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Restaurants & Bars

Where to Turn Up the Romance in Dallas This Valentine’s Day

Here’s to our one true love: fancy schmancy, three-dollar-sign, prix fixe dinners.
By Rachel Colman |
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Kathy Tran

Despite the controversy debating if Valentine’s Day is a marketing ploy or not, we all deserve to feel the love. So, should you find yourself celebrating Valentine’s Day with festive food, drinks, and someone special, here are some romantic dining spots to do just that. This is by no means an exhaustive accounting of every place with a Valentine’s Day meal or special. For more dining inspiration, see our latest Best New Restaurants or 50 Best Restaurants lists.

It goes without saying, but we’ll say it anyway, because we care about you: Book those tables, stat. The decent meal times are flying fast. 

Âme

In Bishop Arts, this Frenchy Indian restaurant’s five-course Valentine’s menu entails foie gras with caramelized fig, heart beet tandoori chicken, pearl sugar sweet heart naan puffs, pomegranate saffron rice, and mo mo dumplings. Feb. 11–14, $200 per couple

Also: Valentine’s champagne brunch weekend on February 12 & 13, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Anise

Inside the recently emerged Drey Hotel, head to Anise, a Mediterranean restaurant and bar where a three-course menu awaits on the weekend ahead of Valentine’s (note: it is, per usual, closed on Mondays).Feb. 11–13, $120, optional wine pairings for $30 per person.

Apothecary, and Rye

Next door sibling restaurants in Lower Greenville (with an original location in McKinney), Apothecary and Rye will serve up a seven-course chef’s tasting menu inside the already superfluous romantic dining digs. $125 per person, optional wine ($65) or cocktail pairing (Apothecary only).

Asador

A modern farm-to-fire restaurant located inside the Renaissance Hotel downtown, Asador has a five-course, prix fixe menu—foie gras brûlée with peach chutney, Japanese A5 Wagyu, chipotle-rubbed rack of lamb, to name a few dishes—and includes a champagne toast and chocolate-covered strawberries. $85

Catbird

Did somebody say Maine lobster served with kaffir-lemongrass butter, porcini-crusted beef carpaccio, and ginger-honey lamb chop? The folks at Catbird did. End the evening by splitting a Catbird s’more, which is a head-turning tableside flambé experience.  

City Hall Bistro

The European bistro inside The Adolphus is featuring a decadent dessert, soufflé cheesecake. Feb. 11 & 12

El Bolero

El Bolero will be serving a special menu available with Valentine’s Day features including camaron relleno, poached shrimp salad, hanger steak, grilled Norwegian halibut, buñuelo-crusted fried ice cream. Feb. 11–14, à la carte

Elm & Good

Sit down at this Graham Dodd-helmed restaurant for a prix fixe four-course menu: Dungeness crab cake, Maria’s mushroom tamale, choice of salad or soup, braised veal ragu, Berkshire bone-in pork chop or butternut squash as your main. The dessert menu will include a Nutella cake or chocolate-covered strawberry vacherin.Additionally, guests that dine on Valentine’s Day can enjoy live jazz music from 7 to 9 p.m. Feb. 11–14, $95

Encina

Encina will be serving a three-course menu with dishes such as 44 Farms beef tartare, ruby red trout, braised short ribs, and goat cheese cheesecake with a complimentary welcome glass of bubbles. Feb. 12 & 14, $75 per person. Regular brunch available Feb. 13

Fearing’s

Dean Fearing’s restaurant is supplying a prix fixe, three-course dinner starring Hawaiian bright red ahi tuna crudo, rrime beef “Wellington,” and dark chocolate peanut butter mousse. $150 per person 

The French Room Bar

Come to Supper Club, Valentine’s edition, where you’ll get a three-course meal—ahem, supper—with cocktail pairings. $145

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Doesn’t the roaring fireplace just make you want to cozy up on a loveseat with a cocktail? (Answer: yes, yes it does.) Courtesy of French Room Bar

Hawthorn

The AT&T-adjacent steakhouse is serving a four-course prix fixe menu with items such as lobster rangoon, hamachi crudo, carbonara, dark chocolate fondue, and fresh strawberries. Feb. 11, 12, & 14, $100

III Forks

III Forks, a beloved North Texas steakhouse, will offer an exclusive three-course Sweetheart Menu for Valentine’s Day. The meal comes with soup or salad, plus entrée and a shared dessert. Feb. 11–14, $210 per couple, dine-in or takeout available

Knife

The Caviar and Champagne Valentine’s Day package at John Tesar’s steakhouse includes two ounces of Passmore Caviar and a half-bottle of Taittinger Champagne, perfect for a dining dup. The caviar is served with white toast, fresh whipped butter, and sea salt. $200

La Mina

This Mexican restaurant at The Village—same swath of campus that houses Anise and Meridian—will have a special dish featured for the holiday: morcilla-stuffed Texas quail with butternut squash and pepita salsa macha ($34). Feb. 11 & 12, open for brunch Feb. 13, closed Feb. 14

