Social Drink & Food
New York City
New York City is surely home to some impressive outdoor-dining spaces, from tucked-away neighborhood gems frequented by in-the-know hipsters to rooftop patios on soaring skyscrapers favored by the city’s well-heeled movers and shakers.
Social Drink & Food represents the latest entrant into this legacy, a spot that blends resort-style flair with the sights and sounds of urban living.
Launched last May, the rooftop space at Social Drink & Food, explains owner Gil Rubenstein, was designed by Kimberly Hall Creative and envisioned to transport guests to a more laid-back place, something akin to a beach in California or a secluded island bar in the Caribbean. Admittedly, that can be tough to find in Midtown Manhattan, where velvet ropes and $20 cocktails are the norm and the pace of life rarely slows.
In fact, Rubenstein says, “If it weren’t for the views of the entire Midtown skyline, guests would forget that they were in the center of New York City.”
At 7,000 square feet, Social Drink & Food boasts New York’s largest open hotel rooftop space. With a project of this size sure to capture attention, Rubenstein knew he needed to construct a distinctive rooftop terrace capable of standing out in the ultra-competitive Manhattan marketplace. The vast rooftop patio accomplishes that with a creative, though calculated, mix of beach chairs and beer pong, film screenings and globally inspired street fare.
“We wanted a place where someone coming from a long day at the office could feel equally at home as a hotel guest,” Rubenstein says, calling Social Drink & Food “a different kind of urban experience.”