RFK Rankings · Toronto
Best Rooftop Restaurants in Toronto 2026
Open-air rooftop dining · Toronto · 6 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 21, 2026 · Updated June 21, 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
Forty-four floors up the Bisha Hotel, the CN Tower stands close enough to touch from beside the infinity pool, which is the kind of thing Toronto's rooftops do well. The genuinely open-air rooms, terraces and pool decks you can sit out on, are a different list from the enclosed high-floor rooms with the famous views. This page is the former: skyline terraces in the core, lake decks by the water, and one retractable roof for when the weather will not commit. Here is who each suits, what to order, and how to book the outdoor table. Six, ranked on the roof, the food and the bar together.
1.KOST
A 44th-floor rooftop with an infinity pool and a CN Tower view, Sung Won Hwang's Baja menu behind it. Book it for a high summer night.
KOST runs along the 44th-floor rooftop of the Bisha Hotel at 80 Blue Jays Way in the Entertainment District, an open-air terrace with an infinity pool and the CN Tower close enough to fill the sky. Executive chef Sung Won Hwang cooks Baja-California, and the tuna ceviche with leche de tigre and plantain chips is the dish at $30, with The Bisha cocktail at $28. It opened with the hotel in 2017. This is the rooftop for a warm night when the view and the pool are the point.
Book KOST at the Bisha Hotel; ask for a terrace table near the pool at sunset.
2.Aera
A 38th-floor steakhouse with a 4,500-square-foot rooftop terrace over King West. For a high-up dinner with a downtown view.
Aera sits on the 38th floor of The Well at 8 Spadina Avenue, the Oliver and Bonacini steakhouse whose 4,500-square-foot rooftop terrace looks out over King West to the CN Tower and the lake. The kitchen, under corporate chef Anthony Walsh and executive chef Binit Pandey, plates a tuna tartare with wakame and chili at $39 alongside dry-aged steaks from $85. It opened in November 2023. Take the terrace for drinks and the dining room for the steak, or hold the terrace table all night in summer.
Reserve Aera through Oliver and Bonacini; ask for the rooftop terrace in warm weather.
3.The Chase
A penthouse seafood room with an open rooftop patio over the Financial District towers. The downtown rooftop for a long lunch or a late dinner.
The Chase tops the heritage Dineen Building at 10 Temperance Street, a fifth-floor penthouse with an open-air patio looking across the Financial District towers. The kitchen leans on seafood, with the Mother of Pearl tower the centrepiece at $230 and a Creekstone bone-in rib steak at $189. Chase Hospitality Group opened the room in 2013 and it remains one of downtown's marquee rooftops. Book the patio for a warm evening and the glass-walled room when the weather turns. It works as well for a long lunch as a late dinner.
Book The Chase; request the rooftop patio for drinks before dinner.
4.Valerie
A three-floor rooftop atop Hotel X with a lake-and-skyline sweep, Adrian Niman's Nikkei menu behind it. For a destination rooftop night by the water.
Valerie crowns Hotel X at 111 Princes' Boulevard out by the Exhibition grounds, spread across the 27th to 29th floors with the lake on one side and the skyline on the other. Adrian Niman of Food Dudes runs the Japanese-Peruvian kitchen, where the hamachi crudo is $21, the truffled tuna $26 and the wagyu tataki $24. It opened in 2022. This is the rooftop to make a destination of, away from the downtown core, with the widest water view on the list.
Book Valerie at Hotel X; go up before sunset for the lake side.
5.Lavelle
Sixteen storeys up with rooftop pools and a King West crowd, a Brazilian-Japanese kitchen behind the bar. For a daytime rooftop scene.
Lavelle sits sixteen storeys above 627 King Street West, a rooftop of pools and cabanas that draws a King West crowd from early afternoon. Chef Daniel Ken runs a contemporary Brazilian-Japanese menu, with the tuna tartare in a soy dressing the signature plate and cocktails from the mid-teens to thirty dollars. It opened in 2017 and remains one of the city's defining rooftop pool clubs. Come for the daytime scene and the skyline rather than a quiet dinner; the room is built for a party.
Book a Lavelle daybed or dinner table; arrive in daylight for the rooftop.
6.Queens Harbour
The country's largest retractable rooftop on the Harbourfront, a 23,000-square-foot room with a CN Tower view. Best for a big group night by the lake.
