The View Restaurant & Lounge 1535 Broadway, Manhattan, New York,

"This was our second time here with our family, but the first since Covid and the first since La Petite Chef. The bottom line is while still a superior restaurant, the price does not reflect much more than the payment to restore the spinning restaurant mechanism that makes "the view" worth it in the first place. Please note, and if you've seen our other reviews, you know that, at All Set Vacations, we pride ourselves on providing true and transparent editorial content based on all my years as a journalist and educator. We paid $1200 for this experience. Definitely arrive early. We shared drinks a snack in one of the lower floor restaurants first because we read that it might not be enough food, it definitely was enough food and the wine at dinner was also enough alcohol to suffice anyone. By arriving early, we enjoyed three different appetizers. They were ok, but mostly breading, so, nothing special. The show is cool, but, as a photographer and cinematographer/media person myself, felt a bit dated. Essentially, there is a ultra high resolution projector above your table with four specifically placed circles that mark your plate. That way the projector can the two-dimensional animation at the same time to all four place settings. It's a simple two-dimensional cartoon chef that runs around and you enjoy his antics for a few minutes as he prepares what you're about to eat and then the food is served right afterwards. That's pretty much it. It was cool but nothing that was mouth dropping or eye opening other than just being a novelty. It would definitely be worth a look to do it once but not sure if it warrants the heavy price tag. I'm not sure if I would recommend coming here just for this part alone. However, the food, plus this experience, depending on your preference for something different could make it worth it. Now for the food itself at dinner. The food was amazing, but, heavy! How anyone can say they didn't feel they ate enough is beyond me! The cream base on many dishes filled us up and we definitely felt it! The portions are fine. I did a little digging and looked up each one of the pairing wines individually. They are all very highly ranked and we're all delicious. We have more of a preference for red and we know a bottle of stag sleep alone is a $100 bottle. So having two glasses of that was wonderful. Put that together with all the other ones and if you're a wine person, this is like having a high-end flight. I also included a picture of the menu to see all food and beverage offerings. The dinner courses were fantastic, fresh, and served perfectly. The lobster included a portion of a tail and one claw (would have loved more of that for the price like half of a normal 8 oz tail or skip the rubbery claw even though it helps the presentation). The beef short rib was very tender as well. The first course, again, solid, and the desert was complex and balanced. So....let's lay it out and see if it gets an 'All-Set' seal of approval.....-after the breakdown. Let's be generous and assume each wine glass costs $20. For my wife and I, that would be $160 total. Let's give the first course a $20 price on a normal menu, that's $80 for all four of us. Second course $30 each normally, $120 total. Let's assume each main entree of short ribs would be a max of $50 each- $200 total. And dessert, $20 each or $80 total. So... for 4 people, 2 adults and 2 kids: That's $640 for a really wonderful dinner for the four of us at a decent high view of the other tall buildings in the area. ( remember, it's not spinning currently). Add in a tip of 130 and that's $770. That's essentially a markup of $430 that is likely paying for the projector and, from what we learned, management to save up to turn the spinning motor back on! Final thoughts: if you can rationalize the extra costs for the experience, do it once but, without the spinning view, the view ( name of the restaurant)! isn't great. But, the food, drinks ,and service is worth $640, but not $1200!"

"Very disappointing. First of all it would be important to inform the clients that tables are maximum for 4 ppl. If you are more than four you will be separated if you want to enjoy the virtual show. Unacceptable especially if you are a family with kids because the family will be split. Secondly the level of service is very poor and the personnel is clearly non trained for a supposed high-level restaurant. During the waiting time for the preparation of the table, the personnel offers you a cocktail (nobody told us what it was, and I have assumed that it was a Spritz, but not sure! Nothing have been offered to our 3 kids) and some appetizers. They put everything on the desk at the entrance and don’t go through the various clients. Food quality is medium-high, but clearly no wow. Wine pairing is a nightmare. The wine chosen for every dish is simply horrible..Unacceptable for Europeans! Please allow clients to chose a bottle of wine or to pay more to have better quality. At last, we wait 10 minutes (!!!) in a queue to have the elevator and go out…we were waiting for a lady from the restaurant with a badge which allows to call the elevator. Crazy! Animation and virtual show was funny. At the end the price is too high for what you get. And giving a French sounding name to the restaurant will not improve the quality."

