Valentine's Day is fast approaching and, while some balk at this made-up holiday, calling it an excuse for stores to sell cuddly stuffed bears and flowers, most people take the day to heart... literally.
Look, in this increasingly cold world where communication is mostly via computer, why not jump on the opportunity to get all warm and fuzzy?
Our advice? Rush to the card store and pick out a schmaltzy greeting. Buy that cuddly stuffed bear, and make reservations for a romantic dinner for two.
Just remember, Valentine's Day is one of the busiest dining days so make reservations in advance, by using our handy guide to all the cafes and bistros serving up foie gras, oysters, Champagne, and love. As always, prices generally do not include tax and gratuity and menus are subject to change.
See also: Candlelight and Ocean Views: Miami's Ten Most Romantic Restaurants
Executive chef Matthew Medrano is offering a Valentine's Day brunch that features the revival, two eggs on a bed of tater-tot hash, chorizo, cheddar and jalapeno; the Skinny, whole wheat quesadilla, egg whites, turkey, spinach, queso fresco, spicy tomato salsa and greens; challah French toast with vanilla bourbon glaze and bananas, berries or nutella; a crab cake Benedict and a chorizo Benedict. Brunch is offered from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
What's more romantic than a proposal? That's what 1826 is counting on when they unveil a new art piece by Tony Curry, titled The Proposal. Enjoy your multi-course dinner with a live saxophonist for $95 per person.
A five-course holiday mean will be offered from 6:30 to 11 p.m. on February 13 and 14 for $148 per person, plus tax and gratuity. The meal includes two glasses of champagne per couple; beausoleil oyster' with herb granita, tellicherry; citrus marinated beets with caviar; Maine lobster espagnole; wagyu beef duet with au poivre. For dessert, there's a his and hers dessert duo.
Stay overnight at the Mandarin Oriental after dinner and receive a bottle of champagne, chocolate covered strawberries, and breakfast at LaMar with mimosas. Rates start at $739.
The steakhouse at Trump National Doral is offering a three-course menu for $65 per person, excluding tax and gratuity that includes Kumamoto oysters or braised rabbit rillettes; filet Rossini or roasted Arctic char. For dessert, there's red velvet cake or chocolate mousse.
This whimsical restaurant is offering a nine-course menu inspired by the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda entitled "Neruda in Love." Dishes will include rose petals with honey, cotton candy foie gras, smoked oysters, mushroom rice with alba rruffles, roasted cod porrusalda and jamon Serrano, and more. The special dinner is offered from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. and is $150 per person.
A four-course prix fixe dinner includes a selection of appetizers, soup or salad, an entrée, dessert, a glass of champagne and a bottle of house wine for two ($75 per person). The meal begins with a choice of bacon wrapped jumbo prawns, Maryland blue crab cakes or spicy baby back ribs. Then choose from lobster bisque, kale Caesar, or hearts of romaine salad. Entree choices include sautéed grouper topped with white wine lemon butter sauce and served with wild rice and roasted hazelnut Brussels sprouts; roast prime rib paired with Yorkshire pudding, rum braised carrots and duchess potatoes; or grilled lollipop lamb chops topped with bleu cheese smashed potatoes and steamed asparagus. Molten chocolate cake or red velvet cake a la mode ends the meal.
Chef Pascal Oudin's brasserie is offering a special dinner at $75 per couple, excluding tax and gratuity. Start with gnocchi Parisienne with parmesan asparagus grantine for her and six Blue Point oysters with mignonette for him. Then, share a hangar steak and half a Maine lobster with béarnaise sauce and herb beurre blanc. For dessert there's bittersweet chocolate fondue.
