Skyscrapers, night lights, and endless cityscape – New York City has it all. And there are also endless of wonderful rooftop restaurants to spend a night at out over dinner and a glass of wine. Or just a long and sunny lunch, or even better a breathtaking view might seal the deal.
To take an elevated bite in the Big Apple, this guide presents the best rooftop restaurants in NYC not to miss. It doesn't matter if you are a visitor or a homegrown New Yorker, we are sure you'll find an NYC restaurant on a rooftop you like (or rather: love).
More in NYC:
The Rooftop Guide's listing of the 21 best rooftop restaurants in NYC
Set on the roof of The Hoxton in Williamsburg, Laser Wolf is a chic and buzzing rooftop restaurant, offering Israeli-style food and amazing Manhattan skyline views.
Named after "Lazar Wolf," the butcher in the iconic musical Fiddler on the Roof, the charming and lush terrace is open and breezy during the warmer months, and covered from the outdoor elements during winter.
There are 3 different types of seats available at Laser Wolf: dining room, chef's counter seats, and the bar. And while the more spacious dining room seats at the windows offers the very best and uninterrupted views of the Manhattan skyline over the East River, the rotatable chef's counter seats and bar spots comes with both kitchen and skyline views, which is also pretty damn cool.
Laser Wolf is created to be a celebration of Israel’s vibrant culinary landscape, and it's highly inspired by the Israeli skewer houses known as 'shipudiya'. This means a menu that centers around the charcoal grill.
While there are a few á la carte options, you should go for the prix fixe. Starting of with a glorious selection of signature hummus, pita, and an array of sharable salatim, you can then choose from meat and vegetable skewers cooked on the charcoal grill.
Finished off with a fantastic brown sugar soft-serve ice cream, the food comes complemented with a nice selection of signature cocktails, wine, beer and arak.
Buzzing, fun, friendly and highly popular, you need to make reservations well in advance to grab one of the window seats at Laser Wolf rooftop restaurant. Or, be prepared to wait in line for the walk-in bar spots.
LASER WOLF
Hudson Yards, one of the newest and trendiest neighborhood in NYC, should of course have a swanky rooftop restaurant. And it sure does, thanks to the beautiful Electric Lemon.
Perched on the 24th floor of the five star Equinox Hotel, this venue is truly impressive, in more ways than one.
A sleek and expansive dining room with floor-to-ceiling windows is complemented with an 8,000 square foot rooftop garden, equipped with a monumental Jaume Plensa sculpture, fire pits, water features. And some fantastic views over Hudson River and the NYC skyline.
Aiming to provide 'clean, conscious cuisine that puts flavor at the forefront', Electric Lemon serves fresh and seasonal American dishes. The food menu is available as weekday lunch, daily dinner, as well as rooftop brunch during the weekend.
The dinner menu is divided into 'Crudo', 'From The Garden', 'Warm and Soulful', and mains, like the 'Dry Aged Duck' with confit leg, savoy cabbage & pear, or the 'Contramar Inspired Rainbow Trout' with poblano, avocado salsa and warm tortillas.
Make reservations for dinner and rooftop brunch, and try to get a table on the terrace. Otherwise you might have to settle for a seat at the bar, which is actually not to bad either.
ELECTRIC LEMON
The electrifying hustle and bustle of Times Square can be a really cool experience, but also something you can feel the need to escape from. The answer: the Beast & Butterflies rooftop restaurant and bar.
Located on the 7th floor of the modern M Social Hotel Times Square New York, this intimate yet social rooftop mixes an indoor glass perch with a spacious wrap-around outdoor terrace.
Truly an urban and elevated retreat from the buzz below, here you are surrounded with unobstructed views over one of the most famous parts of NYC.
Open from early morning to late night, Beast & Butterflies starts the day by serving a full American buffet breakfast with a view, daily from 7am to 11am.
Afternoons and nights, there is an all day menu including both sharing and big bites. From Coney Island Chicken Bites and Fulton Fish Market Lobster Mac & Cheese, to Christopher Street Penne Alfredo and Prime NY Strip Steak and Frites.
