Text size:

Rooms with a view

Compiled by Linda Perney | NYNewsday.com

April 21, 2004

View from the Water's Edge in Queens (photo by Thomas A. Ferrara)

These restaurants give you a great view of the great outdoors.

MANHATTAN

Asiate. This isn't the most expensive Asian restaurant at the Time Warner Center. That's the $500 prix-fixe at Masa. This is the one with the view: 35 stories above Central Park is the place to be on an early spring evening. The food is Asian-fusion, to be precise, with main courses like pressed suckling pig, roasted salmon, and beef tenderloin with mushroom ragout. (Mandarin Oriental Hotel; 80 Columbus Circle; 212-805-8881)

New Leaf Café. In the leafy environs of Fort Tryon Park, the New Leaf is a peaceful haven, a nice place to stop for Sunday brunch before going on to the Cloisters. When the weather is warmer, there's an outdoor terrace, but at this season, the airy indoor space is a great choice, where you can admire springtime in the park through the big windows. The brunch menu includes the usual egg dishes plus waffles and French toast; for dinner, there are lots of fish dishes as well as grilled steak or lamb. (1 Margaret Corbin Drive, Fort Tryon Park; 212-568-5323)

Boat House Cafe. In the heart of Central Park, with a view over the lake and a gondola gliding by in summer you can't do much better than this for a view. The menu is unabashedly American, with dinner entrees like grilled steak, sautéed scallops with tasso ham, and roast chicken. For lunch, there are sandwiches, burgers and salads, too. (72nd Street at Park Drive; 212-517-2233)

Bryant Park Grill. One of the nicest places in the city for people-watching, the grill is a cheerful, airy space crowded with business lunchers during the week, and a lot less frenetic on weekends. Summers, there's rooftop dining as well as a terrace. The menu is a boon to carnivores (beef Wellington, steak, pork chops, rack of lamb), but there are fish dishes and pastas, too. (25 West 40th Street; 212-840-6500)

BROOKLYN
River Café. You can't talk about restaurants with a view without mentioning the River Café. Right under the Brooklyn Bridge, it has one of the city's great skyline views and food that has made the place famous since it opened 25 years ago. The dinner prix-fixe is $98, with choices like wild salmon in a miso broth, duck breast with prosciutto and pasta, or stuffed breast of hen. And don't forget the chocolate marquise fashioned into the famous bridge. (1 Water Street; 718-522-5200)

Pete's Downtown. Nowhere near as fancy as the River Cafe, just across the street. But the view is fine and the food is classic, as it should be: The restaurant has been around since 1894. Italian-American favorites like baked ravioli, spaghetti with marinara, stuffed pork chops and shrimp scampi dominate the menu, and the skyline adds a little drama. Kids' menu, too. (2 Water Street; 718-858-3510)

Alma. The Mexican restaurant on the Brooklyn waterfront offers great views of the city as well as a menu that encompasses varied regional cooking. There are main courses like grilled marinated shrimps, duck breast with peanut and tomato sauce, and pork chops with ancho chiles. Desserts include a locally made Key lime pie that has become a favorite. (187 Columbia Street; 718-643-5400)

QUEENS
The Water's Edge. The view of the skyline complete with the Empire State and Chrysler buildings -- is as romantic as can be. The restaurant's American menu offers main courses like filet mignon, rack of lamb, and duck with a blood orange glaze. In the bar, a light café menu accompanies house cocktails like a frozen mudslide made with ice cream, kahlua, and Bailey's or a frozen pina colada. If you're coming from Manhattan, take the ferry from 35th Street and the East River. (44th Drive at the East River, Long Island City; 718-482-0033)