19 Top-Notch Rooftop Bars and Restaurants Around the Bay Area
Lauren Saria and Eater Staff Lauren Saria Eater Staff
These are bars or restaurants that are actually rooftops, with outdoor access. They’ve all got beer, wine, cocktails, and snacks to enjoy in the sun (or fog, depending on which one you choose).
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Eater SF
We’re not the coldest of metropolitan areas in the U.S. But it’s fair to say the Bay Area gets its fair share of wind and fog. Still, pretty much everyone enjoys a rooftop bar, and fortunately, the scene has seen some new entrants in recent years — ones embracing the cold air with warm heaters and stiff drinks. Here are 16 scenic rooftop bars and restaurants offering both strong cocktails and stunning views from San Francisco to San Jose.

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There’s no shortage of glamour and glitz on the menu at RH Rooftop Restaurant Marin, the restaurant offshoot of luxury furniture store RH. The restaurant has stately trees and cushy couches to sink into as you enjoy a salad and lobster roll with a glass of something bubbly.

You’d never know it at first glance, but there’s a slender rooftop patio perched atop Fiorella’s newest outpost in the Sunset. Hung with string lights and armed with heaters, it’s a cozy setting for sharing wood-fired pizzas and fresh pastas.

In early 2022, the former Dear Inga space flipped into Good Good Culture Club, a team effort from a trio of Liholiho alums: general manager Aimee Arcilla, chef Kevin Keovanpheng, and chef Brett Shaw. The menu splits two ways, savory and sweet, with plates inspired by Arcilla’s Filipina heritage and Shaw’s Laotian upbringing. The roof is easily the best seat in the house with lots of plants and a vibrant color scheme.

El Techo has long been one of the city’s best options for outdoor drinking, day or night. Head up to the rooftop patio overlooking Mission Street for margaritas, small plates, and an excellent weekday happy hour from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. There are heaters scattered around the roof, and if you want the best views, belly up to the drinking rail.

One of the city’s biggest rooftop spaces means plenty of room to gather for cocktails and occasional live music. The greenery scattered throughout gives it a lush vibe, though it’s in the midst of the Tenderloin, surrounded by hotels and apartment buildings.

Look up and down Market Street’s windy corridor from the glass-enclosed patio of Charmaine’s, perched atop the well-heeled Proper Hotel. It’s got drinks designed by Bon Vivants Hospitality (Trick Dog), snacks by Jason Fox of the late Commonwealth, and high style to match. The best seats are around one of the fire pits.

Head up to the top floor of the LINE SF hotel to find cocktails from longtime San Francisco bartender Danie Louie and a tight food menu from chef Joe Hou. There’s also a covered solarium, packed with plants, for days when the weather’s not quite right, plus firepits to warm up around outside.

Chotto Matte has a clubstaurant vibe, but so long as you don’t mind, the restaurant and lounge deliver elegant views of Union Square from a little-seen vantage point. For food, it’s a choose-your-own-adventure experience with multi-tiered pricing for tasting menus.

On the fifth floor of Hotel Zelos, Dirty Habit is a hidden-away lair secluded by SoMa’s high-rise buildings. It’s dark and luxe indoors, but it opens out onto fire pits and lounge-worthy sofas. Sip from a menu of craft cocktails, which switches up with the seasons, and snack on oysters and shishito peppers, or go all-in on wild halibut or barbecue short ribs.

Some locals may remember this space as Everdene — back when the building was under the Virgin Hotels brand — but that was a whole lawsuit ago, and Hilton has since taken over. Despite that shift in ownership, the rooftop remains a solid place for drinks and fresh air; on cold nights, stick near the heaters and order one of the house-aged classics, such as the Negroni or Old Fashioned.

Crushing a beer in a park that sits above the busy SoMa streets is a worthwhile experience — and one that’s easy to find thanks to Barebottle Brewing’s taproom at Salesforce Park. Enter at 425 Mission Street at Fremont Street then meander your way down the park’s paths until you find the shipping container-turned-beer garden. There’s Joyride Pizza available to pair with your drink.

