from “le détroit” · the strait
The Roxbury Group's new rooftop bar on the AC Hotel Detroit at the Bonstelle brings a Mediterranean and California coastal menu to the top of the Woodward corridor in Brush Park.
Topa, a rooftop bar on the AC Hotel Detroit at the Bonstelle in Brush Park, has opened for the season. The venue sits on the roof of the hotel at 14 Eliot St., just off Woodward Avenue, and serves a Mediterranean and California coastal menu of small plates and cocktails.
The bar takes its name from a Basque word for "to toast," a reference the venue describes as clinking glasses in celebration. On its own site, Topa calls itself a rooftop escape inspired by European seasides and the California coast, and frames the cocktail program as spirit-forward. Reservations are handled through OpenTable.
Topa is a project of the Roxbury Group, the Detroit developer behind the AC Hotel Detroit at the Bonstelle, and is operated by Azul Hospitality. The Roxbury Group's roughly $50 million development paired a 153-room AC Hotel with the restoration of the historic Bonstelle Playhouse next door, a 1903 building designed by Albert Kahn with a 1922 interior by C. Howard Crane.
Executive chef Jorge Morales runs the kitchen. The menu leans on shareable Mediterranean small plates, including seared halloumi and bacalao croquettes, alongside larger plates such as a barramundi skewer, lamb, and grilled chicken skewers. The cocktail list includes the Topa Carajillo and the Mykonos Ruby.
James Van Dyke, president of the Roxbury Group, described the bar as the next chapter for the hotel. "Our vision was to create a space that feels transportive, a place where guests can slow down, connect and enjoy an atmosphere inspired by the California coast while still being surrounded by the energy of Detroit," Van Dyke said in a release announcing the opening.
The opening lands at the start of Detroit's outdoor bar season and puts a rooftop option at the top of the Woodward corridor in Brush Park, a district that has seen steady residential, hotel, and dining development over the past decade. Topa is on Instagram at @topadetroit, and hours and reservations are posted at topadetroit.com.
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