The food is complemented with a fine selection of curated signature cocktails, as well as premium spirits, wine and craft beers.
Open year-round, the Beast & Butterflies offers live music and hot fun during the warmer months 'Summer Club', as well as a cosy winter experience, including rooftop curling. A perfect way to really get the hunger going.
BEAST & BUTTERFLIES
Westlight NYC is found in Brooklyn, on top of the trendy hotel William Vale. With location outside Manhattan, this 22nd floor venue comes with an amazing and complete panoramic view over the skyline.
The rooftop restaurant and bar offers seating both in the stylish indoor lounge (with floor-to-ceiling windows), and out on the wrap-around terrace.
With an impressive and dynamic selection of classic and original cocktails, craft beer and rare spirits, Westlight might be a bit more towards a rooftop bar serving food than a full-blown rooftop restaurant. But the small plates served come in large numbers, and they are so good you would probably not mind making a full dinner out of them.
Made by Chef Andrew Carmellini, the rooftop food menu takes inspiration from global street food. Here you can enjoy everything from Tuna Tartare Puff and Shrimp Dumplings, to Ginger Glazed Short Ribs and the Dry-Aged Beef Burger. Topped of with some sweet bites.
The bites are perfect to share, either as two-on-one or a larger group filling up the table. Together with the amazing views, stylish decoration and great atmosphere, Westlight is NYC rooftop restaurant perfect for most occasions.
Open nightly on weekdays and from mid-day on weekends, Westlight is a popular spot, so reservations are recommended to make sure you get a table.
WESTLIGHT
Found right in the middle of the Meatpacking District, STK Steakhouse Downtown NYC offers a chic and dynamic fine dining experience. Best of all, it does so all the way up to the rooftop.
The stylish 4th floor STK Rooftop mixes bar, lounge and table seating, and overlooks the Meatpacking District, with front row seats to the Hudson River and the High Line.
The rooftop comes equipped with a retractable glass enclosure, which means that the upscale, intimate and charming STK Rooftop is available for elevated outings year-round.
The rooftop menu features both classic STK cocktails and signature dishes, ranging from raw bar selections and Surf & Turf, to a beef program that focuses on the highest quality, delicious and craveable steaks.
Open daily for upscale and vibrant dining and drinks, STK Rooftop also serves weekend brunch. So it's pretty much always a prime spot to take your NYC experience to a new level.
STK ROOFTOP
Found in the Meatpacking District, the upscale furniture store Restoration Hardware does not only offer five floors filled with stylish stuff for the home, it also comes with a beautiful sixth floor rooftop restaurant.
Called RH Rooftop Restaurant, the top floor venue looks quite a lot like the floors below, dressed with marble surfaces, glimmering chandeliers and fountains, but also plenty of greenery.
Blending the indoors with the outdoors, seating is available inside the garden like glass-and-steel atrium, but also on the open-air terrace, where you get the very best views over downtown Manhattan.
Open daily for lunch (brunch during weekends) and dinner, RH Rooftop Restaurant offers an ingredient driven, timeless and classic menu with American fare. From the RH Burger to Lobster Roll and Charred Ribeye Steak.
The food is complemented with a curated selection of craft beers and artisanal wines from esteemed vintners around the world, available both by the glass and by the bottle.
Sophisticated and chic in setting and atmosphere, RH Rooftop Restaurant is a great spot for a business lunch or a special occasion dinner. Reservations are recommended.
Elevated RH dining can also be found at other places across the US, and one of them is among the best rooftop restaurants Dallas has to offer.
RH ROOFTOP RESTAURANT
While we do like our rooftop venues to offer al fresco seating, it is hard to look past the awarded, high-end and highly elevated Manhatta restaurant.
Set in the heart of the Financial District, 60 floors above the buzz, the sleek and stylish rooftop comes with panoramic windows, offering some truly breathtaking views over Downtown Manhattan.
Divided into dining room, chef's counter and bar, Manhatta embodies the spirit of a tried-and-true New Yorker, inspired by the unmatched energy of the city.
