The Roof

Crowd
Crowd. Let’s start by saying that there was A LOT of it. I met my step-mom there after work and in total we wound up waiting an hour. Normally I wouldn’t wait this long for a bar, but the step-mom really wanted to go, and we were actually second in line with the promise of “soon” for the majority of the wait. Go figure. The actual scene wasn’t anything to brag about…just your typical after work happy-hour crowd with a few more “older gentleman” than I would have liked. There was also a GWU reunion or something which made it even more crowded. But it did seem like a fun place to come back to with a group of friends once the hype dies down.

hour long line

Space
The view from the Roof was of course impressive, but it wasn’t as great as I had expected given all the hype. I haven’t been to any of the other hotel rooftops that seem to have come out of nowhere recently but I imagine they are similar. Walking in to the Roof there is an indoor, lounge-like section sandwiched in between two outdoor areas. The main bar area is on the right and is a long thin rectangle with two square bars in the center (around fire pits), bordered with white booths. It’s very Miami-esque. There’s not much space to stand around and most of the tables are reserved so your best bet is to be obnoxious and hover over people you think might be leaving at the bar….which is exactly what I did.

Scene on the Roof

Service & Management
We had to wait awhile for a server to come by but I sort of expected that. You have to ever-so-slyly sneak into a seat so it makes sense that the busy servers wouldn’t notice. But once we got her attention she was super nice and friendly. The guys working the door definitely think they’re all that and a bag of chips, not cool. If you’re the type (like me) that gets angry when other, way cooler people are let in before you, then brace yourself for this one…

Food & Drink
Nothing really jumped out at me on the small plates menu, but that was actually a good  thingbecause I tried some dishes I probably normally wouldn’t have tried. When they say small plates, they mean small. So don’t come here for a meal unless you’re planning on spending a crapload of money. The Salmon Crudo and the Roasted Artichokes were delicious little snacks and not too heavy. Of course I had to ruin our healthy meal with a giant plate of fries, which were also delicious.- sprinkled with truffle oil and parmesan Don’t waste your time on the Roasted Sweet Pepper and Goat Cheese Crostini…you can make this at home. I was surprised at the smallness of the specialty cocktail menu- they only had about six to choose from. I started with the Randy Raspberry which consisted of Absolut, raspberry puree, lemon juice and prosecco. Wasn’t in love with it…reminded me of drinking Schmirnoff Raspberry in the dorms freshman year. So I switched over to the Blueberry Caipiroska which was pretty awesome. It was Stoli blueberry, fresh lime, blueberries, and sugar- deep in color and very refreshing.

Roasted Artichokes

salmon crudo

Randy Raspberry

Bottom Line
I think Roof is a lot of hype, but if you live for the scene then you  must check it out. For the rest of us, I would recommend hitting up the Roof at an off-hour like 3/4pm or later in the evening when the crowd dies down.

Facts

Address: 201 N. State Street

Phone: 312-239-9501

Website: http://roofonthewit.therestaurantsatthewit.com/

Email: askus@thewithotel.com

Neighborhood: Loop

Parking: is a biotch

Size: not too big

Chef: Todd Stein

Owner/Management: The Wit Hotel

Meals Served: no meals here….just small plates

Spirits: large beer selection, small specialty cocktail menu, wine

Menu link: http://roofonthewit.therestaurantsatthewit.com/cuisine

Open Since: June 2009