The Best Rooftop Bars in Sofia: 7 Terraces with a View

Sofia's rooftop bars look at the gold domes of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, with Vitosha mountain rising behind the city. Most of them sit on top of hotels and business towers, and the outdoor season runs from spring to autumn. I've ranked the 7 best rooftop bars in Sofia below, with what each one looks at, what a cocktail costs and which ones stay open in winter.

Sofia's rooftop bars at a glance

The best rooftop bars in Sofia

1. Sense Rooftop Bar

Sense Rooftop Bar has the view that sells Sofia's rooftops: the gold domes of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral at eye level, with the National Assembly and the Tsar Liberator Monument in the same view. It sits on the 9th floor of the Sense Hotel on Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard, open since 2013, and retractable glass panels wrap the terrace so it can open fully in warm weather.

Cocktails cost about €10 to €14, the wine list leans on Bulgarian labels, and dinner comes from the Sense Gastro Bar next door. It is the busiest of the hotel rooftops, draws a younger crowd than The Scene and is smoke-free.

2. The Scene Rooftop Bar & Terrace

The Scene opened in 2020 on top of the Hyatt Regency on Vasil Levski Square, the first Hyatt hotel in Southeast Europe. From the 7th floor you can see the cathedral, though the view is less direct than from Sense. The Scene has a proper outdoor terrace, furnished with deep armchairs.

This is the rooftop I'd choose for the drinks. The bar makes everything from scratch with no artificial ingredients, and the menu borrows from Sofia, the rest of Europe and the Middle East, at about €10 to €14 a cocktail. The food is Mediterranean, and the crowd is older and more dressed up than at Sense. It runs from about 5 PM to 1 AM, entry is 18 and over after 10 PM, and parking is free.

3. Ozone Skybar & Lounge

Ozone is the highest bar in Bulgaria, on the 29th floor of the 30-story Grand Hotel Millennium behind the National Palace of Culture. From up here the Sofia basin opens in one sweep, with Vitosha on one side, although the landmarks sit further away than they do from the two cathedral rooftops. The room is mostly covered, with a retractable roof that opens when the weather allows, so it runs all year.

It opens daily from 6 PM to 2 AM. Cocktails cost about €12 to €16, the most on this list, and the house signature is a bitter blue drink under a white foam top. DJs play from Thursday to Saturday and turn the lounge into a party, a small cover of about €5 can apply on DJ nights after 11 PM, and a weekend brunch from Friday to Sunday puts banitsa on the menu.

4. Kitchen 59 Rooftop

Kitchen 59 sits on the 9th floor of Hotel Kitchen59, open since 2022, a building that also holds a restaurant, a culinary campus and co-working space. It is on Tsar Boris III Boulevard in a residential area away from the center, so no landmarks are in view. The open-air terrace, next to a colorful indoor lounge, faces Vitosha.

Cocktails cost about €8 to €12, and DJs play on Friday and Saturday. On other nights the music stays low enough to talk. The pool on the level above the bar opens from June to mid-September, and hotel guests get it first. The tram stops outside the building and the center is about 15 minutes away, which makes it my pick for a late afternoon of sun followed by a sunset cocktail.

5. Cabana Rooftop Beach Bar

Cabana is a summer beach bar on the 5th floor of the Walltopia building in Poligona, with a pool, loungers, bean bags and a 360-degree view over the city. It also runs a Moët & Chandon bar.

Weekdays are slow: take a lounger, order a cocktail and float. Weekend evenings turn into DJ parties that run late into the night. Cocktails cost about €10 to €14 and a front-row sunbed about €23. I'd eat before you go and come for the drinks and the pool. A taxi from the center costs about €5 to €7.

6. The Corner Piano Bar & Dinner

The Corner fills the 8th floor of a business center in Lozenets, at the corner of Nikola Vaptsarov and Cherni Vrah boulevards, and has served drinks with a view since 2011. It spreads over two levels, and the terrace looks across the city to Vitosha, Loven Park, South Park and Borisova Gradina.

Live music is the reason to pick it. Band nights bring real musicians and a piano bar for a cover of about €3, and DJs take over at the weekend. Cocktails cost about €8 to €12. It is open from lunch until the early morning, and the terrace is at its best from April to October.

7. XS Tower Sky Bar

XS Tower Sky Bar is the quiet one: an indoor lounge and an open-air terrace on the 6th floor in the Sofia Park business area. It is open to the public on weekdays and books out for private events at weekends, so the crowd is mostly after-work.

The drinks list covers cocktails, spirits, wine and beer, and cocktails cost about €8 to €10. I'd save it for a Tuesday or Wednesday, when you want a view and a seat without a DJ or a fight for a table.

What you see from Sofia's rooftops

Sense looks straight at the cathedral domes, and The Scene sees them from a little further off. Vitosha mountain rises right behind the city and fills the view from Kitchen 59, Cabana and the high windows of Ozone. The Corner, in Lozenets, looks out over the city's big parks.

For the reverse view, of the city from the mountain, several of the viewpoints around Sofia are up on Vitosha.

When to go: season, sunset and winter

The rooftop season runs from about April to October. For rooftops, the best time to visit Sofia is June to mid-September, the only stretch when both rooftop pools are open.

Sunset is the busy hour. In midsummer the sun goes down close to 9 PM, so arrive about 30 minutes before it sets for a seat by the glass. The terraces catch the wind, so carry a light layer.

What a rooftop night costs in Sofia

Rooftops are the expensive end of drinking in Sofia.

The same money goes further at street level, where the best bars in Sofia pour a half-liter of beer for about €2 to €3.50. Most rooftops take cards, and a tip of about 10% at the table is normal.

Booking and what to wear

On weekdays you can usually walk in. On Friday and Saturday, book Sense, The Scene and Ozone, and book The Corner on live music nights. In June, July and August, the sunset tables at Sense go two to three days ahead.

Dress smart casual. Clean jeans or chinos, a decent shirt and proper shoes get you into every bar on this list; flip-flops and gym shorts do not. Ozone is where people dress up most.

Kitchen 59, Cabana, The Corner and XS Tower sit outside the center, so the ride home is usually a taxi. Licensed taxis in Sofia show their tariff on a window sticker, and the TaxiMe app sends a licensed car with an estimated fare.

Which rooftop for which night

• A first evening in Sofia. Sense, for the cathedral domes at sunset.
• Cocktails as the main event. The Scene, the rooftop that holds its own against the city's cocktail bars, with drinks made from scratch.
• A party with a view. Ozone from Thursday to Saturday, or Cabana on a summer weekend.
• A swim and a sunset. Kitchen 59 or Cabana, between June and September.
• Live music. The Corner on a band night.
• A quiet weeknight. XS Tower, Monday to Friday.

For a glass of Mavrud with no view and no dress code, the wine bars in Sofia pour Bulgarian wine for about €4 to €8 a glass. Sense, the Hyatt Regency and the Grand Hotel Millennium are three of the upscale hotels in Sofia, and a room in any of them puts a rooftop one elevator ride away.