Step inside the seasonal transformation at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge, where Midtown’s largest rooftop becomes a warm, alpine-inspired escape for winter.
High above the streets of Midtown, where taxis blur into ribbons of light, a new winter fantasy has arrived. It settles into the city with a quieter kind of magic. This season, Magic Hour at Moxy Times Square has transformed its west terrace into a fully realized, Aspen-inspired alpine retreat. An immersive rooftop escape that trades skyline grit for chalet warmth, soft snowfall illusions, and the gentle allure of après-ski culture.
Launching December 1 and running through March 2026, Magic Hour Mountain Lodge reimagines New York City’s largest indoor-outdoor rooftop bar. The result is a high-altitude hideaway perched above the grid. Designed in collaboration with Geo Events and operating under the creative direction of Tao Group Hospitality, the seasonal installation arrives just as winter deepens. And as the world turns its attention toward the upcoming Winter Olympics.
From the moment you step inside, Midtown fades into the background. What replaces it feels transported. Part ski-town lodge, part cinematic winter set. It becomes a social heartbeat for the season ahead.
Inside the Winter Lodge at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge
The transformation begins at the threshold, where a snow-dusted façade immediately shifts the atmosphere, making it less a New York bar and more a mountainside refuge. The enclosed terrace allows the illusion to hold whether the weather outside brings cold rain, snowfall, or clear winter skies.
Inside, Magic Hour’s signature carousel is seen through a frosted lens. Cascading icicles hang overhead. White sculpted branches catch the light like frozen pine limbs. Pinecones, textured snow, and warm wood details anchor the space in a palette that feels quietly indulgent rather than loud. The mood leans toward cinematic winter rather than novelty décor.
Leather lounge chairs are layered with faux-sheep hide throws. They offer comfort that goes beyond a quick perch—the central bar shifts into an après-ski refuge, rustic but polished, theatrical without veering into costume. Every surface has been tuned for tactility. Cold meets warm, smooth meets rough, matte white against rich walnut tones.
One of the most striking elements is the immersive photo installation: a rustic wooden doorway opening onto a sculpted backdrop of snow-covered mountaintops. Textured snow drifts into the frame, offering a visual moment that feels more like a portal than a backdrop. It is the kind of detail that quietly acknowledges the modern reality of experience-driven dining without allowing the installation to feel engineered for social media alone.
Winter, Served Tableside
If the design sets the tone, the menu carries the season forward with intention. Executive Chef Ben-Galy Cisse and Senior Director of Beverage Nikki McCutcheon have shaped a winter-forward selection that leans into comfort, detail, and layered flavor without losing Magic Hour’s signature sense of play. The seasonal menu at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge reflects the venue’s commitment to immersive, winter-forward experiences.
Dessert becomes the emotional center of the menu, a deliberate choice for a winter installation rooted in indulgence and warmth.
The Powder Snow Cider Donuts arrive warm and fragrant, paired with a salted caramel sauce poured tableside. The pour matters; it turns dessert into a moment rather than a plate. The heat of the sauce against the cool air of the terrace creates a brief sensory contrast that feels almost theatrical.
The Chocolate Log Cake plays with illusion and texture. Chocolate biscuit, vanilla cream cheese, and a marshmallow mushroom arranged into a miniature winter forest. It is detailed without being precious, whimsical without tipping into novelty.
Then there is the Frosty Acorn, oversized, sculptural, and quietly dramatic. Crack into the shell, and you uncover dark chocolate mousse layered with hazelnut praline and dacquoise. It is the kind of dessert that invites pause before the first bite, a small ceremony at the table.
Cocktails Built for Cold Nights and Long Conversations
The beverage program mirrors the same seasonal philosophy: spirit-forward, warming, and tactile.
The Sweet Treat, Magic Hour’s frozen espresso martini reworked for winter, brings vodka, salted caramel espresso liqueur, and hazelnut cold foam together in a way that feels more dessert-adjacent than cocktail-adjacent. It is available as a full pour or served via shotski for groups, a nod to ski culture without irony.
The Kemo Sabe Highball introduces High West Bourbon from Park City, layered with blood orange and club soda. It is crisp, structured, and built for slow sipping rather than quick consumption.
The most theatrical offering is the Après Ski, a vodka-infused white hot chocolate topped with marshmallows toasted tableside. The act of toasting becomes part of the experience: flame, melt, aroma, and warmth all unfolding in real time.
