There’s nothing quite like sipping a cocktail on a rooftop, enjoying a relaxing drink with spectacular views of the city below. Rooftop bars are getting hotter every year, with new ones featuring innovations and offerings that aim to outdo the others. Mandoe Media has released its annual list of the best rooftop bars in the world, which includes a list of the best rooftop bars in the U.S. These are the bucket-list bars that offer stunning views and top-notch cocktails for a perfectly panoramic evening.
To determine the best rooftop bars, Mandoe analyzed 200 bars based on how many people shared them on social media and what percentage of people rated them as excellent. They combined these metrics to create an index of the world’s top 50 rooftop cocktail bars, then broke them down by region.
Rooftop bars may be trendy, with several see-and-be-seen spots with limited access ranking high on the list, but the best rooftop bar in the U.S. is a little different. With a casual, laid-back vibe and stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean, Ocean Lounge at Sea Pines Beach Club in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, is the top rooftop bar in the country. Ocean Lounge also ranks number five in the world.
Following Ocean Lounge is 54thirty Rooftop in Denver, Colorado (also ranking number seven in the world). This stylish lounge has a vibrant atmosphere and serves up cocktails and craft beers with views of the Denver skyline. Next up is Merchant & Trade in Charlotte, North Carolina, followed by Electric Moon Skytop Lounge + Moon Deck in Savannah, Georgia. While New York has three entries in the best rooftop bars in the world (230 Fifth, Magic Hour and Bar Blondeau), the South reigns supreme in the U.S. The best city in the U.S., according to Mandoe’s data, is Chicago, with four bars in the top 50 in the world.
Chances are there’s a rooftop bar in a city near you, but if you’re building a bucket list of the best spots to sip a cocktail high above it all, find the full list of the best rooftop bars in the U.S. and the world here.