The Flat Iron Rooftop

Update:

After being reached out to by the Flat Iron team, we had a redo experience that was vastly improved. It’s clear the team wants to provide top tier customer service and I’ve added two stars to this review to reflect the effort the team put in to provide a great night out for my girlfriend and I! Shoutout to Sarah and the rest of the team for making this happen.

Initial Review:

My girlfriend and I were looking for a rooftop bar to kick off the evening with some espresso martinis, and found the Flat Iron Rooftop after doing some searching. While the views were great, we had issues with both the drinks and service.

The espresso martinis were completely batched with every ingredient pre-mixed; on its own not a problem, but they had such a strong licorice taste (similar to Amaretto). After trying to get through them for 10 minutes, we gave up and I brought them back more than half full to the female bartender working there around 5:30pm last night. Customer service was lacking, with no acknowledgement or offer to make things right. While that in its own would not usually make me write a review, as we walked away and were waiting for the elevator the server made a derogatory remark to (who I assume was) the other bartender, implying that my girlfriend was underage and we had no idea what we were talking about.

Really wanted to like the place, but expected better from a rooftop lounge at a 4 star hotel.

Great drinks with a wonderful view of Asheville and the blue ridge mtns

Amazing place hotel and rooftop bar ate amazing. Staff was awesome drinks amazing.. Views are to die for.

Atmosphere: 5

Service: 5

Stunning views with amazing service. 3 patios so lots of seating

Atmosphere: 5

Service: 5

The pizza was great, but the service was absolutely unacceptable. Our server spilled a full glass of wine on me and did nothing to make it right — no apology beyond the bare minimum, no offer to comp anything, nothing. Accidents happen, but how a restaurant responds is what matters. At Luminosa, they simply didn’t care. For a place with such good food, the lack of professionalism and hospitality ruined the entire experience. I left soaked, uncomfortable, and extremely disappointed. Definitely cannot recommend.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 1

Meh. Of course the view are spectacular, but the cocktails were underwhelming.
My husband ordered the sirens sunset, which promised strawberries and bourbon and saffron and Rosso aperitif. He asked if it was too strawberry forward, and they said it was actually fairly bourbon forward. But it wasn’t really. It was just sort of… bland. We both tried it. It was one of those drinks that sounds delicious but was was instead sort of bland. The saffron was totally absent, it basically tasted like bourbon and some sort of strawberry mix. It also had a great deal of ice.

I had the tequila gimlet, and the best thing about it was a huge cucumber garnish. I asked them if they could do mezcal instead, and they did, but they charged an extra five dollars. I’ve never understood this, because Vida Mezcal and some of the other mezcals are actually cheaper than many tequilas. The result was a $19 drink. It was supposed to have lime and cucumber and salt and centrebe. And I would’ve happily paid $19 if it was spectacular, but mostly it just tasted like an upscale margarita. The normal smokiness of the Mezcal seemed to disappear but it was refreshing. I will give it that.

The bartenders were great. We talked to one of them on the way up in the elevator. Nothing wrong with the service whatsoever. And of course, the atmosphere is gorgeous. It’s just the drinks seemed somehow uninspired. Maybe this was their take on refreshing summer cocktails? And of course, we know that we’re paying a premium because of the view.
This location was once the “sky bar” and a lot of locals came here, and I did not expect to have the same experience, of course, and the new owners have done a good job of making it upscale, but in some ways, it also felt a bit sterile.
We will try again in the winter and see if they’ve changed their menu a bit and maybe try some classic Manhattans and old fashions and see how they interpret those. For now, I’m leaving the three stars until we have another visit.

Oh, somewhat related, when I walked in the day before to try out the bar with a girlfriend, it was closed for a private party, but the website didn’t say so. And she had just gotten off work and we only had an hour, so we had to go somewhere else. Also I was greeted by a server at the door who said “oh my god, it’s a human, I didn’t expect a person to be standing there.” But they were at the host stand, so that was a little confusing. Don’t people normally walk through the door and come to the host stand? It made me giggle a bit.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

This is an absolutely beautiful rooftop bar experience. The staff are unbelievably pleasant. I felt so welcomed and was able to enjoy the views as a solo traveler. The atmosphere was congenial, and for us introverts, it wasn't pushy or taxing. The bar affords stunning views and a great bar selection with food options. Try this out. It's a must visit!

Atmosphere: 5

Service: 5

The quiche was soooo good.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great atmosphere, beautiful view.
Excellent cocktails and friendly service.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Beautiful date night spot!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great view, wonderful cocktails before dinner!

Atmosphere: 5

Service: 5

Lovely place. Lemon pizza was amazing.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Just stayed for a few drinks was a quiet balcony with great views of the mountains. Drinks were good

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 4

Service was friendly and bar has the best rooftop views we found in Asheville. There are 3 outdoor areas. Only one has shade in the afternoon. The tables are packed pretty close so you have to put up with hearing a lot of conversations that we found very annoying so we didn’t spend very long here. If you aren’t old and grumpy like I am you’ll enjoy it 😁

Atmosphere: 4

Service: 5

We came to the 4th of July views but were pleasantly surprised by the food. We started off with appetizers and would highly recommend the duck bao buns, pork potstickers, and even the edamame, which had a nice seasoning sprinkled on them. They had a great cocktail program and obviously great for whiskey lovers but we’re happy with their wine and non-whiskey beverages as well. We were there long enough. We decided to get the steak for a late dinner and oh my goodness it was to die for I would drive from Atlanta to have dinner here just because it was so good. Perfectly cooked, with a crust and the additional flavor of the garlic, espresso butter took it over the top. Even the potatoes and Napa cabbage on the plate were very well done and complimented the steak. It was pricey but worth every penny and we aren’t big red meat people so that says a lot!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5