Rounding out the menu is the Winter White Spritz, balancing peach, orange blossom vodka with white cranberry and prosecco. Lighter in tone, but still rooted firmly in winter.
Beyond the seasonal beverages, Magic Hour continues to offer its expanded bar bites menu across both terraces, anchoring the installation within the venue’s broader year-round experience rather than isolating it as a standalone pop-up.
Brunch, Happy Hour, and the Rhythm of the Season
Magic Hour Mountain Lodge carries its charm into daylight. Weekend brunch is offered Saturday and Sunday from 11:30 AM to 3:30 PM, letting the installation open up in natural light and softened winter views. The atmosphere changes, less nocturnal, more alpine daylight refuge.
Winter happy hour opens each weekday, Monday through Friday, from 5 PM to 6:30 PM, offering a rare moment of accessibility in a neighborhood often defined by premium pricing. Specials include $6 Estrella beer, $8 house wine, and $10 seasonal spritzes such as the Winter White Spritz and the Cuffing Season Spritz. It creates a brief early-evening window where the installation becomes part of the neighborhood’s day-to-day experience rather than a destination-only stop.
Olympic Season, Elevated
One of the quieter through-lines of Magic Hour Mountain Lodge is its connection to the upcoming Winter Olympics. Instead of treating global sport as background noise, the space becomes an intentional viewing destination, layering alpine aesthetic with real-time competition.
Throughout the winter, the rooftop will host Olympic watch parties, DJ sets, brand collaborations, and alpine-themed activations. These experiences will evolve as the season unfolds. A program designed to be fluid rather than fixed. Allowing the lodge identity to shape-shift across holidays, long weekends, and late-winter slowdowns.
The venue is also available for private events and full buyouts, offering a rare combination in Midtown. It’s a rooftop space that feels intimate without being small. The design remains immersive without feeling enclosed. Holiday celebrations, corporate gatherings, birthdays, and content shoots all gain an unmistakably seasonal backdrop that doesn’t rely on temporary décor.
A Midtown Escape That Feels Intentional
What makes Magic Hour Mountain Lodge resonate is not simply the scale of the transformation but its discipline. The design does not overreach. The menu does not compete with the visuals. The programming does not overwhelm the atmosphere. Each layer complements rather than crowds the others.
In a city where seasonal installations appear and vanish at a relentless pace, this one feels thoughtfully paced for a long winter. It invites repeat visits rather than a single novelty-driven stop. It allows winter to feel social rather than isolating, warm rather than endured.
For locals, the experience offers a way to re-enter winter with curiosity rather than resignation. For visitors, it provides a distinctly New York interpretation of ski-town culture. Elevated, vertical, and framed by skyline rather than mountain range.
There is also something quietly meaningful about placing an Aspen-inspired lodge in the heart of Times Square. The contrast is not incidental; it is the point. Snow-covered peaks imagined against one of the densest urban environments in the world create tension, not irony. The city remains present, but so does the fantasy of leaving it, even for a drink.
Where the Lodge Meets the City
Magic Hour Mountain Lodge represents something larger than a winter rooftop activation. It reflects how hospitality in New York is shifting toward deeper experiential layering. Here, design, menu, programming, and emotional memory meet intentionally to create something more than a themed installation. It’s a reminder of how spaces like Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge reinterpret the season through atmosphere, design, and mood.
These are the spaces that shape how seasons are remembered in the city. Not just where you went, but how it felt to be there while the city was changing around you.
This winter, high above Midtown, that change shows up in warm wood against cold air. Toasted marshmallows melt above white hot chocolate, Olympic moments unfold beneath artificial snow, and a lodge rises without ever leaving Manhattan.
If you’re curating more winter moments around the city, explore our guide to the best things to do in NYC in December for additional seasonal experiences and thoughtful recommendations.
Planning Your Visit to Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge
Reservations [via OpenTable recommended] and select West Terrace to access the Magic Hour Mountain Lodge installation, though walk-ins are welcome for bar service.”
Magic Hour Mountain Lodge is located within Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge at Moxy Times Square. Reservations, winter programming, and event details are available through the Moxy Times Square website. The installation remains open through March 2026, with seasonal cocktails, desserts, and Olympic-themed moments unfolding throughout the winter.
Where to Find Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge
📍 Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge
485 7th Avenue, 18th Floor — Midtown West, Manhattan
🌐 moxytimessquare.com/dining/magic-hour-rooftop-bar-lounge
📸 Instagram: @MagicHourNY
