The 20 Best Rooftop Restaurants in DC
Washington, DC is a company town, and the company is government. With high-end and executive business clientele come need for high-end restaurants. With the pandemic, rooftop restaurants have come into their own. The rooftop restaurant combines the ease of service of a restaurant or bar with the fresh air. Most rooftop bars in DC also offer food service, so the line is blurred. Here are the 20 best rooftop restaurants in DC.
1. Summit the Rooftop at Conrad – $$$
On the 11th Floor of Conrad DC, Summit’s garden-forward flavors emphasize summer on the East Coast. The roof bar focuses on bites and brunch. Summit’s rooftop deck tops off the Conrad by Hilton with an elite experience and beautiful, sleek modern décor. The lemon drop is the most popular drink in the bar, make sure you experience it while you’re here. The simple modern menu enhances the drinks, Thursday through Sunday evening.
2. AKODA – Rooftop Restaurant & Beer Garden – $$
This affordable rooftop beer garden in Shaw advertises craft beer, cocktails, whiskey and bourbon in an outdoor gathering space. Happy Hour menu features a variety of sliders, old bay tots and truffle fries, while the regular menu has a wide array of sandwiches and sides. The delightful weekend brunch is an endless array of decadence as well. Their second location, the biggest rooftop in Navy Yard, is twice the size of their Shaw location. It’s an ideal stop during baseball season on the way to watch your favorite team beat the Nationals.
3. The Rooftop at The Ven Embassy Row – $$
One of the best places to enjoy Washington DC sunsets on Dupont Circle, the iconic rooftop, which has a lovely pool during the summertime, is a full bar experience. This chic rooftop space on the ninth floor of the Ven hotel features bar bites from May to September. The space remains open during the fall for private events but is closed during the winter and spring.
4. Top of the Gate – $$$
For whatever reason, no space in Washington, D.C. is more iconic than the Watergate Hotel. Its rooftop was opened as an iconic rooftop bar with a commanding 360-degree view of the entire city and much of the surrounding Virginia and Maryland countryside. The legendary wine list is an incredibly expensive delight that has pleased Presidents, kings and dignitaries. Plates and cocktails, however, are far more reasonable for the everyday diner.
5. Vue Rooftop – $$$
Atop the Hotel Washington, with a surprisingly beautiful view of the Mall and Treasury Building, the Vue Rooftop’s chic pours are reflected by its rich, buttery tomahawk steaks. House-made pasta and delightful surf ‘n’ turf served weekdays from 5 pm to 12 am (2 am on Friday) and weekends from 11 am to 2 am Saturday (Midnight Sunday). The lobster, mango, and avocado is a go-to dish, and so is the saffron linguini.
6. The Rooftop DC – $$$
Open year-round by being equipped with a retractable roof and collapsible floor-to-ceiling glass walls, the Rooftop DC is a perfect casual sophisticated rendezvous location in the middle of Washington D.C. A full sports bar with bites during every game in football season. The food is critically beloved, and the space is iconic and bright.
7. Top of the Yard Rooftop Bar & Bites – $$$
Open daily at 4 PM or one hour before Nationals home games. Top of the Yard’s ballpark-inspired menu comes with signature cocktails. Atop the Hampton Inn, it has a perfect view from center field over Nationals Park. The comfortable, turf and natural grass setting is interesting enough even on non-game days, but when the Nationals are in town, Top of the Yard is an excellent place to watch the game in a comfortable environment. The comforts of this rooftop make it an excellent place to sit outdoors in the beauty of nature and enjoy a drink and a meal whether you enjoy baseball.
8. WILD DAYS – $$$
Located in the Eaton hotel, this rooftop specializes in tacos with pibil chicken, carne asada and ground impossible being their primary offerings. Drinks from the bar are generous and feature premium liquors including Ketel One and Tequila Blanco reposado. The Mexican street fare theme is continued throughout the space. The signature drink known as “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked,” is a powerful concoction with a proper punch and a deep cherry wood and vanilla flavor. The vibe and cocktails are a real draw.
9. The Rooftop at the Graham – $$$
A pricey but delightful Georgetown rooftop, the Rooftop at the Graham features surf-and-turf bites, flatbreads and extremely popular cocktails. With its see-and-be-seen atmosphere, the business casual Rooftop has a sweeping view of historic Georgetown and Washington D.C. Visible from the rooftop are many of the area’s fabled monuments. Its posh atmosphere, famous bread pudding, and year-round excitement make this rooftop bar a favorite place. Its food is attractive and delicious, highlighting its status as a lounge bar rather than making it a true bar-and-grill restaurant. Bar bites highlight the top-shelf drinks and allow the guest’s full attention to be on the true specialty of the house, its drinks.
10. Ellipse Rooftop Bar – $$
Atop the Hyatt Place Washington DC/White House, the small bites menu at the Ellipse is another small-plates and bar bites place with a menu featuring charcuterie, hummus, sliders and fries. Signature wings come in multiple flavors. The bar area is small and focused on serving hotel guests as opposed to the public, and there is no table service. The glassware is mostly plastic, possibly because of the hotel setting. Attentive bartenders, but the food service is limited by its nature.
