Vancouver restaurants with special Valentine’s Day menus
This Valentine’s Day, we Vancouverites might not be able to crack a bottle of bubbly under the Eiffel Tower—but we sure could crack a non-alcoholic craft beer on a bench in Dude Chilling Park. For those looking for a slightly more elevated experience to share with their Valentine, though, there are a ton of local restaurants offering up special menus on February 14. Here are a few places to start.
Dahlia Restaurant and Cocktail Bar: February 14
Downtown art-deco hotel AZUR’s signature restaurant, Dahlia, will be serving up a three-course menu for two on Valentine’s Day. For $85, diners can choose between appetizers and entrees, ending their meal with a decadent chocolate cake duo (vanilla gelato, chantilly cream, et al). Options include the salmon crudo (spring salmon, lemongrass, coconut milk, lime gel, Thai basil) or the foie gras torchon (spiced date, roasted grape, brioche), followed by a choice of rossini filet, roasted sablefish, or gorgonzola gnocchi.
Jungle Room: February 12 to February 18
The Jungle Room—boasting elevated Indonesian and Japanese street food in the West End—celebrates a week of love this season with exclusive menu items a la carte. Specials include the scallop and gold gyoza (made with black garlic soy, water chestnut, pickled chilli aioli, chilli threads, and gold leaf) and the creamy rose hip creme brulee (ume sugar and gel, candied rose, pisco and brown butter crumb, and burnt shoyu chocolate sauce). Signature cocktails can complement your dishes, if so desired. We recommend the Versailles, with hints of coconut and made with local Sons of Vancouver amaretto.
SUYO Modern Peruvian: February 14
This one-night-only tasting menu celebrates Dia del Amor y la Amistad (Day of Love and Friendship), as it’s known in most Latin American countries. For $249, lovers (and friends) can enjoy SUYO on Main Street’s eight-course tasting menu, which includes the flavourful ceviche amoroso (made with scallops, mussels, clams, side stripe shrimp, and leche de tigre), veal cheek tacos, and a collection of mignardises (bite-sized desserts) including matcha macarons and a chocolate treat.
Mott 32: February 14
Opulence is the game at Mott 32 in the Paradox hotel, and its red leather interior certainly plays up the theme of love. This $260 per person dinner is nothing short of extravagant, featuring high-end items like lobster har gow and alaskan king crab meat fried rice with black truffle, followed up with a rose and valrhona white chocolate panna cotta or blueberry mochi.
Reservations can be made here.
Sushi MAHANA: February 9, 10, 13, and 14
This North Vancouver omakase restaurant serves up mouthwatering fish dishes and one-of-a-kind sake pairings, so sushi lovers will take a shine to this exclusive Valentine’s experience. This $250 per person dinner serves up four premium appetizers, like the negitoro monaka (a Japanese pastry consisting of a sweetened azuki bean paste sandwiched inside a skin, originally made of rice); unagi and karasumi, a rich and satisfying pairing of grilled eel and Japanese bottarga on uni rice; and Wagyu beef sushi served with decadent snow crab sauce; plus 16 pieces of nigiri, miso soup, and dessert.
Reservations can be made here.
Water St Cafe: February 14
Take a seat for two across from iconic Vancouver landmark the Gastown Steam Clock and imbibe in a four- or seven-course menu. The four-course Valentine’s Day feast ($79) includes items like the lobster bisque, a grilled beef tenderloin, and seared albacore tuna, with a choice of tiramisu or a French macaron to end things off. For $149, however, you can indulge in the seven-course menu, which includes a surf-and-turf main course (think: a decadent lobster tail with 72-hour sous vide short ribs) and a petit-fours dessert platter.
Angus T: February 10 to 14
Make it small and sweet. Yaletown and Park Royal bakery Angus T is serving up a delightful Valentine’s Day croissant with dark chocolate and raspberries, and adorned with a pink heart on top. Truly, the gourmand’s way of saying: “Will you be my Valentine?”
Juke’s Chickadee Room: February 14
For an interactive Valentine’s Day date, look no further than Juke’s Chickadee Room in Chinatown. Their popular monthly ‘80s-style Jeopardee trivia night gets a Valentine’s makeover on February 14, testing diners’ knowledge of romance alongside fried chicken dishes. Make the evening extra special by pre-ordering Juke’s fried chicken bouquet—yes, you read that right—featuring eight pieces of classic gluten-free fried chicken wrapped in decorative paper, with a custom card for your special someone.
You’ll want to reserve both a seat and a bouquet ahead of time.
H Tasting Lounge’s Winterlust Dome: February 14
What could be more romantic than dining on the oceanfront in a private, heated glass dome? Pairing the experience with a six-course dinner, of course. For $300, the extravagant West Coast-inspired meal at the H2 inside Coal Harbour’s Westin Bayshore includes fresh oysters (topped with yuzu pearls and Giaveri Siberian caviar), bison carpaccio, and roasted Haida Gwaii halibut, finished off with a chocolate dessert: layers of moist chocolate cake, whipped chocolate ganache, chocolate hazelnut meringue, and chocolate crumble, served with berry compote and honey espresso whipped cream.
Odd Society Spirits’ Valentine’s Cocktail Class: February 11
Odd Society Spirits in East Van low-key has one of the bars in the city, slinging delicious cocktails using its array of award-winning spirits. And now you can learn some of the skills it takes to make said cocktails in this special Valentine’s Day class led by bartender Chris Enns, which includes a tour of the distillery with Odd Society’s master distiller; the tools and ingredients for three cocktails (which can be drank after, of course); snacks to nibble on while you sip; and 10 per cent off Odd Society bottles to take home. Tickets are $90 and include gratuity.
Multiple class times are available. Book yours here.
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