Rotterdam might be low-lying but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy drinks from great heights in this city of skyscrapers. Let’s go explore!
By Ellen Scholtens
The Suicide Club
As you exit the Central Station you’re smack-bang in front of one of the city’s coolest addresses, The Suicide Club, located on the rooftop of the Groothandels Gebouw. A service lift to the left of the entrance foyer takes you up to the kitchen on the eighth floor. From there you walk through to a cosmopolitan restaurant, bar and club — a great venue for your more stylish rooftop party. There’s a champagne and cocktail bar and culinary delights to be savoured from the kitchen, including Beef in Beijing, Sticky Shrimp Tempura and a range of other Asian-style dishes.
Stationsplein 45
Op Het Dak
Hang a left at the Central Station and walk across De Luchtsingel, a wooden footbridge, to the Schieblock, where up on the seventh floor fruit, vegetables and herbs are grown on Rotterdam’s first harvestable rooftop. There’s an organic restaurant and sun-soaked terrace up there as well. This place is simply called Op Het Dak (On the Rooftop). It’s the best place out to order a hearty salad and a glass of unfiltered wine while looking out over the city. The ‘season salad bowl fully loaded’ is a standard item on the menu.
Schiekade 189
DãK
Why bother with lofty mountain views when you can scale great heights right here and take in Rotterdam’s beautiful skyline? Dãk is the place to go for frozen Margaritas and exotic live music, no long-haul flights involved. From 20 July to 12 August, Westblaak Parking is transformed into a pop-up park where (from Wednesday to Sunday) you can play ping-pong, listen to live music and local DJs and join in on a Social BBQ. See Facebook for more information and the house rules.
Parking Westblaak, Kromme Elleboog
Nhow
There’s a wonderful rooftop terrace on the seventh floor of Hotel Nhow, the tour-de-force of world-famous architect Rem Koolhaas. Take the lift for an amazing view of the Erasmus Bridge and, further off to the left, Rotterdam’s busy harbour in the distance. This is a cool place to watch water taxis zipping past and cruise ships mooring while sipping on your Dutch Blossom or some other exciting cocktail.
Wilhelminakade 137
Stroom
Stroom is located in an old electricity building on the Lloydpier, a creative waterside district that lies on the Maas opposite the Euromast. There’s heaps happening here; accommodation, food, coffee, free internet, fresh artisan bread from Stroom’s own bakery, high tea, high wine and so much more. There’s also a wonderful lounge terrace up on the roof. A lovely place to kick back and enjoy ‘Moonlight’ snacks such as croquetas de bacalao.
Lloydstraat 1
Wings
Everywhere you look from Worldhotel Wings the view is of wings and aeroplanes. That’s because the hotel is right next to Rotterdam-The Hague Airport. Take in the surroundings from its rooftop winebar and heated terrace, where the menu includes delicious summer dishes such as bouillabaisse, salad with burrata, tomato and rocket, veal shanks with herb risotto, and grilled tuna steak. If you’ve had enough of the view upstairs, head downstairs to sportsbar, where 18 TV screens are waiting for you.
Rotterdam Airportplein 55
