Our Favorite Rooftop Bars

When the temperature and humidity compete to see which can hit 100 first, you know it’s August in NYC. That means it’s time to find a spot with a breeze and a cold cocktail—and luckily there are more of those than ever, in every part of the city. Consider this list your new climate-control system, and check back for another installation soon.

The Americano
An external glass elevator whisks you to the new 10th-floor rooftop pool bar and restaurant at the impossibly hip Chelsea hotel from Mexico’s Grupo Habita, where trendy cocktails and Latin fare are served against a backdrop of views of the High Line, the Hudson River, and the Empire State building.
518 West 27th Street, 212.525.0000

Jimmy
One of the best things about a rooftop in Soho is that if you look one direction, you get all of lower Manhattan and New York’s most famous bridges. But if you look the other direction, midtown rises like a concrete mountain, with the foothills of Chelsea and the Flatiron in the foreground. The bar at the James Hotel offers just that—plus a contemporary take on the classic pub atmosphere.
15 Thompson Street, 212.201.9118

Birreria
Sure, beer gardens have been a hot trend in New York the past couple years, but leave it to Mario Batali to do it absolutely right, with a prime 5,000-square-foot Flatiron location above Eataly, satisfying German-inspired bar food, and three cask-conditioned ales brewed on site in partnership with the folks from Dogfish Head, Baladin, and Del Borgo. Just make sure to beat the crowds.
200 Fifth Avenue, 212.229.2560

The Surrey
If the crowds at Birreria bring you down, rest assured the air is quite a bit more rarefied in the private roof garden and bar atop the Surrey Hotel on the Upper East Side, which has views of Museum Mile, Central Park, and the Upper East Side (with midtown all ashimmer in the distance). The bar is open only to guests of the hotel and members of the exclusive Patrons Club (you know who you are). Another way in? Book a treatment at the hotel’s newly revived Cornelia Spa.
20 East 76th Street, 646.358.3600

Plunge Rooftop Bar + Lounge
The original Meatpacking District hot spot, The Gansevoort Hotel has grown into a New York institution of sorts. This is the place to go when you want to feel like you’re on vacation in South Beach without ever leaving the city. Go prepared for everything that implies, and just have fun with it. That’s the point, after all.
18 Ninth Avenue, 212.206.6700

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