Nothing ends the day like a cocktail at one of your favorite bars—especially if it comes with a spectacular view of Charlottesville. Here’s where you can grab a drink overlooking our beautiful city.
Quirk Charlottesville
You don’t have to be a hotel guest to enjoy the rooftop at the Quirk. Nested above the four-story West Main Street boutique hotel, which opened its doors last year, the bar offers a 360-degree view of Charlottesville’s major points of interest, from UVA to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Guests can sip on a variety of signature cocktails, as well as locally sourced craft beer and wine. They also can munch on the bar’s eccentric menu, including jerk chicken thin-crust pizza, chili-shrimp tacos, veggie kabobs, and spumoni and waffle bomba. When winter comes, no need to worry about the cold—guests can cozy up in an igloo lounge, relax near a toasty fire pit, or snag a seat indoors.
Crowd-favorite cocktails: Pink Breeze (Cirrus vodka, cucumber, raspberry, lime, prosecco), Commonwealth Spritz (Aperol, sweet vermouth, prosecco, peach vinegar), Q Quencher (gin, elderflower liqueur, lemon, cucumber), and Your Crushes’ Crush (orange or grapefruit vodka, triple sec, Sprite, orange or grapefruit juice)
Passiflora
Right on the Downtown Mall, Passiflora offers a variety of tropical rum- and tequila-based cocktails, as well as wines and beers from around the world. Its Baja-Mediterranean-inspired menu features Mexican favorites like tacos and fajitas, as well as fusion dishes like grilled pineapple and jerk wings. Its rooftop lounge will open this fall.
Common House
Located steps away from the Downtown Mall on West Market Street, Common House—a contemporary member-based social club for Charlottesville’s arts and business community founded in 2017—features a 2,000- square-foot rooftop terrace, in addition to a library, tea room, bridge room, kitchen, bar, lounge, and co-working spaces. Built in 1913, the building is the former home of Mentor Lodge, an influential social club for the majority African American neighborhood of Vinegar Hill, which was razed by the city in 1964 during urban renewal. The club’s third-floor rooftop offers a bird’s-eye view of the mall’s shops and restaurants, and looks out toward the University of Virginia and Monticello. While sipping on their favorite cocktail, wine, or beer, members can enjoy contemporary American dishes, like gourmet burgers and French fries. And on hot days, they can cool off under the terrace’s pergola, topped with a solar panel powering the building. “It’s just an easygoing, comfortable, home-away-from-home vibe—a nice place to hang out,” says co-founder Derek Sieg.
Crowd-favorite cocktails: Birds of Mexico (Vida mezcal, ancho verde chili, agave nectar, lime juice) and Common Sense (Rittenhouse rye, Cappelletti Americano, Cocchi Torino, orange bitters)
Graduate Charlottesville
In August, the Graduate reopened the Trophy Room, formerly known as Camp Ten Four. Like the rest of the school-themed West Main Street hotel, the rooftop bar’s decor is rooted in nostalgia for the good old school days, featuring classic American food and traditional cocktails. Guests have an expansive view of the Corner and downtown Charlottesville, as well as the Rotunda and the Lawn at UVA.