UP ON THE ROOF...

Best place to beat the heat? Up on the roof!

With the weather been blooming marvelous of late it’s time to let you know about some of my favorite rooftop spots in Los Angeles. From poolside to hidden gems to restaurants in the hills and bars at the beach. LA has you covered….in SPF.

1. My all-time favorite rooftop for food and good cocktails has to be MAMA SHELTER on Selma Avenue in Hollywood. It has a cool vibe about it, the Mexican-inspired menu transports you to Tulum, and it’s a perfect place to watch the sun go down while stretching out with good friends on their lounging area sipping on a mojito. They don’t serve food on the roof during the day. And it’s pretty hard to get an actual reservation for the roof. (Open table is avail for the downstairs restaurant)  It helps if you make friends or be nice with the door people. Money helps. Slip the maitre’d a twenty and you most likely find yourself first in the elevator and up on the roof enjoying the beautiful crowd of young Hollywood hipsters and of course, allow some time to take in the 360 view.
2. Let’s go downtown to a really fun place called PERCH. Aptly titled due to being high up – at least 20 stories high. And at night has an eerie Gotham City vibe to it. Inside it’s decorated with old-fashioned obscurities with a rust palate on the walls giving it a real lived in, vintage feel. The food is good and the cocktails even better. They usually have live music playing, and book a real eclectic mix from around the world. Jazz to Moroccan beats.

3. This may seem strange but it’s one of West Hollywood’s hidden gems. Located opposite the famous Urrth Cafe sits a furniture store called Restoration Hardware. Grab a coffee or pack some drinks and take a friend up the stairs to the rooftop garden. A well-curated space using samples of Dimitris for sale. They have created little seating areas with patio furniture and nested tables. Take your laptop up and work all morning, while the sun crosses above you. A few of the tables are covered with shades, but if you don’t bag one that is be sure you slather yourself in sunscreen.

4. The Highlight Room. Located right above the Dream Hotel in Hollywood this is a pool area by day and a dance floor by night. Complete with cabana for rent and a delicious restaurant at the back, you can hardly go wrong in this spot. Our friend and fellow Brit Zen Freeman is known to DJ here on any given Thursday night. If it gets too hot you can always nip downstairs in the alley and grab a refreshing drink at Beauty and Essex, a fabulous bar/ restaurant. Following LA’s trend of secret entrances, enter through a Pawn Shop, where you can actually purchase their wares, mainly jewelry and oddities.

5. Ready for the beach? The Shangri-la Hotel is a gorgeous Art Deco Hotel right on Ocean in the heart of Santa Monica, boasting a spectacular beach and ocean view. Perfect for private parties or functions. This time of year in particular, it’s great to be by the ocean as the temperature is a little cooler than Hollywood or Downtown.  They have a nice pool area on the ground floor too if you fancy a dip and if you’ve had one too many libations, you could also see if you can book a hotel room in one of their modern minimalist bedrooms. Cocktails are a little pricey but, worth it to be so close to the beach.

And finally at the end of the year, H.Club promises to have one of the best rooftops LA will ever witness. A private members’ club founded by Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart and Paul Allen and erected in the heart of Hollywood, opposite Capitol Records. The place will boast two roof tops with two high end restaurants. Other amenities will include swimming pool, gym, recording studio, spa, meeting room and 36 bedrooms. Having been lucky enough to attend the hard hat tour, I can already tell this is gonna be the sweet spot and the place to beat. For membership opportunities you can fill out an application at hospitalclub.com.

I hope to see some of you high above the chimney tops at one of these spots in the next few weeks, because that’s where you’ll find me, getting my tan on!

Cheers,

Craig