As summer often carries into September you can still enjoy the time outside. On the Lower East Side, the warmth of the sunshine on your face or a cool evening breeze with the lights of the city twinkling in the background will only get better with the perfect cocktail in hand and the right venue in which to enjoy it all. Extell Development’s One Manhattan Square condos are near a wealth of rooftop bars where you can relax after work or go to play on the weekends. Read on to learn a bit more about a few of our favorites.
The Crown
At the end of a busy summer day, we like to keep it simple. The Crown obliges with some chips and guac, or maybe salsa, and an open-air rooftop lounge with all the comfort of your favorite sidewalk café (but with more space) and a drink menu of classics mixed with easy sophistication. Situated on the 21st floor of Hotel 50 Bowery, The Crown has unrivaled views of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and even parts of Queens and New Jersey that put it at the top of many a list of best rooftop locations in the city. Choose one of two outdoor terraces—each with its own view—or relax inside the indoor portion of the lounge with one of their Asian-inspired cocktails like a Toki Highball of Toki Japanese whiskey and soda or a Thai Basil Watermelon Margarita of tequila, Thai basil, watermelon, lemon, and lime. Make certain to order something to nibble on from a fabulous menu of regularly updated small bites and take your time in this jewel from Three Kings Restaurant Group.
Rooftop93
There’s a quiet privacy to Rooftop93 that we can’t help but love. Seated on the 19th floor of the Wyndham Garden Chinatown, Rooftop93 provides extended views of some of the city’s most iconic structures, which are sure to awe, especially at sunset when rays of light flutter and shimmer gold across the glass facades to the north and drench the bridges over the East River in pinks and reds. Lucky for you that this time of greatest beauty happens to coincide with happy hour—a particular treat here, for many of their signature cocktails are BOGO 50%. Discount or no, pour us a Summer Breeze of gin, sloe gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, and Sprite; a Tropical Island with Southern Comfort, amaretto, melon liqueur, orange juice, and pineapple juice; or a Purple Tide of rum, crème de cassis, lime juice, pineapple juice, and Sprite. We’ll happily saddle-up on any of their bar stools or chairs and wait for night to fall (preferably accompanied by pulled pork, spicy tuna, or even the lobster tacos).
The Delancey
If you’re looking for intimate spaces with a real patio vibe, The Delancey delivers. The key is the palms that align along the seating areas, enclosing each in foliage that creates your own personal deck area and sways in the breeze to give you a hint of that Caribbean vacation you took last year. The décor just begs for you to indulge in their bottle service with friends and lounge over your favorite bourbon or vodka highballs to the accompaniment of caramelized onion or sautéed mushroom pizza. It’s also an excellent launch pad for the venue downstairs, where, on any given night, you’ll find everything from live painting and Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing to indie and hip-hop acts. Hang out. Have a few. Catch a show, and then retreat upstairs for a few more under an open sky. Isn’t summer grand?