The Food of Love

Whether you're spending the holiday together or solo, here's your guide to this year's best Valentine's Day dining around town.

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Valentine’s Day, Amateur Night, Singles' Awareness Day — whatever you prefer to call it — is approaching, and fast. Perhaps you're one-half of the couple that likes to celebrate with hearts, flowers and chocolates? Maybe you’re the one that rolls low-key with movies at home and takeout? Or you could be single and ready to... not mingle but simply enjoy your Sunday. Whatever you or you choose, here are some starting spots and specials for dinner, gifts and activities, just in case your creativity is shot.

Tables for Two, or Perhaps Just for You:

  • Acacia Mid-town has your dine-in or dine-out completely covered. Dine-in at $65 per person ($85 with wine) with options such as baby shrimp salad and sautéed rockfish. Dine-out ideas include a jumbo lump crab cake dinner with kale and potatoes, for $20 a person. Or do both. That’s one very good weekend. Call 562-0138 to reserve/order. (2601 W. Cary St.)
  • New-ish option Belle & James is offering with a three-course meal Friday through Sunday, with wine included, for $120 per person. There are lobster tails, smoked rib-eyes, and Amish chicken, oh my. Grab a spot by calling 643-0366. (700 E. Main St.)
  • Bistro 27 will present a special three-course Valentine's menu on both Feb. 13 and 14, for $58 per person, with dishes such as snapper and grilled oysters. Call 780-0086 to get that aphrodisiac. (27 W. Broad St.)
  • The Boathouse at Rocketts Landing is planning to get jazzy with live jazz from 6 to 10 p.m. on Sunday. While the music is flowing, so will the food and drink: Expect a special seafood-heavy menu, plus red, white and sparkling wine flights. Call 622-2628 to reserve. BONUS: While live jazz won't be available at any other Boathouse location, the special V-Day menu will be, all weekend long. Go forth. (4708 Old Main St.)
  • Saddle up to burgers and shakes on Sunday at Boulevard Burger and Brew, where you'll get one shareable plate, two burgers of your choosing, two sides and one dessert, all for $25. No reservations required/available, so just get there when you get there. (1300 N. Boulevard) 
  • Camden's Dogtown Market said it best: "If a pudgy, naked winged child shooting arrows into your chest cavity isn't your idea of fun, how about spending Valentine's Day at Camden's? Thirty-five dollars per person and if your love isn't worth that, your relationship probably isn't going anywhere anyway." Enjoy plates such as artichoke-and-Gruyere-smothered chicken with rosemary rice, and beef tenderloin with mustard greens, wild mushroom demi-glace and blue-cheese-laced mashers. Add the restaurant's optional wine pairings, or else take advantage of the waived corkage fee and bring your own! Reservations are available between 6 and 8:30 p.m. for Sunday dinner. Call 745-6488 to ride that train. (201 W. Seventh St.)
  • Conch Republic is offering a prix fixe menu for $99 per couple, Friday through Sunday. Enjoy two views (ahem, the river and your date) whilst dining on King Kamehameha prawns. Say that five times fast. Call 226-6242 to book. (11 Orleans St.)
  • Over at Heritage, both Saturday and Sunday's V-Day dinners are fully booked, but if you're hoping to get on the waitlist for that three-course, $40 prix fixe menu, call 353-4060. The local flounder with smoked potato purée, Meyer lemon, capers and spinach is waiting for you. (1627 W. Main St.)
  • If Hooters or Waffle House is more your thing, both offer Valentine’s Day opportunity. Waffle House has a candlelight dinner, complete with a white table cloth and a T-bone steak for two on V-Day. (Take note: The nearest participating location is in Petersburg.) Hooters asks that you shred or bash your ex online or in store to get free boneless wings. So there's that.
  • Kitchen on Cary is celebrating all weekend with a special three-course prix-fixe menu, $85 per couple, from Friday to Sunday. There’s lobster, which is really all you need to know. Secure your seat via official site or 643-1315. (1331 E. Cary St.)
  • On Sunday, Longoven, that crazy trio that's been popping up biweekly at Sub Rosa, is spinning (Marty Violence is actually doing the spinning with a live DJ set) into love with little sweet and savory treats paired with speciality beverages from 8 to 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $35 per person and include a couple of beverages. (620 N. 25th St.)
  • N.K.O.T.B. Maple & Pine Restaurant is preparing a four-course dinner for $85.00 per person on both Saturday and Sunday. The menu is dressed up with beef short ribs and seared diver scallops with accessories like vanilla olive oil cake. Go for the cake. Stay for the art. Just be sure to call 340-6050 to reserve your spot. (201 W. Broad St.)
