From luxury hotels to breweries to historic buildings, a guide to the rooftops that set the trend in the City. What are the highest places to enjoy the drink view at hand.
María Paula Flag
02/06/2020 - 7:30
- Clarín.com
- Cities
Beyond what the dictionary says, for Argentines the word "terrace" is synonymous with height . However, in view of its use in gastronomy, today the term embraces the full meaning of the Royal Spanish Academy and refers to the outdoor spaces that are located in front of bars, restaurants and cafes.
The proliferation of terraces transcends the semantic: there are more and more options in the gastronomic map of the city . From luxurious five-star hotels to others decompressed in bars and breweries.
The openings began a decade ago, but last winter marked a before and after in the field, as it opened its doors - and its sky - Trade , the highest rooftop bar discovered in the city.
From its majestic 21st floor you can enjoy a unique panoramic view , which summarizes, as a collage, emblematic points of the city: the Río de La Plata, the banking area with its illuminated skyscrapers, Puerto Madero, the Tower of Los Ingleses, the Obelisk and more. In addition, it is in a historic building: Comega, one of the local symbols of rationalist architecture.
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All sunsets line up at the door of the building. You have to get around that wait to get to the elevator, climb 19 floors -87 meters- without stops and in a few seconds lead to a bar where the windows are protagonists. For the terrace there are still two floors left by stairs .
After the trade of Andres is Andrés Rolando with other partners. The terrace had always been an impassable space, but they knew that this abandoned place was going to become a city star . “When we went to see it, we put on a condition that a rooftop could be installed, so before signing we did all the inquiries to make sure that it could be put into work. The people who rent us didn't even know that from there the Obelisk was seen , nobody went up to that terrace, ”says Rolando.
The gastronomic proposal is, worth the pun, at the height. The cocktails -with a letter designed by Lucas López Dávalos- are impeccable, something that surprises in a bar where about 900 are shipped per night. And, above, they are not at tourist price, all at $ 320.
Hotel terraces
There is another terrace nearby that proposes a very different mood : Cielo Sky Bar , located in the Grand Brizo Hotel. A pasitos del Obelisco, offers a unique postcard of this Buenos Aires icon. The bar is quite narrow and has a bar on Cerrito Avenue that surrounds it completely. It is recommended to visit as a couple or in a chat plan, since the atmosphere is very quiet.
The sunset in the city, from the terrace of the highest open rooftop in Buenos Aires. (Courtesy Trade Sky Bar)
15 blocks from there, one hundred meters from Plaza San Martín and also in another hotel, is the first rooftop of the city . The Sky Bar of the Pulitzer Hotel - chosen a couple of years ago by the British newspaper The Guardian as one of the Buenos Aires bars to meet - opened its doors 2010, when the concept was unknown for these payments.
The pioneer The Sky Bar, in the microcenter. (Courtesy Hotel Pullitzer)
Too late if compared to what happened in New York, where rooftops are part of the DNA of that metropolis . The first opened in 1890, on the terrace of the Casino Theater, on 39th Street and Broadway, and even the former Madison Square Garden - opened in 1890 and demolished in 1925 - had a monumental terrace that could hold up to 1,200 people.
The Pulitzer, belonging to the Spanish chain Regina Hotels, imported this idea from abroad a decade ago, and is still one of the city's favorites today . “Every summer, at least two or three times we come for a drink. We love it because it is close to the office, we can watch the sunset and people of our age come, ”says Delfina Llorente, 29. They help your beach wave and friendly prices: cocktails start at $ 270 and beers at $ 170.
20 Buenos Aires terraces
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Infographic: Clarín
The hotels were the ones that consolidated the concept. The Alvear group of hotels has two properties. One is the Roof Bar opened in 2016 on the 11th floor of the Alvear Palace, in a space that used to be part of the exclusive Roof Garden party room (where Susana Giménez married Huberto Roviralta). The following year, the inauguration of the Alvear Icon, in Puerto Madero, added another terrace that speaks: the Crystal Bar .
Drinks in the heights. The view from the Crystal Bar of the Alvear Icon, the tallest in the City. (Martín Bonetto)
In reality, only a small sector is exposed, so it is more a viewpoint than a terrace. However, the view from the 32nd floor is impressive: it is the highest point from which you can see the cocktail city by hand. The Ecological Reserve, the buildings of Puerto Madero and also those on the other side of the dike are some of the places that appear on the scene.
But height is not everything. A rooftop can be both on the 32nd and 7th floor: what defines it as such is that it offers a panoramic view . Therefore, from the ninth floor, the Hotel Madero adds another option, since it also displays a postcard of the most expensive neighborhood in the city, but opens only on special occasions, so it is necessary to check the agenda. The next date is February 13, when they will hold their already classic anti-Valentine party.
The domes of the center
In that proposal to look at the city in a different way, you cannot miss the historical terraces . One of them is that of the Güemes Gallery, where Florida 165 Rooftop Bar is located. It is one of the newest on the list, enabled at the end of last year.
The historic domes of Buenos Aires seen from the Güemes Gallery bar. (Emmanuel Fernández)
From a sixth floor, 87 meters from the ground, you can see the domes of the Bencich building - inspired by French academicism - that of the former Boston Bank, with its brick-colored colonial tiles, and that of the former Gath & Chaves building, among other.
