At these 6 rooftop bars choose Champagne by the flute, sangria by the pitcher or beer by the dozen
Surrounded on all sides by the Arabian Sea, Mumbai is an ever-moving hive of activity just begging to be viewed from above. Regrettably, there's a only a few breezy bars around the city which allow you to do just that. At some point, living in Mumbai, you'll crawl them all.
Pricey views: Dome & Aer
The Dome is one of the few places you can get an aerial view of the Queen's Necklace, the semi-circle row of lights around the bay.Dome, perched on the rooftop of the Intercontinental Hotel, is a crisp, all-white wedding cake of a lounge bar and possibly the city's best place to watch the sun's fiery descent over Marine Drive promenade and the Arabian Sea. The bar doesn't officially open until 6 p.m., but they don't mind if you come earlier to bag some sofas next to the edge. Dome does cocktails, massive LITs, japanese bar snacks and you can also opt to sit inside the eponymous dome. But unless it's raining, why would you?
135 Netaji Subhash Road, Marine Drive; tel. +91 (0) 22 56399999
Aer's only been open for a blink but already it's on everyone's Mumbai must-do list. Thirty four floors up? Check. Minimalist designer decor? Check. Nightly DJs? Check. Sunset happy hour champagne by the glass? Check. And score. Aer fills in the rooftop of Worli's Four Seasons hotel and provides arguably the finest views across the city. There's sharing plates of Lebanese and Mediterranean-inspired food on offer along with shawls and a torch for when it gets dark. Open 5.30pm - 1.30am daily. Read the review on CNNGo.
114 Dr E Moses Road, Worli; tel. +91 (0) 22 2481 8900
Mid-level views: Escobar & Bonobo
Escobar, with its large rooftop floor space, 77-foot long bar and balmy Bandra breeze quickly became Bandra’s hippest roof-top tapas bar when it opened in 2010. This is partly because the choices in this category are so few and partly due to some heavily-enforced bouncer service at the door. However Escobar was also the winner of our Mumbai sangria search.
Escobar, 4th Floor, VN Sphere, Linking Road, opposite Shoppers’ Stop, Bandra (W); tel. +91 (0) 22 4276 0000
Bonobo is a laid-back, after hours watering hole where the bartenders are always cheerful and the crowd is drunk by 11 p.m. With its simian motif, larger-than-life toadstool canopies, open-air terrace bar and surprisingly reasonable prices, Bonobo has been getting great word-of-mouth publicity from the otherwise blasé Bandra party go-er.
Kenilworth, 2nd Floor, off Linking Road, Behind KFC, Bandra (W); +91 (0) 22 2605 5050
Cheap views: Bay View & Oceania
Hotel Harbour view, great for beers on an afternoon, avoidable as a hotel.Bay View is one of those vastly unheralded drinking venues. We know that because we can still always be sure to get a table. It's situated on the rooftop of a building that, confusingly, houses two separate hotels overlooking the Gateway of India monument and harbour. Decor-wise, it's no Dome, but sprightly enough, although the black marble slab seating can get mighty hot in the summer. The only alcohol available is beer, which is priced at the reasonable end of the spectrum, and there's a multicuisine menu offering fries, noodles and more to soak it up. Open 8am-1.30am.
Hotel Harbour View, opposite Radio Club, 25P Ramchandani Margh, Colaba; tel. +91 (0) 22 2282 1089
Bandra has great potential for city views but sadly, very few options to capitalise on them -- except at Oceania. Oceania restaurant, perched at the Rang Sharda Hotel is located at Bandra Reclamation. The view is south towards the city skyline, past the bay. The open space and view make it the prized discovery of television and film post-production crews taking a breather for beer, barbeque snacks and the masala papad with green chillies and onions. Open 7pm-1am.
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