Rainy-season rooftops: where the heaters actually work

Every Seattle rooftop claims to be “open year-round.” Most of them mean a couple of sad heat lamps and a plastic curtain. In November we visited every covered rooftop deck in the city with a thermometer and a notebook.

The test

A rooftop passed if we could sit for an hour, in the rain, without a coat, and our drinks stayed warmer than our hands. Four made it.

The four that passed

1. Mbar — fully covered section with real overhead heating.
2. The Nest — fire pits plus a proper enclosed lounge to retreat to.
3. Frolik — the covered half of the patio is genuinely warm.
4. Smith Tower Observatory — technically indoors-adjacent, still counts.

Full notes on each below, including which seats to ask for.

Best time to go: any time it’s raining — that’s the point.