Here you can indulge in New American cuisine created by Executive Chef Justin Bogle, where an evolving menu takes traditional technique and locally sourced ingredients to unexpected places. The food is complemented with a deep collection of international wines and spirits, as well as crafted 'neighborhood' and signature cocktails.
Visit the Manhatta dining room for a fancy yet unformal dinner, and either take your picks from the á la carte menu, or go for a Chef's Tasting Menu. Or you settle for some bites and fine drinks at the bar.
MANHATTA
On top of the Italian megastore Eataly in the Flatiron district, you find the rooftop garden La Birreria. The last couple of years it has been "taken over" by the pop-up restaurant SERRA, hence the name: SERRA by Birreria.
Serra means 'greenhouse' in Italian, and this is indeed a very lush venue. It is almost like leaving New York City and stepping into the Italian countryside.
Thanks to a retractable roof, the rooftop restaurant is open year round. Colorful during the warmer months, and with a cozy, snow-covered atmosphere in winter.
The SERRA menu also changes by the season, but always has firm roots in the rustic and Italian, as well as products from local and regional producers.
As you would expect from an Italian menu, it ranges from antipasti (starters) through insalate (salads) to piatti (plates). 'Calamari Fritti', 'Prosciutto e Mozzarella di Bufala', 'Risotto alla Barbietola' or a 'NY Strip Steak', it's all up to you.
To go with the food, there is a large selection of natural and biodynamic wines (you are almost in Italy), a large selection of beer (it is La Birreria), but also an impressive range of creative and seasonal botanical cocktails.
SERRA by Birreria is open for both lunch and dinner, and as it is a popular NYC rooftop restaurant, reservations are recommended. Especially for dinner. Expect a fun and vibrant atmosphere in a large crowd.
SERRA BY BIRRERIA
Sushi Lab is a modern and innovative NYC rooftop restaurant, perched on top of the luxury boutique Sanctuary Hotel in the heart of Times Square, and neighbor with the Haven Rooftop Bar.
With hanging greenery and basket lights, the outdoor rooftop terrace overlooks Midtown, in a setting that is towrads intimate and charming. There are plenty of regular tables, but also 8 seats at the chef’s counter.
Up here you can enjoy both unique creations on traditional sushi. Go for a 15-course omakase menu, or choose between nigiri, sashimi, maki and other Japanese delights from the á la carte menu. Complementing the food is a selection of sake, Japanese whiskey & beer, creative cocktails and wine.
Open for lunch and dinner, Sushi Lab NYC is the perfect rooftop for a tasty lunch or a romantic dinner. Or just about anytime you want a Japenese dining experience to remember.
SUSHI LAB
Opened 2021, the stylish Daintree Rooftop & Lounge is one of the newest additions on the NYC rooftop restaurant heaven.
Set on the top floor of Midtown’s Hotel Hendricks, the rooftop mixes a lush indoor lounge, that feels very much like outdoors, with a spacious and 'real' rooftop terrace.
Facing south, the rooftop offers some of the best views over the Manhattan skyline, including an unobstructed otulook over the Empire State Building.
Taking on, and reimagining, the NYC rooftop scene from an Aussie point-of-view, Daintree offers an equally playful and mouthwatering menu.
The food is described as 'Aussie-Asian cuisine', with a snacks and bites selection including Herbed Lobster Rool, Chicken Katsu Sliders, as well as 1/2 dozen of both Oysters and Prawns.
More of a light dinner option, and the eats at Daintree should definitely be complemented with something from the curated menu of cocktails and drinks. Maybe try one of the fine Martinis (there are plenty to choose from), or something from the wine list with a distinctly Australian accent.
DAINTREE
Open 7 days a week and year-round, Refinery Rooftop is definitely a NYC rooftop restaurant and bar for many occasions, set in Midtown Manhattan.
Found at the five star Refinery Hotel, this is a venue packed with an industrial chic design, fashionable and fun vibes, as well as majestic views of the Empire State Building and the Manhattan skyline.
