Valentine’s Day dinner 2013: Restaurants offering à la carte menus

Neta

Sushi aces Nick Kim and Jimmy Lau left their respective head-chef posts at Masa and Bar Masa to open this minimalist Japanese eatery, whose sleek decor puts the focus on food—and your dinner date. Take a seat at the small restaurant’s maple counter, inlaid with ebony and order superlative raw-fish specimens. In addition to traditional dishes, the chefs will dispatch creative rolls (such as grilled maitake) and small plates (grilled whole scallop from Boston with Santa Clara umi) from an open kitchen.

Osteria Morini

• Price band: 2/4
• Critics choice

You may find yourself reenacting a Lady and the Tramp moment at this terrific downtown homage to classic Bolognese trattoria. Pastas are a success across the board: Try the gnocchi with beef cheek ragu, dried cherries and black olives, or chestnut filled pasta with ricotta, hazlenut and saba. With so much butter and cream, you might want to skip dessert.

Babbo

• Price band: 2/4

Your date will be blown away if you land a Valentine’s Day spot at Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich’s ever-popular Italian joint, which remains one of the hardest reservations in town to score. But do check that he or she is comfortable with a rollicking dinner soundtrack: The warmly lit, cream-walled townhouse is often alive with jazz and rock & roll. Diners don’t seem to mind, as they consistently pack the spot to dine on pasta and meat dishes, and sample affordable wines by the quartino.

The Mark Restaurant by Jean-Georges

• Rated as: 4/5
• Price band: 3/4
• Critics choice

Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s restaurant in the Mark Hotel is especially inviting for a nocturnal date, when the dining room turns dark and sultry. The simple, accessible food is exciting without being too challenging and flawlessly executed: A miniature pizza topped with black-truffle paste and melted fontina is an indulgent treat, as is the restaurant’s fine burger, topped with more truffle and a mild slice of Brie.