Valentine’s Day package from Hawksworth Restaurant; Photo: Hawksworth Restaurant
A lot of love is evidenced in the carefully crafted menus that restaurants in the city have dreamed up for Valentine’s Day this year. And during this difficult time, I think we can all agree that love is a welcome thing to embrace.
Whether you are planning to sup on a restaurant meal at home, go out to celebrate with a romantic partner, or take yourself out on a much-deserved self-date, there are plenty of options offered by Vancouver establishments.
Below are 10 ideas to get you started on your Valentine’s Day planning:
Until further notice, in line with the public health order, non-essential travel into, within, and out of BC is not recommended. BC residents, let’s do our part by continuing to stay small and support local with your immediate household, in accordance with the latest guidelines.
Heat and Eat a Meal from Provence Marinaside
Photo: Aiofe Rafferty
Love comes in many forms; as a result, Provence Marinaside (1177 Marinaside Crescent) is offering two delicious ways to mark Valentine’s Day. The first consists of a Heat and Eat Dinner For Two. You and your Valentine can prepare together a four-course seafood dinner that begins with a prawn cocktail, and then features crab and shrimp cakes with piquillo pepper and espelette mayo, roasted sablefish with baby vegetables, fingerling potatoes, and wild mushroom broth, and a sour cherry and kirsch frangipane tarte, opera cake, macarons, and Thomas Haas chocolates for dessert. The impressive meal will take only 30-45 minutes, and you’ll have the help of instructions and a link to a video for pulling off plating magic. The Dinner ($139), available February 12-14, must be pre-ordered by February 10. Wine director Joshua Carlson has bottle suggestions you can add to your at home feast.
Valentine’s Day dinner ($95 per person with $55 per person optional wine pairings) at the restaurant, meanwhile is a five-course extravaganza with selections like grilled scallops with pea shoots, smoked herring roe, and beurre blanc; a Provençal seafood platter with a half lobster tail, prawns, scallops, mussels, fish, market vegetables, and seven grain rice; and various mignardises for dessert (e.g., lemon tarte).
Brunch at Home Thanks to Café Medina
Photo: Cafe Medina
If you want to celebrate your love with a mid-day meal at your abode, Café Medina (780 Richards Street) has announced “For the Love of Brunch” take-home kits for Valentine’s Day. The kits are good for 2 or 4 people ($125; $175) and come with your choice of entrée for preparing at home, like Café Medina’s signature cassoulet with eggs, bacon, Andouille sausage, saucisson de Paris, white beans, red wine, and Roma tomatoes. To complement the savoury, you’ll also get two (or four) Liège waffles with milk chocolate lavender or salted caramel topping, and five 66% dark chocolate salted caramel ganache hearts from BETA5. Drink-wise, the kit is equipped with a bag of 49th Parallel Old School Espresso (340 g., whole bean) and a mimosa kit. And there’s a Medina matchbox for lighting one of your candles for romantic mood. Extra ganache hearts ($18) can be purchased, as can a floral bouquet from Vivio Flower Gallery ($25).
Kits need to be preordered before February 9 and can be delivered (15 km radius, $10 fee) or picked up on February 13.
Raise a Taco and a Cocktail to Your Love at Ophelia
Photo: Ophelia
Nothing says I love you like a perfectly executed and assembled taco. Vancouver diners are still gaga over Ophelia (165 West 2nd Avenue) and its elevated take on Mexican cuisine. Their three-course Valentine’s Day menu ($55 per person, $25 for drink pairings) is a truly unique dining adventure that begins with a welcome xoxo cocktail and then proceeds to items like aguachile negro (prawns, scallops, and avocado with red onion and burnt salsa broth); grilled Cache Creek rib eye tacos with cheddar, avocado, corn tortillas, and smoked serrano salsa; and a tres leches cake with BC berry compote, lime whipped cream, and pistachio crumble.
Treat Yourselves to Surf and Turf at Gotham Steakhouse
Photo: Gotham
There’s lots going on for Valentine’s Day at Gotham Steakhouse (615 Seymour Street), including live musical and DJ performances as you sup on an incredible three course meal ($199.50 per couple) that’s available February 9-15. The pinnacle of the meal is the steak and lobster, which consists of a choice between a 6 oz filet or 8 oz New York strip steak, served with Atlantic lobster and drawn butter. It comes with herb-roasted purple and white fingerling potatoes, braised caramelized endive with Iberico ham, and Manchego gratin. The drink for the night is the “New Flame,” with gin, red vermouth, Lillet, strawberry syrup, and Campari meringue foam, all garnished with rose sugar. Takeout is also available.
