Winners For

Best View

Drive up the winding road to the top of Tapatio Cliffs Resort and prepare to be wowed by the 180-degree views from the window-wrapped restaurant and expansive Cliffside patio. Cruise up just before dusk to catch an amazing sunset view or go for a nightcap and get lost staring at the city lights below. The food and service are top-notch — they wo...

Since it seems like all you can see of Houston from the air is sprawl, the ideal view of the city should come at ground level and include something besides our justifiably famous downtown skyline — like the fact that Houston is a city of trees. Since we're so damn flat, it's hard to beat the banks of Buffalo Bayou off I-45 to get some perspectiv...

It's going to cost more than a few ducats to marvel at this view, but if you're a golfer, there's no better panoramic vista than the highest tee in Orange County. You're staring southwest, directly at Huntington Beach, and nearly all of Orange County northwest of Newport Beach sprawls before you, along with Catalina Island and the Palos Verdes P...

Cite Restaurant Review: Cité offers fantastic, 360-degree views from its 70th floor perch atop Lake Point Tower, and therein lies the appeal. Really, the food is not the star of the show, but dishes like garlicky escargots and filet taste fine when Navy Pier fireworks are in view. The same is true of everything from lobster gnocchi with three-ch...

Riva Restaurant Review: You wouldn’t assume there to be an interesting restaurant at this tourist hub, but don’t judge a book by its cover. Located within one of Chicago's most highly trafficked attractions, this place is anything but casual, inexpensive or boring. Instead, Riva is prissy and spendy, and it offers an amazing view of the skyline,...

Signature Room at the 95th Restaurant Review: You won't find better dining with a view in Chicago, save at Everest. Not surprisingly, the prices are up there, given you pay a premium for the scenery. Fortunately, the kitchen --- manned by Brandon K. Wolff (Osteria via Stato) --- has a nice way with seafood (try the seared walleye). We also have ...

Courtright's Restaurant Review: In the southwest suburbs --- or anywhere, for that matter --- Courtright's is a fine-dining establishment worth a visit. The seasonally changing menu does a pleasant ramble through a cuisine toeing a line between sensibly creative contemporary and regional American, as interpreted by France-born executive chef Jer...

Everest Restaurant Review: Everest has maintained its perch above Chicago's skyline for over 20 years; the spectacular view from the 40th floor never gets old. Sleek silver fixtures have replaced cumbersome chandeliers and the old artwork is no more --- contemporary pieces now take up wall space. The changes make sense, the easier feel analogous...

Grand Lux Cafe Restaurant Review: As the name implies, everything is on a grand scale at this bi-level spot (entrance at 111 E. Ontario St.) from the creators of The Cheesecake Factory. Medieval meets Art Nouveau meets Art Deco in the second floor dining areas, which practically explode with Klimt-like curlicues, mosaics, murals, stylized light ...

NoMI Kitchen Restaurant Review: Chef Ryan LaRoche presides at this Park Hyatt Chicago restaurant, now a more approachable, casual version of its former self, offering seasonal cuisine, cool cocktails and fine wines. The dining room’s sought-after tables next to the floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking Michigan Avenue continue to symbolize ...

North Pond Restaurant Review: Gear up for a fine ride with French-meets-seasonal American cuisine from chef Bruce Sherman. The menu is always changing, but here’s an idea of what’s in store: a soft-boiled farm egg with golden sweetbreads, roasted dates, shaved fennel and cinnamon-maple glace; and grilled venison-winter fruit bratwurst with savoy...

Spiaggia Restaurant Review: Chef Tony Mantuano is the architect of this super-luxe Italian restaurant. The food, which has a contemporary spin, is splendid; it's also expensive. However, when making most everything from scratch (pasta included), the difference is noted and notable from competitors. Seafood dishes are especially remarkable, as is...

This requires connections. If you know someone or know someone who knows someone living in the SkyPoint residential high-rise towers’ upper floors, you’re in for an incomparable view. From this lofty vantage comes a vista of downtown, the University of Tampa, and Hillsborough River.

Talk about a room with a view. This one is a stunner and perhaps the best vantage point along the harbor. And not only do diners get a panoramic sweep of the water, boats, cityscape, and Baltimore’s iconic Domino Sugars and Under Armour signs from inside, they can share their meals with fresh breezes and sunshine or moonlight on the restaurant’s...

On a warm summer evening, there’s no better place to dine than the patio at this waterfront restaurant, where your view combines the picturesque river with the urban twinkle of the lights on Tower Bridge. Rio City’s menu runs the gamut, from Asian-influenced short ribs to Southern-style jambalaya, with plenty of Californian flair.

How special is the view from Indian Mounds Park, high atop the bluffs of east St. Paul? It is so special that as long as 2,000 years ago Native Americans chose this spot to bury their dead. The view from these bluffs is something more than "pretty," and if you spend a little time here, gazing south and west to the far horizon, with the majestic,...