When the weather turns, the whole city wants to drink with a view. These are the rooftops and open-air patios actually worth the elevator ride, ranked on the view, the room and the kind of night you get when it is full.
TT By the TopTorontoClubs teamUpdated June 20268 min readWe actually go out
Toronto only gets so many warm months, and when they land the rooftops are where the city goes. The catch is they are not all the same night. A few are full-on rooftop clubs with bottle service and a DJ, some are stylish hotel lounges built for cocktails and a skyline photo, and a couple are sprawling open-air patios that are really day-to-night parties. Pick wrong and you show up to a quiet cocktail terrace expecting a dancefloor, or vice versa.
So this ranking sorts them by what you actually get. We weighed the view, the room, the crowd it pulls and whether it delivers a real night or just a pretty backdrop. Most of these are seasonal, roughly May through September, and the open-air ones live and die by the weather, so always check before you go. A couple run year-round indoors with the view through glass. No paid placements, just the order we would send a friend in.
1
Lavelle
Rooftop pool club with the CN Tower behind you
King West · rooftop
SettingRooftop pool deck, 6th floor
SoundHip-Hop, R&B, Top 40
CrowdDressed-up pros, 21+
VibeRestaurant by day, club by night
SeasonPatio peaks May-Sept
EntryGuestlist or bottle, picky door
Lavelle is the rooftop everything else gets measured against, perched atop 627 King West with reflecting pools, outdoor bars, cabana booths and a straight-on view of the CN Tower lit up behind the crowd. You ride the elevator up and step onto an open deck that runs as a restaurant by day and flips into a proper rooftop club at night, with hip-hop, R&B and Top 40 for a stylish, dressed-up crowd. It is the rare Toronto rooftop that is both a genuine view and a genuine party.
It is 21-plus and the door can be choosy, so dress sharp and arrive by 11 on a summer Saturday, which is the peak. The open deck shuts down in the cold months, so this is a warm-weather play. When the night and the weather line up, hip-hop on that rooftop with the skyline glowing is about as good as a Toronto night gets.
On a warm Saturday the skyline does half the work and the DJ does the rest.
Best for
A dressed-up rooftop night with a skyline view and a real dancefloor.
Go if / Skip if
Go if it's warm and you want the marquee rooftop. Skip in deep winter or under 21.
Harriet's sits on top of the 1 Hotel at 550 Wellington West, and it is the polished, grown-up end of the rooftop spectrum. Think a leafy, well-designed terrace with skyline views, a serious cocktail list and DJs spinning Top 40 and house on busy nights. The crowd skews a touch older and more put-together than the club rooftops, here for a stylish drink and a view rather than a sweaty floor, though weekend nights do get lively.
It reads more lounge than club, so come for cocktails, golden-hour photos and an easy, social night rather than a dancefloor grind. Reservations are the smart move on weekends and warm evenings, since the terrace fills and walk-in space gets tight. Dress nicely and you will fit right in with the 1 Hotel crowd.
Best for
An upscale rooftop cocktail night with skyline views and a stylish crowd.
Go if / Skip if
Go if you want polished and lounge-y. Skip if you want a loud club floor.
The Rooftop crowns the beautifully restored Broadview Hotel at 106 Broadview Ave, on the east side at Queen and Broadview, and it offers a view most downtown rooftops cannot: the full downtown skyline laid out across the river, with the Don Valley below. It is an intimate, design-forward room wrapped in big windows with a seasonal open-air terrace, which makes it one of the few rooftops you can enjoy year-round, skyline through the glass in winter and out on the patio in summer.
The vibe is stylish and relaxed, cocktails and Top 40 for a 25-to-40 crowd that comes for the setting and the photos as much as the drinks. It is a destination rather than a stumble-in, so book ahead, especially for sunset on a summer weekend when the east-facing skyline view does its thing.
Best for
A stylish skyline view from the east end, summer or winter.
Go if / Skip if
Go for the best skyline-across-the-river view in the city. Skip if you want a west-end club.
Evangeline is the rooftop at the much-hyped Ace Hotel on Camden Street, tucked off Spadina in the Fashion District. Like the hotel below it, the space is all considered design, brick and concrete and warm light, with a stylish, creative-leaning crowd. It is a cocktail-and-conversation rooftop with DJs adding energy on the busier nights, more about the room and the drinks than a dancefloor.
It is intimate, so it fills fast on a warm evening and reservations help. Come for a polished, design-led night, a strong cocktail and an after-work-into-evening crowd that knows the Ace is one of the better-looking spaces in the city. Pair it with dinner in the neighbourhood and you have an easy upscale night.
Best for
A design-led rooftop cocktail night in the Fashion District.
Go if / Skip if
Go for style and a strong drink. Skip if you want a big, loud party.
RendezViews is not a tall rooftop but it is the city's defining open-air party patio, a huge colourful space at 229 Richmond West, downtown. Kitschy decor, a big bar, DJs spinning Top 40 and throwbacks, and enough room to lose a group in: it is built for a sunny afternoon that rolls straight into a night out. On a summer weekend it is one of the most reliably fun patios in Toronto, more party than lounge.
It is a summer-only spot and a group magnet, so it is ideal for birthdays, work nights out and big crews. You can walk in, but tables and bottle service are worth booking for a group on a peak Saturday. Come for daytime-into-night energy and a crowd that is there to have an easy, loud good time rather than pose.
Best for
A big, fun summer patio party with a group.
Go if / Skip if
Go for day-drinking that turns into a night. Skip if you want a quiet skyline lounge.
