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Where to dine on Valentine’s Day
By Tempus | 3 February 2022 | Food & Drink, Travel
Need a special setting to celebrate with a special someone? Look no further than these incredible restaurants
With the most romantic day of the year right around the corner, there’s no better way to turn on the charm than by wining and dining your loved one.
Here, Tempus takes a look at the best restaurants going the extra mile to make this Valentine’s Day extra special.
FOR BREATHTAKING VIEWS
Searcys at the Gherkin
Take romance to new heights at Searcys at the Gherkin with breathtaking views and special menus running from 11th-14th. The Helix restaurant will be offering a Champagne Valentine’s Afternoon tea with a glass of Moët & Chandon (from £65pp), while those dining can indulge in three-courses of seasonal British food complete with canapés and a glass of fizz for £149 per person.
Specials include aged longhorn beef and black truffle ravioli with bone marrow butter, Dover sole fillet with Portland crab, lemon and brown shrimp beurre noisette, and Valrhona chocolate dome with raspberry and rose water mousse
Fenchurch Restaurant, Sky Garden
Dine in the clouds at Fenchurch on level 37 of Sky Garden. Choose from a delicious five-course lunch (£95pp) or seven-course dinner (£135pp) tasting menu complete with a glass of champagne.
Exquisite dishes include roast XL scallop with Cornish crab beurre blanc, yeast, celeriac, and Granny Smith apple; Venison Wellington for two, served with garlic buttered greens and pomme purée; and the “Don’t Break My Heart” dessert of Yorkshire rhubarb, white chocolate, pistachio and rose. Menus available from 12-14th February exclusively, including vegetarian with wine pairings at a supplementary charge.
FOR A LITTLE SPICE
Cinnamon Kitchen City & Battersea
Vivek Singh’s modern-Indian restaurants Cinnamon Kitchen City (£60pp) and Cinnamon Kitchen Battersea (£55pp) are turning the heat with a delicious four-course set menu.
Kick off with a glass of Francoise Monay Rosé Champagne, before feasting on delicately spiced dishes such as tandoori salmon tikka with green wasabi, grilled African wild prawn with tomato salsa, and old Delhi style butter chicken masala with pilau rice. Finish with desserts of chocolate tart with wild berry sorbet, or date and ginger pancake with coconut lime sorbet.
Benares Mayfair
Charm your loved one with a touch of Michelin magic and experience an exquisite eight-course Tasting Menu (£124pp) from Executive Chef Sameer Taneja of Benares in Mayfair. Stunning new dishes include strawberry and scallop ‘raw curry’, langoustine tartlet, tandoori lamb chops, herb-fed chicken yakhani pulao and liquid street snacks alongside chocolate textures for dessert.
Benares’ Valentine’s Day Tasting Menus (£124pp / Vegetarian £114pp) are available from 12th – 14th February 5.30pm – 9pm (last seating).
Heritage Dulwich
South east London’s critically-acclaimed modern Indian restaurant will be serving two special set menus this Valentine’s. Dishes include Malabar smoky prawn with spiced crab bhurji and tandoor grilled broccoli in saffron and honey followed by murgh nilgiri – chicken thigh in a spinach, garlic and green chilli sauce – or salmon moilee glazed with coconut and ginger.
Vegetarian options include paneer nilgiri in a spinach, garlic and green chilli sauce, and gobhi adrakhi – cauliflower in a tomato, ginger and coriander sauce. Both set menus are priced at £52pp and available on 14th February only.
FOR ELEGANCE
Aquavit London
Love is in the air at Aquavit London with a selection of sharing specials designed for two, available exclusively from 11th – 19th February. Dishes include cep and onion crusted chateaubriand with celeriac and truffle purée, green beans, pancetta and red wine jus (£90), with the option to add a Västerbotten cheese gratinated lobster (£65) for a spot of Surf ‘n’ Turf.
Other dishes include whole roasted dover sole with burnt leeks, dill, fennel, white wine sauce, grilled lemon and crispy oyster (£85), plus a romantic red velvet cake with mirror glazed raspberry mousse and white chocolate crumb (£22). All dishes serve two.
Isola by San Carlo
Speak the language of love this Valentine’s with a little help from Isola, London’s hottest new dining destination bringing la dolce vita to London’s St Christopher’s Place. With swoon-worthy sorbet hued interiors, a menu inspired by the southern Italian islands and a bijou selection of limited-edition Valentine’s cocktails and desserts, there’s plenty toamore at Isola.
