Rooftop Lounge & Bar – The Pod 39 Hotel

This place is hugely popular even midweek, the wait list to go up to level 39 was around 2 hours, and once up there it was packed.
To enter you see the host desk at Salvation Taco to put your name on the list. You’re offered the bar at the taco joint while you wait, but it’s almost impossible to get service for drinks if you aren’t seated at the bar. I think it took about 30 minutes!
We headed up around 10:30 and were a little disappointed that the food service up there was finished already. But it was still a fabulous place for a drink. The views are spectacular with the ‘crumbling’ wall look with fairy lights a stark contrast to the more modern buildings in view.
Service at the bar got slow at times, but understandably so given the amount of people wanting service and the size of the bar.

It was fun being here last night. Went around 8pm on a Sunday without a line and not so crowded place. Ordered Margarita and it was too strong. Average price for the drinks. Good spot to just chill and enjoy the view. Seeing the empire state building hiding from a taller building made my NY night complete.

3 stars is honestly being generous but I was expecting a lot more out of this place. The pros about this place is that the atmosphere is awesome. Definitely can’t find something like this anywhere else in Manhattan (looks wise). Gorgeous columns with Ivy and garden lights. Except today was extremely hot and although the columns give a little bit of shade in some places, I was standing in the burning heat.
But, my overall experience here was mostly negative. This is a very popular rooftop bar so I was expecting the bartender to know what they were doing and a well-​organized set up. The first drink I got was the Summer Thyme, which was a concoction of gin, strawberry, thyme, etc. I was charged $ 15.75 for this drink and then tipped. This drink costed me $ 17 dollars. This is OUTRAGEOUS. Even for NYC. I found out later on that she had added the tip to the card already without even telling me.
The drink tasted like pure sugar. Nothing special at all. I went up for a second drink (was planning on getting a $ 6 beer because I couldn’t bring myself to spend more money at this place). I stood there for 20 minutes. No exaggeration. Stood with card in hand looking at the bartender. Would not be helped. She very well saw me. Not sure if she realized I tipped her an excessive amount from my first drink. I walked away and walked out.
Although this bar is beautiful, I do not like the vibes here because I feel like I got robbed. A place like this should be expected to deliver prime service, reasonable prices (considering everyone there was young), and to take care of their customers. I got a picture of the columns and that was all I got from this place. Will not be coming back.

This rooftop bar is located in the 17^th floor and has the most beautiful view of the city!
My breath was litterally taken away as I stepped outside!
Drinks were a little more than your average bar, but this isn’t your average bar.
Maybe not a place to visit every weekend, but if you get the chance, you won’t regret it.
Also, there is usually a long wait to be admitted entrance, so get there early and get your name on the list, because you can’t get in unless you’ve received a confirmation text.

Best part is the atmosphere but the bartender was dumb as fuck and couldn’t make anything. Had zero patience. He said they didn’t even have sour mix. He was a dick.

Beautiful view of course, drinks aren’t that bad but it’s small. If you go on a weekend be prepared to be on top of other people. Luckily we snagged a seat 10 minutes after we ordered our drinks. Bartender was extremely slow making drinks. But awesome place to hang out for sure just for that view!

Really cool place to get some drinks during the Summer. Had the sangria tonight and it was strong and delicious! The drinks are pretty reasonably priced.
The main draw is the scenery — during the day, or at sunset, or after dark, the sight lines are great and the scenery on the bar itself is pretty amazing.
The only reason I had to take a star off is for the slow bar (when it’s crowded) and the crowds can get pretty intense and there isn’t too much seating.

Amazing place! Great people, good food

Really! $ 27 for a bad cocktail and a almost cold can of Modelo and Slow bartenders? This is crazy! I get it, I’ve paid my fair share of $ 15 cocktails but charging that much for a Modelo? Seeding service. Not sure what is happening to NYC but customer service has gone the way of the dial up Internet. At least if the staff was amazing I could justify the cost. Save your time. Many other places that are worth the premium charge.

Cool rooftop in Midtown East. You have to enter through Salvation Taco (on the first floor of the hotel) and check in with the hostess to see if they have space on the rooftop. Went on a Saturday around 4:30 and did have to wait a little, but they text you when you get can go up. We waited in Salvation Taco and ordered a drink. They put our drinks in plastic cups when we could go up, which was nice.
Drinks were more than I expected (I saw a picture on Unilocal indicating $ 10-​$ 12 cocktails) but they were on par with other rooftop bars. Cocktails were $ 14 and beers ranged from about $ 6-​$ 8. I’d recommend getting a frozen margarita at Salvation Taco and bringing it upstairs — it was only $ 10 and it was strong.
View was nice and atmosphere was cool. A few people have recommended it as a date spot, although it’s also a great place to come with friends.

