
Don’t look down!
Nothing quite says “living the highlife” like clinking glasses on a city rooftop. Touch the sky this season with a brunch, evening, or nightcap on the most jaw-dropping rooftops in Dallas. [Featured image: @karliedoesdallas]
1. Sundown at Granada
Warmly lit off the backdrop of the historic Granada Theater marquee, overlooking Greenville Avenue and their own luscious garden, Sundown at Granada offers a scenic and ambient atmosphere in which to enjoy farm-to-table brunch, craft cocktails, and/or a live band. With over 60 craft beers, a whole mix of house-spun cocktails, and vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free menu options to boot, this is where you’ll want to be when the music is jamming – six nights of the week, that is.
2. The Green Room
If you like your music loud, get rowdy at Deep Ellum’s rooftop haven, The Green Room. With an impressive view of the Dallas skyline in the background, and a good look below on the streets of Deep Ellum, the Green Room offers prime real estate in so far as having a good time. With three fully-loaded bars and a damn good pub food menu, be sure to energize accordingly before chasing the next concert of the night – possibly at fellow rooftop bar, Wit’s End, across the street.
3. The Gallery Lounge at Canvas Hotel
An infinity pool, on a rooftop? Say no more… Okay, we’ll say more. The Cedars District rooftop is an elegant destination in which to drink in the Dallas skyline. The boutique hotel’s rooftop bar offers a variety of refreshing cocktails, wines, and champagne, as well as an all-day restaurant menu with a handful of classic dishes. While the pool is restricted to hotel guests, the rooftop bar is open daily to the public.
4. HG Sply Co.
HG Sply Co. offers a spacious rooftop hang on Greenville Avenue. Complete with weatherproof awnings, visitors can take respite from rain or sun if need be while chowing down on their spectacular nachos and frozen Moscow Mules.
5. Quarter Bar
Modeled after the famous New Orleans district, this restaurant, bar, and patio adds a vintage French feel to the Uptown watering hole. Their luscious upstairs courtyard makes for a pleasant little hideaway, that is until nightfall when things are prone to get a little more raucous as is the New Orleans MO. You won’t find absinthe here, but the bar is loaded with a chemistry set of other wicked cocktails that will give you a taste of the dark arts. While you’re here, be sure to order their Ben’s Cajun Fries for some more of that good voodoo.
6. Happiest Hour
Firmly planted in Victory Park a hop skip and dash away from the American Airlines Center, Happiest Hour is a swank indoor and outdoor bar complete with a humongous beer garden and vast rooftop bar. Spacious as it may be up top, the crowds flock to the rooftop on weekends, so you might be a little happier taking the elevator up after a weeknight game.
7. Sky Blossom
Perched on a rooftop in the heart of downtown, Sky Blossom is a vibrant Vietnamese Bistro and bar that offers customers the chance to dine in the clouds. Their brunch menu features a Vietnamese twist on brunch staples with their Steak and Egg (Bo Ne), Pandan Waffles, and Blossom Parfait. While you’re there you might as well add a splash of color to your afternoon with their dazzling variety of fruity cocktails.
8. Reata
Located in Fort Worth, the elegant, frontier-themed Reata restaurant offers visitors dinner and a view par excellence. Dine on fine Texas cuisine and signature cocktails among lush landscaping, a grotto, and a canyon-esque view of Downtown Fort Worth. For a private experience, you can book one of their several rooftop areas, including their Luna Vista aka The Dome, a geodesic dome perched on their rooftop that accommodates up to 100 guests.
9. The Grapevine
The beloved neighborhood Dallas dive is back after a brief intermission. Voted “Best Gay Bar” as well as “Best Straight Bar – having been referred to as “like Cheers but on acid” – the endearingly strange dive is known for its colorful atmosphere and crowds alike. Here you’ll find cheap beer, local crafts, and a naughty cocktail list that includes such concoctions as their Pom Pom described as such: “If a pomegranate had a really boozy, frozen baby, it would be a Pom Pom” – take yours on their patio.
10. Nora
The highly acclaimed restaurant and bar is not only a place to enjoy a delicious selection of Afghan cuisine, but just as well a serene spot to wind down come nightfall. Their rooftop patio is beset with ambient lighting, cozy lounge chairs, greenery, and fire pits – the perfect atmosphere to journey your way through their exotic cocktail list.