The Rooftop sits on top of the Broadview Hotel at 106 Broadview Avenue, a restored heritage building in Toronto's Riverside neighbourhood that turned its crown into one of the few rooftop bars on the east side of the Don River.
The room is glass walled and double height, which keeps the city skyline in the frame whether the patio is open or the Toronto winter has driven everyone indoors. Goop lists the Rooftop Bar at the Broadview as a city highlight, and the appeal is the angle: from the east bank the downtown towers line up across the river rather than crowding overhead, a different and quieter view than the financial-district rooftops deliver.
The program runs craft cocktails and a short food list rather than a full dinner, the right format for a drink with a view. Order a cocktail and take it to the terrace when the weather allows, since the patio runs walk-in only and fills fast on the first warm evenings. Prices sit at hotel-rooftop level, so this is a one-or-two-drink perch rather than a long night, but the view earns the markup in a way few Toronto rooftops manage from this side of the city.
The crowd is a mix of hotel guests, Riverside and Leslieville locals and a date-night set crossing the river for the skyline. Happy hour runs Monday through Friday from 3:30 to 5:30pm, the smart window before the after-work crowd arrives. After 9:30pm the room shifts to walk-in only, so an earlier arrival is the safer plan on a weekend.
Best time to go is a clear evening near sunset, when the light drops behind the downtown towers across the Don. The Rooftop runs Monday through Friday from mid-afternoon and opens at noon on weekends, closing earlier midweek than the downtown rooftops. For more of the city, see the best bars in Toronto and the full list of rooftop bars in Toronto, or browse the national rooftop bars pillar. For a downtown alternative, The Rooftop at Thompson Toronto offers a pool-deck view.
Who it suits: a date after the skyline, a Riverside local, or a hotel guest after a quiet drink up high. Who it does not: a big group, a late-night crowd, or anyone after a full dinner.