During daytime you can head up to Refinery and enjoy a full lunch menu created by Culinary Director Jeff Haskell, including everything from Double Patty Burger and Fennel Sausage Flatbread, to Caesar Salad and Pan Roasted Atlantic Salmon. By night, the focus is more on small bites, crafted signature cocktails and vibes.
With a focus on healthy, natural and sustainable products, Refinery Rooftop also offers a great rooftop brunch every weekend. From 11am to 3.30pm you can indulge in Waffles, Eggs Benedict and brunch cocktails.
REFINERY ROOFTOP
Set over three floors, Republica is a restaurant, lounge and rooftop, bringing a large slice of Dominican vibes to the Inwood neighborhood in Uptown Manhattan.
From the more sleek and stylish lower levels up to the lush and colorful rooftop, Republica is available year-round on all floors, thanks to covers and heaters up on the rooftop.
Open daily for dinner, and during weekends also for rooftop brunch, the large menu includes a wide selection of gourmet Dominican dishes, including an extensive array of meats and seafood prepared to perfection, served with authentic Latin sides.
From appetizers like Ceviche Pop, Chimi Sliders and Quesadilla, to more filling dishes like Pasta Marinera, La Yola De Boca Chica (deep fried whole red snapper) and Rib Eye Steak, there should be something for everyone.
Monday to Friday you can also go for the 'Tres x 3 Special', which gives you a 1 Appetizer + 1 Entrée + 1 Drink for $30.
Apart from the tasty Latin food, Republica also offers handcrafted signature cocktails and bottle service, and you can easily stick around after dinner and continue the night in a great and vibrant atmosphere. Come to the restaurant in your own car or get a car rental at LGA Airport to enjoy a delicious meal with your family or friends.
REPUBLICA
With a prime location, just around the corner from Madison Square Garden in Midtown Manhattan, VERSA NYC is a modern rooftop restaurant with generous opening hours.
Available from early breakfast to late dinner, this trendy and spacious venue offers seating both indoors and out on the rooftop terrace. A retractable roof makes sure the terrace can be used for both open and airy summer days, as well as cosy winter nights.
Set five floors up at the Renaissance New York Midtown Hotel, VERSA is not sky-high, but still comes with impressive views of the Empire State Building and the Midtown skyline.
With the generous opening ours comes several menus, and VERSA has seperate ones for breakfast, weekend brunch, lunch and dinner. But they all take inspiration from modern American gastro food.
Choose between pasta, salads, flatbreads, burgers and sliders. The VERSA rooftop restaurant menu will most likely hold something suitable for everyone.
Visit for a sunny lunch, a fun dinner or start the weekend with a great NYC rooftop brunch. Walk-ins are welcome and the rooftop is spacious, but reservations are still recommended, especially for larger parties.
VERSA NYC
New York's largest outdoor rooftop garden, and one of the most famous rooftops in NYC. Mostly for the nightlife vibe, weekend brunch and winter igloos. But 230 Fifth also serves a pretty impressive food menu throughout the day.
While they state: "We are primarily a bar that serves food, not a rooftop restaurant", you can definitely visit 230 Fifth for a brunch or dinner, without fear of walking away hungry.
To some really magical views of the Manhattan skyline, with the Empire State Building as a mighty focal point, you can indulge in a varied menu. There are shareables like 'Margherita Pizza' and '230 Fifth Nachos', small bites like 'All Beef Sliders' and 'Spicy Beef Tacos', along with more filling large bites, like 'Miso Glazed Salmon' and 'The Ultimate Burger'.
When weekend comes, 230 Fifth brings out the 'Banana Pancakes', 'Breakfast Burritos', ' Avocado Toasts' and 'Mimosas', during the fantastic NYC rooftop brunch.
230 Fifth rooftop is a year-round venue, not only thanks to the fully enclosed indoor lounge with panoramic windows. The outdoor terrace is also equipped with heaters and rooftop igloos, so it's even an outdoor/indoor venue year-round.
230 FIFTH
Found at the fabulous Graduate Roosevelt Island, on the southern end of the island, Panorama Room offers quite a unique NYC rooftop experience.
