‘A view of Miami you don’t normally see’: New rooftop bar opens at Brickell hotel
Sometimes, Miami looks best from above. And now there’s a new downtown rooftop bar from which to view it.
Located on the 22nd floor of the AC Hotel by Marriott and Element by Westin, Rosa Sky is 4,000 square feet, serving cocktails, small bites, DJs spinning — and a view to die for.
“The element I love most is the perspective of where you’re positioned,” said nightlife entrepreneur Alan Roth, who has partnered with the Broward-based The Restaurant People to open the lounge. “It’s a view of Miami you don’t normally see — and I was born and raised here. You feel like you’re in the real downtown of a global city.”
You can watch the sunset, day fading into night, sunshine fading as the neon lights come on. Look to the ceiling and you’ll see specially curated light choreography. DJs spin throughout the night. Tim Petrillo, co-founder and CEO of The Restaurant People, calls it “the perfect melding of scene and substance.”
Cocktails include the lounge’s signature drink Rosa Sky, available by the glass or in a communalstyle vat that serves four. It’s a blend of Grey Goose Strawberry Lemongrass, citrus and sparkling rosé poured over a rose-shaped ice cube. This is a drink you’re going to want to photograph.
Other specialty sunsetthemed cocktails include the Golden Hour with Aperol, grapefruit and Calirosa Blanco Tequila (singer Adam Levine’s brand) or Violet Views, with Ketel One Vodka, creme de violet, blackberry and sage.
There’s also a small tapas-style menu with 13 items including Cuban “cigars” (not really cigars but with jamon, lechon, queso, pickle relish mustard aioli) and tuna tiradito with guanabana and sweet potato. Roth says the menu will never have more than 15 items, though items may change.
For Roth, who threw his first big South Beach party in 1993, Miami’s growing appetite for rooftop bars and a more relaxed lounge atmosphere show off the city’s nightlife diversity.
“The nightlife scene is continuously changing.
It’s like the sky — it’s never exactly the same,” he said. “What I love now is that this city has turned into a city where we can welcome so many different options. You can have a big night out going to LIV or Eleven or Space, or you can have a totally different experience with great outdoor places like Nikki Beach or Joia Beach or these new rooftop bars now. We’ve truly arrived as one of the greatest nightlife and food and beverage hot spots globally.”
ROSA SKY
Where: AC Hotel by Marriott and Element by Westin, 115 SW Eighth St., Miami
Hours: 4:30 p.m.-2 a.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 4:30 p.m.-midnight Sunday
More information: www.rosaskyrooftop.com