To start off, I got there around 5pm on a Friday and we waited for about 1.5 hours before we were able to go up to the rooftop (not even for a table, just entry to the rooftop). While we were waiting, we got some drinks downstairs. Drinks here are not cheap, $ 8 for draft beer and no happy hour specials. The interior downstairs and the rooftop is pretty cool albiet small and not that great of a view.
So based on the long wait, price and décor, I would have given this place a standard 3 stars but the service was just horrible. The hosts answered questions with such attitude and had their noses stuck up in the air. I’m normally pretty easy going but the hosts and servers were just not friendly or inviting. Don’t think I’ll be back here.

Are you 25 – 35 years old? This is the place for you. If you are any older, get the heck out of Dodge!

Have always been curious about Pod 39 Rooftop and finally did come here. Gatta say… a little disappointed.
First off the space is a-​ok. A little bit cramped but still big enough to fit a good crowd. The view isn’t really that spectacular —- I’ve been to better ones. The drink is alright (I only tried one, there isn’t that much cocktail selections) but the taco’s pretty good (but slightly pricey for its portion: 10 for 2 small pieces)— though there really isn’t that much of a food or snack selections to pick from for the bar. Everything is pretty okay but the one major downfall is this one bartender.
First off he tried to direct us to another bartender who’s further down at the other direction when we tried to order (we’ were literally in front of him); that really reminds me of being directed to another cab on the street just because the first one I hailed would not go outside of Manhattan City (srsly!?). Then he was all rude in answering questions. Lastly he was also rude when he informed us that the things we wanted are no longer available for serving. You ran out of food/​drink without telling us; we’re just ordering off from the menu. If anything, WE should be the one with the rude tone, b, PLEASE! All that, then turned around to joke with his co-​worker. I’m sure Ahole is his first name, middle name and last name. Everybody else’s pretty good but him being the only unacceptable exception.
The whole ambiance was alright but the way Mr. A. A. Ahole decided to disrespect his customers makes me not want to come back nor recommend this place to anyone else. There are plenty of rooftops in the city.

No complains at all!
Service — good!
Drinks — good & ok prices (it’s after all a rooftop bar in Manhattan)
Food — just had the guacamole and chips but it was delicious!
View — good! You could partly see Empire State Building, and just overall a good view from above!
Would absolutely come back!

It’s a great after work place to hang out at! It’s easy to get to and although is a little small, is a perfect go-​to rooftop bar.
They’ve got heaters outside which makes the place an option on colder evenings and also have a good range of drinks between wine, cocktails and beers.
Young friendly crowd in their late 20s and early 30s.
Cons: the bar service was a tad bit slow.

Love the atmosphere here. Friendly staff, fun décor, and tasty drinks. Their food is delicious and their drinks are strong. Come early if you want to get to the rooftop though. I will definitely be back again for some more rooftop tacos.

I was a little apprehensive after the ‘wait list’ complaints/​reviews BUT no complaints here! Got in swiftly (don’t ask) the guac and chips were actually realllly tasty. Like amazing. and the margaritas were great.

EXTREMELY BAD EXPERIENCE.
I wouldn’t even give this place two starts honestly. One star would be sufficient and generous from my part. BAD EXPERIENCE. I personally love going to different rooftops and I’m a sucker for good service and that’s what I tip for. My bad experience started from the Mexican Restaurant downstairs. The bartenders and staff is extremely rude and obnoxious there. They don’t even treat you like customers. The bartender literally told me to «move out of here» on my face almost 4 times. I have been to busier places in New York and the bartenders never looked this pissed off and never came off this rude ever. Just cuz I was standing at a place he called «service area» clearly there was no service there and i definitely wasn’t blocking anyone coming in and out. I’m not dumb that I will stand in a service area. It was way off. There was no other place to stand and order the drinks. The drink I ordered was just simply grape soda poured to me in huge amounts. Nothing called alcohol in that $ 14 drink. That kind of pissed me off and set a bad tone over all.
Drinks are horrendous. Extremely iced down and barely any alcohol for the price. Again I have been to many different rooftops around the city and this was the most disappointing one so far. RUDE STAFF. One of them literally ignored the shit out of me and gave me a «hand» and said not now when I just wanted to ask her one question. I have also never been given the «hand» to my face by a restaurant staff before. That’s your job. If you are not going to be decent at it, DONT WORK THERE. This skinny blonde girl downstairs at the restaurant.
NEVER COMING BACK.

Very cool setting with a Mexican themed bar on the roof of a boutique hotel. Spicy margaritas were delicious! It got crowded quickly so go early if you want any chance of finding a table.

