RFK Rankings · Venice
Best Rooftop Restaurants in Venice 2026
Rooftop dining · Venice · 6 tables ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 15, 2026 · Updated June 20, 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
The city's most photographed rooftop, the Settimo Cielo terrace on top of the Bauer Palazzo, has been shut since 2023 for the multi-year Rosewood rebuild, and Venice's reputation for rooftop dining was always thinner than the postcards suggest. Most of the famous altanas, the little wooden roof decks on the San Marco palazzi, pour an aperitivo and stop there. The roofs that actually run a kitchen are a small set, mostly atop grand hotels along the Riva and out on the lagoon islands, and those are the ones we rank. For the ground-floor bacari and trattorie, see our Venice dining guide.
1.Restaurant Terrazza Danieli
Venice's grandest rooftop returns August 26, 2026 as a Four Seasons under chef Adriano Rausa; book once the calendar opens.
The fifth-floor roof of the Hotel Danieli, two minutes from St Mark's Square, has long held the city's grandest rooftop dining room, a 180-degree sweep over the Bacino di San Marco and the island of San Giorgio. The hotel closed for the renovation that converts it to Danieli, a Four Seasons Hotel, reopening August 26, 2026, with Restaurant Terrazza Danieli returning under executive chef Adriano Rausa. The MICHELIN Guide kitchen is not bookable until then, and the terrace runs al fresco from roughly May to October. Reserve directly through the hotel once the 2026 calendar opens, and request a lagoon-facing table at dusk.
Reserve through the Hotel Danieli from its August 26, 2026 reopening.
2.Sagra Rooftop Restaurant
A 360-degree lagoon panorama with a serious kitchen behind it; take the sunset hotel boat over.
Executive chef Raffaele Lotto runs Sagra atop the JW Marriott on the private Isola delle Rose, a 20-minute hotel-boat hop across the lagoon from San Marco. His kitchen draws on the resort's own vegetable garden for a tour-of-Italy menu, with a sea bass tartare, grilled octopus and Piedmontese fassona beef among the plates praised most often. The fourth-floor terrace wraps a rooftop infinity pool with an unbroken 360-degree view of the lagoon and the Venice skyline. The resort opened on the restored island in 2015. Book the last evening shuttle and return by water taxi.
Reserve at sagrarooftoprestaurant.com.
3.28.5 Rooftop
The Lido's high table, lagoon on one side and Adriatic on the other; reserve ahead.
Out on the Lido, the five-star Ausonia Hungaria opens its sixth-floor 28.5 Rooftop above a Liberty-style hotel that has stood on the Gran Viale for more than a century. The menu pairs Italian plates with crafted cocktails, wines and champagne, and the position, suspended between the open Adriatic and the lagoon, gives a panorama no central rooftop can match. It runs evenings, roughly 6:30pm to midnight. This is the pick for a quieter night away from the San Marco crush, reached by a short vaporetto ride. Come for the sunset over the water.
Details at ausoniahungaria.com.
4.Top of the Carlton Sky Lounge and Restaurant
A Grand Canal rooftop you can actually dine on, not just drink on; go before sunset.
The Carlton on the Grand Canal puts its sky lounge on the fourth floor, a short walk from Santa Lucia station in Santa Croce, and brands it as a sitting room in the sky. The umbrella-shaded terrace looks straight down the Grand Canal, and unlike most of the city's drinks-only roofs it serves dishes from the Venetian and Mediterranean tradition alongside the cocktail list. It runs daily, roughly 3:30pm to 11:30pm in season. As an easy first or last night near the station, it is one of the few central rooftops where you can sit down to a real plate. Time it for the canal at golden hour.
Details at carltongrandcanal.com.
5.Skyline Rooftop Bar
The widest skyline view in the city, from a converted flour mill; go for cocktails.
Skyline crowns the Hilton Molino Stucky, a 19th-century flour mill on the western tip of Giudecca, eight floors up with a sightline running from the Giudecca Canal to the campanile of San Marco. The bar relaunched in 2025 with a Venice-inspired list, the Skies of Venice menu, plus Italian small bites and salads, and it keeps one of the most striking rooftop infinity pools in Europe. This is a cocktail-and-aperitivo roof rather than a sit-down restaurant, so treat the food as sharing plates. Take the free hotel shuttle boat from San Marco and aim for sunset on the terrace.
Details at hilton.com.
6.La Terrazza Bar at H10 Palazzo Canova
The closest rooftop to the Rialto Bridge for a Grand Canal aperitivo; go at golden hour.
