Rooftop Season: An Honest Survival Guide

Rooftop bars are the great promise of every summer: skyline views, golden hour drinks, the warm breeze, the feeling of being above it all. The reality is often: a 45-minute wait, $22 cocktails, no shade, and a sunburn that makes Monday unbearable.

Rooftop season is worth it. But only if you go in with realistic expectations and a game plan.

The Timing

Get there early or do not go. The sweet spot is arriving 30 to 45 minutes before sunset. You get a table (or at least a good standing spot), you order before the rush, and you catch the golden hour transition that is the entire reason rooftops exist. Showing up at 9pm on a Saturday is a hostage situation, not a night out.

The Budget

Rooftop drinks are expensive. Accept this before you go. Set a drink budget before you arrive and stick to it. Two drinks at a rooftop bar is a good time. Five drinks at a rooftop bar is a credit card statement you will regret on Tuesday.

Pro tip: pregame at home with something good before you go. One cocktail from a bottle of Deko Cocktails before heading out means you only need two drinks at the rooftop instead of four. You save $30 and arrive already in a good mood.

The Order

Order the simplest thing they make well. A rooftop bar at capacity is not the place for a seven-ingredient craft cocktail. The bartender is making 200 drinks an hour. Order a gin and tonic, a margarita, or whatever their signature drink is. The simpler the drink, the better it will be executed under pressure.

The Sunscreen

Yes, you need sunscreen on a rooftop. Afternoon sun at elevation with no shade will destroy you. Nobody looks cool with a lobster-red face in their Instagram story. SPF before you go. Reapply if you are there more than two hours. This is not a suggestion.

The Alternative

Here is the secret that rooftop bars do not want you to know: any outdoor space with a view is a rooftop bar. Your friend's balcony. A park with a skyline view. Your actual rooftop, if your building has access. Bring your own drinks, bring a speaker, and you have a private rooftop experience for the cost of a bag of ice.

The view is free. The drinks are what you make of them. And there is no line.