Inside: Roof

Photos:

There’s something to be said for giving a bar an obvious name. When you're heading to Roof, which opened last Thursday inside new Loop hotel The Wit, you won’t have to bother asking the concierge where the bar is.

The theory that heat rises certainly applies here on the 27th floor. From the hordes of pretty people to the firepits throughout, we found the opening weekend scene to be no less than sizzling.

THE SCENE
There are hotel bars, and then there are bars in hotels. Roof falls into the latter category—a destination for scene-and-be-seen cocktailing as opposed to a lobby bar that’s a ghost town on weekends, save for a lonely business traveler or two. Roof is a much-needed entry in the Loop, where the next-coolest alfresco bar options are casual Plymouth and the nearby sidewalk patios at Emerald Loop and Elephant & Castle. Like the River North’s latest rooftop scenes—Vertigo, C-View and Zed451, which all opened last year—people are here to charm a date with a stellar view, kick off a night of clubbing or show off a perfectly calculated outfit against a soundtrack of lively chatter, clinking cocktail glasses and techno-jazzy-R&B beats.

Though there was no line, we did find nearly every seat—150 inside and 150 outside—filled. Practice your lurking skills to snag a table, as open seating is the policy here, save for the 8-seat glass-surrounded “hangover table” jutting slightly off the southeast corner of the building, which will be reservable later this summer.

THE CROWD
Though you can expect plenty of patrons in slick suit jackets or designer heels attempting to recreate their own version of “Sex & the City,” you can also get away with toting along your laptop bag for an after-work meet-up. Inevitably, you’ll share some square footage with hotel guests and tourists savvy enough to know this is now the coolest spot for a post-“Mary Poppins” stop within walking distance of the theater district, but the majority of cocktail-sippers here still fall into the young, hot and hip category.

THE LAY OF THE LAND
Roof’s spacious terrace reigns size-wise over the previously mentioned trio of River North rooftops, and there’s ample seating by way of pillow-strewn booths, plus tables grouped along a long glass wall with a view of Marina City. With so much to look at (short skirts! sparkling skyline! condos with their blinds open!), we wouldn’t peg Roof as a sports-watching spot, but there are two small flat-screens behind the outdoor bar, plus third monstrous screen coming soon. Inside, the only thing more coveted than the cozy corner nook with a sleek fireplace were the spots on luxe leather sofas flanking two coffee tables, each inset with mini-firepits enclosed in glass cylinders.

DRINKS
We started the night shouting our drink order to a frazzled-looking bartender behind the crowded outdoor bar. “They need to fill up their drinks,” remarked a fellow bargoer helping pass back our skimpy first round. (We know you’re busy back there, bartenders, but for a $12 cocktail in a relatively small glass, please fill ’er up to the top.) We tried some hits (the Pimm’s Cup Cooler, a hibiscus margarita) and misses (a second not-as-good hibiscus margarita and the too-sour Ipanema, made with cachaca, madeira, apricot nectar and way too much lime juice). Though the execution might not quite be there yet, we can’t help but have faith in the recipes, considering the talent behind them: two in-house mixologists plus consultant Peter Vestinos, who masterminded Sepia’s splendid cocktails before liquor distributor Wirtz Beverage Group hired him away to advise local bars.

EATS
Chef Todd Stein, who made a name for himself at MK and David Burke’s in Vegas and will helm the kitchen in the hotel's yet-to-open restaurant, Cibo Matto, designed a cute menu of crostini, crudo and carpaccio—dishes easily pulled off in a teeny nook of an open kitchen, plopped in the middle of the bar. Some are a better value than others, such as four hefty slices of goat cheese-slathered crostini ($9) versus a meager $10 portion of fried mozzarella ciliegini (bite-size globes instead of the pub-favorite sticks).

BOTTOM LINE
Miles cooler than other bar options in the Loop, we have no doubts that Roof will fill a much-needed void from happy hour to after-midnight revelry.

Lisa Arnett is the Metromix nightlife and shopping producer. lmarnett@tribune.com

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