From the CBD to the hills, the hot new rooftop bars to put on your radar

From Mediterranean snacks from chef Luke Mangan at Harper Rooftop Bar to bottomless brunches at Glebe’s Toxteth Hotel, Sydney’s rooftop craze rolls on.

Scott Bolles

November 6, 2023

The revamped rooftop at the Kimpton Margot Sydney launched on Thursday, November 2, with a sprawling footprint and a Mediterranean-inspired bar menu from chef Luke Mangan.

Harper Rooftop Bar touts more than summer cocktails and burrata with peach, fennel and pomegranate. The seventh-storey hotel venue is licensed for 180 patrons, and has staked its claim as the largest open-air rooftop bar in the CBD – decent bragging rights given rooftops are the accoutrement de jour of Sydney hospitality.

Harper Rooftop Bar claims to be the largest rooftop venue in Sydney’s CBD. Dexter Kim

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

Rooftops aren’t the exclusive domain of the CBD. On the top floor of the seven-level commercial building under construction at Infinity Park, in the hills district, chef Joshua Mason from Quoi Dining is planning a new 120-seat restaurant. Ciel (French for sky) will open in April next year.

The chef was attracted to the site by the substantial outdoor space and sweeping views. Hospitality operators argue Sydney’s temperate weather is more suited to rooftops than many places where the trend is more mature, including New York City.

Tocky Terrace at Glebe’s Toxteth Hotel.Tom Ferguson

We’re catching up fast. Glebe’s Toxteth Hotel recently joined the rooftop craze with Tocky Terrace. Demand for outdoor spaces, and rooftops in particular, is growing in Sydney, especially coming into the warmer months, a spokeswoman says.

“The existing outdoor beer garden and street dining were hugely popular with patrons and Tocky Terrace ... offers panoramic city views only five minutes from the CBD,” she says.

Licensed for 75 people, Tocky Terrace offers a weekend bottomless brunch when it isn’t rolling out share platters, all washed down with city skyline views.

It joins a growing collection of post-pandemic rooftop venues, among them the Luchetti Krelle-designed Arturo’s Rooftop at the Woolly Bay Hotel, luxe city venue Shell House, the rooftop at The Strand pub in William Street and Slims, a couple of blocks away.