Two people who met a week ago stand at a glass railing above downtown Los Angeles, each holding a first drink and watching the office towers light up at dusk. Within the hour they will decide on a second. Time Out’s April 2026 guide to the city’s rooftops lists 14 bars between Long Beach and Beverly Hills, and they differ widely in price, seating and how late they stay open.
Perch, Downtown Historic Core
Perch is on the top two floors of a building on Pershing Square, with a restaurant and bar on the 15th floor and an open-air terrace on the 16th. The food is French bistro cooking, and the drinks list includes Kir-style cocktails. The terrace faces the downtown skyline, and Time Out’s food and drink editor recommends it for a classic urban skyline view.
The bar opens at 4 p.m. on weekdays, stays open until 1 a.m. early in the week and runs a happy hour until 6. Two people can meet before the evening crowd arrives and still have the option of dinner downstairs. Hours run later on Friday and Saturday.
Florentín Rooftop Bar, Downtown Historic Core
Florentín is an 8th-floor rooftop with a view of the Gas Company Tower and the U.S. Bank Tower. The Infatuation describes it as a low-key lounge with string lights, and the food menu is minimal. The cocktails lean Mediterranean. The house drink, the Florentini, costs $19, and beer cocktails are priced under $10.
The bar takes walk-ins only. It is open from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Wednesday through Friday and from 2 p.m. on Saturday, so a date here can follow a dinner somewhere else.
Gemma, Beverly Hills
Gemma is on the 12th floor of the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills and serves a Pan-Asian menu. The Infatuation describes an upscale lounge with olive green sectional seating and panoramic sightlines over the neighborhood.
The same guide calls Gemma a place built to impress visitors. That makes it the more formal counterpart to Florentín or Perch.
Kassi, Venice
Kassi took over the rooftop of Hotel Erwin in 2025, replacing the High Rooftop Lounge, and opened on July 4 of that year. The menu is Greek-inflected, with mezze and grilled skewers, and Time Out singles out the fried zucchini crisps. The view is of the Pacific, and The Infatuation’s review rated the snacks decent and the rooftop views the main reason to go.
The seating is low lounge sofas under large umbrellas, and the rooftop opens at noon with the mezze menu served from the start. A first meeting here does not have to commit to a full evening. A sugar daddy in LA meeting a new companion for the first time, or two people on a blind date, can keep it to one drink facing the ocean and decide about lunch once they have talked.
Best Rooftop Bars in Los Angeles
Spire 73, Downtown Financial District
Spire 73 is on the 73rd floor of the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown, about 1,000 feet above the street, and is billed as the tallest open-air bar in the Western Hemisphere. Glass walls block the wind and fire pits keep the terrace warm. The bar is open to the public as well as to hotel guests.
Time Out lists a $60 minimum per person and says reservations are required. Hours are 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until midnight on Friday. The minimum fixes the cost of the evening in advance.
Dante Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills
Dante is a 9th-floor rooftop at The Maybourne Beverly Hills, and Time Out ranked it first among the city’s rooftop bars in its 2026 guide. The view is toward the hills and the mansions below them. The bar serves 10 different versions of the martini, and most cocktails cost between $19 and $30. Time Out wrote that the drinks stand up to the best bars in the city, rooftop or not.
The bar is open daily from noon to midnight, and Time Out recommends reservations on weekends. The drinks are the reason to go, and the menu is built around them.
Harriet’s Rooftop, West Hollywood
Harriet’s is the rooftop cocktail lounge of the 1 Hotel West Hollywood, with panoramic views over Hollywood and the downtown skyline. Time Out describes the food as Asian-inspired bar bites and the cocktail list as standard, and bottle service is available for groups.
Early in the week the bar opens at 5 p.m. and closes at 10:30 p.m. On Friday and Saturday it opens at 4 p.m. and stays open until 2 a.m. A 10:30 close on a Tuesday puts a natural end on a first date meant to last one drink.
Calabra, Santa Monica
Calabra is the rooftop restaurant and bar of the Santa Monica Proper Hotel, on the 7th floor, beside the hotel’s rooftop pool. Designer Kelly Wearstler did the hotel’s interiors, and the menu is Mediterranean with California influences. The view takes in the city and the ocean and is at its best at sunset.
The hotel is about a 10-minute walk from the beach. Calabra is open daily from noon to 10 p.m., and reservations are recommended. A first date that starts with a sunset drink here can continue with a walk to the water. Fathom’s review of the hotel noted morning yoga on the rooftop and a pool ringed by loungers.
Osa Rooftop, Pasadena
Osa opened on July 18, 2025, on the roof of the AC Hotel Pasadena at Colorado Boulevard and Madison Avenue in Playhouse Village. The open-air terrace is built around a mature olive tree, with fire pits and a view of the San Gabriel Mountains. Executive chef Carlos Couts runs the California menu, which includes King salmon crudo and a Wagyu burger.
Pete St. Peter runs the bar program. One of his drinks, the Cactus Cooler, mixes mezcal and nopales with lime. Dinner is served daily from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., and The Infatuation’s review of Osa Rooftop in Pasadena called it the best spot in the San Gabriel Valley to catch the sunset. The restaurant sits on the Rose Parade route and is run by Boulevard Hospitality Group. From the neighborhoods east of downtown, Osa is a shorter drive than the coast.
The Second Drink
The pair at the glass railing order their second drink once the towers are fully lit. On a rooftop with a kitchen, that second drink can turn into dinner without anyone changing seats. On one without a kitchen, the second drink is the natural point to end the night or to walk somewhere else, and the view from the railing has already given the two of them something to talk about.
