RFK Rankings · Los Angeles
Best Rooftop Restaurants in Los Angeles 2026
Rooftop & top-floor view rooms · Los Angeles · 6 rooftops ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 3, 2026 · Updated June 3, 2026
Most Los Angeles rooftops sell the view and forget the food, which is how a city with two coastlines of light ended up with so many bad dinners served at altitude. The good ones do both. A rooftop earns a place here only when the kitchen would stand up at street level and the room happens to sit twelve, fifteen or seventy-three floors above it. That rules out the pool-club rooftops where the menu is an afterthought and the DJ is the point. The six below, ranked on the cooking and the cocktails as much as the skyline, are the rooftops worth booking for the meal, not just the photograph.
1.Élephante
Santa Monica's coastal-Italian rooftop pairs ocean light with Thomas Lim's vodka pasta. Book it for a sunset dinner that delivers food too.
Élephante has sat above Santa Monica's 2nd Street since 2018, the rooftop that proved an LA view room could cook, and it is listed in the Michelin Guide for California. Australian executive chef Thomas Lim runs a coastal-Italian menu where the whipped eggplant dip and the vodka pasta are the dishes regulars order on autopilot, and the homemade lobster spaghetti is the splurge. The three-course weekday lunch is set around 40 dollars, with dinner climbing à la carte. The draw is the light: the Sunset Room and the cactus-lined terrace catch the Pacific as it goes gold. It is busier and louder than the hotel rooftops downtown, which is the point on a Friday. Book the Sunset Room for the view and go early enough to catch it.
Book on the Élephante site; request the Sunset Room near golden hour.
2.Cara Cara at Downtown LA Proper
Suzanne Goin's small plates on the Proper's roof bring real cooking to a downtown skyline. Reserve it for a serious rooftop dinner.
Cara Cara crowns the Downtown LA Proper on South Broadway, and it is the rooftop where the food is the headline rather than the backdrop, because it is run by James Beard winner Suzanne Goin with her long-time partner Caroline Styne, the team behind Lucques and the a&o group. The seasonal small-plates menu runs from piri piri fried chicken and za'atar lamb chops to wood-fired focaccia and seafood rice, with an average dinner check around 45 to 50 dollars. The setting is a landscaped pool-deck terrace with an unbroken downtown skyline and a low-proof, organic-leaning cocktail and wine program. This is the rooftop to book when you want a genuine Goin meal that happens to come with a view. Reserve a terrace table at sunset on the Proper's site.
Reserve on the Downtown LA Proper site; ask for a skyline-facing terrace table.
3.The Penthouse at the Huntley
Eighteen floors over Santa Monica Bay with Alex Manos cooking and a chocolate blackout cake. Try it once at sunset.
The Penthouse sits on the top floor of the Huntley Hotel on Santa Monica's 2nd Street, eighteen floors up with a panoramic sweep of Santa Monica Bay that is the best straight ocean view of any rooftop on this list. Executive chef Alex Manos cooks a California-Mediterranean menu built around Santa Monica farmers market produce, and the chocolate blackout cake is the dessert the room is known for, especially at weekend brunch. The Thomas Schoos interior, with its sky enclosures and cabanas, has made it a long-running sunset-dining landmark rather than a passing scene. It is a full-service dining room, not a bar with snacks, which is why it earns a ranked spot. Book a window table and time it for the sun going down over the water.
Book on the Penthouse site; ask for a window table at sunset.
4.Perch
DTLA's 15th-floor French bistro is the original skyline rooftop, fire pits and live music nightly. Pencil it in for a date.
Perch opened in 2011 atop the 1924 Pershing Square Building in the Historic Core, the rooftop that wrote the downtown template everyone else copied. Executive chef Gerardo Benitez runs a French bistro across the 15th floor with an open-air bar terrace on the 16th, fire pits, and live music nightly from 7 to 10pm. The menu of moules, truffle cheese fries and ahi tartare keeps appetizers in the 14 to 26 dollar range, which makes it the most accessible room on this list, and the most reliably romantic. The skyline wraps the terrace on every side, and the music turns a dinner into a late night without anyone planning it. Book the upper terrace for the fullest view and arrive before the band starts.
Book on the Perch site; request the 16th-floor terrace for the view.
5.Gemma at Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills
The Waldorf Astoria's new Beverly Hills roof sends out Peleg Miron's wagyu wontons twelve floors up. Worth a look for the dim sum.
Gemma opened in May 2026 on the roof of the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, replacing the hotel's previous rooftop room with a California-inflected Pan-Asian menu from chef Peleg Miron. Dim sum anchors the kitchen, and the wagyu beef wonton in truffle black-vinegar sauce and the lobster wonton with chili ponzu are the dishes the early coverage singled out, alongside a raw bar and premium grilled steaks with Asian seasoning. Twelve stories up, the terrace takes in the Santa Monica Mountains, Beverly Hills and the wider city, with a designed-to-impress Marc Ange room. It is the newest serious rooftop in the luxury-hotel tier, scene-forward but cooking with intent. Book early on weekends while it is the room everyone wants. Reserve through OpenTable or the hotel.
