The Rooftop — Restaurant in Los Angeles

11/25 We decided to celebrate my birthday with a night out drinking and dancing with friends. Living in the South bay there is almost no night clubs in the area, so I started looking around to find something close to us so driving wouldn’t be an issue. After some research and reading of a lot of reviews I decided to contact The Rooftop at the Standard. The price of the rooms were so good and the rooftop club looked like exactly what we were looking for. I contacted Nina at the rooftop via email, she claims to be the manager at The rooftop bar. Here’s where things get tricky The Rooftop after 9pm is no longer affiliated with the hotel it is a private club. So when I reached out to Nina she gave me the costs to reserve and guarantee a table ($700) OR and here’s where we got screwed, “If you choose not to make a reservation and it is a ticketed event, tickets can be purchased online via our Facebook page or at the door .” So since my bday was on the holiday weekend and they had no event booked, which also meant no cover charge, we decided to give the rooftop a try. We had multiple people book rooms and plan to make a weekend of it. I double checked with Nina about getting in without a rsvp and or the $700 min to which she replied “Tables fill up quickly on weekends regardless of time of year so we cannot move other guests off a table without a guarantee. It is certainly not impossible for your group to be seated without a minimum. Seating will be first come first serve.” So at this point we are under the impression that there is no event, no cover charge, seating is first come serve, and if a event pops up we can get our tickets at the door. The last email I received from Nina also stated if we were at the rooftop before 9pm we would also be able to stay “Our doors open at 9pm for the late night party and if the day party is mellow I don't foresee an issue (we do not clear the roof of guests who are already there from earlier in evening.)” So when we got to The Standard and checked in everything was great the hotel staff were super friendly even upgraded our room for us. As we’re checking in I ask the gentleman about The Rooftop, he basically tells me the exact same thing as Nina. If we’re up there before nine we won’t get kicked out or we can get our wristbands at the door after 9. Night of we meet at our room and try to head up around 8:50 hoping to just take advantage of being up there at 9 already and not having to get in line. We get stopped and told we have to wait in line, ok no problem. We get in line we’re one of the first few when the EXTREMELY RUDE door people ask if we are on the guest list. I told them no we were told there was no guest list and some of us are hotel guests. She says 2 guests per room are allowed in the rest aren’t. There’s no cover charge but we have to have rsvp’d (which is adding your email address to they’re online list). So a few of us go to talk to hotel management and some waited in line. While we were waiting they let in a party of 6 (same amount as us, not staying at the hotel) no guest list walk right in no problem. Now my whole group is pissed and at this point the only way we are getting in is buying a table which at first they tell us at the door is $450 upon speaking to some manager they “helped” by letting us buy a table for $700. We never insisted on a table either we only wanted to get in. The only way they would even allow us in to the club was to buy the $700 table. I get table service (I don’t agree, but I get it) that was not what we wanted we would have gladly sat and stood at the bar or any other open seats. But we were denied entrance without buying a table (guarantee of spending $700) The DJ was THE WORSE DJ I’ve ever heard in my life. I’m super easy with music, there’s not much I don’t like. This guy played obscure 70’s disco with generic house that never changed. Seriously the entire night the beat never changed it stayed the same. No highs, no lows. No change, absolutely impossible to dance to. Drinks are expensive and it is a weird mix of hipsters...

I had the worst experience at the standard rooftop bar. Don't waste your time. I met my friend at the roof bar after work. We were both tired after a long day. We sat for 15 minutes, waiting for someone to bring us a menu for the tasty looking pitchers. We eventually were greeted with the waitress telling us that the seats were reserved and we had to leave because we didn't order a pitcher. I told her we were waiting for a long time for a menu, and she seemed surprised. Look, my friend is Hispanic and was really hurt by how they treated us. So, we left. I went to use the bathroom on the way out and it only got worse.

The bathroom sinks weren't working for some reason, but the kind gentleman standing there didn't tell me until AFTER my hands were drenched in soap. I asked for him to direct me to another sink, and he told me to go back upstairs to the bar and ask the bartender for a towel. Can you believe that? I got a bit upset with the guy, and he told me I could use a bathroom on the same floor by the hotel gym. When I went to that area, I found a partition with a security guard telling me to go ask the bartender for a rag. I told him that it was ridiculous and that he should let me use the sink. To which he responded, "there is no bathroom over here." I got more heated because I could tell the guy was lying to me. So I told him that the other guy in the bar bathroom told me to use this. The guy walked over and was like, "just let him use it." I was pissed.

Just don't...

Rooftop is one of downtown LA's premier nightlife stops. The rooftop bar includes a biergarden with selection of German bar food, cocktail bar/ lounge area, and pool area. The major draw for this venue is the views. You are surrounded by downtown's gorgeous skyline and truly feel like you are living large on top of it all. Its the perfect place to enjoy a weekend evening and mingle with the social crowd, while taking in the atmosphere that is sure to make your night a special one. The drawbacks are that the staff and management know that it is the popular spot and treat you as such. Bartenders were only okay and the drinks were just average for the price you are paying. For the prices you could get a truly amazing craft cocktail at a good speakeasy type establishment. The bouncer and security can be plain rude at times and the crowd can swing to the creepy side on occasion. I was with two female friends and they were awkwardly hit on several times in not so classy ways. Cover is comparable to a Vegas nightclub, but with an arguably better environment. Bottom line, Rooftop is a place to try once in awhile on a weekend or go during the week when you can have the place...