Lounge & Bar 20up

Go for the view.  Leave because everyone else in Hamburg had the same idea.  There always seems to be about 20% more people in the bar than tables and seats available, and there are already a lot of tables, which leads to a very cramped feeling.  Service is VERY slow as a result, and the drinks are pricey.  

If you can think of any place else to go to for your evening, do that.  If you are absolutely stuck, go here, fight for a table, wait forever for your drinks, snap a picture of the harbour, and then go home with your wallet noticeably lighter as a result.    

The atmosphere might be pretty cool up there, but if you are looking for a place to drink a good glass of wine, then you are wrong here. There is no wine list and the few totally overpriced and cheap wines on the drinks list are not worth the visit. If you are here for the cocktails and the great view then you will have a great time here. But don't expect anything comfortable and warm, the place has an atmosphere like a industrial hall. The music is on repeat and every 45 minutes you hear the same songs. And don't forget the dress code, don't look to sporty otherwise they will not let you in.

Went on my first visit to Hamburg loved it! A great Saturday night

One word: SWANKY!!! 

..Went there with a boy. The boy unfortunately didn't make much of an impression...but the bar did! 

Went there for the first time on a visit to Hamburg. It as pretty quiet but it was a Thursday after all. Friendly staff, good cocktails and great view from the harbour.

Great views across the city and a good atmosphere. Visited on a Thursday night and it was fairly quiet, but great place to watch the goings on at the port

This bar has an absolutely awesome view, being no the 20th / top floor of one of the tallest buildings in Hamburg.

It also has a fantastic view from the loo!

It’s pretty heavy on the wallet with most drinks costing over 10 euro each, except beer (weak carlsberg at £5.50 each!)

It’s pretty busy late at night, but early evening the perfect place to watch the sun go down.

Added 17 sept 11: absolutely terrible on Saturday. Mobbed, bad service and overpriced. Stick to a night during the week!

The only reason for stopping at this bar is the incredible view over the harbor and St. Pauli.

As for the drinks, the 20up is not recommendable at all. For example I had the worst Old Fashioned ever, which is astonishing for such a classic.

If you choose to go there, you should hence rather take a wine or a beer, or even single malt.

Great views of the surrounding area and an expensive feeling to it all - you know it costs a lot.

No cover charge.

Expensive - at least 10 euros for a mixed drink, escalating if you want cocktails (though the latter are quite good and if you're spending 10 you might as well spend 15).

Difficult to get a table or seats - it seems you have to book, otherwise you're standing up until one of the unbooked standing/stool tables becomes available

Crowd: mixed, but generally older (late 30s, 40s & suits)

Had it not been for the view, i doubt this bar would be so popular!

It's nice, it's chic, but oh my it IS expensive!

I've been a couple of times when i had non-hambuger visitors in town.
They loved the view!

However the place is packed on the week ends, you'd be lucky to find a place to sit

The bartenders are ok, friendly but a bit busy.

I'd go back if i had a special occasion to celebrate!

Worth a visit tho! Definitely!

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE VIEW! The views are simply said, spectacular; you can see both the harbor and the city.

Perfect place to take anyone visiting from out of town: business partners, friends and family. Just be prepared that the drinks are overpriced, service is average and the clientele is somewhat less than desireable.

Well it’s really pretty good, but something is missing…
The view - cracking as you can see the whole of the harbour and the building towers over St. Pauli. (especially good from the Gents toilet)
The drinks - good.
The clients - lots of tourists, some business folk.

But don’t expect the ambiance to fire you up too much. The decoration works OK, the list is decent enough, and thankfully last time the gin martini was constructed well enough, but the clientele had mostly arrived on big buses parked down in Landungsbrueken. Matching Goretex for couples.

The best drink I had here was one October afternoon, by myself, just as a big thunderstorm was breaking. Fabulous. So go when it is empty, not weekends.

Not a bad spot to take your mum, on balance.

I think this a really nice place for tourist because the view you gonna get of the harbor is unbelievable and absolutely amazing! It´s really stylish in there and the cocktails are quite good. Unfortunately the service is not as good as you would expect it to be for these prices (It´s like 10 Euros and more for a cocktail). There are a lot of old people wearing suites in this place which the atmosphere kind of not relaxing at all. So in general I would recommend this place for one night, I mean just for the overview, especially if you are not from hamburg. But I would not come every weekend, I think it´s more like these places for 30 years and older business people than a place for students like me..

Went last night for a couple drinks here. I checked out reviews beforehand to see what I was in for and I can't say I was disappointed. This is a very stylish bar, with a great layout when it comes to delivering what it delivers.....that is a great view. There's a long bar with most tables set up to take advantage of this view. There's also a little couch area up front but it's for at most four people or so. The rest is I guess your typical hotel bar fare. Drinks were very good. I found the beer to be overpriced and cocktails to be in line with what you expect. I ordered my standard drink (a Rusty Nail) which was not on the drink list and the bartendar made it right (hats off to you for even getting the garnish correct)! The waitresses seemed to be quite nice and polite. The only weird thing is the guy at the door whose role I really can't understand but anyway, it doesn't detract at all from the place. After the buzz dies down, I am sure this will become a staple, hotel bar like many others in town. For now, it's a great place to take people visiting Hamburg to get an awesome view and the drinks and setting are simply right.

Update: I reduced to one star as I was again at this bar showing it to someone (third visit). First off, we were forced to check our coats from the tool at the door (didn't have to do this the first two times here). The guy thinks he's a "bouncer" with "niveau" but actually he has no clue how to "service" guests. (My friend, a H&M suit does not make you important!) Further, the prices really are ridiculous considering how basics, which almost everyone orders, are the things that cost the most (didn't quite realize this before). We sat near the door and watched the two clowns (one with horrible German) constantly turning people away and as soon as the folks left, laughing about them. To me, this is an absolute dealbreaker for a bar and its staff. The waiter this time was not really worth much either. Didn't know drinks, didn't make much of an effort and more or less sucked at his job, ruining our experience further. Most shocking was that they even turned away hotel guests. I have never seen this at a hotel bar. I guess just so much went wrong on my third visit there that they lost all my respect as a bar. No matter how good the view, I actually decided I won't take anyone else there.