Valentine’s Day is coming up, and reservations for New York City restaurants are already being filled. Let Cupid’s arrow bend you towards a delicious meal and date night experience at one of these local eateries eager to create a memorable and romantic Valentine’s dinner for you and your sweetheart.
Enjoy an exquisite dining experience at Lincoln Ristorante without a trip overseas to Italy. Enjoy a view of Lincoln Center’s reflecting pool through the stunning glass pavilion and start off the night with appetizers like tuna crudo, burrata or ravioli. Dive into tasty entrees featuring Long Island duck breast, baked halibut ‘al Cartoccio’ and Duo Di Manzo. Top off the night with a delicious assortment of desserts from Gelato Affogato to Dulcey Panna Cotta. $95 for a three-course meal throughout the weekend.
Ravioli at Lindens
Lindens at Arlo SoHo
Inspired by the Linden trees that line the New York streets, Lindens is an ode to ‘nature within the city’ with a produce-forward ethos encompassing the food and beverage experience. Take your loved one on a winter escape to enjoy a three-course menu including kabocha squash ravioli, a juicy roasted chicken, hanger steak and lemon & bourbon donuts for $75 per person with the option for an addition wine pairing for $40 on Open Table. For another dining experience at the courtyard at Lindens, you can spend Valentine’s Day in the cabins with a special dinner experience for $150 per person.
At Bar Lula, the brand new restaurant and cocktail bar from the team behind The Wayland and Goodnight Sonny, chefs Luigi Petrocelli and Ricky Arias combine their knowledge of French technique with their love of Mexican ingredients to create something new and vibrant. On Valentine’s Day, Bar Lula will offer a one-night-only six course prix fixe menu ($90/person) featuring peppadew and potato croquettes, baked oysters, green pozole risotto, grass-fed sirloin, roasted scallops, a cheese course, chocolate cake and more. A wine pairing, chosen from special bottles they carry, is available for $50 per person.
Celestine, the romantic Mediterranean restaurant located on the water in DUMBO with stunning views of the bridges and skyline, will offer a luxurious three-course prix fixe menu featuring oysters with black truffle, dry-aged ribeye, seared scallops, a raspberry cream tart and more. The menu will be $75/person on the 12th and 13th and $90/person on the 14th, with special wine and cocktail options too.
Raviolo at Cucina 8 1/2
Liz Clayman
Cucina 8 1/2
Located in the iconic Solow building in the heart of Midtown, Cucina 8 1/2 offers an elegant Italian dining experience. On Valentine’s Day Weekend and Valentine’s Day (Thursday, Friday and Monday), the restaurant will feature the regular a la carte menu and the option for an elevated Truffle menu ($250 per person) with warm black truffle fett’unta, roasted butternut squash with hot honey and black truffle Zabaglione, toro crudo with black truffle, brown butter and hazelnut, the restaurant’s signature Raviolo stuffed with egg and topped with shaved truffle, as well as roasted turbot with clams, lobster and black truffle gazette and a choice of truffle roasted poussin or prime filet mignon with a truffle dessert to end on a sweet note.
Two Michelin-Starred Chef and James Beard Award-Winning “Best Chef New York City,” Gabriel Kreuther combines his classic French training and Alsatian heritage with his love of New York City to create a comfortably luxurious experience in the heart of Midtown Manhattan. This Valentine’s weekend, celebrate love with a five-course tasting menu for $375 including Crown Toro Hamachi Crudo, Perigord Black Truffles with Four Cheese Raviolis, Roasted Maine Lobster Cassoulet, Spice Rubbed Brandt Family Beef Tenderloin and Cocoa Nib Tart. Handpicked wine pairing is available for $250 per person.
Hawksmoor, the lively British steakhouse and bar, which opened in Flatiron last fall, is the perfect destination for a special Valentine’s Day date and will be open especially on a Monday for the holiday. Toast to the occasion with English sparkling Brut Cuvee and oysters three ways, then round out the meal by sharing a romantic dessert of passionfruit pavlova for two.
The spread at Hawksmoor NYC
Hawksmoor
The vibrant coastal Italian restaurant in the Flatiron District will serve a special three-course menu for $95 per person, plus optional beverage pairings. The menu includes antipasti like red snapper ceviche with tomato, olive, onion and chili, caviar and burrata with garlic bread, and tuna acqua pazza featuring tuna tartare, tomato, cucumber and Calabrian chili. Handmade pastas like Scampi’s iconic Mafaldini scampi, mezzaluna featuring braised pork ravioli with pomodoro and pecorino, and cappelletti with ricotta, butternut squash and pumpkin seeds. Steak for two with black truffle potatoes and dolci are also on the menu.
Available all weekend long, owner and executive chef Marc Forgione will offer an a la carte menu highlighting known aphrodisiacs in dishes. Try striped bass with pineapple, limequat and habanero, smoked tagliatelle with saffron and uni, beef short rib with parsnip, red wine and chocolate and The Egg with passionfruit and coconut.