Dine Inside an Igloo at The Foundry Rooftop in Dayton

One Covid-era experience I never ended up trying was reserving an igloo at a restaurant and having a fun night out with friends under the stars. Recently, we went for it and booked one of the igloos at The Foundry. Here’s how it went!

The Place

Located on the top floor of the AC Dayton hotel, The Foundry can be accessed via a dedicated elevator. There’s a sign to help you find it – it’s a separate entrance from the main hotel.

The restaurant has plenty of indoor seating and a bar – in the summer, they open the big doors and let the breeze in, which also doubles the bar seating. There are plenty of tables outside on the rooftop, too.

The Igloo

The igloo is a clear-plastic covered geodesic dome with a zippered door flap to keep the wind out. It also has a heater which helps to keep things comfy.

The Foundry set the table with Valentine-y decorations and added warm blankets and soft pillows to the chairs.

There’s just the right amount of room for four or six people. I can’t imagine more than that being comfortable.

It feels like being inside a cozy snow globe with your favorite people. It definitely helps you appreciate winter – it’s cold and dark but it has so many unique opportunities like this one.

The Food & Drink

The drinks were all amazing! I tried the raspberry gimlet with vodka and it was perfect.

The Foundry specializes in wood fired pizzas but they also have plenty of other entrees, etc. if you’re not feeling pizza.

I absolutely love that they label things vegetarian and vegan, however, it can get a little confusing here. For instance, the bar snacks are labeled vegan on the online menu and vegetarian on the physical menu. Either way, they were good! I just don’t know 100% which was right.

We ordered the nutty mushroom pizza because it was labeled vegan, but to be honest, I am not sure that the cheese was fake. If you’re vegan or dairy-free, make sure to ask – maybe the vegan symbol meant it was possible to make it vegan by request? I loved the cashew ricotta on it though, it was also garlicky and smoky.

The rest of the table ordered all kinds of things: crab cakes, chicken pops, halibut, fried provolone, and lots of pizza!

The Details

To book the igloo at The Foundry, you’ll need to make a reservation online and select a weekday or weekend date – they both require a deposit but weekday is $100 and weekend is $125. You get the deposit amount removed from your final bill. The bill also has to be at least $300 – we had no trouble reaching that amount even sharing things.

Six people are recommended, and you have to pay all on one check. Gratuity is included in the final bill (but you can add more when you pay – it’s only 22% otherwise). I believe there are special rates for couples if you’d rather make this a magical date night.

There’s a heater inside the igloo and blankets are provided, but you are still outside. It was around 40 degrees when I went – I ended up wearing my coat the whole time and felt perfectly comfortable. If I had really bundled up with a scarf, extra layers, etc. I would have been too warm.

Parking is a little complicated and your best bet is street parking in the surrounding area. They also offer valet for $15. The lot behind the hotel is open for anyone, however, the app is a little unusual. You have to set it all up and then it assigns you a spot to park in and the numbers are hard to see from inside your car. It’s also $14 (last time I checked on a weeknight).

The igloos are only available during the winter at The Foundry. To check the dates, visit their Igloos page.

Want to see inside The Foundry? Here is my first visit where I sat at the bar, and here is my visit where I sat at a table inside.