  • Head to Max's Positive Vibe Cafe Friday through Sunday for a special four-course V-Day menu that'll only set you back $33 for each omnivore, and $27 per vegetarian-leaning patron. (Score!) Expect dishes such as pork belly with apple-onion risotto, and a vegan terrine with roasted wild mushrooms, nuts, roasted garlic cream, braised leeks and red pepper coulis. Call 560-9622 to get on that. (2825 Hathaway Road)
  • Metro Grill will be serving a five-course meal on both Sunday and Monday, for $90 per couple (with an add-on of $10 for a bottle of wine or sparkling wine), featuring foodstuffs like lamb lollipops, and pumpkin and wild mushroom ravioli. Hit Robinson Street for couple time instead of tequila time (no offense, tequila). Book your spot via 353-4453. (301 N. Robinson St.)
  • Metzger Bar & Butchery is featuring a three-course meal — with treats! — for $50 per person on Sunday. Think crab croquettes, dry-aged rib-eye steaks, and chocolate pavlova for your lov-ah. Wir beten dich an, Metzger. Call 325-3147 to book, then book it over there. (Should you need to reschedule your romantic dinner to next Wednesday, stop by Metzger's date night for $50 per couple, including wine.) (801 N. 23rd St.)
  • Pizza Tonight Restaurant & Bar is sending out a four-course meal ($75 for two) that includes a bottle of wine. If you can't see your S.O. on Sunday, you could hit Pizza Tonight's Tuesday date night ($50, with a bottle of wine as well) and still get in a romantic dinner. Call 477-3355 for reservations. (2110 E. Main St.)
  • How does seared Hudson Valley foie gras with blackberry compote sound? Perhaps veal osso buco or oven-roasted rockfish are more your pace? Regardless, you can round it all out with chocolate pâté or Grand Marnier crème brûlée at Pomegranate's three-course Valentine's Day dinner, available Friday through Sunday night at $55 per person. Dial 447-4365 to get a seat. (3321 W. Cary St.)
  • Rappahannock Restaurant is feeling romantic, so much so that it sold out its $55-per-person dinner this weekend, which features Barcat oysters and Bourride. But never fear, there are a few bar seats available. Snag those by calling 545-0565; you could also be the first to see Rappahannock's new companion oyster and cocktail bar, Rapp Session, opening softly (permits pending) on Saturday or Sunday. (320 E. Grace St.)
  • The Roosevelt's three-course, prix fixe, $45-each seats are entirely booked for Sunday dinner, and with dishes such as potato gnocchi with lamb ragout, pecorino cheese, mustard crème fraîche and pickled mustard seeds, it's clear to see why. Big on keeping your fingers crossed? Call 658-1935 to get yourself on that waitlist. (623 N. 25th St.)
  • On Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, Saison is offering a three-course, $40-per-person menu sporting chicken liver mousse with vermouth gelée, and Rohan duck breast with sunchokes and pickled carrot, among other plates that'll put cartoon hearts in your eyes. Oh, and psssst, there are wine pairings available, too. Call 269-3689 to save your seat. (23 W. Marshall St.)
  • Secco Wine Bar is celebrating Big Love (no, not that insufferable HBO series) with magnums (of wine)! Enjoy pours such as the Domaine de Fenouillet Beaumes de Venise Rouge “Yvon Soard,” a nice French syrah-grenache blend. Need sustenance? No problem. A three-course meal is also available all weekend (from Friday to Sunday) for $35 per person and includes choices such as gluten-free truffle pappardelle. (The magnum wine flight add-on is priced at $20.) No reservations necessary, but if you want to stake your claim, call 353-0670. (2933 W. Cary St.)
  • Looking for a romantic meal on Saturday, Sunday or both nights of V-Day weekend? Southbound's offering a three-course meal at $45 per person, and it's got gluten-free and vegetarian options available! Enjoy items such as lamb porterhouse  with soft polenta, broccolini and verde sauce, and panna cotta with salted caramel and pistachio brittle; if that doesn't get your mouth watering, we're not sure what will. (Don't forget to call 918-5431 to reserve your spot.) (3036 Stony Point Road)
  • Southern Season's restaurant, Southerly, is offering a prix fixe menu for $49 per person. And over at the cooking school, it time for couples’ pie making! (More on that, later.) Call 292-3447 to reserve your seat at the dinner table. (2250 Staples Mill Road)
  • UGK, Richmond’s underground pop-up dinner party, is hosting a to-be-announced dinner on Feb. 14th. Details are, as per usze, announced after tickets are purchased, but it promises to be sensual. Sign up online. (Super-secret location, duh)

