10 Best Rooftop Bars in Calgary

Craft Beer Market offers a gigantic rooftop patio that doubles the seating size of the restaurant and offers tons of cool vintage features for an authentic and urban vibe. Here you can enjoy more than 100 craft beers in every style from IPAs to stouts, sours to barrel-aged ales and lagers, that are ideal to pair with their casual food menu including their highlights: hand-smashed burgers on butter-toasted potato rolls. The décor here includes features such as a full classic Volkswagen van and strings of lights.

When the weather doesn't cooperate, you can still enjoy a great view because the patio has a retractable roof. The whole thing is in the heart of downtown Calgary.

Broken City offers a quiet but casual rooftop experience overlooking 11th Avenue downtown with live music, brunch, lunch, dinner, and late-night drinks. You can hear DJs spinning the latest tunes or live local bands playing original and cover songs. The majority of the menu is made from scratch and it's famed for its deep-fried cauliflower wings, which even outsell the regular chicken wings. While it's a great place for a casual afternoon brew and bite, it's on weekends that it really turns up the party.

The downtown views are great, the food is solid, and the drinks are strong. This is the place to come if you just want a good time without the frills.

Brewster's McKenzie Towne offers a living-room-style experience with TVs and comfy couches, plus Adirondacks and a laid-back lounge-style environment with pub-grub and great beers. The house-brewed beers here are fruited ales and they serve up some fantastic peach and berry beers unlike anything you've tasted before. It's also a family-friendly spot, as much a restaurant as a brewpub, and kids are totally welcome. The eats are your standard pub fare with a wide selection of burgers and sandwiches.

This one is also accessible to people with disabilities, offering elevator access. It's about 20 minutes south of downtown Calgary.

Double Zero is a bar and restaurant selling Neapolitan pizza with cold-fermented dough as well as a broad selection of wines from a carefully cultivated list. In addition to their artisanal pizza recipes and wine list, you can enjoy pasta dishes, salads, and even sandwiches in a sophisticated venue that screams "upscale yet casual". Besides wine, you can enjoy a solid beer list as well as craft cocktails mixed up by knowledgeable mixologists behind the bar. The restaurant is airy and light-filled with an urban casual vibe.

This is a place to come if you want casual Italian food made in the traditional way and paired with great drinks. It's 10 minutes south of downtown.

ONE18 Empire is a rustic-chic rooftop establishment that serves up classic American fare with a craft-burger approach as well as excellent cocktails with city views. This one is a full-on restaurant, open every day from breakfast into late-night hours, and it's well-known for its casual, welcoming, and chill vibe. They offer couch seating with low tables for ultimate comfort, and it gets hopping on weekends when people come here to grab a bite and a drink with friends. The views here of Stephen Avenue and Calgary tower are outstanding.

This is a great place to come for a family meal, date night, or some evening drinks. It's in the heart of downtown Calgary.

National on 8th offers amazing city views and an extensive selection of craft beer on draft as well as top-notch spirits and cocktails, plus elevated urban pub fare. To keep the casual fun going, they also offer ping pong tables, cornhole, and other picnic-style party games. It's a classic, flowery beer garden with 29 beers on tap at any given time, plus Clive burgers, a local specialty.

This is the place to sample local brews and raise a glass with friends and family. Best of all, this is one of two locations, so if you get here and it's too crowded, you can try the 10th Avenue location for a similar experience.

Chakalaka is one of the newer rooftop patios in Calgary, occupying a former bier haus, and offering booth seating, a modern tapas menu, and fresh-cooked, unusual meats. Here you can have not only great cuts of steak, but dishes like alligator meat, all seared up right at your tableside on hot stones while you're surrounded by an alfresco vibe with plants and greenery as an integral part of the décor. The fun continues into dessert with a dessert Ferris wheel.

The entire vibe is that of an island with world menu items. It's only 10 minutes to the west of downtown Calgary.

The Rooftop YYC is among the largest weather-managed patio scenes in Calgary with a forno pizza oven, creative craft cocktails, and an outstanding sound system. This one has not only great food and drinks, but a party vibe on weekend nights that alternate between fantastic DJs and hot local up-and-coming live bands with music in a variety of genres to appeal to just about everyone.

Even better, it's all nestled right above a huge shopping mall, so you can get your shop on before or after you take in the city views. The Rooftop YYC is right in the heart of downtown Calgary.

The Vin Room Mission offers a vast wine list, carefully cultivated by the onsite chef to ideally complement the upscale menu for great views and a classy night out. This spot is ideal for those looking to enjoy a sophisticated, quiet night out, perfect for date night or celebrating an anniversary. Menu items cover everything from champagne to oysters on the half shell. All the while you'll enjoy gorgeous views of the treetops of the Mission District. You can also, if you choose, try their street-level patio dining, which is dog-friendly.

This is the ideal spot to come if you're looking to impress that special someone in your life. It's right in the heart of downtown.

Rooftop Bar @ Simmons offers picture-perfect views of the flowing waters of the Bow River, plus busy bridges and gleaming city towers with New York and Detroit-style pizza. This is a real down-home casual-urban establishment that serves up good handmade pizza with buckets of beer. It's neither luxurious nor pretentious and is just a great option for having a good time with friends and families. From this rooftop, you can see as far as St. Patrick's Island, and even on cold nights, you're good because it has built-in heaters and fireplace dining.

On feature nights here, you can also enjoy live local bands. It's just 5 minutes east of downtown.