71Above, Los Angeles, USA

Perched at the top of downtown LA’s U.S. Bank Tower, at 950 feet, 71Above has become the West Coast’s version of the famed Windows on The World, with widespread vistas from San Fernando Valley to the Hollywood Hills and Dodger Stadium.

Designed by local company Tag Front Architects, every inch of the circular room has been smartly formatted to give prominence to the views; structural wall columns clad with mirrors on each side, ensure seamless panoramas without a break in the skyline, while details such as compasses on each window table or subtle wall signage that tells you how far from Santa Barbara to Shanghai you are from your vantage point, add a sense of fun.

Light bounces off the walls of gold or silver ceramic geometric patterns, grey acoustic hexagon ceiling pods are camouflaged by bespoke 800-pound gold cast iron chandeliers and the Sky Lounge is spiked with warm tones, including leather sofas and mid-century modern elements such as wooden wall slats that hold a metal sculpture of a flight pattern.

The three-course American dinner menu is a riff on regional food by chef Vartan Abgaryan and features treats such as rich farm egg with chorizo or suckling pig three-ways that yields to the pressure of a fork. This is all served on exquisite ceramic tableware by local studio Peter Sheldon Ceramics that, in shades of beige, grey and brown, match the city’s landscape. 

Your online reservation can be booked by the view, so plump for the chevron table near the bar which faces out to the city. And if it gets too hot or bright, the windows have been specially designed to fend off any glare or heat with a fully controllable tinted system.