Several lounges, clubs, and restaurants have a view of the Strip; the outdoor part, however, limits your choices to only a few.
You mention Tangerine and Social House the upscale sushi restaurant and bar upstairs, much favored by the celebrity crowd, has an outdoor patio area with views overlooking the pirate show and across the Strip to the Venetian (see below).
Across the street from the Voodoo Lounge at the Rio, the Palms has two options. Ghostbar is at the top of the original Palms tower, which has fabulous views from inside the lounge and outside on the deck. The Palms new Fantasy Tower also has a rooftop lounge/club/restaurant: Nove Italian restaurant is on the 51st floor; the Playboy Club is on the 52nd floor; and the Moon nightclub is on the 53rd floor. Moon has an outdoor deck. It also has a retractable roof; when the weather permits, it's like being outside and inside at the same time.
At the south end of the Strip, you'll find a great little-known lounge/restaurant at the top of THEhotel at Mandalay Bay. Mix has two outdoor areas. The one facing north is off the lounge, and that's open all the time. The other is off the dining room and faces south; it's usually limited to mid-September through January (in late winter, the moths and bats are ferocious. In the spring, it's too windy. And in the summer, it's too hot), but for a private party, you might be able to work something out.
The Foundation Room at Mandalay Bay is a members-only dining club and lounge, but on Monday nights it's open to non-members after 11 p.m. and offers stunning views straight up the Strip, both from the inside and from the restaurant patio.
A block east of the Strip is the new non-gaming condo-tower/hotel, Platinum, which has a fifth-floor restaurant and bar that's separated from the pool deck by a wall of glass and offers impressive indoor and outdoor views of the southern and center Strip. There's also a semi-private dining area that can be booked for groups of up to 25.
Olives at Bellagio has a half-dozen outdoor tables on a patio overlooking the fountain show. These are available by request only and should be reserved well in advance to avoid disappointment.
Mon Ami Gabi at Paris has an outdoor dining area at street level. It's a good place to see all the action on the Strip, but from up close and personal -- it can get noisy and exhausty at times. Ditto Ah Sin, Paris's Pan-Asian eatery, which also has al fresco seating options on the Strip. PF Chang's at the Aladdin has outdoor seating as well, directly under the waterfall (so it's a bit noisy) and separated from the sidewalk by foliage, so it's more private than Gabi.
Across the street at Caesars Palace is Viale, a casual Italian restaurant in the Roman Plaza on the Strip at the corner of Flamingo. It has an indoor-outdoor seating area for the restaurant and beverage bar -- again, at street level.
For views of the Strip from behind glass, there's always the Top of the World restaurant and bar at Stratosphere, Alizé (Palms), the Eiffel Tower restaurant and bar (11th floor) at Paris, a bar at the top of the Polo Towers (the timeshare complex on the Strip just north of Tropicana), the Range Steakhouse at Harrah's (second floor), and the Outback Steakhouse at Casino Royale (small windows).
If anyone can think of any others, please let us know.