Book on OpenTable or the Waldorf Astoria site; weekends fill fast.
6.SUSHISAMBA West Hollywood
West Hollywood's retractable-roof newcomer fires A5 wagyu into its Samba LA roll under the Hills. Book it for a lively night.
SUSHISAMBA brought its Japanese-Brazilian-Peruvian format to West Hollywood in March 2026, an 11,000-square-foot rooftop on North La Peer Drive with a retractable roof and Hollywood Hills views. Executive chef Maxwell Terheggen runs the LA kitchen, and the Samba LA roll, built with A5 wagyu and softshell-crab tempura, is the signature designed for this room, alongside A5 Kobe gyoza and the classic seviche. It is the most overtly lively entry here, cocktail-driven and DJ-led once the evening turns, which makes it a group-night rooftop rather than a quiet dinner. The food is better than the party setting suggests, which is why it makes the list rather than the avoid section. Book a weekend table early and go for the energy as much as the plates.
Book on the SUSHISAMBA site; the retractable roof opens on clear nights.
Avoid for a rooftop dinner
Gone, or go for the view only
Otium. The Timothy Hollingsworth room beside The Broad was a genuine destination, but it closed in September 2024 after nine and a half years, so any list still recommending it is out of date. Cross it off and book Cara Cara downtown instead.
The Highlight Room at Dream Hollywood. A scene rooftop people still ask for, but the operator stopped running it in January 2025, so it is no longer a dinner option. Look to Gemma or SUSHISAMBA for a current Westside-to-Hollywood rooftop.
Spire 73. The 73rd-floor bar at the InterContinental is the tallest open-air bar in the Western Hemisphere and worth riding up for the 360-degree view and the cocktails. But it serves bar bites rather than a chef-driven menu, so eat dinner elsewhere first and treat Spire 73 as the nightcap.
How to book an LA rooftop
Time the reservation to the light, because an LA rooftop is a sunset product first. Book Élephante's Sunset Room, the Penthouse's window tables and Perch's upper terrace for a seating about an hour before sundown, and you get the view at its best before the room turns to night mode. The newer hotel rooftops, Gemma in Beverly Hills and SUSHISAMBA in West Hollywood, are the hardest weekend tables right now, so reserve those a week or two out and aim for a Thursday if you want the room without the crush. Downtown rooftops like Cara Cara and Perch are easier midweek and more romantic for it. Whatever the room, ask for an outside table when you book rather than on arrival, since the indoor seats at every one of these places miss the entire reason you came.
Frequently asked
Which Los Angeles rooftop restaurant has the best food?
Cara Cara on the roof of the Downtown LA Proper is the food answer. It is run by James Beard winner Suzanne Goin with partner Caroline Styne, the team behind Lucques and a&o, so the small-plates menu of piri piri fried chicken, za'atar lamb chops and wood-fired focaccia is real cooking rather than scene food, with an average dinner check around 45 to 50 dollars. The skyline view and craft cocktails come standard. Book it when you want a downtown rooftop where the kitchen earns its keep.
Which LA rooftop restaurant has the best ocean view?
The Penthouse at the Huntley in Santa Monica has the best ocean view, eighteen floors above the bay with panoramic Pacific sightlines from the dining room and the cabanas. Executive chef Alex Manos cooks a California-Mediterranean menu sourced from Santa Monica farmers markets, and the chocolate blackout cake is the signature finish. Élephante a few blocks away is the livelier coastal-Italian alternative. Go to the Penthouse at sunset and ask for a window table when you book.
What is the oldest rooftop restaurant in Downtown LA?
Perch, which opened in 2011 atop the 1924 Pershing Square Building, is the rooftop that set the downtown template. The French bistro runs across the 15th and 16th floors, with an open-air bar terrace, fire pits and nightly live music from 7 to 10pm. Appetizers run roughly 14 to 26 dollars, so it is more accessible than the newer hotel rooftops. It remains the most romantic skyline perch in the Historic Core. Book the upper terrace for the view and the music.
What are the newest rooftop restaurants in LA for 2026?
Two notable openings landed in 2026. Gemma debuted on the roof of the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills in May, a Pan-Asian room from chef Peleg Miron known for its wagyu beef wonton in truffle black vinegar twelve floors up. SUSHISAMBA opened in West Hollywood in March, an 11,000-square-foot rooftop with a retractable roof and Hollywood Hills views, where executive chef Maxwell Terheggen fires the A5 wagyu Samba LA roll. Both are scene-forward; book early on weekends.
Which LA rooftops should I skip for dinner?
Two former favourites are gone: Otium by The Broad closed in September 2024, and the Highlight Room at Dream Hollywood stopped operating in January 2025, so any older list recommending them is out of date. Spire 73 at the InterContinental is worth the trip for the view from the tallest open-air bar in the Western Hemisphere, but it serves bar bites rather than a chef-driven menu, so eat dinner elsewhere and go up for the cocktails and the skyline.
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