A special three-course dinner ($59 per person) is served from 6 to 11 p.m. and features a complimentary bellini cocktail. Start with a choice of arugula salad with figs and speck, aarpaccio di manzo, or mozzarella di buffala with heirloom tomatoes. Entrees include black and red papardella with lobster tail, shrimps, and green peas in a saffron sauce; fiocchi rapera stuffed with cheese and pears alongside a creamy truffle sauce; rigattoni with roasted tomatoes, portobello, and veggies covered in a pomodoro sauce; Chilean sea bass oreganata; or risotto with short ribs topped with fresh mozzarella and spinach. Finish the night with your choice of chocolate mousse cake, cheesecake, tiramisu, or dulce de leche tartuffo.
A special holiday dinner for two includes starters like traditional Greek Salad, Brussels Sprouts, cauliflower bagna cauda, borek, lebneh, and hummus. For the main course, couples can choose between chicken tagine, spicy Moroccan fish tagine,grilled hanger steak, and lamb tagine. $80 per person includes a sweet surprise for dessert. Add a bottle of Moet Rosé or Whispering Angel Rosé for $105.
A Valentine's Day prix-fixe menu is priced at $58 per person (excluding tax and gratuity) and includes a one pound lobster tail or a 14-oz. bone-in filet, each served with choice of vegetable and a shareable side.
Dolce Italian Restaurant at the Gale South Beach
A four-course prix-fixe menu for $75 per person, excludig tax and gratuity, includes chilled Maine lobster served with a potato and shallot salad, string beans in a black truffle vinaigrette or steak tartare with fried artichokes and hazelnuts for starters. Choose from duck and foie gras ravioli garnished with braised leeks and pears or rortellacci di zucca cooked in pumpkin, amoretti, and brown butter for the primi course. As a main entrée, there's fillet of beef, served with roasted veggies, potato cream and bone marrow reduction or Mediterranean branzino with a saffron risotto cake, asparagus and cacciucco. End the night with either vanilla crème meringue or chocolate mousse with hazelnut brittle.
Chef Giorgio Rapicavoli teams up with Miami's Tierra Nueva Fine Cocoa for a special chocolate tasting menu for two. $89 per person, excluding tax and gratuity for dinner. Optional wine pairing is $45 additional. Menu includes crudo with cocoa butter, citrus, buttermilk, sour herbs, and olive aioli; pumpkin with banana mole, Mexican chocolate, and pumpkin seed; sea scallop with fermented white chocolate, parsnip, and brown butter; beef short rib with smoked sweet potato, burnt onion, and cocoa/beef jus; and a dark chocolate cremeaux with roasted white chocolate and milk chocolate ice cream for dessert.
The Sunset Harbour cafe will offer two special entrees and a holiday cocktail. a surf and turf of Black Angus filet mignon with lobster tail and passion fruit buerre blanc, served with a warm faro salad is $55. Alternately, there's a pan seared Chilean sea bass served with blood orange sauce and coconut-scented black Thai rice cake for $45. The sspecial cocktail is the "Besame Mucho", a blend of raspberries, fresh lime, St. Germain liqueur, fresh juices topped with Chambord and Champagne ($14).
J&G Grill at St. Regis Bal Harbour
Chef Dagan Stocks and executive pastry chef Antonio Bachour have put together a four-course menu that includes shareable canapés to start; Kumamoto oysters; salad of shaved asparagus and crispy poached egg with black truffle vinaigrette; Cox Farms chateaubriand of beef for two; and pistachio cake with chocolate mousse and passion fruit sorbet for dessert. $165 per person; advanced reservations required.
The J&G Grill is also hosting an interactive cocktail course for two on Saturday, February 14, from 5 to 6 p.m. at the J&G Grill Bar. $50 per person.
If something non-alcoholic is your cup of tea, the J&G Grill Bar is also offering a Valentine's Day tea for two experience featuring Antonio Bachour's creations from 2 to 5 p.m. $59 per person.
Executive chef Julius Brown presents a three course dinner for two at $49 per person. Starter choices include beefsteak tomato Napoleon; balsamic portobello mushroom salad; or lobster bisque topped with cream sherry. Entree options include New York strip steak paired with gratin dauphinoise potatoes, mushroom tomato rosemary relish and a green peppercorn sauce; split roasted cornish hen served with a herb citrus marinade, sweet potato puree and asparagus polonaise; crab meat stuffed Atlantic salmon with wasabi red bliss mashed potatoes and baby carrots in a lemon dill butter sauce; or Napoleon tower of grilled vegetables served with a red lentil stew. Desserts include strawberry shortcake, molten lava cake, or creme brulee. A selection of wines, starting at $29 per bottle, is available.
