The Roof on Wilshire Hotel Bar / Lounge / Restaurant / Rooftop Bar

BEVERLY GROVE, LOS ANGELES –

High above Wilshire Boulevard, the canary-yellow umbrellas of chic lounge and restaurant The Roof on Wilshire beckon to the throngs below, giving rise to one of this glitz-happy town’s most oft-asked questions:

“How can I get up there?!”

Actually, it’s pretty easy – a simple elevator ride from the lobby of the boutique Hotel Wilshire will transport just about anyone straight to the top.

Those anyones usually take the form of gussied-up sophisticates and urban trendsetters, who settle in at the wooden tables or the cushy, cabana-like booths that surround the venue’s focal point: a crystal-blue wading pool perpetually stocked with bikini-clad girls sipping daiquiris.

Older business execs tend to dominate the midweek lunch crowd, but they give way to hip professionals who gather to watch the sun go down over $6 margaritas ordered from the aptly named Sunset Menu.

Once the dinner crowd disperses on Friday and Saturday nights, the space becomes standing room only when swaths of in-the-know twenty-somethings in strapless dresses and lightweight blazers gather around the sunken fire pit with their Bourbon Smashes as funky beats add a soundtrack to the glittering view.

Despite the upscale ambiance, the prices are still reasonable. Lunch options barely top $14 and brunch attracts a mélange of trust-funders and adventurous groups of friends with $22 bottomless mimosas and the powerfully alluring pancake lasagna.

It’s not the most exclusive game in town, but for anyone with high expectations or lofty aspirations, The Roof on Wilshire is a beautiful –and tasty – place to start climbing.