The best Valentine’s Day dinners you can still book in Los Angeles

Menu: If you don’t mind a 9pm (or later) seating, the perpetually hard-to-book Cobi’s is serving a five-course, family-style parade of its greatest hits: crispy pork belly salad, scallops on the half shell, grilled prawns, saag paneer, beef rendang, and tamarind short rib, all begging to be sopped up with delectably decadent roti. Pace yourself—beyond the mango sticky rice included in the menu, you’ll absolutely want to order the boba-topped Thai tea pudding. Trust us.

Why you should book: If restaurants had a personality, Cobi’s would be the hopeless romantic of the group—floral wallpaper, dried hanging blooms, even floral tableware. But fret not: this Southeast Asian–inspired gem doesn’t put flowers on its food. With no gimmicks and few frills, Cobi’s thrills with flavors drawn from Thai, Indonesian, Malaysian, and Indian traditions. It’s why Eastsiders willingly cross the 405—and why the restaurant has maintained its Michelin Bib Gourmand status since 2023. Walk-ins who arrive at opening or don’t mind taking a stroll around Santa Monica while they wait can typically snag one of the high-tops out front. 

Price: $125 per person excluding beverages, tax and gratuity. 

Reservations: Book via Resy.

Menu: This Montana Avenue Tuscan café is offering a four-course Valentine’s Day dinner for $85 per person—a rare steal by L.A. standards. There’s a charcuterie board to start, but this one is loaded with top-notch Italian meats and cheeses alongside freshly baked focaccia. It’s followed by caviar-and-mascarpone crostata, prosciutto and mortadella tortellini in brodo finished with 36-month Parmigiano, and a chocolate trio to close. 

Why you should book: Italian may be the most romantic of the romance languages, and on any given night, the quaint alfresco patio is packed with actual Italians. They come for the housemade focaccia and perfectly al dente pasta, plus ingredients imported straight from Italy. (Sogno Toscano began as an importer of olive oil, so you’ll want to ask for a bottle for your focaccia.) Unpretentious yet sophisticated, with nightly live guitar, it’s the closest thing to a Tuscan holiday without leaving L.A. 

Price: $85 per person excluding vino, tax and gratuity. 

Reservations: Book via OpenTable. 

Menu: Actual Valentine’s Day is booked up, but you can still snag tables on Sunday, February 15, which is sure to be quieter than Friday or Saturday. The four-course prix fixe features favorites like sake-cured Japanese sea bream crudo and yellowfin tuna tartare encased in an avocado shell with pine nut, mint, sesame, sumac, and jalapeño—and that’s just the first course. For mains, the coffee-rubbed New York strip is a showstopper, with supplements available like A5+ Japanese wagyu strip loin or filet mignon. Plus, if you count the kanpachi tartlet to start, squash blossom black truffle snack, and post-dessert truffles, it’s technically a seven-course feast.

Why you should book: Aptly named for the floor it’s perched on, there’s no better dinner with a panoramic view in the City of Angels—smog permitting. Chef Javier Lopez isn’t reinventing the wheel, but quality and execution are consistently strong, with impeccable cocktails and service to match. Pro tip: If you’re going full cliché and planning a Valentine’s proposal, rumor has it there’s a special table (and even a helicopter proposal package) to help you seal the deal.

Price: $250 per person, excluding tax and gratuity. Valet parking is an additional $18. 

Reservations: Book online via OpenTable.

Menu: If you don’t mind eating a nine-course Valentine’s Day dinner at 9m or later like the Europeans do, you can still snag a table at République. The French-inspired menu delights with a Medjool-date and black truffle crèmedette, potato and leek soup with caviar, and Liberty Farms Sonoma duck. Save room for the mid-meal bread service: one of LA’s best baguettes served with warm, properly salted Normandy butter.

Why you should book: There’s a reason this cathedral-like space, straight out of the opening of Beauty and the Beast, has flocks of influencers posing for photos while guests jockey for seats in the background and it’s not because Charlie Chaplin once built the place—but to devour James Beard Best Pastry Chef winner Margarita Manzke’s creations. Dinner is a more intimate, lingering affair, worth any evening out in LA, especially the most exalted night of the year.  

Price: $225 per person excluding beverages, tax and gratuity.

Reservations: Pre-pay and book online via OpenTable.

Menu: The Inn will be running a five-course menu from February 12–17, so lovebirds don’t have to worry about missing out. What’s more, it pays to book any night other than Valentine’s Day, when the prix fixe drops to $155 per person (down from $180). There’s also a full vegetarian menu that’s anything but an afterthought—it is Topanga, after all. At the time of writing, there were still indoor and outdoor tables available until 5:45pm on Valentine’s Day, with plenty of openings on the surrounding nights.

Why you should book: Topanga is a weird and wonderful place, and the Inn of the Seventh Ray is utterly transportive. Despite being in business for 50 years, it remains one of the canyon’s best-kept secrets for good reason. Dinner plays out like a fairytale: enter through a vine-covered archway, wind down brick pathways to your table, and dine beneath grand old sycamores and oaks draped in twinkling lights, alongside a flowing creek (fresh from the recent rain) and even chirping frogs (kiss the girl, anyone?). Mood aside, the food is locally sourced and organic, complemented by a biodynamic wine list. 

Price: $180 per person for traditional; $165 per person for vegetarian prix-fixe. Both exclude beverages, tax and gratuity. 

Reservations: Book via their website. 

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Menu: Chef Oscar Torres has created a five-course menu for Valentine’s Day. Highlights include a crudo terrine with truffle dashi, lobster agnolotti with roasted kelp and bone marrow, and A5 Akita wagyu. If you love an encore, opt for the Santa Teresa espresso martini. It should pair perfectly with the strawberry churros. 

