Skylab sits 30 floors above Copacabana, on the roof of the Rio Othon Palace at Avenida Atlantica 3264. The room reopened in late 2024 after a refit, trading on a view that runs the length of the beach to the mountains beyond. It is one of the highest places to drink on the Copacabana seafront.
PANROTAS reported the Rio Othon Palace reopening Skylab as its rooftop restaurant in October 2024, and Time Out lists it among the city's view-first rooms. The kitchen, signed by chef Rubens Goncalo, works a French-Brazilian line, but the bar carries the night.
The bar list is the reason to come up without booking dinner. Skylab pours a long menu of classic cocktails and keeps a deep wine list, served with the beach laid out below. Sunset is the slot everyone wants, so an early table is worth the effort.
The food backs it up when dinner is the plan. The restaurant runs a ten-course tasting at night and a traditional feijoada on Saturdays from 12:30 to 4pm, which turns the rooftop into an afternoon as much as an evening.
The view sets the price. This is a four-dollar-sign room by Rio standards, and the cost buys the height, the service and the panorama rather than a bargain pour. Reserve ahead, because the rooftop runs by reservation rather than walk-in.
Best time to go is the hour before sunset, when the light moves across the bay and the beach turns gold. Arrive early to claim a rail-side table, then let the wine list carry the evening.
The location keeps it central. The Othon sits midway along Copacabana beach, walkable from the metro and the main hotels, which makes Skylab an easy high point in a night that starts or ends at the sand.
The height is the selling point. At 30 floors, Skylab clears the Copacabana skyline, so the view takes in the full arc of the beach, the Sugarloaf headland and the hills behind the city. Few rooms on this stretch of sand sit so high.
The hotel anchors the address. The Rio Othon Palace has stood midway along Copacabana for decades, and the 2024 refit gave its rooftop a second act as a destination bar rather than a guests-only terrace. PANROTAS framed the reopening as a bid for the city's view-led dining crowd.
The bar and the restaurant serve different visits. A drink at the rail with the cocktail and wine lists is the low-commitment way in, while the tasting menu and Saturday feijoada are the reasons to book a full sitting. Both share the same panorama.
Sunset is the event. The hour before dark draws the biggest crowd, so a reservation timed to the light is the move, with the wine list carrying the table into the evening. The price reflects the height rather than the pour, so come for the view first.
What regulars say centers on the view and the booking. Diners praise the panorama, the wine list and the Saturday feijoada, while the recurring note is that the room runs by reservation and the prices match the address. The advice that repeats is to book a sunset table, or come for a drink at the rail if dinner feels steep, and let the height rather than the menu be the reason to ride up. Either way, a reservation timed to the light is the single best decision a first-time visitor can make.
For more of the city's heights, see our best rooftop bars in Rio de Janeiro ranking, browse the Rio de Janeiro bar guide, and for another beachfront view compare Mar e Mar at Fairmont. The rooftop bars pillar tracks the category worldwide.
