Ritz-Carlton Opens Rooftop Lounge

By Melissa Wiley in Food on May 23, 2013 7:30PM

There’s a new rooftop bar in town, and it’s puttin’ on the Ritz, which is just our flapper-era musical way of saying the dec Rooftop Lounge + Bar of the Ritz-Carlton is now open for business. Flush with the John Hancock, the dec is lissome as a greyhound, allowing you to cuddle up close to some of downtown’s most iconic buildings from 12 stories high. We visited a few evenings ago and stayed late enough for the tables and undulating wave wall to effloresce into an electric indigo. We also sampled two summer cocktails that left a taste in our mouth more than sweet enough for us to return.

The menu divides into wholesome small bites served before and after 3 pm. By "wholesome," we're tacitly invoking Pollyanna and her bow-haired ilk because most of the edibles hail from halcyon childhood summers, ours included, with the likes of popcorn, chuck wagon jerky, Ritz crackers, and push pops dominating the menu at a price commensurate with the ravishing view.

The entrance to the dec, anchored by a reflective stainless steel sculpture that could well be the Bean’s more compact cousin, lies through the hotel’s plushly carpeted lobby. Architecturally, it feels a more organic affair than neighboring Drumbar or even the unbeatable J. Parker, though we’re not knocking either—just enjoying the rising abundance of rooftop riches.

The Ritz-Carlton is at 160 E Pearson.

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