Upperist Kitchen Opens: What Does the Transition from Rooftop Bar to Dinner Service Mean?

In Istanbul's rooftop venues, the view and cocktails have long been the main offerings. However, leaving a high-value rooftop space solely for evening drink traffic can mean giving up part of the F&B potential that hotels could utilize.

The fact that Upperist on the rooftop of The Marmara Taksim is launching its dining program in August 2026 is noteworthy in this regard.

According to Gazete Oksijen, Upperist, which previously operated primarily as a bar, now also offers food service. The new menu features Chef Mert Yalçıner’s hot and cold starters from Okra, alongside sourdough pizzas inspired by Spelta’s Neapolitan approach.

Thus, reading the change as "a few plates were added to the rooftop" is insufficient.

Upperist now offers guests not just drinks after sunset, but also a reason to complete their dinner in the same location.

How does Upperist x Spelta work?

According to industry announcements published at the beginning of August, the Upperist x Spelta dining program is served from Tuesday to Sunday between 20:00–23:00.

The first part of the menu consists of sharing-focused modern Mediterranean dishes. Items such as burrata, Caesar salad, beef carpaccio, cheese selection, crispy eggplant, and beef cheek arancini are included in this section.

The second part is pizza.

It is noted that on the Spelta side, the dough is made with organic local heirloom wheat flour and sourdough; different pizzas featuring combinations of mushrooms, seasonal fruits, local cheeses, and charcuterie are offered alongside Margherita.

This product structure makes sense for the rooftop operation.

Shared starters and pizza, compared to long tasting menus:

can keep kitchen flow more flexible,

can increase sharing at the table,

can easily pair with cocktails and wine consumption,

can be adapted to the guest's short or long visit.

However, these potential operational advantages have not been articulated as measured results by Upperist; they are business evaluations that can be inferred from the menu structure.

Transitioning from bar to restaurant is not just about opening a kitchen

Shifting a rooftop from a beverage-led model to a food-led or hybrid model significantly changes the operation.

In a bar-heavy system, the main needs are beverage stock, bartender capacity, glassware, and quick service, but when food is added to the equation:

mise en place,

cold and hot production,

food safety,

service sequencing,

plate collection,

dishes capacity,

product supply,

table turnover time

come into play.

Staff planning also changes.

A customer who stays for 60 minutes with a drink order does not have the same service model as a table consuming starters-pizza-dessert.

Therefore, the true success of the concept transformation depends not only on the menu's popularity but also on the ability of the bar and kitchen to operate without interfering with each other during peak hours.

The hotel's goal may not just be to sell more food

Upperist is not an independent street restaurant; it is part of The Marmara Taksim's F&B ecosystem.

In the hotel's current gastronomy portfolio, alongside Upperist, there are different concepts such as Okra Istanbul, Cafe Marmara, and Dubb Restaurant.

This makes the new dining program more interesting.

Because the aim seems to be to add a more compact kitchen layer that fits Upperist's existing:

view,

music,

cocktail,

nighttime socializing

identity, rather than simply replicating one of the hotel's existing restaurants on the rooftop.

The current Upperist page of The Marmara also describes the venue as a rooftop that offers cocktails, prepared small dishes, live DJ performances, and sunset experiences together.

This can be considered more of a hybrid rooftop F&B model than a classic restaurant.

The Spelta collaboration reduces concept risk

When creating a new kitchen, it is also significant for the hotel to leverage the product expertise of a known concept rather than developing a separate pizza brand from scratch.

The combination of Spelta's identity in pizza with Chef Mert Yalçıner's starters allows Upperist to create a menu without being tied to a single heavy restaurant concept.

The advantage of this is the ability to test the kitchen while maintaining the rooftop's core identity.

The disadvantage is the necessity for the three separate perceptions — Upperist, Okra, and Spelta — to be clearly distinguished in the customer's mind.

Guests need to understand which brand they made a reservation with, which menu they should expect, and whether the experience is a temporary pop-up or a permanent operation.

In publicly available current resources, it is not clearly stated whether Upperist x Spelta is permanent or seasonal. Therefore, the concept should not be assumed to be a long-term format.

Food service on the rooftop can change the revenue mix

Adding food to a bar area does not only have a commercial counterpart in food revenue.

If done correctly, food service can:

extend the guest's stay in the venue,

create traffic in the early evening hours,

increase the number of bookable tables,

boost drink orders alongside food,

keep hotel guests on-site without losing them to outside restaurants.

On the other hand, long table times may reduce seat availability for bar guests.

Therefore, an important KPI in rooftop restaurants is not just per capita spending.

RevPASH — revenue per available seat hour, table turnover, beverage attach rate, and food/beverage revenue distribution should be monitored together.

For example, if per capita checks increase while a table is blocked for three hours, overall area efficiency may not increase as expected.

Does the kitchen selection fit rooftop conditions?

Pizza is also interesting here.

In locations where there may be logistical distance between the service area like a rooftop and the main hotel kitchen, long and complex main course menus can complicate operations.

Pizza, however, has a distinct production rhythm when the right equipment and mise en place are established.

But sourdough pizza is not an "easy product" either.

If dough fermentation, temperature control, oven capacity, and production order during service peaks are not managed well, waiting times can quickly grow.

For Upperist, therefore, the main test will be throughput during the three-hour peak service window between 20:00–23:00 as much as menu design.

Lessons for hotels in Turkey

Many city hotels in Turkey use their rooftop spaces with strong views as seasonal bars, lounges, or event spaces.

Transforming these areas into restaurants is not always the right choice.

However, the following questions can be asked when making a decision:

Is the bar filling its current capacity?

Are customers going to another establishment before or after their meal?

Can the kitchen infrastructure handle the additional F&B load?

Will food service cannibalize the existing hotel restaurant?

Does the rooftop's season, dependent on weather conditions, support the return on investment?

Does the cost of new kitchen staff and equipment justify the additional revenue?

If the answers to these questions are positive, the rooftop can transform from merely a "view bar" into an independent revenue center for the hotel.

Stafflink's view

In our opinion, the noteworthy aspect of the change at Upperist is not the presence of pizza on the menu.

The main issue is that a high-value hotel space is preparing to generate revenue for more of the day.

A rooftop bar can attract customers with a strong view; however, increasing spending and length of stay without food can be limited. Adding a restaurant increases this opportunity while also bringing kitchen, staff, and service complexities.

Therefore, the indicators to be monitored for the success of Upperist x Spelta are not just the number of reservations:

average check per person, food/beverage mix, RevPASH, table usage time, and repeat visit rate.

The goal of good rooftop management is not just to add food to the view; it is to transform the view into a sustainable F&B economy.