Enjoy champagne for two and live entertainment with your three-course dinner that includes a 12 oz. porterhouse and guava Key west prawns served with fufu; or pan-seared sea bass in tomato confit. For dessert, try the chocolate hearts filled with coconut whipped cream & strawberries. Guests will receive a complimentary glass champagne with this special menu and on Valentine's Day a red rose will be given to the ladies. The V-Day prix fixe is available all weekend and is $99 per person, excluding tax and gratuity.
La Mar by Gaston Acurio at Mandarin Oriental
La Mar is offering a trio of special dishes for this special day, each available a la carte from 5:30 to 11 p.m. The power cebiche is made with with scallops, oysters and uni in a creamy rocoto leche de tigre with chalaca; the passion tiradito has thinly sliced salmon, peanut sauce and passion fruit leche de tigre; and the spicy parihuela is a traditional Peruvian soup with chiles, served with a toasted baguette.
a tasting menu for two includes oysters Bienville with Florida rock shrimp, Paradise Farms mushrooms, Trinity & Grana Padano, and sherry wine; terrine of grilled foie gras with Calabaza squash jam, Swank Farms upland cress & pickled spring onions, and toasted Sally Lunn bread. Entrees include broiled Florida flounder with braised Three Sister's Farm fennel, cassoulet of local tomatoes, country ham & shelling beans,and
apple cider emulsion and smoked and braised short rib pot roast with Charleston rice grits, Homestead carrots, sea salt & vinegar potato chips. For dessert, there the Duke's Southern chocolate layer cake with passion fruit curd and chocolate crumble. $80, excluding tax and gratuity.
Lou's Beer Garden at the New Hotel
Enjoy a carafe of St. Germain cocktails for two. The cocktail, a mixture of Champagne, sparkling water, St,. Germain, and a lemon twist, is prepared tableside and is perfect for sharing. The special cocktail for two service is $32 and available now through February 14.
V-Day specials include vitello tonnato with sunchokes, parsley and capers; truffle risotto; and whole orata with baby heirloom tomatoes and zucchini. Mixologist Will Rivas is preparing a special La Vie en Rose cocktail made with Dillon's Rose Gin, strawberry balsamic syrup, thyme and lemon.
Dinner for two is $225 and includes an appetizer of six Kusshi oysters with cucumber mignonette, king crab and Aussie AA5 tenderloin; and a special dessert to share.
Seagrape at the Thompson Miami Beach
Get your caviar on with one ounce jars of iberian Osetra ($150), Royal Oserta ($225), and Keluga/River Beluga ($250). Dinner specials include lobster bisque ($19); perigold truffle carbonara ($42); and beef rossini with Florida Wagyu filet mignon and foie gras ($65).
Enjoy dinner and a Michael McDonald concert on V-Day for $175 per person, excluding tax and gratuity, that includes a pre-show dinner at 6 or 7 p.m., a lass to BleauLive with a two-hour open bar. For reservations, please call (877) 512-8002 or visit www.fontainebleau.com.
$75 per couple gets you a prix-fixe meal that includes a shared appetizer, an entree of their choice, a shared dessert, and two glasses of prosecco.
Chef Pascal Oudin has created a special prix-fixe, his-and-hers menu, priced at $95 per person, excluding tax and gartuity. Dinner starts with an amuse bouche. First course for her is a Florida blue crab salad in crisp feuille de brique, Haas avocado puree, and American sturgeon caviar. His first course is a twice baked upside down gruyere cheese souffle with cheese fondue and infused whie truffle oil. The entree for two is a shared tenderloin of beer chateubriand with French haricot verts, tomato provencale, young carrot and pomme risole and bernaise sauce. A shared dessert of strawberr and vanilla bean baked Alaska with Grand Marnier meringue and long stem chocolate strawberry ends the meal sweetly.
