Long before the rooftop became hospitality’s accoutrement du jour, the fifth-floor horseshoe terrace at the then-Wentworth Hotel ruled over Sydney as rooftop royalty. Now, after a 10-month renovation, the grand-daddy of the genre will reopen on Friday, October 25.

When the hotel opened in 1966, its rooftop was a guest-only zone: stars Audrey Hepburn and Marlon Brando were among the lucky stay-overs who could enjoy its city vistas. Later guests Margaret Thatcher and Vladimir Putin might’ve put the terrace’s then reputation for high tea to the test. Later again, it was home to the Garden Court restaurant.

With the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth’s food and beverage operations now in the hands of external restaurant operator House Made Hospitality (the group behind the chef’s hatted Lana restaurant and Promenade Bondi), the terrace has been reinvented as Wentworth Bar.

The landmark rooftop site has a new addition: a sprawling copper and glass awning to shield its 250 guests from the elements. “Even when it’s pouring down, it’s still a great place to sit and eat,” says House Made director Jason Williams.

With wine by the glass starting at $13, they’ve made the venue approachable. A Slipper-y When Wet cocktail lands at $25.

Vietnamese-French restaurant Delta Rue also opens on level five on Friday and the kitchen will punch out a menu for Wentworth Bar guests.

But what has propelled the spread of rooftop venues across Sydney? Operators say we’ve been playing catch-up with the rest of the world, which embraced the rooftop trend earlier, often in less friendly climates than Sydney.

“From midday when we open, to close, it’s non-stop; it’s crazier and crazier,” chef Peter Conistis says of early trade at Rooftop Kouzina, the venue he opened in late August atop The Bristol on Sussex Street, in the Sydney CBD.

Conistis says rooftop settings offer city dwellers a reprieve from the urban jungle, while from an operational standpoint, they can draw customers who otherwise might not visit into a venue like The Bristol.

Conistis hopes customers who visit for a drink or a quick souvlaki will stay, and migrate downstairs to Ela Ela, the restaurant he opened at the weekend. “It’s my take on a mezes restaurant in Athens,” he says of Ela Ela (which means “come, come” in Greek).

The pandemic left Sydneysiders craving open space, and the city delivered. Martinez Terrace at Circular Quay joined the party, along with the rooftop at the redeveloped Jacksons on George, which elbowed its way into the al fresco club.

Earlier this month, Canvas, a restaurant with a rolling roster of chefs (a former head chef at Tetsuya’s is currently in residence) opened on the level-four space where the terrace cafe previously operated at Circular Quay’s Museum of Contemporary Art.

A rooftop Japanese restaurant and bar is also set to open in the development at 388 George Street.

Williams says Wentworth Bar offers an oasis in the CBD: “It’s the kind of bar you’d search out in any major city. DJ playing, great cocktails, and the buzz of a city rooftop.”