take in Brooklyn and Manhattan views at The Crown
Bar, American, $$$$
The Crown Rooftop Bar, New York City, is located atop Hotel 50 Bowery | © All Good NYC
From the sleek rooftop bar that crowns Hotel 50 Bowery on the 21st floor, you can see from Chinatown all the way up to the Empire State Building. You’ll find crowds strung along the outdoor roof deck sipping summer-ready drinks like the Free Spirit-z (prosecco, rhubarb, grapefruit essence, violet, cynar), light fare of watermelon salad and veggie tacos, and DJs pumping music over the cacophony of clinking cocktails in the indoor lounge.
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Meal service:
All Day, Late NightDiscover a secret garden at Gallow Green, New York
Bar, Cocktail Bar, Patisserie, Pub Grub, $$$$
Gallow Green's winter rooftop is a cozy place to spend an evening | © Conor Harrigan
Like the production of Sleep No More just a few stories below, Gallow Green, housed atop the McKittrick Hotel, is wonderfully mysterious. Here, the rooftop bar proves its love for its namesake greenery: the warmer months boast the thrill of a secret garden, peppered with plush plants and live music. As the temperature dips, the bar becomes more intimate as it morphs into a cozy lodge – fitted with snug bunk beds – flanked by crowds cooing over crackling fire pits, nursing mugs of mulled wine.
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Share sangria with friends at Pod 39 Rooftop Lounge & Bar
Bar, Boutique Hotel Restaurant, Restaurant, Mexican, Street Food, American$$
The colorful details and brick architecture certainly distract from the perpetual crowds at this Latin American-inspired rooftop bar. Split pitchers of margaritas and sangria over small bites from Empellón al Pastor, ferried up from the ground floor restaurant. Keep in mind that this bar shuts down during the cold months.
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Look out over the Flatiron building at SERRA by Birreria
Restaurant, Italian, $$$$
Serra by La Birreria is housed 14 stories above the Italian food market | © Eataly
Eataly’s tremendous beer garden is housed 14 stories above the Italian food market and is fitted with a retractable roof to delight in year-round. A long bar resides along one side, serving Italian wines and craft beers brewed in-house, but the rest of the bar is reserved for table service. La Birreria hosts a new theme as the seasons change – past themes have run the gamut from the Italian countryside to the snowcapped Alps – outfitted with a hefty menu studded with dishes such as melted raclette cheese and gnocchi swirled with gorgonzola cream. Pause in between bites and sips to catch a sighting of the Flatiron Building and the MetLife Tower sprouting out of Madison Square Park.
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Visit Ophelia, Frank Sinatra's old stomping ground
Bar, American, $$$$
Ophelia is located on the 26th floor and the views are phenomenal | © Ophelia NY
Not much can distract from the 360-degree river views from this 26th-floor bar, a former haunt of Miles Davis and Frank Sinatra. Towering windows line every portion of the bar, offset by velvet couches and flickering candles. Belly up to the bar for Ophelia’s Ascension (smoked Jamaican pepper-infused Del Maguey Vida mezcal, Sri Lanka palm sugar, aromatic bitters and cedar smoke), then plop down on a velvet stool with a plate of crisp spring rolls filled with lobster.
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Try beach-side specialties at Broken Shaker
Bar, American$$
Broken Shaker can be found 18 floors above the Flatiron’s Freehand Hotel | © Adrian Graut
Helmed by the same people as the eponymous Miami bar, Broken Shaker can be found 18 floors above the Flatiron’s Freehand Hotel. This mostly indoor bar (there’s a postage stamp of outdoor space from where you can gaze at the Empire State Building) is strewn with lush plants and a funky mix of wiry rattan chairs and charmingly mismatched paraphernalia. Choose from a list of beachy cocktails – Jake the Snake is swirled with tequila, mezcal, papaya, ancho verde and Szechuan peppercorn – accompanied by plates like beef jerky and soft arepas overflowing with avocado, gooseberry hogado and queso fresco.
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Feel like you're in Cuba at Azul on the Rooftop
Bar, Cocktail Bar, Mexican, Cuban, $$$$
The colorful rooftop bar Azul on the Rooftop is lined with comfy couches and verdant bushes | © Azul Rooftop
The entrance to the roof of Hotel Hugo seems to function as a portal to a Cuban paradise, one strewn with 1950s-era posters and Cuban sandwiches. Sip white sangria and slushy mojitos as you take in the panoramic views of downtown Manhattan and the far-flung towers of New Jersey. Arrive on a Sunday evening and you’ll be greeted by a live Cuban band, or come on a Monday night for the weekly movie night.
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Meal service:
Late Night, Dinner