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SIGHT LINES

Highbar.   (Photo: Melissa Hom)

Highbar
251 W. 48th St., nr. Eighth Ave.; 212-956-1300
Highbar, one of the newer kids on top, comes courtesy of Greg Bier of Aspen, D’Or, and Amalia. If the rooftop, designed by iCrave and complete with daybeds, is overrun, you can take a break in the downstairs lounge, with its floor-to-ceiling windows and full bar.
The View: The bar, on the sixteenth floor, provides some serious ganders at the Hudson River.
The Menu: Backyard-grill staples such as hot dogs and hamburgers, as well as crudités.
The Hours: Su (5 p.m.–midnight), Th (5 p.m.–2 a.m.), F (2 p.m.–2 a.m.), S (5 p.m.–2 a.m.).

Bookmarks
Library Hotel, 299 Madison Ave., at 41st St.; 212-983-4500
With its brick walls, lovely floral displays, and an abundance of reading material, the terrace of the Library Hotel's rooftop bar could pass for the patio of an Upper East Side townhouse.
The View: The majestic Lefcourt building rises across the street.
The Menu:$14 summer sparklers, which mix flavors like vanilla, blood orange, ginger, cucumber, and watermelon with sparkling wine.
The Hours: M–F (4 p.m.–midnight), S (5 p.m.–1 a.m.), Su (closed).

Plunge
Hotel Gansevoort, 18 Ninth Ave., at 13th St.; 877-426-7386
Those willing to weather the line outside and suffer the cramped elevator ride consider the Gansevoort Hotel's fifteenth-floor penthouse an airy (and cruisy) escape; those who believe untucked dress shirts are an aesthetic affront consider it the inner ring of meatpacking hell.
The View: Great shots of lower Manhattan and New Jersey, from whence many of the patrons hail.
The Menu: Basic cocktails start at $15.
The Hours: Daily, 11 a.m.–4 a.m.

230 Fifth
230 Fifth Ave., nr. 27th St., twentieth fl.; 212-725-4300
Fresh air meets stale pick-up lines at the city's largest rooftop drinkery. Since it opened in 2006, a steady stream of finance types have flocked here for the Miami Vice–like décor of palm trees, stuffed safari animals, and an endless expanse of wooden benches.
The View: The Empire State Building to the north, the MetLife building to the east, and Jersey to the west.
The Menu: $15 cocktails incorporate fresh grape and pear juices; bar snacks range from fried shrimp to the Malaysian Romli burger.
The Hours: Daily, 4 p.m.–4 a.m.

Hotel Metro Rooftop Bar
Hotel Metro, 45 W. 35th St., nr. Fifth Ave.; 212-279-3535
After a tidy renovation last summer, this favorite after-work spot has reopened with décor upgrades and several new wines by the glass. Servers now deliver specialty cocktails from the bar, which is now fully stocked and located in the middle of a newly tiled floor.
The View: A close-up of the Empire State Building.
The Menu: $6–$7 beers, $8 wines, $12 mixed drinks.
The Hours:M–Su (5 p.m.–11 p.m.).

Hudson Sky Terrace
The Hudson Hotel, 356 W. 58th St., nr. Ninth Ave.; 212-554-6303
Should the techno and chatter of the Hudson Bar's terrace get to you, grab a beach chair (or a hammock!) on the breezy and beyond-serene fifteenth-floor deck.
The View: Glimpses of the Hudson River as well as Ninth Avenue stretching toward lower Manhattan.
The Menu: The $15 White Mint Lemonade comes with muddled lemons, white sugar and mint, vodka, and ginger ale.
The Hours: Daily, noon–10 p.m., through October.

Mé Bar
17 W. 32nd St., nr. Fifth Ave., fourteenth fl.; 212-290-2460
This Koreatown rooftop boîte, hidden atop the La Quinta budget hotel, is the antidote to karaoke-room claustrophobia. Although throw pillows and beach chairs lend a beach-house vibe, the drink prices are decidedly left of Hamptons.
The View: The Empire State Building is all aglow directly overhead.
The Menu: Be swayed by the pomegranate martini, made with liqueur and cranberry juice. During happy hour, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., a $1 discount means $5–$8 wines.
The Hours: Daily, 5:30 p.m.–midnight.

Roof Garden Cafe
The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave., at 82nd St.; 212-535-7710
So … if that Andy Goldsworthy sculpture could speak, what do you think it would say? We'll let you puzzle that out up on the romantic rooftop of the Met, where art, hot Italian tourists, frozen daiquiris, and colossal Central Park views converge into one juggernaut of a drinking experience. If you can't manage a pick-up line in a place like this, well, you're hopeless.
The View: A fifth-floor garden surrounded by the park, its skyline, and sculpture installations that change every summer.
The Menu: Sparkling wine and ham-and-Brie baguettes.
The Hours: F–S (10 a.m.–8 p.m.), T–Th, Su (10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.), M (closed); open May–October.

Salon de Ning
The Peninsula Hotel, 700 Fifth Ave., at 55th St.; 212-903-3097
The former Pen-Top Bar and Terrace is now Salon de Ning, a Henry Leung–designed, sino-inspired lounge featuring Venetian mirrors, Chinese screens, Moroccan lanterns, and daybeds. The name is a nod to the famed Shanghai socialite Madame Ning.
The View: Stunning vistas of Fifth Avenue and Central Park, as well as midtown architectural gems like the Citicorp Center.
The Menu: The Ning Sling, a cocktail featuring orange vodka, lychee, and passion-fruit juices, will run you a stiff $22.
The Hours: M–Su (4 p.m.–midnight), weather permitting.