Pay Tribute to Amore at Italian Kitchen
Photo: Italian Kitchen
Designed for a duo, the Valentine’s Day package ($170) at Italian Kitchen (860 Burrard Street) is available from February 12-14. You’ll start with either lobster bisque or squash and burrata salad, followed by a bountiful sharing platter with a Dungeness crab stuffed bone-in veal chop with tomato fondue, arugula, and shaved parmesan; Chilean seabass, with jumbo scallops and prawn, served atop saffron risotto with blistered cherry tomatoes, and beurre blanc; and grilled lamb chops with seasonal vegetables, and balsamic jus. Save room (if you can) for a raspberry and white chocolate heart. Items can also be ordered a la carte.
Visit Granville Island’s Red Heart Installation After Dinner at Dockside or Sandbar Restaurant
The Sandbar Valentine’s Day ravioli; Photo: Steph Wan
Granville Island and its establishments have found creative ways to make Valentine’s Day extra special this year. From February 8-14, you can visit the red heart installation across from the Public Market, find a red jewel in the Public Market courtyard, and pose under the sparkly lights off Railspur Alley.
There are many options on Granville Island for a Valentine’s Day meal, including Dockside Restaurant (1253 Johnston St), which is offering their a la carte as well as their Dine Out Vancouver dinner menu, which includes dishes like duck confit salad with radicchio, fennel, orange, apple, and walnuts; braised short rib with parsnip pureé and crispy leeks; and a flourless chocolate torte ($44 per person).
The Sandbar (1535 Johnston St) has a three-course Date Night at Home dinner for two ($99) that makes for easy reheating and serving (the dinner is also available at Seasons in the Park and Cardero’s). It features such items as spinach, artichoke, and ricotta ravioli with rose sauce; lobster thermidor; and chocolate lava cake. Many of these creations can be enjoyed as feature dine-in dishes (e.g., lobster thermidor) on Valentine’s Day at The Sandbar.
Revel in Romance at Bacchus Restaurant & Lounge
Foie gras; Photo: Pendulum Magazine
You can’t get much more romantic in décor than Bachus Restaurant & Lounge (Wedgewood Hotel, 845 Hornby Street) with the room’s rich jewel tone accents, dark wood, and intimate lighting. The five-course menu is a symphony of sumptuous eating that begins with an amuse bouche of local salmon caviar on pita with crème fraîche and watercress, before moving you through other delightful courses, like Québec foie gras two ways with craft brioche, purple carrots, huckleberry fondue, and hibiscus gel; and certified Angus beef tenderloin with Patagonia king prawn, Parisian gnocchi, cauliflower couscous, olive oil poached tomato, and Béarnaise sauce. The meal culminates with a dessert platter with raspberry and cherry mousse cake and a rose petals and lychee profiterole. The meal is $129 per person (prepaid in advance) with optional $48 wine pairings.
Enjoy a Design-Forward Dinner from Hawksworth Restaurant
Decadent dark chocolate dessert; Photo: Hawksworth Restaurant
The refinement of the cuisine at Hawksworth Restaurant (801 West Georgia Street) is getting even more gorgeous with an upcoming Valentine’s Day collaboration with Lark & Ives, a Vancouver design studio. The elegant take-home six course menu includes yellowtail amberjack crudo with radish, avocado purée, and coconut snow; a beef duo of braised short rib, beef tenderloin, potato fondant, and truffle madeira jus; and a dark chocolate last course with rose namelaka and black cherry cream. The very special meal is $287.50 for 2, with lovely add-ons like the brand new 2017 H’s Brut made in collab with Fitzpatrick Family Vineyards, the Lark & Ives Floral Monogram Box, and “A Moment I Treasure” cocktail kit. Orders must be made by February at 5pm (or until sold out), and can be picked up February 12-14.
Indulge in Forkfuls of Romantic Comfort Food at Fable Diner
Photo: Fable Diner
A very affordable and special Valentine’s Day Dinner can be had at Fable Diner (151 East Broadway). The $45 per person meal encompasses three courses, starting with a choice between cauliflower velouté with truffle paste or mussels with white wine, and then a choice between grilled sirloin steak with roast potatoes and seasonal veggies; seared sockeye salmon with mashed potatoes, green beans, and confit potatoes; and housemade pasta with mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes, arugula, basil purée, and parmesan cheese for your main. Dessert is an Elvis gateau (chocolate cake with peanut butter mousse, and caramel) or a strawberry shortcake roll with vanilla whip cream. In addition, Fable Diner is featuring two three-course takeout/delivery menus ($50 and $55), which have similar items to the dine-in menu.
Say Yes to Chocolate at Beaucoup Bakery
Photo: Rich Won
If you’re seeking the ultimate last course treats for your Valentine’s Day eating, head to Beaucoup Bakery (2150 Fir Street) where they’ve created gorgeous heart-shaped bonbons ($25 for 9 pieces), a boxed chocolate heart filled with a small chocolate heart shaped hot chocolate bomb, three heart-shaped bonbons, and two strawberry heart pops ($35). There’s also a take-home fondant au chocolat for heating and serving.
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