Set on the 18th floor, this dramatic, luxurious and retro-chic rooftop comes surrounded with breathtaking 360° views over the Manhattan skyline, the East River and the boroughs.
The vistas are available both throught the panoramic windows at the velvet, marble and chrome interior lounge, and even more so out on the open-air terrace.
Serving a menu that is described as an 'elevated ode to the sea', here you can munch on small bites or something from the Raw bar.
Try the selection of crudos and tartine, or snack on caviar nachos. If you really want to go big, aim for a Seafood Tower, featuring oysters from the east and west coast, shrimp cocktail and lobster.
The food is perfect to pair with a glass from the refined wine list, a bottle of sparkling, or one of the creative and crafted signature cocktails.
Panoram Room rooftop is usually open for drinks from afternoon until late night, while the kitchen is avialble until 9.30pm, and during weekends also for rooftop brunch.
PANORAMA ROOM
Found in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan, Cantina Rooftop is a colorful year-round rooftop restauarant and bar, mixing authentic Mexican food with panoramic views over the NYC skyline.
With a climate-controlled retractable glass rooftop, the spacious Cantina is a great venue for all weather conditions. And with a fun, friendly and vibrant atmosphere, it is pretty much perfect fo all moods as well.
Open daily for dinner, the Cantina Rooftop menu includes everything from ceviches, guacamoles, tostaditas and tacos to signature house specials like the Grilled Black Angus Arrachera Steak with roasted potatoes, or the Pollo Campestre served with Grandma's mole negro and green rice.
Apart from colorful food, the rooftop bar serves a wide and fun selection of signature cocktails, including the Don Diego Santa Skull Margarita. During weekends you can also head up to Cantina for one of the best rooftop brunch NYC has to offer.
Walk-ins are welcome, but Cantina Rooftop is a popular place, so reservations are recommended, especially if you plan to eat.
CANTINA ROOFTOP
Covering three floors in the Columbia Street Waterfront District, the Brooklyn restaurant Alma offers regional Mexican food in a casual-fun atmosphere.
With a ground floor bar and midlevel dining room, it is the top floor rooftop terrace that really makes this venue stand out on Columbia Street’s restaurant row.
Covered in heated for a year-round experience, but best during spring and summer, when the rooftop provides open-air dining with amazing and panoramic views of the lower Manhattan skyline.
Open for dinner most nights of the week, as well as for weekend rooftop brunch, the Alma menu includes creative and recreated traditional Mexican cuisine. Here you find 'Bocaditos', like the Shrimp Ceviche and Aragula & Watermelon Salad, and plenty of 'Entradas', ranging from Tacos to the Parillada.
To go with the food you find a drink menu including plenty of Margaritas and other refreshing cocktails, as well as a vast selection of tequilas and mezcals.
ALMA
Located on the sixth floor of the fabulous Wythe Hotel, right in the heart of Williamsburg, Bar Blondeau is a modern and trendy French-style rooftop bar & restaurant.
Highly chic and sophisticated, the rooftop mixes a stylish interior lounge with panoramic windows, and a spacious and seasonal outdoor terrace, surrounded by abundant greenery.
Best of all, both inside and outside you get some truly magical and unobstructed views over the East River and the Manhattan skyline.
Created by chef partners Aidan O’Neal and Jake Leiber, Bar Blondeau features a seafood-forward menu with French, Spanish and Portuguese influences. Oysters, Stuffed Mussels and Tuna Tartare are complemented with Japanese Fried Chicken and Sirloin Steak. Finish of with a Chocolate & Peanut Butter Blondeau Bar, and you are all set.
To go with the food, or just for sunset hours of sipping on the terrace, there is also an impressive selection of drinks, including natural wines from up-and-coming wine regions, crafted signature cocktails, frozen drinks and zero proof beverages.
Available for both reservations and walk-ins, Bar Blondeau is open for drinks past midnight, while the kitchen closes at 11pm nightly.
BAR BLONDEAU
Set on top of the McKittrick Hotel in Chelsea, NYC, Gallow Green is truly a green oasis above the concrete jungle. The epithet 'rooftop garden' is oh so fitting for this rooftop restaurant.
