Rooftop Bars in the Financial District: Where to Drink Above Lower Manhattan

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Quick answer

The Financial District's best rooftop drinking is at Overstory, a small cocktail bar on the 64th floor of 70 Pine Street with a wraparound terrace and 360-degree views. Hide Rooftop at 24 John Street is the closest one to us, on the 20th floor across the street. Manhatta sits 60 floors up at 28 Liberty Street if you want dinner with the view, and The Greens on The Rooftop at Pier 17 (89 South Street) puts you outdoors facing the Brooklyn Bridge in warm weather. All four are a walk of under ten minutes from 17 John Street.

Wooden bench on the rooftop terrace at 17 John with the Lower Manhattan skyline behind it.
Our own rooftop terrace, a block from the neighborhood's higher-up bars.

The Financial District has more good rooftops than people expect, mostly because the towers here are tall and the streets below are narrow. You get views that Midtown rooftops can't match: the harbor, the bridges, the Woolworth Building lit up, One World Trade close enough to feel.

We're at 17 John Street, so everything on this list is a short walk from our door. A few notes before you go up. Most of these places want a reservation on Thursday through Saturday, and the ones with outdoor terraces will move you inside or close the terrace if the weather turns. Dress code is mostly "don't wear gym clothes." And prices are what you'd expect for a cocktail 60 floors above Wall Street, so if you want the view without the tab, the Staten Island Ferry is free and our own rooftop terrace is included with your stay.

Here's where we actually send guests, roughly in order of how often we send them.

What to know before you go up

  • Sunset is the busy hour. Show up 45 minutes before sunset or after 9pm if you don't want to wait.
  • Check the season. The outdoor-only spots (The Greens at Pier 17, Leonessa) run warm-weather hours and change over in winter. The indoor-and-terrace spots (Overstory, Manhatta) work year round.
  • Walk, don't drive. All of these are 2 to 20 minutes on foot from John Street. Parking down here is expensive and one-way streets make short drives slow.
  • Hours move. Every place below has changed its hours at least once in the past year. Call or check their site the day you go.

Book your stay at 17John