Fort Lauderdale’s historic revolving rooftop bar just reopened. Take a look

Fort Lauderdale’s original revolving hot spot is back — with a twist. Literally.

Pier Top, the famous rotating rooftop restaurant at the newly renovated Pier Sixty-Six resort, has reopened atop the iconic tower on the 17th Street Causeway. The resort, which originally opened in 1965 but closed in 2017, reopened in January of this year after a billion dollar reconstruction.

The designated historic landmark, an icon to anyone who grew up in Fort Lauderdale in the 1960s and ’70s, ranks up there with the Mai-Kai Restaurant and Polynesian Show and The Wreck Bar with its sassy mermaids in terms of Broward County history. After riding up the elevator from the lobby of the tower, you can gaze out the windows at the 360-degree view of the ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway, the mighty workings of Port Everglades, and yachts and mansions you probably can’t afford.

“The scenery,” says general manager Justin Adams, “is unmatched.”

There’s nostalgia in the air and almost undetectable movement beneath your feet, brightly colored cocktails on your table, music and chatter surrounding you.

And before you ask, yes, it’s true: you can feel the room slowly turn, especially if you look down at the floor. But the speed is slow. It takes about 66 minutes for the lounge to make a full revolution, not enough to send your drinks or cheese plate flying. It does on occasion cause servers to spend an extra moment or two searching for their tables, which move over the course of the night.

The retro cool of the bar matches the retro cool of the building, which makes sense: Nostalgia is a primary ingredient of Pier Top’s appeal. Adams said that already he’s met hundreds of people who celebrated engagements, anniversaries or birthdays there in the past.

“One of the factors that we thought about greatly was making sure that we really paid tribute to all the people that had a history with the space,” he said. “We’re looking to really transform the space so it can be used for private events as well as a highly elevated cocktail lounge environment. People can come in after work, pre dinner, post dinner or for late night drinks. There’s a lot of opportunity for us to really capture and hone in on different age demographics as well as different types of people that are looking for different experiences.”

Open Thursday through Sunday, Pier Top draws different crowds throughout the evening. An older crowd tends to arrive in time for the sunset hour, which is really the best time to be there in terms of the view. Many of them would remember when the 17th Street Causeway had a draw bridge that tormented drivers, rising frequently for huge sailboats parading out to the Atlantic while locals were just trying to get to Publix.

The crowd becomes younger as the evening progresses. Hemlines shrink, and heels grow higher. A new DJ arrives and the beats shift, too, focusing on music more suited to Fort Lauderdale’s younger generation, the 20-and 30-somethings filling the new developments downtown.

Everyone, and we mean everyone, poses for photos.

Pier Top is more lounge than full-service restaurant, though the small bites menu is impressive, offering shareable plates including oysters and tuna tartar, whimsical caviar cones and some of the best bacon-wrapped dates this side of the Miami-Dade County line.

The lounge also boasts an impressive spirits menu, with classic and signature craft cocktails, including the Smoke & Mirrors, with mezcal, tequila, tomato shrub, olive brine and a watermelon ice cube that melts into the drink, sweetening its bite as you sip. Another standout is She’s a Wild One, slightly spicy with jalapeño tequila, blueberry-infused Luxardo del Santo, lime and pineapple.

The view and the cocktails make Pier Top an ideal stop for diners heading to or from a full-service restaurant on the property. The resort also boasts the new fine-dining restaurant Calusso, which serves cuisine inspired by the French and Italian Rivieras with a Florida touch, and Sotogrande, which highlights food from southern Spain and the eastern Mediterranean.

There are more restaurants on the horizon as well, including the comeback of boaters’ paradise Pelican Landing, which will be accessible by boat and is scheduled to open later this year. (Expect conch fritters and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer).

Led by Chef Jonathan Kaiser, Calusso is the property’s “Michelin star aspiration,” according to Brett Boreing, executive director for sales and marketing at Pier Sixty-Six. Now that the international dining guide has announced it will be including Fort Lauderdale restaurants in its listings, this isn’t such a far-fetched dream.

“Chef Kaiser comes from Joël Robuchon, which was the three-star Michelin restaurant in Vegas, and he has mentored under other Michelin chefs as well,” Boreing said. “So we have a food and beverage outlet for just about every type of level of culinary and beverage excellence that you can imagine.“

As for Pier Top, Adams thinks it’s a special draw for the resort, locals and tourists alike.

“From a creative aspect, the space is great in the sense that when you walk in there, you are just going to be dumbfounded by the views and the energy,” he said. “And then what do we add to that? What we add is the best service that you can provide in Fort Lauderdale. That’s what we’re aiming for — to knock it out of the park.”

Pier Top at Pier Sixty-Six

Where: Pier 66, 2301 SE 17th St., Fort Lauderdale

Hours: 5 p.m.-midnight Thursday; 6 p.m.-2 a.m. Friday-Saturday; 3-10 p.m. Sunday

Reservations and more information: www.piertoplounge.com

This story was originally published April 1, 2025 at 4:30 AM.