Elsie Rooftop: Midtown Manhattan
Nina RossielloFood, Booze, Body Art Editor & WriterFounding Member
Who else is SO thankful for rooftop bars? I know I am! During the time when New York City didn’t allow indoor dining, rooftop bars were libation seeking New Yorkers’ saving grace. Rooftops gave us a place to eat, drink, and be social, while being outside in a safe, socially distant space. Now that the weather is starting to get colder, a bunch of rooftops and outdoor bars have been adding heat lamps. Some even have retractable roofs, so they’re still the perfect spot for your winter outings as well!If you’re looking for an elegant, social media worthy rooftop bar to visit, look no further than Elsie Rooftop. I first saw Elsie on Instagram recently and made a reservation on the spot. The bar had posted a few videos of their special and seasonal beverages. One of them involved champagne and cotton candy, another was a hot cocktail served in a teapot. From those two unique posts alone, I knew I just had to get to Elsie.
THE VIBE
Elsie Rooftop is located on 1412 Broadway in New York City (obviously - this is the Tawk of New Yawk after all!). Walking up to the building, one will immediately feel like a VIP guest going to an exclusive party. There is a light logo moving around on the sidewalk outside of the entrance, velvet ropes, and a gentleman waiting at a podium to check guests in. After check in, the same gentleman escorts patrons over to the elevator where they are quickly lifted up to the 25th floor rooftop area.
When stepping out of the elevator, one is again immediately met with elegance as he or she walks across the white marble floors with gold accents. Don’t forget to look at the half white marble half mirror walls! Entering the main indoor bar area, the elegance of Elsie only increases. Personally, I got such a gilded “Great Gatsby” vibe from the aesthetics. The décor and the gold color scheme made the space feel as though Jay Gatsby would have a cocktail or two or three.Our party met the host at the entrance of the main bar, and he promptly brought us outside to the rooftop area. The aesthetics grew even more opulent, and I knew we had made the right choice of venue for the night. The “walls” outside were covered in vibrant greenery with fairy lights strung all throughout them. Navy blue lounge seats lined the walls with low tables.The blue lounge seats were soft cushions and extra comfy to sit in. As we walked through the outside area and were guided to our seats lively radio hits streamed through the speakers throughout the rooftop. It set the mood to high energy and fun for the night!
We were seated at a high-top table away from the green “walls” but facing toward them and with views of the entire rooftop. We were told we would be moved over to the lounge seating once our table opened up. From this, we assumed that the reservation prior to ours was running over time. No biggie. If anything, it was nice to know they wouldn’t be rushing us out when we hit the 90-minute time limit advertised when making the reservation. We decided that we were more comfortable at the high top anyway and told the host that we would be happy to stay there for the evening. He seemed surprised and also, relieved.
THE FOOD & BOOZE
Elsie has adopted the new, but now standard QR code menu at its tables. I scanned the code with my phone and began the struggle of playing, “what do I want to drink?” Oh, but wait, now in New York we have to order food by mandate! So I had to add on the, “what do I want to eat challenge” too. THE PRESSURE!!!Conveniently, the menu is pretty short and filled with delicious options, so it didn’t take much time to look through and decide what we wanted to eat. The food options were all listed as shareables, so you can take advantage of trying a little bit of everything if you’re with a group. But if you’re not a fan of sharing, most of the food options have the option to be served as a singular portion. At first I couldn’t find the champagne with cotton candy on the menu. However, I was immediately distracted by the other delicious cocktail choices on the menu. I had a few in mind I wanted to try, and figured I would order whichever one tumbled out of my mouth when the waitress asked me. I’m sure I could have asked about the cotton candy champagne, but I honestly completely forgot when the waitress came over to the table. Cotton candy, who? Next time I go, I’ll give it a whirl and will try not to be tempted by the other swirl of drinks. Our server came over to our high top wearing an adorable mask adorned with a quote about rosé. Good thing, we were ready to order food! I was there with two of my friends, so we decided on one shareable each. We started with (1) Thai Chicken Kabobs, (2) Margherita Pizza, and (3) Guacamole Traditional. For drinks, my friends both ordered the Elsie De Wolfe (it just sounds fancy, right?) and I ordered the seasonal Apple Orchard. 
The drinks came out quickly, and the food wasn’t too far behind. The Apple Orchard is the epitome of a fall cocktail. It is made with bourbon, tastes like apples, and is even served with an apple slice as garnish. It is guaranteed to warm up your insides almost instantly. Warning: this drink is pretty strong, so take it slowly, if possible. The Elsie De Wolfe is a refreshing and tasty option. It is made with cucumber vodka and sparkling rosé, which complement each other much better than expected. This drink is served with a slice of cucumber to add to the freshness of it. This one is also pretty strong, so take your time drinking these!When the food was brought out, everything smelled and looked SO yummy that we just dove right in. The Thai chicken kabobs were cooked impeccably. They were juicy, well seasoned and full of flavor. I could have eaten a whole plate of those to myself to be honest. They came with a dipping sauce that perfectly complemented the kabobs with its sweet flavor. The pizza was a classic New York style, meaning, it just had that homemade feel. The guacamole? It didn’t stand a chance amongst the three of us. There wasn’t a moment (until the bowl was empty) where one of our hands wasn’t grabbing for a chip to dip into it. It was a bit spicy, but not unbearably hot in the least. 
After we finished our drinks, shareables, and ravaged through our guac, we decided to order another round of drinks and one more shareable. (Foodies...amIright?) This time around for drinks I decided to try the Elsie De Wolfe with my friends. We went with the truffle-grilled cheese for the shareable. GUYS. If you get anything out of this little review of Elsie it should be the importance of ordering this grilled cheese! The sandwich was cut into six perfect portions for us to split. It wasn’t too greasy and the cheese melted beautifully. You will not regret ordering this and you will dream of it every day after until you finally go back to Elsie to order another one!The Elsie De Wolfe was a much lighter drink than the Apple Orchard. Maybe that’s because I favor vodka to bourbon, but it just went down easier. It is an extremely refreshing cocktail. For all my vodka-soda lovers out there, I recommend getting the Elsie De Wolfe. It’s an elevated take on a classic.
Our night of specialty cocktails and delectable shareables had come to an end, but we wanted to make sure we never would forget this rooftop (as if we won’t be going back again). We asked our waitress to take a picture for us, and she transformed from incredible server to photographer extraordinaire. How? She redirected us to a portion of the rooftop with tables that weren’t being used for the night. She was looking out for us and knew we’d want the greenery and lounge tables in our pictures. I guess she knew we wouldn't want our dirtied high top table and bleak blank wall behind us. This was so considerate. She patiently took a bunch of pictures for us in all different poses always making sure that our photos came out to our liking. If you’re looking to get the perfect Instagram picture at Elsie Rooftop just ask your waitress (or waiter) and she (or he) won’t steer you wrong! They do know the best spots since they work there!To sum it all up, grab your phone and make a reservation at Elsie Rooftop. You will not regret it. From the relaxed yet elegant vibe you get to the unique cocktails to the incredible food. This rooftop is a 10/10 in my book!