Legacy Food Hall

In Plano, Legacy Hall is offering the complete romantic date experience with dinner, drinks, and dessert from nearly 20 eateries before a live show. The night will be complete with performances from Ricki Derek & His Big Band, who will recreate the sound of the greats, past and present, such as favorites by Frank Sinatra, Dino, Tony Bennett, Mel Torme, Tom Jones, Bobby Darin, and Sammy Davis Jr. $55 Sweethearts package (includes wine and desserts)

Malai Kitchen

Malai Kitchen is serving a special dinner menu featuring items such as seared scallops, “drunken” filet mignon, burmese-style grilled cobia, and Thai tea panna cotta. There will also be festive drinks including Lover’s Lane and Burning Passion along with Valentine’s wine specials. All locations, Feb. 14, à la carte

Meridian

Scurry, don’t dilly-dally, to Junior Borges’ modern Brazilian restaurant where you’ll dig into a four-course meal (think rock shrimp with Carolina rice grits or braised oxtail parpardelle) along with an abbreviated à la carte menu of Meridian favorites. See the Valentine’s menu here. $105; $55 for optional wine pairing

Miriam Cocina Latina

Valentine’s Day weekend offerings include a vegan Impossible Meat-stuffed chile relleno, pescado con coco (mahi mahi with coconut sauce), and tenderloin with bleu cheese ($22–$38). For dessert, Miriam serves up her decadent pastel de boda and chocolate caliente for $8. 

Monarch

The sky-high downtown restaurant will feature oysters with cucumber mignonette, Alaskan king crab with tableside rigatoni, 45-day dry-aged tomahawk, and house-made pastas—short rib bolognese and herbyricotta agnolotti—for Valentine’s. $125 per person

Nuri Grill

This upscale Korean steakhouse newcomer has a special Valentine’s menu highlighting tuna tartare, oysters, chateaubriand, soft tofu soup, raspberry macaroons, and Champagne. $70 per person

Ocean Prime

This year, Ocean Prime marries sea bass and caviar for $69 (nice). The dish details: Broiled sea bass is served over cauliflower puree with sauteed haricot verts, toasted garlic fingerling potatoes, and roasted tomatoes, then finished with orange vinaigrette and topped with caviar. For an interesting and Instagrammable drink, get the Elixir of Love (single-estate, copper-stilled Absolut Elyx Swedish wheat vodka, passion fruit, honey, sparkling rosé). For dessert, a warm butter cake accompanied by fresh berries, vanilla ice cream, and raspberry sauce. 

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Berries & Bubbles: a combination of Belvedere citrus vodka, macerated berries, house-made sour, Domaine Chandon brut and topped with dry ice. Courtesy Ocean Prime
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Under the Sea: Ocean Prime boasts an impressive oyster offering, but if you want to go really big, the Smoking Seafood Tower is the move. Courtesy Ocean Prime

Otto’s Coffee and Fine Foods

The Adolphus’ coffee shop will feature festive holiday-themed desserts and pastries, which consists of jam-filled heart-shaped shortbread sandwich cookies, red velvet financiers, and floral raspberry tarts. Available Feb. 7–21

Second Floor at the Exchange Hall (Ounce and Ichi Ni San)  

Four-course prix fixe menus from restaurants Ounce and Ichi Ni San entail beef sirloin, dry-aged duck, mushroom stew, steamed and braised brisket bao, sake-braised pork rib, Gulf “Sakamushi”, millionaire tart, and thite chocolate cheesecake. There will also be a chance to try the specialty cocktail named Love Me 2 Times and other bar specials. Feb. 14, $250 per couple

TJ’s Seafood Market

In addition to the regular menu available at both locations, TJ’s Preston Royal is serving a three-course Surf & Turf special featuring oyster shooters, winter ricotta salad, braised beef short rib, and grilled jumbo Gulf shrimp. Feb. 11–14, $65 per person

Wits Steakhouse

The newly arrived Wits Steakhouse (the Oak replacement in the Design District) will have a four-course prix fixe menu: roma tomato soup, crab duo, duroc-spiced pork chop, and chocolate mousse. Feb. 11, 12, & 14, $125

XOXO Dining Room

We can’t think of more equipped place to spend Valentine’s Day than this pink-everywhere restaurant on Ross Avenue. There’s no shortage of bubbles and booze, and the entree selection has something for every one. That said, the zero-proof drink menu looks lovely for those extending Dry January. Or, if you’re wanting a night out with your crew, you can do a family-style meal (serves four to six). Who says Valentine’s Day are for paramours only?

LOVELY HAPPENINGS

Virgin Hotels Dallas

Chef’s Counter: Every Tuesday, 7-9 p.m.
Indulge in a five-course dinner prepared by the executive chef himself. $120 per person  

Cupid’s Cabaret Burlesque Dinner: Feb. 11, 9 p.m.
Enjoy a themed burlesque show with flowing cocktails, live performances, and an unforgettable dinner menu.  

Flavor of Love: Feb. 11–14
On Valentine’s night, delight in a pre-set, four-course dinner. For any lovebirds celebrating the holiday over the weekend, Commons Club will feature a festive Valentine’s dish, dessert, and cocktail. $80 per person

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