Rooftop bars are something of the norm in NYC. Barring Kensington Roof Gardens, I'm not sure I'd been to one previously in London but since my return to the UK I was psyched to check out Shoreditch based, Golden Bee. Whilst there isn't much of a skyline view, no Empire State staring back at us with pride, it still ticked a lot of boxes for me and struck me as a "poor-yorker's" version of the NYC rooftop.
With white lights twisting around trees and luxury outdoor furniture it had a cool, fun vibe that is synonymous with it's surroundings. The atmosphere was buzzing and rumour has it that reservations are required in order to gain entry. We had a space booked for a friend's birthday downstairs and whilst it was nice to have a base to prop our belongings, if you can get an area on the main rooftop I'd highly advise it. That's where most of our party headed and camped out for the evening. The weather was beautiful, which always helps and the entire venue, both inside and out, was packed with Friday night post-work drinkers. The view that we did have, had a lower east side ambience and with a wall of graffiti art staring back at us, we could be fooled into thinking we were hanging out near 5 Pointz, Long Island City.
Whilst Golden Bee had quite an interesting cocktail menu, for some reason nothing particularly wowed me and prices were pretty standard. I spent the evening drinking the cool cucumber martini and mimosa's.
Check it out for summer fun with a party vibe but don't expect an awe-inducing view or jaw-dropping cocktails. It claims to be the "ultimate in cool" and that's what it delivers. You're here for the ambience not the mixologists.
*Main Picture from Golden Bee Website www.goldenbee.co.uk