Why you should book: Verse owner and mix engineer Manny Marroquin boasts 43 Grammy nominations and more than a dozen wins (we stopped counting). His vision was a restaurant that feels like a recording studio—i.e., one where you never have to ask your dining companions to repeat themselves because the decibel level has blown past healthy limits. The result is Verse: a supper club with impeccable acoustics, ideal for intimate conversation and nightly live music. Case in point: we hear there will “most likely” be a harpist playing on Valentine’s Day, though anything is possible in show business, including surprise A-listers dropping by unannounced.

Price: $210 including tax and gratuity. Beverages and wine pairings are additional. 

Reservations: Pre-pay and book via OpenTable.

Menu: Costa Covo is offering a four-course menu on February 13 and 14. The first course is a mandatory caviar russe before moving on to wagyu tartare or mushroom agnolotti. Housemade pastas make the lobster sugo rigatoni an appealing entree, though there’s also a rich tenderloin rossini with foie gras. Desserts are a bit cryptic with names like “Aphrodite” and “Sweet Hearts,” but rest assured, you’re in good hands. Anthony Bourdain called pastry chef Stephanie Boswell’s signature foie gras candy bar a “must-do in Las Vegas.”

Why you should book: Most Angelenos have a L’Ermitage Beverly Hills story, but what happens at this legendary five-star boutique hotel stays here. Elizabeth Taylor reportedly spent six of her honeymoons at L’Ermitage—the discreet elegance alone is a conversation starter. Add top-notch pianists and vocalists, polished coastal Italian fare, and desserts from Food Network host Stephanie Boswell, and Costa Covo quickly becomes more than just a hotel restaurant. California wine lovers, beware: the list leans strictly Italian and French.

Price: $145 per person, including complimentary valet, excluding beverages, tax, and gratuity. 

Reservations: Book via OpenTable.

Menu: Uchi is offering a 10-course Valentine’s Day omakase. All. Weekend. Long. Plenty of sushi bar seats and secluded patio tables are still available, with the latter offering a quieter, more romantic escape from this otherwise bustling WeHo dining room. The evening kicks off with an aphrodisiac—oishi oysters with cara cara orange and green garlic—before moving into a procession of nigiri, sashimi pairings, and a bluefin tuna flight. Uchi sticks the landing with heartier plates like duck confit nam khao and Berkshire pork shoulder.

Why you should book: In a town where you can throw a rock and hit a sushi restaurant, Austin transplant Uchi still manages to command a cult following, likely thanks to its Texas-size menu and go-big-or-go-home approach. Yes, sushi purists will argue for simplicity, but Uchi proves maximalism has its place, layering bold flavors and unexpected ingredients without feeling superfluous.

Price: $375 per couple. 

Reservations: Book via Sevenrooms.

Menu: Offering a six-course Valentine’s Day menu for $95 per person, Zaytinya is the best bang for your buck still available, if you don’t mind a 5pm or 5:30pm dinner. The meal kicks off with a whipped Greek yogurt and caviar prasopita before diving headfirst into a sea of Mediterranean options, with spreads like hummus, labneh, and baba ghanoush, plus smoked beet salata, seared halloumi, beef mishwi, lamb chops, and truffle pide. Wash it all down with the Ancient Olive, a dirty martini featuring olives three ways and rightfully putting them on a pedestal.

Why you should book: Chef José Andrés can do no wrong. A protégé of Ferran Adrià at El Bulli and one of the chefs responsible for bringing modern Spanish and Mediterranean cooking to the States, his restaurants balance tradition with invention better than most. And Zaytinya is no different, paying homage to Turkish, Greek and Lebanese cuisine, while sneaking in just enough technique to keep it from ever feeling predictable. 

Price: $95 per person excluding beverages, tax and gratuity. 

Reservations: Book via OpenTable.

Menu: The three-course menu closely mirrors Jar’s Valentine’s Day offering from last year: New England clam chowder, Little Gem Caesar salad, or roasted beets, before moving on to Chef Suzanne Tracht’s well-executed takes on halibut or a Kansas City steak for two. Thankfully, the red velvet raspberry cake remains untouched. You know what they say—if it ain’t broke, keep eating it.

Why you should book: Rocco DiSpirito is openly a fan of Jar’s pot roast, immortalizing it on Food Network’s The Best Thing I Ever Ate. Chef Suzanne Tracht was named one of Food & Wine magazine’s Best New Chefs in 2002, the year after Jar opened. Fast-forward 25 years, and the retro steakhouse remains a place to see and be seen. You might also recognize it from La La Land—just try not to abandon your date like Emma Stone did. Unless, of course, that someone else is Ryan Gosling.

Price: $190 per person plus beverage, tax and gratuity. 

Reservations: Pre-pay and book online via OpenTable. 

Menu: We know this is technically a dinner list, but just hear us out… Brunch starts with mini pastries and market fruit or a smoked fish plate for two. Entrées include the not-to-be-missed signature Spanish fried chicken and cornmeal waffle, plus lobster chopped salad and crab cake Benedict. For dessert, the strawberry pavlova takes the cake. A three-course dinner menu is also on offer, with highlights like Ibérico toast with caviar and grilled wagyu bavette steak.

Why you should book: Is there a better way to spend Galentine’s Day than a hike followed by a three-course brunch at A.O.C.? We don’t think so, unless you’re adding Caroline Styne’s thoughtfully curated sparkling wine flight to the mix. Call after you make your reservation to request a courtyard table for peak vibes.  

Price: Brunch is $65 per person excluding beverages, tax and gratuity. Dinner is $150 per person. 

Reservations: Pre-pay and book via OpenTable. Note that bookings are subject to full charge if you cancel past 2/9.