January 20, 2018

Roof-tapa Style Party

Ambiance is key for a dinner party, and during our late 20’s we lived in a great place to create it. We lived in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle in an apartment that had a rooftop with a breathtaking view of Elliott Bay, and on a clear day you could see mountains with a colorful sky. Here’s a snippet of that ambiance:

rooftop view of summer in Seattle, an image with no editing needed.

Some of our best memories in Seattle were on this rooftop, so here are just a couple more pictures of that ambiance before I get into the food.

Now onto the food and hosting fun! For an area with a view like this, I think the food is always going to take the back seat. People like to walk around and explore the scenery so I typically made small bites that allowed people to eat, walk and talk. A couple of spreads I made for different parties are below:

A casual BBQ is petite burgers, pasta salad, and caprese salad
A ladies brunch where we enjoyed egg cups (wrapped in prosciutto or kale) , ribboned rainbow carrots, fruit + cheese, grilled grapefruit and prossecco.

petite burgers, pasta salad + caprese salad

egg cups (wrapped in prosciutto or kale), fruit and cheese, grilled grapefruit + prosecco

I liked to keep it simple on the rooftop with small bites. When guests come to a beautiful rooftop, let them spend their time taking in the view. Pictured below is probably the largest rooftop gathering we hosted for my family visiting from India, Canada, and across the U.S. (~30 people). The largest and most fun event for sure!

Another party my family hosted on the rooftop was for my sister’s bridal shower. We had a lot of fun with a “Pacific Northwest” themed brunch where the bride and groom met.

Consistent with the other parties on the rooftop, we made small bites so people could socialize and enjoy the view. We had a lot of fun leaning into the Pacific Northwest menu and special local dishes.