Loved the rooftop, very well decorated and charming.
Bad thing: you could get mad of finding a table. We went Thursday 5pm and it was already crowded. Do we had to hold our drinks the whole time.
I think they should make a wait list for sitting… We wanted to eat something because it smelled so good, but it was impossible. You need to have a table to put your food on, so if you do not get it, you can’t eat anything. And there were anyone taking care of that… No service, very messy, not organized.
That’s why I give 3 stars…

We came here on a Saturday afternoon. There was a waitlist to get in, but they told us at the entrance of the rooftop & instructed us to go downstairs 17 floors, exit the hotel, and U-​turn around to the restaurant next door to put our names on the waitlist. AND, get this, there are doors connecting the hotel lobby to the restaurant, but I still had to exit the hotel and go outside to get to the restaurant. Talk about well-​thought-​out!
Anyhoo, it wasn’t a long wait, and we were in after maybe 5 – 10 minutes. The scenery is nice and the brick design is a nice escape from the typical skyscraper, rooftop experience. All of the tables and seats were taken except for a few tables that were reserved to the side (and which stayed empty the entire time I was there).
In a city where there are endless options but many are similar to each other, this stood out because of its ambience!

Told the hostess i will be 4 people. Only 2 of us here now. «No problem, go right up.»
20 minutes pass when my fiancé and her gf meet up. Now the doors are closed and there’s a wait list. I gently remind her we were going to be a party of 4 and you said no problem, go right up. I had ordered them drinks already and we had a table in the corner.
The 19 year old tells me too bad. That was before they hit capacity. And they only start the list once capacity is reached. I protest, surely you realize your mistake and can make an exception as I have 4 drinks waiting and you clearly remember this happening just 20 minutes ago. If there was going to be a list, these 2 should have been first on it.
She rolled her eyes and tells me it will be 2 hours before they can enter and I should just leave with them.

Great views, great atmosphere. Service could be improved.
My friend and I came here for a couple of drinks on a Friday evening a couple of weeks ago. It wasn’t too busy, but it soon filled up. Once it got busier the bar staff got less friendly and didn’t seem to serve anyone based on how long they had been waiting. I had been at the bar about 5 mins, a man walked straight up to the bar and they immediately took his order?!
I prefer it earlier in the evening when it isn’t so busy, but it’s a rooftop bar what are you going to do, they get busy.

The Quick: Great views of the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building. Charming hanging lights, STRONG margaritas, attractive European crowd. Overall a good drink spot (yet pricey).
The Details: Rooftops and pretty views make me happy… as do spicy margaritas. The Pod 39 rooftop checked all of these boxes. A fairly large rooftop with space heaters for the chilly evenings. They were out of tacos, but the chips and guacamole were a fairly large portion to share ($ 11). Overall a nice spot.
The Damage: 4 drinks came to ~$ 60 plus tip/​tax. The tacos would have been 2 for $ 10. Pricey but fantastic view.

Arrive through Salvation taco, not pod 39 hotel to get a paw print stamp on your wrist. Go up to the 17^th floor, and wait for your ID to be checked. My boyfriend, two other friends and I arrived at about 7:30pm and it was mobbed. Getting a seat or standing by a table is an incredible challenge here. It was a more serve yourself roof top. Trying to get a bartenders attention is a challenge. We ordered our cocktails (which were good) and then ordered chips with salsa and guac. Guac was pure avocado, no flavor. and expensive.
Pod 39 rooftop is a more chill surrounding compared to the «fancy» more upscale rooftops in manhattan.
All in all,
–The drinks are cheaper than other rooftops’ drinks but still expensive
–The view isn’t a million dollar view but it was okay.
–I didn’t try the tacos but they looked good
–Lines for the bathrooms are out of order and crazy
–Chill rooftop to go with not a group but a couple of friends to talk over drinks or to go after work too.
–Would i come back? Yes.

The rooftop is really nice. My sister and I came here at 4 pm on a Monday. We planned it so we would miss the crowd. It was a beautiful day and we got margaritas, sangria, and of course guacamole. The guac was really good but portion was tiny.
If you time it right, seating is easy to get. We were able to sit right down and enjoy a relaxing time. I would recommend beating the crowd because it really is a relaxing place to hang out despite the awful lines I read about. I will definitely be coming back!

Have been here twice.
First thing you need to do is give your name, phone number and number of your party to the hostess.
View: Pretty nice, you get to see the Chrysler building and feel the breeze. Crowd is late 20s to mid-​40s.
Ambience: Chill, spacious yet trendy. As it gets into nighttime, they begin to play 90s music.
Drinks: Kind of pricey for my taste but I guess standard for the area ($ 13 and up).
Service: Hostess and bartenders are friendly. Although I understand that they do not want the rooftop to become super crowded, the fact that the waiting list can be so long is annoying. The first time I went was two weeks ago; we had our first Saturday with amazing weather and the waitlist was over an hour. The second time we went it was kind of chilly so we only waited like 15 minutes.
Expect to wait when the weather is nice, which is really the only time you should be going to a rooftop.