Atop SoMa’s 25 Lusk is a lovely rooftop bar serving wood-fired pizzas, burgers, and other bar snacks. Frozen cocktails, beers, and wines are attractive orders, particularly when the heaters come on to combat Bay Area winter (or notoriously cool summer) weather.

Decked out with swaying palm trees and a lush plant wall, this tropical rooftop bar and restaurant is perched high above the SoMa skyline atop the Hyatt Place hotel. From the team behind Cow Hollow’s Kaiyo, expect a menu of Japanese-Peruvian Nikkei food and drinks including inventive sushi rolls, a variety of ceviches, and tropically-inspired cocktails — tiny umbrellas and all.

There’s probably no better view in Mission Bay than from the stylish rooftop bar Cavaña, just a few blocks away from Oracle Park. It’s the latest from restaurateur John Park (Kaiyo, Kaiyo Rooftop, Novela) and a roster of experienced bar industry pros. They’re pulling inspiration from across Latin America including Peru, Venezuela, and Mexico so the cocktails feature flavors like hoja santa, papaya, mole spices, and poblano peppers. On the food menu, expect aguachiles, arepas, and flaky pastel de carne.

This Old Oakland bar and restaurant has the ideal rooftop for snacking on shrimp and grits, fried brussels sprouts, and steak frites. Cocktails, beer, wine, and weekend brunch that starts at 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday are all extra reasons to stop by.

Berkeley welcomed its highest rooftop bar in March 2022 with the debut of Study Hall at the Residence Inn downtown. While you take in the expansive views of the University of California Berkeley campus, peruse an approachable menu with shareable items such as roasted garlic Parmesan truffle fries. Try the campus-appropriate All Nighter, the bar’s version of an espresso martini.

One of Oakland’s newer downtown rooftop bars is the High 5ive atop the Kissel Uptown Oakland hotel. Snacks range from artichoke spinach dip and a meat and cheese plate to a chopped salad and carnitas tacos, with cocktail options such as the Piedmont Black Tai, which features white and dark rum, apricot liqueur, lime, pineapple, and orgeat.

It’s no secret that Westfield Valley Fair and nearby Santana Row have become dining meccas, but for an al fresco meal in the middle of all that retail bliss head up to Terra at Eatly Silicon Valley. The restaurant has a small outdoor patio that mostly overlooks the parking lot — but it’s nevertheless a rare opportunity to dine outdoors above ground level. The menu is, obviously, Italian with spiedini, pasta, and woodfired proteins.

Copita’s Sausalito location has long been a favorite for tacos and margaritas just off the water but the restaurant expanded with a second location in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood, which has a rooftop patio decked out with firepits and a separate bar. The tight rooftop menu offers smaller plates and cocktails, perfect fare for noshing while you soak up some sun.

There’s no shortage of glamour and glitz on the menu at RH Rooftop Restaurant Marin, the restaurant offshoot of luxury furniture store RH. The restaurant has stately trees and cushy couches to sink into as you enjoy a salad and lobster roll with a glass of something bubbly.

You’d never know it at first glance, but there’s a slender rooftop patio perched atop Fiorella’s newest outpost in the Sunset. Hung with string lights and armed with heaters, it’s a cozy setting for sharing wood-fired pizzas and fresh pastas.

In early 2022, the former Dear Inga space flipped into Good Good Culture Club, a team effort from a trio of Liholiho alums: general manager Aimee Arcilla, chef Kevin Keovanpheng, and chef Brett Shaw. The menu splits two ways, savory and sweet, with plates inspired by Arcilla’s Filipina heritage and Shaw’s Laotian upbringing. The roof is easily the best seat in the house with lots of plants and a vibrant color scheme.

El Techo has long been one of the city’s best options for outdoor drinking, day or night. Head up to the rooftop patio overlooking Mission Street for margaritas, small plates, and an excellent weekday happy hour from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. There are heaters scattered around the roof, and if you want the best views, belly up to the drinking rail.

One of the city’s biggest rooftop spaces means plenty of room to gather for cocktails and occasional live music. The greenery scattered throughout gives it a lush vibe, though it’s in the midst of the Tenderloin, surrounded by hotels and apartment buildings.

