Where To Dine In London This Valentine’s Day
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2 hours ago
Romantic menus across the capital
Yes it’s cliché, but when it comes to Valentine’s Day a delicious dinner out is a surefire way to impress your date – provided you pick the right location. Rather than battling for a table at the hottest new opening in town, choose somewhere your other half will feel happiest. Perhaps they love beautiful decor? Maybe they’re big on seafood? Or are they a sucker for a good view? Whatever you’re looking for, we’ve rounded up the best restaurants – from Michelin-starred heavyweights and unapologetic splurges to London’s most atmospheric dining rooms and genuinely good value-for-money menus.
Valentine’s Day In London: Best Restaurant Menus For 2026
Restaurants With Michelin Stars
Trishna
Trishna is the sister site to London’s two star Indian restaurant Gymkhana, but it’s by no means the consolation prize (should the latter prove impossible to book). With its own Michelin star that it has held continuously for 13 years, and a focus on coastal Indian cuisine – think Cochin to Kerala – this is an exceptional dinner destination. And, possibly, but don’t tell anyone, it has a better atmosphere than its sibling spot. Tucked away behind the Wallace Collection, the Valentine’s tasting menu will impress upon your date your food savoir-faire over five courses, from halibut lemon tikka and Alabar crab cutlets to a glorious red velvet cheesecake.
How much? £130pp, plus £75pp for wine pairing.
Book via sevenrooms.com
Snacks and champagne at Caractère restaurant
Caractère
Surely it bodes well for the success of your Valentine’s union to dine at one Michelin-starred Caractère in Notting Hill, which is helmed by long married couple Emily Roux (from the Roux cheffing dynasty) and Diego Ferrari. Its romantic menu offerings include both a three-course lunch and four-course dinner. You can expect dishes such as Sicilian red prawn tartlette: a marriage of Roux and Ferrari’s French and Italian upbringings.
How much? Three course lunch for £130pp, plus £60pp wine pairing; four-course dinner with glass of bubbles on arrival for £175pp, plus £80pp wine pairing.
Book via caractererestaurant.com
Restaurants With The Best Atmosphere
The downstairs dining room at Ixchel, Chelsea
Ixchel
Rosy-hued Ixchel opened on the King’s Road, Chelsea, in late 2023 and has cemented itself as the ultimate ‘taste of Tulum’ in London ever since. Its interiors deliver on atmosphere too, with a bright, art-filled upstairs contrasting with a downstairs dining room that oozes intimacy and candlelit cocktail energy. Chef Ximena Gayosso Gonzalez’s traditional Mexican menu comes to life on Valentine’s Day over four courses, all tinged through a certain-coloured lens. Think scallops and prawns served in a strawberry aguachile to start, and little Mexican chocolate tamales to finish. Even the crémant will be rosy – or at least rosé.
How much? £125pp, including a glass of crémant rosé.
Book via opentable.co.uk
Brunswick House
Hello Wuthering Heights – nothing says sublime romance like dining with your paramour in a grand yet crumbling manor filled with antiques. Grade II-listed Brunswick House in Vauxhall promises a treat beyond the visual feast. Pick from options on a set menu that includes plenty of sharers – let your hands meet over the Suffolk chicken, perhaps – as well as solo plates that enforce healthy boundaries.
How much? £80pp.
Book via brunswickhouse.london
Oysters served at Rosi at the Beaumont
Rosi at The Beaumont
Rosi at the Beaumont offers dollops of art deco charm (but luckily, says Ellie Smith, matched by substance). Its five-course Valentine’s menu is available both on the big day as well as Friday 13 February, and features mouth-watering mains such as its Cornish lobster linguine and its treacle-cured dry-aged beef fillet. Its desserts feel bound to capture your heart, whether its a hazelnut Paris-Brest drizzled in an oozy caramel sauce or the fresh passion fruit parfait with dark chocolate sorbet. It’s only a short stumble to the hotel’s Le Magritte bar for a digestif – and if the date is going especially well, there’s always the option of a room upstairs.
How much? £95pp.
Book via sevenrooms.com
Budget-Conscious Valentine’s Menus
Khao Bird
Khao Bird is the northern Thai BBQ restaurant, from Luke Larsson and Mike Palmer, set in a former adult cinema in Soho. Don’t expect anything raunchy these days, but the menu will nonetheless still pique your interest, especially at £54pp. This includes hor d’oeuvres and starters, followed by your pick of three punchy curries, unlimited rice and a duo of desserts, a burmese polenta cakes and savoury fruit granita with fried shallots and kefir lime.
How much? £54pp.
Book via khaobird.com
Sam’s Riverside
Gaze over the romantically lit Hammersmith Bridge from the comfort of Sam’s Riverside. Its produce-led Valentine’s sharing menu is as pretty a sight as the curl of the Thames nearby (and the £80pp price). Plump for Carlingford oysters to start and then split a Hereford aged T-bone steak, before rounding off the night with a dark chocolate mousse and a river stroll.
How much? £80pp.
Book via samsriverside.co.uk
The savoury and sweet sharing boards at Pivot
Pivot
Conveniently located in – and with some tables overlooking – Covent Garden, Pivot is a little bar and bistro offering dollops of charm alongside a menu curated by chef Mark Greenaway. Its Valentine’s offer is a two-pronged sharing board feast; the savoury board is a mix of salami, croquettes, cheeses and picky bits, while its dessert board comprises chocolate dipped strawberries, amarena cherry pavlova, dark chocolate mousse, date and berry coulis jars and blackberry custard tartlettes… Who knows, perhaps your hands will touch over the honey-mustard chipolatas.
How much? £60 for both boards, serves two.
Book via sevenrooms.com
Splurge Valentine’s Menus
Roketsu
For an unhurried evening, Japanese kaiseki restaurant Roketsu offers its ‘Prime Kappo’ tasting menu – i.e. a menu completely left to the chef. Perch at the counter and enjoy a leisurely six courses, from charcoal grilled highlights to nigiri sushi, that will be completely led by the best seasonal and market picks of the day. There’s only 16 seats for each of two sittings for dinner, so the night promises truly intimate dining.
How much? £200pp.
Book via opentable.co.uk
GŎNG Bar
Sat on the dizzying 52nd floor of the Shard, the pan-Asian GŎNG bar boasts vertiginous views of the capital. Its Valentine’s sharing menu is an equally dizzying £498 for two, but there’s no better spot on this side of the Alps to soak the starry sights in – it’s the highest hotel bar in Western Europe after all. Expect unapologetic fine-dining, from lobster okonomiyaki and a towering maki roll of salmon, hamachi and tuna to wagyu gyoza topped with Oscietra caviar and black truffle, alongside a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Rosé.
How much? £498 for two person sharing menu.
Book via gong-shangri-la.com
