I'm looking for recommendations for restaurants with a view in NYC (I'm thinking high rise dining here).

Also, what alternatives are there to the view from the Empire State Building that don't have the crowds?

The best combination of good food and great view is the Rivercafe.com but it's not high up, it's on the water in Brooklyn, looking back to the Manhattan skyline. Bateauxnewyork.com a dinner cruise is also very nice. The well known high restaurants like the View and the Rainbow Gril/Rainbow room are generally judged to be poor value and mediocre food. Here's a list of restaurants with a view.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g6...ith.Views.html

Top of the Rock is a great alternative to ESB.

Thanks for the link, that is exactly what I was looking for.

The Marriott View has great views but awful food and very high prices.

The River Cafe has great views and excellent food (not the best in the city but very good) - but is also expensive. check their web sit e- I believe the prix fixe dinner is about $110 per person- plus drinks, tax and tip.

The River Cafe is so charming. It's our favourite 'special occasion in NY' place. I know there are probably better restaurants and certainly more fashionable ones but the feeling of the RC is so lovely.

Asiate is in the Mandarin Orietal Hotel. It offers great views of Central Park.

http://www.mandarinoriental.com/newyork/dining/asiate/

Water's Edge-excellent food, friendly attitude and the added bonus of a boat ride from the 34th St Dock (and back)

Asiate is a great choice - but it's practically impossible to get reservations - and the bill will be significantly higher than for your hotel room - unless you're staying in the same place.

I just checked on opentable for reservations for Asiate. I saw plenty of availability during the next couple of weeks except for weekends where you may have very limited times available.

One thing with "view" restaurants is that usually it's not too wise to count on the view.

We booked Asiate way ahead of time for a nice lunch and of course requested a view table. But when we arrived, there were two rather large parties just seated and the restaurant had rearranged the tables. There were NO available tables near the windows and there weren't going to be, even though we offered to wait for one. We found the meal fine, nothing special, and felt we had really "paid" for the view which we didn't have.