Queens Harbour opened at 245 Queens Quay West in July 2025 with the largest retractable rooftop in Canada, a 23,000-square-foot Harbourfront room that opens to the sky over two patios and the lake. Chef Robert Balint runs a MediterrAsian menu whose centrepiece is the harbour seafood tower of lobster, hamachi crudo, oysters and nigiri. The roof slides back in good weather and closes when it turns, so the room works year-round. This is the booking for a large group that wants the water, the view and room to spread out.
Book Queens Harbour on the Harbourfront; ask whether the roof will be open the night you go.
Skip these for a rooftop
A view, but not a rooftop
Canoe and 360 The Restaurant have the best high-up views in Toronto, on the 54th floor of the TD tower and atop the CN Tower, but both are enclosed rooms behind glass, not open-air rooftops. They lead our Toronto view ranking instead; come here for a terrace you can actually sit out on.
Lobby and street level
Akira Back and Mister C at the Bisha trade on the hotel's rooftop reputation, but the restaurant sits on the second floor and the bar in the lobby. Good rooms, no roof. Take the elevator to the 44th floor for KOST if the rooftop is what you are after.
How to pick a Toronto rooftop
Toronto's rooftops split into two kinds. The high-floor terraces, KOST on 44 and Aera on 38, give you a downtown skyline and a proper dinner; The Chase adds a Financial District patio that doubles for lunch. For the water, Valerie at Hotel X and Queens Harbour on the Harbourfront trade the core for a lake view and more room.
These are seasonal and weather-led, so book the terrace explicitly and ask what happens if it rains, because several move you indoors. Lavelle and KOST lean party and fill early on warm nights, while Queens Harbour, with its retractable roof, is the safe call for a group when the forecast is uncertain. Reserve a week or two ahead for a summer weekend.
Frequently asked
What is the best rooftop restaurant in Toronto?
KOST on the 44th-floor rooftop of the Bisha Hotel is the standout for a downtown skyline night, with an infinity pool, a CN Tower view and chef Sung Won Hwang's Baja-California menu. For a higher-end dinner, Aera's 38th-floor terrace at The Well is the pick, and for the water, Valerie atop Hotel X and the new Queens Harbour on the Harbourfront have the widest lake views. Book the terrace ahead for summer weekends.
Does Toronto have open-air rooftop dining?
Yes. KOST on the 44th floor of the Bisha, Aera's terrace on the 38th floor of The Well, The Chase's fifth-floor patio downtown, Lavelle's pool deck on King West and the three-floor Valerie atop Hotel X are all genuinely open-air. Queens Harbour on the Harbourfront adds a retractable roof that opens in good weather. The enclosed high-floor rooms, Canoe and 360, have the views but are not open-air.
Are Toronto rooftops open year-round?
Most are seasonal or weather-led. The open terraces, KOST, Lavelle and Valerie, run hardest from late spring through early autumn, while The Chase and Aera move guests into their indoor rooms when the weather turns. Queens Harbour, built around the largest retractable roof in Canada, is the most reliable year-round because it can close the roof and keep serving. Always book the terrace explicitly and ask about the rain plan.
How much does a Toronto rooftop dinner cost?
Plan on roughly $60 to $120 a head before drinks at the dining rooftops. Aera and The Chase sit at the top, with steaks at $85 and up and a seafood tower at $230 to share, while KOST and Valerie run more moderate, with ceviche and crudo from the low $20s to $30. Cocktails cluster around $18 to $28. Lavelle leans toward a daytime scene with bottle service rather than a set dinner.
Do you need a reservation for Toronto rooftops?
For dinner and for summer weekends, yes. The terraces at KOST, Aera, The Chase and Valerie fill quickly on warm nights, so book a week or two ahead and ask specifically for an outdoor table. Lavelle takes daybed and table bookings and fills early. Queens Harbour, being large, is the easier group walk-in, but reserving still secures a spot under the open roof.
Related rankings
More from RFK
Browse the full Toronto dining guide, compare the best rooftop restaurants worldwide, see the best view restaurants in Toronto, find a rooftop table in Sydney, or open the full RFK rankings index.
Restaurants for Kings is reader-supported. Some reservation links are affiliate links with OpenTable, Resy or Tock; we earn a small commission at no cost to you, and a link never buys a place on a ranking. Editorial scores and ranking order are independent of any commercial relationship. See our ranking methodology.