Look up and down Market Street’s windy corridor from the glass-enclosed patio of Charmaine’s, perched atop the well-heeled Proper Hotel. It’s got drinks designed by Bon Vivants Hospitality (Trick Dog), snacks by Jason Fox of the late Commonwealth, and high style to match. The best seats are around one of the fire pits.

Head up to the top floor of the LINE SF hotel to find cocktails from longtime San Francisco bartender Danie Louie and a tight food menu from chef Joe Hou. There’s also a covered solarium, packed with plants, for days when the weather’s not quite right, plus firepits to warm up around outside.

Chotto Matte has a clubstaurant vibe, but so long as you don’t mind, the restaurant and lounge deliver elegant views of Union Square from a little-seen vantage point. For food, it’s a choose-your-own-adventure experience with multi-tiered pricing for tasting menus.

On the fifth floor of Hotel Zelos, Dirty Habit is a hidden-away lair secluded by SoMa’s high-rise buildings. It’s dark and luxe indoors, but it opens out onto fire pits and lounge-worthy sofas. Sip from a menu of craft cocktails, which switches up with the seasons, and snack on oysters and shishito peppers, or go all-in on wild halibut or barbecue short ribs.

Some locals may remember this space as Everdene — back when the building was under the Virgin Hotels brand — but that was a whole lawsuit ago, and Hilton has since taken over. Despite that shift in ownership, the rooftop remains a solid place for drinks and fresh air; on cold nights, stick near the heaters and order one of the house-aged classics, such as the Negroni or Old Fashioned.

Crushing a beer in a park that sits above the busy SoMa streets is a worthwhile experience — and one that’s easy to find thanks to Barebottle Brewing’s taproom at Salesforce Park. Enter at 425 Mission Street at Fremont Street then meander your way down the park’s paths until you find the shipping container-turned-beer garden. There’s Joyride Pizza available to pair with your drink.

There’s probably no better view in Mission Bay than from the stylish rooftop bar Cavaña, just a few blocks away from Oracle Park. It’s the latest from restaurateur John Park (Kaiyo, Kaiyo Rooftop, Novela) and a roster of experienced bar industry pros. They’re pulling inspiration from across Latin America including Peru, Venezuela, and Mexico so the cocktails feature flavors like hoja santa, papaya, mole spices, and poblano peppers. On the food menu, expect aguachiles, arepas, and flaky pastel de carne.

This Old Oakland bar and restaurant has the ideal rooftop for snacking on shrimp and grits, fried brussels sprouts, and steak frites. Cocktails, beer, wine, and weekend brunch that starts at 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday are all extra reasons to stop by.

Berkeley welcomed its highest rooftop bar in March 2022 with the debut of Study Hall at the Residence Inn downtown. While you take in the expansive views of the University of California Berkeley campus, peruse an approachable menu with shareable items such as roasted garlic Parmesan truffle fries. Try the campus-appropriate All Nighter, the bar’s version of an espresso martini.

One of Oakland’s newer downtown rooftop bars is the High 5ive atop the Kissel Uptown Oakland hotel. Snacks range from artichoke spinach dip and a meat and cheese plate to a chopped salad and carnitas tacos, with cocktail options such as the Piedmont Black Tai, which features white and dark rum, apricot liqueur, lime, pineapple, and orgeat.

It’s no secret that Westfield Valley Fair and nearby Santana Row have become dining meccas, but for an al fresco meal in the middle of all that retail bliss head up to Terra at Eatly Silicon Valley. The restaurant has a small outdoor patio that mostly overlooks the parking lot — but it’s nevertheless a rare opportunity to dine outdoors above ground level. The menu is, obviously, Italian with spiedini, pasta, and woodfired proteins.

Copita’s Sausalito location has long been a favorite for tacos and margaritas just off the water but the restaurant expanded with a second location in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood, which has a rooftop patio decked out with firepits and a separate bar. The tight rooftop menu offers smaller plates and cocktails, perfect fare for noshing while you soak up some sun.