Upperist Starts Food Service: A New F&B Layer for the Rooftop Model

Located on the rooftop of The Marmara Taksim in Istanbul Taksim, Upperist has added food service to its bar and event-focused operations. The new menu combines hot and cold appetizers prepared by Okra’s chef Mert Yalçıner with Napoli-style pizzas from Spelta.

This change is noteworthy not as a new restaurant opening, but as an expansion of the usage area of an existing rooftop operation. Until now, Upperist has been positioned around views, cocktails, and nighttime events, and the introduction of food service creates a new F&B layer that could increase the time guests spend in the venue and their per capita spending.

Upperist, Part of The Marmara Taksim’s Gastronomy Portfolio

Upperist is located on the rooftop of The Marmara Taksim. The venue’s official page describes Upperist as a viewing terrace that allows for a 360-degree view of Istanbul. The Marmara also includes Upperist among the gastronomic options at the Taksim facility, alongside Cafe Marmara and Okra Istanbul.

Therefore, the new food service can be interpreted as a model where the existing F&B areas within the hotel support each other rather than an independent restaurant investment.

According to information shared by Memet Özer in Gazete Oksijen, the appetizer section of the menu features hot and cold options prepared by Okra’s chef Mert Yalçıner. On the pizza side, Spelta comes into play. The pizzas are prepared using sourdough and long-rested dough according to the Napoli method and are baked in high-temperature ovens.

Why is Food Important on the Rooftop?

While the view is a strong customer attraction factor in rooftop businesses, it is not always sufficient from a revenue model perspective. Especially in bars and event venues operating in the evening, guests consuming only drinks can limit the total spending potential.

The addition of food service could change this equation. Guests may arrive at the venue earlier, stay longer from sunset to the nighttime program, and spend on different product groups alongside drinks.

Upperist’s current event program demonstrates this multifunctional structure. For example, an international DJ performance is scheduled for August 20, 2026, from 18:00 to 01:00 at the venue. Thus, the same physical space can bring together food, drinks, views, and nighttime entertainment at different times.

A Short and Specialized Menu

Another notable point in the new menu is the utilization of two existing culinary specializations instead of creating a very broad restaurant menu.

Associating appetizers with Okra cuisine and pizzas with the specialized Spelta can be operationally meaningful in a venue like a rooftop, which does not primarily identify as a classic restaurant.

This approach theoretically allows for more controlled management of purchasing items, mise en place, equipment needs, and kitchen workload. However, since there is no publicly available data on Upperist’s actual operational costs and kitchen organization, it is not possible to say that these benefits are realized at the venue.

On the other hand, pizza is a product category that can provide service flexibility for rooftop operations. Its shareability, adaptability to different consumption styles in table service, and ability to be served alongside the drink operation make it functional in bar-restaurant hybrids.

Rooftop Areas are Becoming Separate Revenue Centers for Hotels

The example of Upperist has a broader implication for HORECA, seen in how hotels generate revenue from out-of-room areas.

The Marmara Taksim uses different F&B identities within the same facility. While Cafe Marmara offers a more accessible hotel dining area, Okra focuses on the restaurant experience, and Upperist concentrates on rooftop and nightlife. The official page of The Marmara positions all three venues as parts of the facility's gastronomy portfolio.

The addition of food to Upperist does not mean that these boundaries are completely eliminated. On the contrary, a more flexible structure emerges where different concepts' kitchen and product specializations can be transferred to each other.

This approach is particularly worth observing in large city hotels regarding the evaluation of areas that are underutilized or only generate revenue during certain hours of the day.

Stafflink’s View

The significant aspect of the change at Upperist is not just the addition of a few new dishes to the menu, but the expansion of a rooftop’s revenue model.

Bar, restaurant, and entertainment operations traditionally have different staff, service rhythms, and revenue dynamics. Combining these in the same space can increase per capita spending and usage hours; however, it also complicates operations from the kitchen to the bar, from reservations to table turnover speed.

In our view, one of the critical performance indicators here will not only be food sales. More meaningful indicators may include whether guests are arriving earlier at the venue, average length of stay, distribution of food and beverage spending, and the extent to which kitchen and bar operations support each other on event days.

The lesson for hotel operators here is that it may not always be necessary to establish a restaurant from scratch to evaluate a space with a strong position with a new concept. Properly combining existing culinary expertise and the other brands of the operation can also create a new revenue model.