Cabana is the closest thing Toronto has to a Vegas pool party, an outdoor day-club on Polson Pier at 11 Polson Street with a pool, the lake and the skyline as the backdrop. Big-name DJs spin EDM, house and hip-hop while the crowd parties in swimsuits across the deck and cabanas. It is a daytime-into-evening event more than a bar, and on a hot Sunday it is one of the marquee parties of the Toronto summer.
This one runs on tickets, cabana rentals and bottle service rather than a casual walk-in, and it is firmly seasonal. It is a big-budget, big-energy day out, so plan it: grab tickets ahead, book a cabana if you are rolling deep, and treat it as the headline event of the day rather than a stop on a bar crawl.
A genuine pool party on the water, skyline and all, for about four months a year.
Best for
A summer pool party with big DJs and a cabana for the crew.
Go if / Skip if
Go for a hot-Sunday day-club blowout. Skip if you want a chill drink or it's not summer.
Toronto Beach Club brings a sand-and-lake beach-club feel to the east waterfront at 1681 Lake Shore Blvd East. It is an open-air patio with a relaxed, sun-soaked vibe, house music, loungey seating and the water right there, the kind of place built for a long summer afternoon and golden-hour drinks rather than a hard club night. It trades the skyline for the lake and a more laid-back energy.
Like the other open-air spots it is summer-only and best on a warm, clear day, with Fridays and weekends the busiest. Reserve seating or a bottle table for a group, since the loungey layout is the point and casual walk-in space is limited on peak days. Come for an easy beach-club day with friends, not a dancefloor.
Best for
A relaxed lakeside beach-club afternoon into the evening.
Go if / Skip if
Go for sand, house music and a chill crew. Skip if you want a high-energy club.
LOUIX LOUIS sits on the 31st floor of the St. Regis at 325 Bay Street, and while it is indoors rather than open-air, it earns a spot for the view and the room. The ceiling, modelled to look like the gilded underside of a champagne coupe, is one of the most photographed in the city, and the windows frame the Financial District skyline. It is a glamorous, Art Deco cocktail bar with a serious drinks and whisky program, dressy and grown.
Because it is indoors, this is the rooftop-view play that works year-round, including a Toronto winter when every open-air deck is shut. It is a sit-down cocktail destination, not a dancefloor, so book ahead, dress up, and come for a special-occasion drink with a skyline behind it. Pricey, but the room and the view justify it.
Best for
A glamorous, year-round skyline cocktail night without needing summer.
Go if / Skip if
Go for the view and the room in any season. Skip if you want open-air or a party.
The single most important thing: most of these are seasonal and weather-dependent. The open-air spots, Lavelle, Cabana, Toronto Beach Club, RendezViews, Evangeline and the patios at Harriet's and The Rooftop, run roughly May through September and can close or move indoors on a cold or rainy night. If a rooftop night is the whole plan, check the forecast and the venue's hours before you commit. The two that beat the weather are LOUIX LOUIS, which is indoors on the 31st floor, and The Rooftop at the Broadview, which keeps its skyline view through glass in the colder months.
The other thing is matching the room to the night you want. Lavelle and Cabana are full parties with DJs and bottle service. Harriet's, Evangeline, The Rooftop and LOUIX LOUIS are stylish cocktail lounges built for a drink and a view. RendezViews and Toronto Beach Club are big open-air patios that run day into night. Decide whether you want to dance or to sip with a skyline, and pick accordingly.
Also worth a look
A few more rooftops and patios
Beyond the top eight, a couple more are worth knowing. Valerie sits high up in Hotel X on the Exhibition grounds, a jazz-leaning lounge with elevated views and the hotel's rooftop pools in the building. Bar Poet on Queen West is a more low-key patio-bar option with pizza and Top 40 if you want something casual and walk-in friendly rather than a destination rooftop.
And if the weather turns on you, the move is to drop down to street level: King West, the Entertainment District and Queen West all sit a short walk from these rooftops and are packed with clubs and bars that do not care if it is raining. Tap through any venue for the full rundown and how to get on the list.
Common questions
Best rooftop bars in Toronto FAQ
What is the best rooftop bar in Toronto?
For a full rooftop night with a view and a dancefloor, Lavelle on King West is the marquee pick, with the CN Tower right behind the crowd. For a stylish cocktail rooftop, Harriet's at the 1 Hotel and Evangeline at the Ace Hotel lead, and The Rooftop at the Broadview Hotel has the best skyline-across-the-river view. It comes down to whether you want to dance or to sip with a view.
Are Toronto rooftop bars open year-round?
Most are seasonal, roughly May through September, and the open-air ones can close on cold or rainy nights, so always check first. The exceptions are LOUIX LOUIS, which is an indoor sky bar on the 31st floor of the St. Regis, and The Rooftop at the Broadview Hotel, which keeps its skyline view through glass in winter.
Which Toronto rooftop is best for a party versus a quiet drink?
For a party, Lavelle and Cabana Pool Bar run real DJ-and-bottle-service nights, and RendezViews is a big open-air party patio. For a quieter, stylish drink with a view, go to Harriet's, Evangeline, The Rooftop or LOUIX LOUIS.
Do I need a reservation for a Toronto rooftop bar?
For the lounge-style rooftops like Harriet's, Evangeline, The Rooftop and LOUIX LOUIS, reservations are strongly recommended, especially at sunset on a summer weekend. For the club-style spots like Lavelle and Cabana, you want the guestlist or a bottle table. Big open-air patios like RendezViews take walk-ins but a group should book.
What should I wear to a Toronto rooftop bar?
Smart and stylish is the safe call almost everywhere. The hotel rooftops and LOUIX LOUIS lean dressier, Lavelle has a picky door so dress sharp, and the pool and beach clubs like Cabana and Toronto Beach Club are swimwear by day. When in doubt, level up a notch.
Keep reading
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King West · rooftop