11. Perch SW Rooftop Lounge – $$
A rooftop lounge with a full dinner menu featuring delicacies like short rib tacos and deep-fried Brussels sprouts. Perch SW Rooftop Lounge features a bottomless brunch. Its ambiance is beautiful indoors and out, with attentive staffs and great music mixes. The only drawback to the view is that it can be obstructed by construction. With excellent shrimp and grits and other seafood dishes to attract the discerning diner, Perch SW is a favorite DC event rooftop. With the wide array of available rooftops in DC, the varied brunch and delectable dinner menus put it at the head of the pack.
12. Hi-Lawn – $$
Featuring cocktails, seasonals, and green space, Hi-Lawn is a new eatery and sister spot to Calico. It advertises DC’s largest and most expansive rooftop for outdoor drinking and dining. Featuring quarter-pound all-beef hot dogs with toppings like chili, BLT, and cream cheese with crispy shallot, Hi-Lawn also offers bar snacks including hummus and pita, hot pretzel with spicy mustard, and curly fries. A tiny kids menu offers tenders and grilled cheese. An iconic DC hang-out, they welcome children until 7 PM, and new lawn games have been recently added. Atmosphere and views make the food even better.
13. Roofers Union – $$
Executive Chef Jennifer Flynn’s American fare anchors this space. Snacks, pastas, sandwiches and selected steaks and filets stud the packed single page of this place’s menu, creating an environment where, unlike many other rooftops, both the food and the beverages are equally important. With moderate prices in the teens and twenties, Roofers Union’s incredible views of Adams Morgan is matched by the strength of their frozen margaritas and drinks. Like many chef-driven restaurants, the menu changes regularly.
14. CUT Above – $$$
CUT Above skyline lounge in the Rosewood features dining and drinks for up to 125. With an event space, the Wolfgang Puck space’s steakhouse menu under executive chef Andrew Skala serves sushi, cocktails, beer, and sweets until 11 PM. After that, the diner can order seafood, garden salads, fish and beef from Cut downstairs. Side dishes are delightfully local.
15. THE BETSY – $$$
Bart Vandaele and his team offer this hidden gem, named after the chef’s favorite chicken in his backyard. The menu is a tight, chef-driven menu with burgers, tuna, mussels, and sides. Bar bites predominate in this restaurant. The brunch menu is a little more expansive than the dinner menu, but features many popular egg favorites, including the restaurants take on Eggs Benedict, Eitjes & Gerookte Zalm. Highly regarded, with coy chicken feet leading the diner to the correct location, The Betsy is a wonderfully playful space promising all an enjoyable time.
16. 12 Stories – $$$
At the top of the InterContinental Hotel with a broad view of the Potomac, the 12 Stories brings a bar food and small plates menu to its experience and its cocktail menu. Executive chef Jessica Dallesasse is dedicated to creating ideal pairings of her small menu to the extensive drink list. The wings are a house specialty. Dishes like grilled shrimp and lamb steam buns ensure that this smart, beautiful space will be a center of the DC scene for years to come. As a hotel bar, no flip-flops, sportswear or torn clothing are allowed.
17. Bar Deco – $$
Now a fully first-come first-serve location, Bar Deco features themed food offerings by day with menu options like Burger Mondays, Taco Tuesdays, and Hump Day Wednesday. Dinner options include a massive 5-pound burger for a challenge. Main dishes include burgers, house specialty street tacos, sweets like funnel cake fries and New York cheesecake. With over 1,000 google reviews, this lovely dive featuring pub fare, friendly service, and a wide variety of beers is a hidden gem in the heart of DC, just steps from the National Building Museum. They stay open on the weekends until 1 AM.
18. Smoke & Mirrors – $$$
This rooftop bar in easy sight of the Smithsonian Institution and the Capitol is known for strong drinks and glossy, spicy barbecue. Its space in the AC Hotel Navy Yard features excellent views of the National Mall, diverse food selections and fantastic drinks. Brunch burgers are huge and heavy, with superb interior design. Responsive management strives to provide a pleasant experience, but some diners report issues with the smoking cocktails and the size of certain dishes like the duck wings. One of the finest barbecue restaurants in Navy Yard, in a stately, wood-forward space that complements their proximity to the powers at the center of DC.
19. Jack Rose Dining Saloon – $$$
This classic, old-wood space boasts 2,687 bottles of whiskey on its walls. An exciting achievement considering that at the height of the pandemic in 2020, its owners had sold down to just 40. Featuring the product of the Willett family estate, Jack Rose’s dinner menu is appropriately pricy and luxurious. It features expensive delights like 16 oz. New York Strip and 14oz. Bison ribeye. The other main dishes are not as luxe as the steak menu, with variations for all price points. This widely beloved space features an outdoor rooftop terrace, and its selections of bourbon, whiskey, and scotch are universally praised.
20. El Techo – $$
Dubbed “the adult treehouse” by Washingtonian Magazine, El Techo is a production of owner Louie Hankins. A sister restaurant to Rito Loco, El Techo’s exciting rooftop space serves up handcrafted cocktails and Latin-inspired tapas and entrees. Their “good vibes only” attitude resonates with their fans, with margaritas enjoyed by all as their greatest draw. Happy hour tasting plates are popular and Taco Tuesday is one of their most popular days of the week. With dreamy, whimsical and beautiful décor and surprising tacos on the menu, including an avocado taco, El Techo is a popular nightspot in the DC area.
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