Morten Andersen is sceptical of hotel rooftops as a rule, because most sell the view and forget the drink. Sophie's is the Dublin exception that earns the lift, a glasshouse perched on Harcourt Street where the skyline does the talking and the bar holds up its end.
Sophie's sits on the top floor of The Dean hotel at 33 Harcourt Street, in the Saint Kevin's stretch of Dublin 2 between the city centre and the canal. The room is a glasshouse and terrace that opens to a wraparound view, taking in the Dublin Mountains to the south and the city rooftops to the north (The Dean official site). It is one of a small handful of genuine open-air drinking spots in a city that the weather does not reward for trying.
The room is built around the glass. Tiled floors, leafy planting and a long counter give it a conservatory feel by day, and the terrace draws the after-work crowd up the lift on any dry evening. The Rooftop Guide files Sophie's among the best rooftop bars in the city for its 360 degree outlook (The Rooftop Guide), and the elevation is the whole point. You are well above the Georgian roofline, which is rare in central Dublin.
What to order leans cocktail and wine rather than pints. The bar runs an extensive list of cocktails alongside a deep wine selection and beers on tap and by the bottle, with the classics done properly and a rotating set of house creations. A spritz on the terrace at golden hour is the move, a negroni if the evening turns cool, and a glass of something cold and Italian if you are settling in for the view. Morten's note: take the cocktail over the lager here and claim a terrace rail before seven.
Who it is for is the date, the celebration and the visitor who wants Dublin from above. It works for a first drink before dinner, a weekend brunch with a view, or a late one on Friday and Saturday, when a resident DJ takes over from 11:30pm and the room shifts from restaurant to one of the livelier late bars in the area. It is wrong for the supporter chasing a match, who should head to a screen pub instead. For the wider scene, our guide to the best rooftop bars in Dublin maps the alternatives.
Best time to go is a dry weekday evening between five and eight, when the terrace fills with the after-work trade but the crush has not arrived, or a weekend brunch slot for the daytime version. Booking is wise for the terrace in summer, because the open-air seats are the first to go the moment the forecast turns kind. Note that Sophie's has been undergoing a refresh, so checking ahead before a special trip is worth the minute.
Reviewers return again and again to the outlook and the glasshouse setting, with Tripadvisor visitors singling out the panorama and the terrace as the reason to climb the stairs over a ground-floor bar. The kitchen runs a New York, Italian and Irish menu through the day, so the food is a real option rather than an afterthought, though the view and the bar are what put Sophie's on the map.
Sophie's is the Dublin rooftop that justifies the cliche, a glass perch on Harcourt Street with the city laid out below and a bar that does not coast on the height alone. For a terrace drink with a skyline, it is the call. For the rest of the city, start with our Dublin bar guide, and for another elevated option see the rooftop at The Mayson on the north quays.
Sources: The Dean Dublin official site; The Rooftop Guide; Sophie's Restaurant & Bar.