Music & Art:

  • Cover to Cover is back at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, this time with a live cover of Heart's classic album, "Dreamboat Annie." The musical originally was released on Feb. 14, 1976. Heart knew what they were doing in 1976. Feel the Magic, Man. (2408 Ownby Lane)
  • Quirk Hotel is having a special Valentine’s Day trunk show event from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, with items from drift / riot, Mother Daughter, Rabbit Foot Fern and Strawberry Fields Flowers and Finds. (201 W. Broad St.)
  • WRIR is hosting its 10th annual Black Valentine’s Day, and this year it's at Gallery5. Three bands and a live date auction (buy someone a date, give money to charity!) will take place on Saturday, Feb. 13. The event is free but donations are welcome for Gallery5, and if you're lucky enough to head home with someone after the auction, those monies benefit WRIR. (200 W. Marshall St.)

Classes, Specials & Gifts:

  • Amour Wine Bistro is getting a jump on love and hosting a how-to for those who may need a brush-up in selecting the perfect libation for the red day. Tonight, Wednesday, you can learn how to select and hold your champagne while sipping on four to five glasses, all for $39 per person. You're guaranteed to go home with a surprise. (3129 W. Cary St.)
  • Now through Sunday, Carytown Cupcakes is saying “meh” to all this love stuff and playing break-up tunes and epic lovey ballads with live music on Thursday and Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. Also, find cupcakes in "Un-Valentine’s Day” themes such as Galentine’s Day, Nothing to Wine About, Treat Yo’ Self, Netflix & Chill, Bleeding Heart, and Un-Conversation Heart. Pick up a phone and dial 355-2253 to order ahead. (3111 W. Cary St.)
  • In a serious jam about what to get your sweetie? (No, we're not sorry about that pun, and don't you forget it.) Local preserves outfit Dayum, This is My Jam is offering a special V-Day "mixtape" box, which contains three full-sized jams, all for $25. Order via dayumjamRVA@gmail.com, or stop by the Dayum, Jam booth the Lakeside Farmers' Market this Saturday from 9 a.m. until noon. Want to know more about these makers? Check this out. (Lakeside Farmers' Market: 6106 Lakeside Ave.)
  • King of Pops in Scott’s Addition is putting you and yours to work. All weekend, KOP will offer factory tours complete with a class on how to make your favorite frozen treat. Then, left to your own devices, you'll make your own pops to take home. Bonus: Each pop-maker gets a certificate for a free 60-minute massage for those productive frozen hands. We kid. It’s for your significant other, ovbs. Call 475-9026 to nab a spot. (3001 W. Clay St.)
  • Give back with RVABiscuitLove. Volunteer with some of your closest friends to create a pop-up restaurant in the middle of Monroe Park for Richmond’s homeless community this Sunday morning. (Full disclosure: Robey Martin, one of the authors of this roundup, is involved in this event.) Sign up here  to serve biscuits, move chairs or play music. Then head to Olio in The Fan for the after-party and get your giving heart a beverage. (620 W. Main St.)
  • The Science Museum of Virginia is banking on a few Valentine’s Day revelers’ inquisitive natures. On Feb. 13 and 14, you and your S.O. can watch Live Science Educators dissect and describe the inner-workings of a sheep's heart. Real heart-stopping romance. (2500 W. Broad St.)
  • Over at Southern Season's cooking school, get (your hands) dirty with two love-inspired courses: The "Chocolate is for Lovers" class on Saturday, Feb. 13 will teach you how to make chocolate and other sweets at home, while Sunday, Feb. 14th's couples pie class will get you collaborating on a berry pie and a chocolate pudding pie. Pie. Making. Together. Love with crust. [Update: Both classes are now sold out. To be added to the waitlist, call (855) 592-3446.] (2250 Staples Mill Road.)
  • Get something sweet for your sweetie (OK, maybe just for you) by calling Whisk bakery and ordering one of its $15 Sweetheart Boxes, which come filled with whisker cookies, hand-rolled chocolate truffles, and chocolate-covered strawberry macarons. Hit up whiskrva@gmail.com or 728-1576 to place your order, then stop by for pick-up Friday through Sunday. (You can also pick up individual conversation-heart chocolate cakes, available catch-as-catch-can at the bakery.) Oh, how sweet it is. (2100 E. Main St.)

Correction: Southbound's Valentine's Day menu offers vegetarian options, not vegan. This post has been updated to reflect this.

Did we miss anything? Send your Valentine's Day menus and events to stephanieb@richmag.com.