"First time in NYC! Traveling with some friends who had ate at previously and highly recommended The View. They had attended prior to the epidemic and experienced the revolving floor that added to the dining appeal. Sad to say that the floor no longer turned and menu was set, everyone eats the same thing, so hopefully you liked everything being served on the menu because there are no substitutions. In exchange for the revolving floor, you got a “show” of a miniature chef preparing each course that they bring out to you. While the staff was friendly and attentive and the meal presentation was cute, we were stunned and less than impressed by our enormous bill. For two people the bill was well over $400 which was more than our round trip flights to the city!! We were totally shocked and thrown off by this, as was our friend who had been a patron there before! She said that every about this experience had changed and was nothing like she remembered and wanted to share the experience again with us. Beware before booking your reservation as this is NOT budget friendly and you will want to make sure your taste buds align with the menu. This is not something I would recommend to a friend as I am sure there other nice eating establishments that would cost far less!"

"My boyfriend made reservations months in advance for my birthday dinner at Le Petit Chef. The restaurant is located in the Marriott Hotel on the top floor. We took the elevator all the way up; it was crazy, went up so high our ears popped. (47 Stories above Times Square) Upon arrival they welcomed us with a glass of champagne. They told us to arrive 15 minutes earlier and we were there about 8 minutes after. Some people had gotten small bites of food but our group didn’t receive any. We waited in a small room before going into the main dining area. We were able to take pictures but the lighting inside wasn't the most flattering. Soon after they escorted us one by one to our tables. They gave us bread rolls with olive oil and butter. The butter they gave was a bit ghetto. They kept it in the packaging like they would at a basic diner. The bread looked good but tasted stale. We asked the server to get us a new batch. The lights went a little dim and the show started. We all had our own individual projection screens pointing at our table. Before every course the (mini animated chef) would prepare the food in front of us. Each course felt like it had a 5 minute show. The first course was Burrata and Maple Kabocha. Presentation was very pretty, the burrata was good, and I especially enjoyed the mini balls of what tasted like vinegary/sweet flavor. The only thing was that it was very simple. For the price they are charging per person there should have been a little more to the plate. They sliced up plain apples and frisee with no dressing on it like rabbit food. Each course got paired with a specific wine, the one they gave us paired very well with the salad. The second course was Maine Lobster Risotto. Show was cool; I loved how immediately after the show ended the servers came out ready. The risotto unfortunately was cold and had a small portion. I could honestly say we finished the entire plate in 3-4 bites. After they served the risotto a server came around to the whole restaurant with black pepper. By the time he came to our table to ask us if we wanted any, we were already done. The taste was good but nothing special, maybe i’m just not a lobster person. The wine they served with this course also paired very well. The third course (MY FAV) was Beef Short Ribs. Meat was so soft there was no need to use a knife. Everything on my plate was very tasty, especially the sauce they put on top. I wish there was more. The only thing they could have kept off of our plates were the charred broccolini. Left a bad bitter taste in my mouth so we pushed those to the side. Compared to the other two courses this was a better sized portion. They also served a great red wine to pair with the steak. For dessert which was my second fave they gave a deconstructed mix of different items. It was a Matcha Coconut Espresso Fusion. In the bowl there were small pieces of chocolate, ice cream, crunchy coconut, marshmallow, matcha, raspberry and topped off with a warm espresso ganache. Was plated beautifully in a clear glass bowl. They even came out with a candle and Happy Birthday written on my plate. All in all it was a very different and cool experience. I’ve always wanted to come to a restaurant like this so I was happy I got to try it. The servers were very sweet and attentive. They even offered to take pictures of us together throughout the night. Would I be back? Probably not. The price you're paying is not worth the food you're eating. We left there pretty hungry still. Also wish the lighting inside was a bit darker so you can enjoy the presentation more. Still appreciated the show and effort. P.S. You guys should re-model your restrooms, for such a nice restaurant an upgrade is necessary."

"The View was a beautiful place with a very lovely view of the city especially at night. The food was amazing too, there were 4 courses including dessert and the presentation was very nice. There was also a show on the table before every course with a tiny chef and it was very fun to watch. Not only was the food, view and presentation great but all of the workers are so kind and generous with the amount and food too."