Dinner ($89 per person) includes tempura lobster tacos with baby arugula, tarragon, and zesty remoulade or organic frisee with petite spinach, roquefort cheese, and warm-spiced pear vinaigrette; entrees include Chilean sea bass en papilotte or cocoa rubbed beef filet. Dessert is a chocolate mousse with hazelnut cream, crisp caramel rice, persimmon ganache, and vanilla bean sauce.
Shareable V-Day specials include an antipasto di mare ($25); spaghetto allo scoglio with lobster, shrimp, clams, mussels, and calamari $85); and a 22-oz. T-bone served with Bussels sprouts and roasted fingerling potatoes in a shiitake mushroom sauce ($100).
If your Valentine is "worth a million" then the Red "millionaire dinner" is the way to go. The menu includes Russian imperial caviar paired with Krug, Grand Cuvee, Brut, Reims; flash fried buratta wrapped in Iberico Pata Negra, heirloom tomatoes and 50-year-old balsamic paired with 2009 Leflaive Burgundy; and a surf and turf of A5 Japanese miyazaki kobe beef paired with Brittany blue lobster thermidor. The price of this priceless dining experience? $799 per person, not including tax or gratuity.
a five-course his-and-hers menu starts with a complimentary glass of Tattinger Brut, Prestive Cuvee. Dinner will be presented on a romantic candle-lit and rose petal-strewn table with a meal created by executive chef Mathias Gervais. $145 per person. A wine pairing is an additional $65 per person. Served 7 p.m. to midnight. Each table will receive a complimentary rose and special rose and strawberry macaroons upon departure.
The scenic winery has several options including a picnic basket for two that includes two Schnebly wine glasses, a bottle of Love Potion #9 wine, Florida lobster salad, sliced filet mignon, Miami Brewing Co. brewery tabouli, dark chocolate torte, and more ($125 for two).
There's also a waterfall tiki dinner that includes a four course wine and beer pairing dinner by chef Dewey LoSasso. Menu options include yellow snaper ceviche, carrot poached lobster, and lychee wood grilled black grouper. $120 per person; 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. seatings available. A special four course dinner enjoyed under the einery's passion fruit vines is also available. $150 per person includes unlimited sparkling passion wine. 6:30 seating only.
A special Love at First Sight menu ($150 per couple) features a complimentary glass of Argyle "Brut" Willamette Valley served With fresh strawberries. The menu includes a house salad, dragon roll, Korean fried chicken with Soo Woo spicy sauce and your choice of Allen Brothers beef New York strip or filet mignon, wile shrimp or chicken breast. For dessert, there's double chocolate cake and vanilla mochi ice cream.
A four-course Valentine's Day menu includes a shared bottle of Solo Contigo wine (per couple) is served all weekend long from February 13-15. $150 per couple; $100 for dinner to-go.
The Traymore Restaurant and Bar at the Metropolitan by COMO
Executive chef Jonathan Laneand executive pastry chef Emanuel Alves have put together a four-course dinner that includes an amuse of chilled east coast oysters with cucumber and Thai chili mignotte, followed by a choice of appetizers that include a lightly grilled fig and wild arugula salad or Maine lobster and blue crab bisque. The main course choices are slow cooked black cod with red ribbon chard, onion, smoked artichokes and aged cider reduction, or coffee crusted dry aged beef tenderloin with parsnip puree and roasted parsnip, black trump mushrooms and cherry-bone marrow butter. Dessert is a pink macaroon, raspberry and rose cremeaux, fresh berries and berry coulis. $75 per person, excluding tax, gratuity, and alcohol.
Vaentine's dinner is $96 per couple and includes dishes like risotto with Maine lobster with burrata cheese and imported Italian Calvisus caviar or beef braised short ribs with fresh shaved black truffle. His and hers cocktails are also available.
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