Bar 54

At fifty-four floors, Bar 54 is the highest rooftop bar in New York City and the view is the entire reason the room exists. From the north terrace the bar looks straight up Sixth Avenue across Central Park; from the south terrace the financial district towers cluster in the distance with the harbour behind them. The wraparound is genuinely 360 degrees and on a clear weekday afternoon there is nothing else in the city that delivers the same view at a public price.

The cocktail programme is the catch. Bar 54 has historically traded on altitude rather than craft and the seasonal lists have not always justified the cost of the drinks. Recent menus have improved — the seasonal Manhattan rotation in particular shows that the bar wants to be taken seriously — but the gap between the view and the pour is still real, and visitors should set expectations accordingly. The wine list is fine, the food menu is hotel-bar standard, and the service is paced for volume.

The smart play is timing. Weekday afternoons from 4pm to 6pm hold the best of the room — full daylight on the view, manageable crowds, and bartenders who are not yet running at peak speed. Weekend evenings draw long waits at the elevator bank and the room itself runs loud. The north-facing terrace with the Central Park view is the request to make when seating happens.

For a first-time visitor to New York who wants the definitive Midtown altitude view, Bar 54 still earns the elevator ride. For a regular cocktail evening, the city offers better. The full New York rooftop bars guide covers the alternatives and the cocktail bars guide covers the deeper bar programmes.