Enjoy a lip-smacking Pucker Up (£13.50), a refreshing blend of warming Kings Ginger liqueur, bitter Aperol, Italian lemon and raspberry before indulging in Isola’s heavenly hand-crafted chocolate melting bombe dessert (£12.95) filled with creamy gelato and a gold-dusted cherub, served with hot salted caramel sauce. Cupid’s a-calling!
Hot Stone
Looking to bring a little sizzle, luxury and decadence to the most romantic time of year? Executive Chef Padam Raj Rai of critically acclaimed Hot Stone, in Islington, has created the limited-edition Impress Menu, available lunch and dinner from 12th-14th February for £150pp.
Expect an assortment of Chef Padam’s award-winning sushi and sashimi to start, alongside a showstopping main course of premium grade Japanese Wagyu and certified rare Kobe beef to be seared on the 400°C sizzling volcanic hot stones.
Ormer Mayfair
Over at Ormer Mayfair by Sofian, there’s a stunning eight-course tasting menu that kicks off with a special canapé selection of Jersey oysters with cucumber, horseradish and Alsace bacon. Other dishes include aged Comté & smoked haddock tartlets, Scottish langoustine with pink grapefruit and juniper, and roast squab pigeon with beetroot, cumin and rose water caramel.
The eight-course tasting menu is priced at £90pp, with the option to add a Signature wine pairing for £105pp and a Prestige wine pairing for £215pp. Available on 11th and 12th February only.
Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane
The Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane is pulling out all the stops with a four-course set dinner menu (£85pp) in its grand Amaranto Restaurant. Expect dishes such as a sensational seafood platter with lobster timbale, prawns, Balik salmon and caviar; followed by fillet of sole, with truffle, leeks, potatoes, and a champagne beurre blanc; and lamb loin with parmesan risotto, mushrooms, Jerusalem artichokes and lamb jus.
Couples looking for a night cap can head to the intimate Amaranto Bar for speciality cocktails including the pomegranate & passionfruit rum Red Passion and the lychee and rose Love Potion mocktail. Cocktails and dinner menu available from 11-14th February, including a vegetarian option (£65pp).
FOR GREAT VALUE
Ganymede
Belgravia’s hottest haunt, Ganymede, is offering three courses for £49.50, including a glass of fizz or a special Valentine’s Day cocktail. Starters include rabbit and foie gras ballotine with salty fingers and toasted rye bread, or crab and basil ravioli with leek fondue and bisque, followed by mains of suckling pork belly and rack with pommes gratin, roast turbot on the bone for two with hand cut chips, bearnaise, fennel, wakame and bean salad.
Finish on a sweet note with rhubarb souffle with hazelnut crumble and custard ice cream, or bitter chocolate and dulce de leche tart with chocolate chip honeycomb parfait. Available dinner only on Monday 14th February.
The Hunter’s Moon
Perfect for the foodie in your life, South Kensington favourite, The Hunter’s Moon is offering three courses for £49.50, including a glass of fizz or cocktail.
Dishes include slow cooked beef raviolo with red wine and truffle broth, roast john dory with crisp oyster, artichoke purée, salsify and red wine or fillet of beef with dauphinois potatoes, wild mushroom fricassee and Madeira. Finish with a rhubarb and pistachio soufflé, or truffled morbier with caramelised brioche, port, honey and thyme.
FishWorks
Lovers that love seafood should head to FishWorks’ for its three-course sharing menu. Available for £55pp across all three restaurants (Marylebone, Covent Garden and Mayfair), starters include a mixed selection of 12 rock oysters from Morecambe Bay, Carlingford and Jersey; whole Devon crab or a classic fritto misto.
Sharing mains feature whole lobster with garlic butter, or FishWorks’ ocean grill – sea bass and sea bream fillets alongside South Coast scallops and chilli, ginger and garlic prawns. Finish with homemade lemon tart or sticky chocolate brownie. An optional appetiser of salmon & caviar blinis with a glass of champagne is also available for an additional £15 per person.
Bar + Block
Enjoy a magical evening at Bar + Block and celebrate Valentine’s Day in style with three delicious courses alongside a complimentary cocktail for just £25 per person, available from 11th-14th February. The candlelit supper kicks off with beef popcorn upon arrival accompanied by a complimentary Love Potion cocktail, before a choice of delicious starters.
The main event puts romance at the heart of the meal with the Melt My Heart steak, available in premium and high-quality cuts of either sirloin, ribeye, rump or fillet – all sourced from British and Irish Angus breeds renowned for their taste and tenderness before being prepared by expert chefs on-site and hand-cut to order. End things on a sweet note and indulge in a decadent dessert of Strawberry & Chocolate Fondue which can be enjoyed as a single portion or sharer for two – elevating the occasion to new chocolaty heights.