"It occurred to us to open the bar in the Güemes Gallery because we always saw people photographing those buildings from below, and we wanted to find a terrace where we could see the domes from another place," he told this newspaper when one of those responsible was inaugurated, Hernán de la Colina.
The cocktail bar rules in the proposal of most Buenos Aires terraces. (Courtesy Hotel Pullitzer)
The history route in the heights follows the emblematic Avenida de Mayo, which could not help but have its own terrace: that of the mythical Barolo Palace. On the 16th floor, Salon 1923 is located, a bar that appeals to snacks, beer, wine and simple dishes. At dusk, people gather to take photos that will go directly to the Instagram feed. The most sought after is the famous lantern.
The brand strategy
The fascination with the terraces caused them to open options outside the Buenos Aires epicenter. One of them is January and its Aguaviva bar, a place that perfectly embodies the idea of a terrace at ground level , a concept that also took the recently opened Dandy store in front of Saavedra Park.
“We had a property with 90 meters of frontage and immediately we thought about putting together a terrace on the level of the river. It is the only gastronomic place that the river completely faces . In the middle there was a centennial eucalyptus, so we put everything together around that tree, ”says Toto Lafiandra, one of January's owners.
Aguaviva, the bar with a terrace on the ground floor that overlooks the Río de la Plata. (Courtesy January)
“I love it because it is a bit like being on vacation, it is obvious that it doesn't matter if I take a gin and tonic looking at the river that is locked in a bar,” says Melina Grukov, who hurries to arrive before that water mirror is hidden In the darkness of the night.
In January there are usually DJ sets and the cocktails coexist with a drink proposal closer to that of a category album ; Thus, for example, the letter contains bottles of distillates (starting at $ 2,100) to combine with four cans of soda, two liters of juice and three cans of energy drink.
Is that the occasion of consumption also influences when tasting a product. The brands of alcoholic beverages know it, and that is why more and more outdoor cycles are being established, boosting the terrace concept and associating with it.
Martini, one of the brands that joined the actions on terraces, in this case at the Trade Sky Bar. (Courtesy Martini)
An example is Martini and his Terrazza Martini . In Argentina it is carried out in an itinerant way, but its inspiration comes from Milano, where, since 1958, the brand has even its own terrace , which rises above the historic center of the city.
Sunsets Spritz, the Aperol action that is also associated with the terrace concept. (Courtesy Campari Group)
Aperol also joins the move with its Spritz Sunsets , an invitation to combine the color of its flagship drink, the Aperol Spritz, with that of the orange sky that preludes the arrival of the night. Live music and food are added to that mix. “It is a local initiative that takes as a reference some characteristics of what is happening globally with Aperol in cities such as Milan, Barcelona or New York,” says Willy Cicciari, Grouper of Marks of the Campari group.
Between croissants and choripanes
What abounds does not harm, says the saying, and allows for options for all tastes. Thus, the public with the most artistic spirit will find their favorite terrace at the Selina hostel in Palermo Soho. The view is clear and the vibe of the atmosphere unbeatable: there are many young tourists, plus an interesting and well-nourished program of activities, which includes DJ sets several times a week and roasts on Tuesday nights. Prices are accessible: cocktails from $ 260 and dishes from $ 195.
Decontracted and artistic, the terrace of Selina in Palermo. (Courtesy Hostel Selina)
The Palermo neighborhood also shows that not only cocktail bars choose terraces. In Gontran Cherrier boulangerie, in front of Plaza Armenia, just close your eyes and get carried away by the flavors and aromas to feel in Paris. A fact: they bring the butter (Elle et vire) and the flour (Foricher) direct from France so that the products are identical to those of the original branch that is in the Gallic country. And for the after hours they add tapas and cocktails, all with a french touch.
Within the area, the breweries understood, from their beginnings, that they should bet outdoors on high. The one of Buller's first place, on Junín Street, is very famous, since it gives a tourist spot par excellence: the Recoleta cemetery.
Overlooking the cemetery, the terrace of a Recoleta brewery. (Courtesy Buller)
The one of Desarmadero comes with surprise: it has a nice beer truck, an old truck equipped with beer tap. Bonus track: when the sunset is very hot, they turn on water sprinklers to refresh the environment.
And in the neighborhood of Núñez there are at least two beer terraces that are worth knowing. The one of 7030 , a monumental space for 100 people seated and the double stops, and the one of the Patagonia beer Sucre Bar , that balcony to a patio where they usually play live bands.
Also in this well descontracturado style is added that of Chori Colegiales , with a wide view on the Flea Market and the new Plaza Clemente. Very versatile, a ping pong table makes it a good family plan, but it has enough wave to be an alternative when it comes to hanging out with friends. The pocket has a great time: there is vermouth for $ 110, beer for $ 120 and pitchers of gin and tonics to share at $ 500, as well as a variety of sandwiches that worship the choripán in gourmet version.
But as the list is endless and the space to write tyrant, it is recommended to leave the gacha look when going outside. Simply focus it up to find the nearest gastronomic terrace.
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