Empire Journal | Dining
Rooftop Dining in Chicago: The Skyline, the Lake, and the River
Rooftop dining in Chicago, sorted by which view you want — the river canyon, the lake, or the skyline itself — plus how to work the short season.
Rooftop Dining in Chicago
Chicago has the best rooftop architecture of any American city and the shortest season to use it. Rooftop dining in Chicago runs hard from May through early October and then mostly retreats indoors, which means the good tables are contested for about twenty weekends a year. Knowing which view you want before you book is how you win one.
There are three distinct rooftop views in this city, and they are not interchangeable.
The river canyon
The most Chicago view there is: standing above the river with the bridges below and the towers rising on both sides.
- LH Rooftop — LondonHouse Chicago, Michigan Avenue at Wacker. The rooftop at the bend of the river, looking straight down the Michigan Avenue bridge with the cupola beside you. The single most recognizable rooftop view in the city. Hotel site.
- Cindy's — Chicago Athletic Association, Michigan Avenue. Not the river but Millennium Park and the lake, from a glass-walled room with a terrace — and the most consistently good food of any rooftop in Chicago. Hotel site.
The lake
- Offshore — Navy Pier. The largest rooftop bar in the world by floor area, and the only place in Chicago where you sit over the water and look back at the skyline rather than out from inside it.
- The Streeterville hotel terraces face north and east up the lakefront, which is the right choice for a long summer evening.
The skyline from inside it
- NoMI Garden — Park Hyatt Chicago. Seventh-floor garden terrace directly across from the Water Tower, close enough to the John Hancock that you look up rather than out. Hotel site.
- Z Bar — The Peninsula Chicago. A terrace and lounge with the Magnificent Mile below and a bar program that belongs in a serious cocktail room. Hotel site.
- Cerise — Virgin Hotels Chicago, the Loop. The Loop rooftop, and the one to pick if you want the financial-district towers around you.
How to book the short season
- Book four weeks out for any June through September weekend. Resy and OpenTable carry the hotel rooftops; the drop times are consistent week to week.
- Take the 5 PM or the 9 PM. The 7 to 8:30 window is the one everyone fights over.
- Ask about the rain policy when you book. Chicago rooftops move indoors or cancel, and the good ones will tell you which.
- Watch the wind, not the temperature. Forty stories above the lake in May runs fifteen degrees colder than the forecast.
Where to stay
Everything above is in a hotel except Offshore, and staying in the building is the whole cheat code for rooftop dining in Chicago — you get the earlier seating and you do not lose the view to a rideshare queue. Compare Chicago hotel rates through our Expedia partner link, and for a rooftop pool afternoon, ResortPass lists hotel day passes.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best rooftop restaurant in Chicago?
Cindy's at the Chicago Athletic Association, if you want the food to match the view. For the classic river-and-bridge photograph, LH Rooftop at LondonHouse.
When is rooftop season in Chicago?
Roughly May through early October. Several rooftops run heated or enclosed winter setups, but the full outdoor experience is a summer product.
Do Chicago rooftops require reservations?
For dinner on a summer weekend, yes — book three to four weeks ahead. Weeknights before Memorial Day are frequently walk-in.
Which Chicago rooftop has the best skyline view?
LH Rooftop for the river canyon, Offshore at Navy Pier for the full skyline from over the water, and NoMI Garden for being inside the skyline looking up.
