Nothing beats a view of Los Angeles from above. Peer downtown and you’ll spy City Hall and the US Bank Tower. Head toward Hollywood and you’ll glimpse its rolling, mansion-dotted hills and its eponymous sign tucked between them. Keep going west and you’ll eventually spot the Pacific coastline with its jutting piers, foaming shores and jagged cliffs. And there are countless more neighborhoods between those horizons that boast their own spectacles. As for where to soak in the sights, you have a slew of options. There’s the reward of hiking to the top of a trail, but with summer at its height, L.A.’s rooftop restaurants and bars prove more tempting, offering incomparable vistas alongside sparkling pools, creative cocktails, prime people-watching and memorable meals.In Long Beach, you can peer out over the nearby harbor and glimpse the Queen Mary from the highest rooftop in the city. A celebrated global chain landed in a sprawling West Hollywood space, serving sushi, tiraditos and robata-grilled skewers alongside refreshing cocktails. Above a listening bar in Venice is a hidden rooftop speakeasy that’s quietly become a destination for female-produced regenerative spirits and wines. We get a little loose with the definition of rooftop for this guide, including a multilevel terrace and pool in Silver Lake and a farm-to-table restaurant at the start of Malibu Pier, but we promise you’ll be grateful for these liberties once you take in the panoramas. Some are perfect for a dinner date, while others are great for catching up with friends over drinks and a few are best suited for dancing after dark. Here are 49 of the best rooftop restaurants and bars, overlooking Disneyland resort, Laguna Beach, downtown L.A., Santa Monica, Culver City, Venice and beyond, ranked by height. — Danielle Dorsey
