If you are looking for a great place in the city to take your significant other, friends or even coworkers, Rock and Reilly’s might just be the place for you! But like every restaurant there are a few tricks to look out for! The first thing to look for is how to get into the restaurant from street level. Lucas and I went with a group of friends and it took a kind passing stranger to find our way. As we were told; they have a card system in the elevator that works with room keys (for those lucky enough to stay there!). To those interested in finding this restaurant without staying at the hotel you have to use the elevator at the bottom level to go to the hotel lobby. From the lobby it’s right down a flight of stairs in the center of the room to get to Rock and Reilly’s. For those needing handicap accessibility ask the front desk and they’ll let you use the elevator from there!
Now, you may be asking yourself; “if it’s so tricky to get there… is it worth it?” Well before I give you my answer I’ll tell you a little more about it and let you decide! So Like I said earlier; Lucas and I went with a group of friends. We came down the stairs into a bar-like area that was nearly uninhabited. And we quickly found out why when we went into the next room as it opened into a kind of atrium with sky panels that were wide open in the springtime weather. There were also floor-to-ceiling windows with doors leading to an outdoor terrace where there was further seating for the restaurant and a viewing deck to look out over the city! We were sat inside at a table right near the window to look outside as our group was pretty large.
From our spot by the window we had a great meal. We kicked it off with some appetizers as we ordered two large-soft pretzels for the table. These were great! They came out piping hot with three dipping sauces; hot cheese, liquified chocolate, and a spicy mustard. Can you guess my favorite? Chocolate of course! After appetizers it was time for our meal. Lucas had a tuna burger which he told me melted nicely in his mouth. Although if you ask me it melted more on his plate, what a messy eater! Anyway his fries tasted great they definitely did a good job with those! I decided to have the blackened cajun salmon. It tasted great and they cooked it perfectly! But I have to say the portion was very small. Not too surprising for the city and a rooftop bar though.
We had an awesome experience at Rock and Reilly’s, even a visit to the outdoor terrace as the sun set after dinner! Although the experience was great the food was pretty expensive. It’s also worth noting that the drinks are expensive too. And if you plan on ordering off-menu drinks they charge you for the closest drink on the menu and add a charge to change it. We recommend you get a on-menu drink if you get anything! Even though it was expensive the gratuity was built into the check. This made it easier when trying to split the bill between the 7 people group we had there. Overall it was a successful trip and the tricky entrance made it feel all the more adventurous and definitely worth it to us in the end.
Do you think you would visit Rock and Reilly’s? Have you been there? What is your favorite rooftop bar in the Big Apple? Let us know in the comments below!
Red Lips and Rosé 