The H10 Palazzo Canova sits a few steps from the Rialto Bridge, and its fourth-floor La Terrazza Bar splits between a covered lounge and an open-air deck looking straight at the bridge and the Grand Canal. This is an aperitivo roof, not a kitchen, with wine and cocktails rather than a full menu, but the position in the centre of the city is hard to beat for a pre-dinner drink. It opens to non-guests on summer evenings. Use it as the drink before dinner in a nearby bacaro, and arrive early to claim a canal-facing rail.
Details at h10hotels.com.
Avoid for a rooftop dinner
Famous, but not for a rooftop dinner
Settimo Cielo at the Bauer Palazzo. The city's highest rooftop terrace, on the seventh floor with a Michelin-pedigree kitchen once run by Cristiano Tomei, has been closed since 2023 for the multi-year Rosewood rebuild. It is not bookable; do not plan a night around it until the hotel reopens.
Terrazza Panoramica at Ca' Sagredo. A lovely fourth-floor terrace over the Grand Canal in a 14th-century palace, but it pours aperitivo only, Spritz and Bellini, on summer evenings. Come up for a drink, then eat downstairs at L'Alcova or elsewhere.
How to book a Venice rooftop
Venice barely does rooftops, and The Rooftop Guide grades the city just 6 out of 10, so plan around a short, mostly seasonal list. The island Sagra runs a full kitchen year-round and takes direct reservations, so reserve the JW Marriott's evening boat with your table. Terrazza Danieli, the grandest of the city's rooftop rooms, reopens with the Four Seasons conversion of the Hotel Danieli on August 26, 2026, and is not bookable before then. The Lido's 28.5 and the Grand Canal roofs are warmer-months venues, open evenings, so check the calendar before October. A 2026 warning: the famous Settimo Cielo on top of the Bauer is shut for the Rosewood rebuild, and several celebrated altanas pour drinks only. For ground-floor bacari and trattorie, see our Venice dining guide and the RFK rankings index.
Frequently asked
Which Venice rooftop has the best food?
Restaurant Terrazza Danieli, on the fifth-floor roof of the Hotel Danieli, holds the strongest rooftop pedigree and reopens under executive chef Adriano Rausa when the hotel returns as a Four Seasons on August 26, 2026. Until then, Sagra Rooftop at the JW Marriott on Isola delle Rose, led by chef Raffaele Lotto, is the best serious rooftop kitchen currently open in Venice.
Which Venice rooftop has the best view?
Sagra on Isola delle Rose has a full 360-degree lagoon panorama, while Skyline atop the Hilton Molino Stucky on Giudecca runs from the Giudecca Canal to San Marco. For the Grand Canal specifically, Top of the Carlton and La Terrazza at H10 Palazzo Canova look straight onto the water.
Are Venice rooftops open year-round?
Mostly no. The island Sagra runs year-round, while the Lido's 28.5 Rooftop, the Grand Canal terraces and Skyline are best in the warmer months, roughly May to October, and several open evenings only. Terrazza Danieli reopens with the Four Seasons takeover of the Hotel Danieli on August 26, 2026. Confirm hours before an off-season visit.
Can you have a full dinner on a Venice rooftop?
Yes, at Sagra and Top of the Carlton, which serve proper meals; Terrazza Danieli rejoins the list when the Hotel Danieli reopens as a Four Seasons in August 2026. Skyline and La Terrazza at H10 Palazzo Canova lean toward cocktails and small plates, and several of the most famous terraces, including Ca' Sagredo's, pour aperitivo only.
What happened to Settimo Cielo, the rooftop on the Bauer?
Settimo Cielo, long the city's highest rooftop bar and restaurant on top of the Bauer Palazzo, closed in 2023 for the multi-year conversion of the hotel into Rosewood Venice. It is not currently bookable, so do not plan a night around it until the hotel reopens.
How much does a Venice rooftop dinner cost?
A serious rooftop dinner in Venice sits in the fine-dining bracket. Terrazza Danieli historically ran second courses of 32 to 66 euros with a tasting from 150 euros plus a 16-euro cover, and returns to that level when the Hotel Danieli reopens as a Four Seasons in August 2026. The island Sagra occupies the same bracket, while cocktail roofs such as Skyline are priced for drinks and small plates.
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More Venice from RFK: the Venice dining guide and the best solo-dining restaurants in Venice. Compare cities in the RFK rankings index, see the best rooftop dining destinations worldwide, or read how we score in our ranking methodology.
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