The World’s 15 Most Beautiful Rooftop Bars and Restaurants
When it comes to dining out, atmosphere can be as important as the food and drinks. And when that atmosphere is more than 1,500 feet in the air, or provides a 360-degree view of the city, you’re certainly on track for a great experience. One of the first sky-high nightclubs was the roof garden at the Casino Theatre on Broadway, opened by Rudolph Aronson in 1882. It quickly gained popularity as a place to see concerts and operettas, chat along the promenade, and escape New York’s oppressive summer heat.
Turn-of-the-century Manhattan saw a rise in rooftop entertainment that kept pace with the rise of the skyscraper. The second Madison Square Garden, designed by Stanford White, opened a rooftop theater in 1892. (White was actually shot and killed there in 1906 by a jealous and suspecting husband.)
When the Hotel Astor—one of first hotels in Times Square—opened in 1905, its massive Italianate rooftop garden was lined with palm trees, waterfalls, grottos, and featured a bandstand for live shows. Today rooftop bars and restaurants are a global phenomenon, offering decadent dining and cocktails, cutting-edge design, and, of course, views to capture on smartphones. From New York to Budapest to Singapore, we’ve present below the best ones.