Surrounded by plants and greenery, the rooftop terrace still offers an open and airy feel, and you can catch cool glimpses of the Manhattan skyline. Even though there are venues with more dramatic views, Gallow Green is still very well worth a visit.
Especially thanks to the lovely ambience. Fun, casual, vibrant, and as many of the seats are at community benches, so you should be prepared to make some new friends.
The dinner menu at Gallow Green rooftop restaurant is fresh, but pretty simple, with a selection of Salads, Pizzas and some Sandwiches (ranging from Burger and Cubano to Lobster Roll). There is also a Raw Bar with Oysters and Shrimp Cocktail.
To go with the food, there is a nice selection of NYC area brews, a few choices of wine and a really nice list of specialty cocktails.
The McKittrick Hotel is also home to the popular show 'Sleep No More', so Gallow Green is the obvious choice for a rooftop dinner / cocktails before or after a show. Or forget about dinner and visit for the famous weekend brunch. One of the best rooftop brunches in NYC, mixing tasty food and live entertainment.
The rooftop garden at Gallow Green is seasonal, so it's only available during the warmer months. But part of the winter, the rooftop transform into The Lodge, where you can enjoy food and drinks inside a mountainside ski cabin.
GALLOW GREEN
Zona De Cuba brings all the Caribbean and Cuban vibes and flavours, right to the South Bronx.
Equipped with a large and vibrant interior space, Zona De Cuba also holds an even more impressive rooftop, which is one of the largest in NYC.
Packed with palm trees, colorful umbrellas, stylish dining tables and comfy-rustic lounge spots, here you are invited for a trip to the Caribbean, while overlooking the Bronx rooftops.
The rooftop restaurant uses humble, simple ingredients that are authentically Cuban, creating dishes filled with tropical flavours.
Try the flaming pot of oxtail stew, a tradtional Cuban hot-pressed sandwich, the 'Paela No, Pati Si', or anything else from the wide range of entradas, ensaladas, carnicero and mariscos.
Open daily for dinner and during weekends also for brunch, the food selection is complemented with refreshing signature cocktails, cerveza on both draft and bottle, as well as a nice selection of wine and champagne.
Surrounded by a mix of Cuban and Caribbean rhythms and filled with a great atmosphere, the Zona De Cuba rooftop is a popular spot, and reservations are recommended.
ZONA DE CUBA
Social Drink & Food is located on the 4th floor of YOTEL, and the al-fresco terrace is NYC's largest outdoor hotel space.
With room for about 400 people, it is not only spacious, but also offers great views over Times Square and the surrounding skyscrapers.
Open daily for both lunch and dinner, and a popular after work-spot, the Social Drink & Food rooftop is also used for other activities from time to time. Like NYC rooftop cinema, miniature golf and other events.
The Social Drink and Food rooftop menu offers delicious, modern American dishes. Here you can enjoy sharing plates like 'Crispy Fish Taco' and 'Braised Short Rib Buns', and mains ranging from 'Smashed Bacon Burger' to 'New York Strip Steak'.
Relaxed and 'loungy' in setting and atmosphere, most seating on the rooftop terrace is either comfy sofas or community benches. So it is not your NYC rooftop restaurant for a fancy dinner, but rather a great place to grab some food and drinks with a view.
The Social Drink & Food terrace is open during the warmer season, but the rooftop bar and restaurant also share floor with the indoor venue Green Fig. Here you can indulge in New American cuisine from breakfast to late-night, year round.
SOCIAL DRINK & FOOD
Tip: Looking for more elevated dining with majestic skyline views? Check out our list of the best rooftop restaurants Chicago. Or maybe mix it up with some ocean views at one of the rooftop restaurants Los Angeles has to offer.
Rikard has spent the last 10 years exploring, enjoying, researching and working with rooftop venues. During these years he has visited more than 700 rooftops across the globe. The experience he has gained is used to create helpful, in-depth and accessible content, and to share his knowledge and rooftop expertise with fellow rooftop-lovers.
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