The Best Rooftop Bars in NYC

60th floor, 28 Liberty Street, Financial District

This is the bar I send every single person to when they visit New York. Manhatta sits on the 60th floor in FiDi and the views are, frankly, absurd. You can see the Statue of Liberty, the bridges, the entire sweep of lower Manhattan. It feels like you’re floating.

But here’s what sets it apart from every other skyline-view spot. The drinks are actually good. This isn’t a place that coasts on the panorama and hands you a watered-down mojito. The cocktail program is serious. The food is serious. It’s a Danny Meyer restaurant, so of course it is.

Cocktails run $20-$24. Make a reservation for the bar area if you can. Walk-ins are possible but you might wait, especially on Fridays. Go around 5:30 on a weekday and watch the light change over the harbor. The sun sets behind the Statue of Liberty and the whole room goes golden. Spoiler alert. It’s the best happy hour view in the city.

One thing to know. Manhatta is a restaurant first, bar second. The bar area is first-come, first-served and it’s not huge. If you strike out there, the dining room has the same views and the food is worth a proper dinner. Just be ready to spend. Entrees are $35-$55.

22nd floor, The William Vale Hotel, 111 N 12th Street, Williamsburg

Westlight gives you the full Manhattan panorama from across the East River. And I mean full. From the Freedom Tower all the way up to the Empire State Building. On the 22nd floor of the William Vale Hotel in Williamsburg, this is the Brooklyn rooftop bar that actually lives up to the hype.

Cocktails are $19-$23. The food menu is solid. The crowd is a mix of hotel guests and locals who know what they’re doing. It doesn’t have the desperate clubby energy that ruins so many rooftop bars.

Go at sunset. I cannot stress this enough. Get there 45 minutes before the sun goes down, grab a window spot, and watch the entire Manhattan skyline light up. It’s one of the best views in NYC and it comes with a drink in your hand.

15th floor, Hotel Indigo, 180 Orchard Street, Lower East Side

Mr. Purple has good views, a pool in summer, and DJ vibes that can go either way depending on what you’re looking for. On a Tuesday evening it’s a perfectly pleasant rooftop with downtown views and strong drinks. On a Saturday night it turns into a full club situation with a line down the block and a cover charge.

If you’re planning a date night in NYC, come on a weeknight. Cocktails are $18-$22. The indoor/outdoor setup means you’re not completely at the mercy of the weather. And the Lower East Side location means you can actually go somewhere interesting afterward instead of wandering through Midtown.

My honest take. Skip the weekends unless you genuinely want the party scene. The views deserve better than being blocked by someone’s Instagram shoot.

Knickerbocker Hotel, 6 Times Square, Midtown

I know. Times Square. But hear me out. St. Cloud sits on top of the Knickerbocker Hotel right at 42nd and Broadway, and looking down at Times Square from above is a completely different experience than being trapped in it at street level.

The neon and the chaos look almost beautiful from up here. You get a direct view down the canyon of Broadway and across to the billboards. It’s the one time Times Square actually feels cinematic instead of claustrophobic.

Cocktails are $20-$26. Yes, it’s pricey. It’s Times Square, what did you expect. But it’s surprisingly well-run and the crowd is more hotel guests and after-work drinkers than tourists. Make no mistake. This is the only reason to voluntarily go to Times Square.

200 W 39th Street, 30th floor, Midtown

Skylark exists for one reason and that reason is the Empire State Building sitting right there, close enough that you feel like you could touch it. The proximity is wild. Most Empire State views are from a distance. This one is from across the street and thirty floors up.

The cocktails are average. I’ll be honest. You’re not going for the drink program. You’re going because the backdrop is one of the most famous buildings in the world and it’s lit up in colors and filling your entire field of vision while you sip something with vodka in it.

Cocktails $18-$22. The space is smaller and more intimate than the mega-rooftops. Good for a NYC night out when you want atmosphere without chaos.

Public Hotel, 215 Chrystie Street, Lower East Side

This is an Ian Schrager hotel, so you already know what you’re getting. The Roof is sleek, the crowd is attractive, and the views of downtown Manhattan and the East River bridges are legitimately great.

It gets packed. Like, packed packed. Thursday through Saturday you’re looking at a line and possible wait. The drinks are $18-$24 and they’re fine. Not mind-blowing, not bad. You’re paying for the scene and the view, and both deliver.

My advice Go early or go on a weeknight. The sunset views facing west over the city are worth the slight effort of planning ahead. Once it fills up, the vibe shifts from “cool rooftop” to “am I in a nightclub?”

230 5th Avenue, Flatiron District

Yes, it’s touristy. Yes, it’s crowded. Yes, you will see bachelorette parties. But 230 Fifth has a direct Empire State Building view that is genuinely spectacular, and in winter they set up heated igloos on the rooftop that are honestly kind of magical.

The drinks are $16-$22 and they’re nothing special. The food is forgettable. But the rooftop is massive, the view is the real deal, and on a clear night it’s hard to be cynical about it. I’d go once. Maybe twice if you have visitors in town who want the “NYC rooftop experience.”

Would I make it my regular spot? No. But I won’t pretend I didn’t have a good time there. And in winter, the igloo thing is genuinely fun. You sit inside a heated plastic dome with blankets and the Empire State Building glowing above you. It’s ridiculous and it works.

4 Berry Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Berry Park is not fancy. It’s not expensive. It doesn’t have a velvet rope or a dress code or a $25 cocktail menu. It’s a casual rooftop bar in Williamsburg with solid Manhattan skyline views and beers that cost what beers should cost.

This is the vibe you actually want most of the time. You go up, you grab a drink for $8-$12, you look at the skyline, you talk to your friends without shouting over a DJ. The roof is open-air with picnic tables and string lights. It’s the anti-rooftop-bar rooftop bar.

If I’m being honest, this is where I’d go on a random Tuesday over any of the Midtown hotel rooftops. The view is slightly further away but the experience is about ten times more enjoyable.

55 Water Street, DUMBO, Brooklyn

Technically this isn’t a rooftop bar. It’s the rooftop terrace above Time Out Market in DUMBO. But you can bring drinks up from the market, the view is world-class, and there’s no cover charge. So I’m including it.

You get the Brooklyn Bridge, the Manhattan Bridge, and the lower Manhattan skyline all in one panorama. It’s free to go up. The food options downstairs in the market are solid and way more interesting than the standard rooftop-bar menu of overpriced sliders.

Grab a drink, grab some food, take the stairs up. Spoiler alert. This might be the best view-to-dollar ratio in the entire city.