Updated November 2026 Sky Lounge is still trading on the top of the Espinas Palace Hotel; we have refreshed the menu notes, booking advice and payment tips.
Sky Lounge at Espinas Palace Hotel is the rooftop restaurant and café crowning one of north Tehran’s grandest hotels, and it remains one of the city’s go-to addresses for a special-occasion dinner with a view. From the 21st floor in Saadat Abad you look out across the whole sprawl of the capital, with the Alborz mountains on one side and the city lights on the other once the sun goes down.
The hotel itself sets the tone before you even reach the lift. Espinas Palace is the larger and newer of the Espinas Group’s two Tehran properties, and its marble lobby is built to impress the visiting delegations and business travellers who make up much of its clientele. Upstairs, the dining room blends classical touches with a clean, contemporary fit-out, and the staff are polished and attentive by Tehran standards.
The menu is broad rather than focused. You will find Persian classics given a modern presentation alongside starters, salads, sushi, seafood, Italian and Chinese-style plates, and a steak section that leans on the best cuts the hotel can source. Diners regularly single out the mezze-style Persian starters, such as mirza ghasemi and dips, and the steaks; reports on some of the more ambitious international dishes are more mixed, so it pays to stick to what the kitchen does best. As everywhere in Iran, there is no alcohol, but there is a long list of mocktails, juices and coffee.
If a full dinner feels like too much, the café side of Sky Lounge serves hot drinks, light bites and cakes and desserts made in-house, which makes it a good choice for an afternoon coffee with a view. The balcony is the best seat in the house around sunset. Out there the offer is limited to drinks, desserts and qalyan (the water pipe Iranians call ghelyoon), rather than main courses, so plan to eat inside and move out afterwards.
Expect five-star hotel prices: this is one of the more expensive meals in the city, though still modest by international standards. Book ahead, especially for Thursday and Friday evenings and for a balcony table, either through the hotel or via the restaurant’s Instagram page, which is also the easiest place to check current opening times and any set menus. Dress is smart casual. Foreign bank cards do not work in Iran, so bring enough cash or an Iranian tourist card if you do not have a local account; our Iran price trackers will help you judge how much to carry. Some evenings feature live or loud background music, so ask for a quieter corner if you want to talk.
Sky Lounge is at Espinas Palace Hotel, Behroud Square, Saadat Abad, Tehran; the hotel switchboard is +98 21 7567 5000. Snapp or a taxi is the simplest way to get there, as the nearest metro stations are a long way off. If you are deciding where to stay as well as where to eat, see our guide to the top hotels in Tehran.
