The best Miami restaurants for Valentine’s Day 2024

Fiola’s D.C. branch scored a Michelin star, and for what it’s worth, we’d give the Coral Gables branch all the awards we could print at Kinkos. Which is why it’s worth spending $225 per person for a special menu that begins with a blue fin and ora king salmon crudo, moves on to Australian wagyu filet with foie gras and lobster ravioli, and ends with a chocolate zuppa inglese cake. The $135 wine pairing might sound steep until you hear it’s from the restaurant’s deep collection of reserve bottles. 

Here's the bind: you want privacy, but you don't want to cook. You want something classic yet grand, but you don't want to set or clean it up. The Biltmore is your answer. This iconic hotel in the gables is setting you up with your own private cabana experience for Valentine's Day, complete with a view of the historic Biltmore tower and a four-course dinner for $145. Reserve your spot by emailing VSandoval@biltmorehotel.com. 

Chef Jeremy Ford’s Michelin-starred South Beach hotspot lands on lots of lists of the best restaurants in town because it’s consistently excellent, and we expect this menu to be much of the same. While details are scant, we know there will be two options of an eight-course menu for $250 or an 11-course for $300.

The charming Cajun-French bistro in Sunset Harbour beckons us in on every day of the year, but Valentine's Day is a real draw. They're putting out a three-course menu that’ll set you back $190 for two, featuring a range of options for the first two courses (our money is on the lobster bouillabaisse). The kicker comes at the end with a flourless chocolate dessert of ganache, chocolate strawberries and mini macaron.

If baby wants great food with a view, there’s not a spot in the city (or anywhere?) that serves up both better than La Mar. The $175 special menu will include churros filled with smoked trout mousse, Hokkaido scallops with uni and a king crab carbonara. 

Couldn't book that trip to Barcelona in time? Transport yourself there anyway at Tropezón. Priced at $120 for two, the St. Valentine's Day Menu is actually a really great deal – it comes with three courses (a blend of tapas and a choice of paella or branzino as the main) and a bottle of Rioja, Albarino, or  Champagne. 

Technically, Platea is a steakhouse, but the place serves up dishes far more flavorful than your average Capital Grille. This will be the third year the Peruvian version of a steakhouse is offering a $100 per person special on a surf and turf dinner -- a deal that was so good we had to check that number to be sure. There’s five options for every course, meaning even non-meat-eaters on dates will be happy here. 

“Eat local” is a credo that’s easily forgotten at this excellent Austin export. The Wynwood Uchi will offer a prix fixe for two for $450 that includes: oysters with champagne; yaki prawn and yuzu; aged duck breast; and what sounds like a fine way to end the night, strawberry-topped chocolate petit gateau. 

Here’s a good gauge of a date: Does he think it’s cool that you brought him to the darkest bar in Miami? If he passes the test, move on to an economically priced dinner for two for 90 bucks that includes a wedge salad, braised short rib and rum flan. For late-night dates, the kitchen serves until 11, and the last call bell doesn’t ring before 2.

Good pasta. Greater love. Giorgio Rapicavolli is also doing a seven-course feast at his creative and modern Italian eatery right next to Eating House. For $159 per person, say Ti Amo with Italian-inspired Valentine’s Day dishes like brasata al barolo made with slow-cooked short rib, parparadelle made with Parmigiano fonduta and fresh truffles, and halibut ‘Acqua Pazza.’ Dinner includes a complimentary glass of prosecco. 

It’s a serious affair, going to the omakase counter Shingo (one of the best in Miami), which means this is a good spot for a date who wants to be dazzled with uni and toro over glitz and glamor. Shingo's special $250 dinner will cover new ground with dishes that haven’t been offered previously, including a white miso soup with lobster and a rosé champagne to begin. 

Looking for a more low key way to woo someone on Valentine's Day? Are you or your lover deeply into numerology? If you're more of a fly by the seat of your pants kind of person and eschew the idea of making reservations, just go to Lost Boy Dry Goods for VALENTINES 777. Select cocktails will be priced at $7, including a passion fruit sangria, a French 75 and, yes, an espresso martini. Pair it all up with a charcuterie and cheese platter.

The restaurant inside the Hotel Greystone wins both the award for the most accents in its name and for largely flying under the restaurant-scene radar, despite serving an impressive linup of Japanese-meets-French dishes. Sérêvène has prepared a four-course dinner for $109 (with an an optional $49 addition of winter truffle). Even sweeter? Wines under $250 will be offered at half price. No promises, but maybe you and your date could bring home an accent, too. 

If your date is impressed by a combination of tasty things and frugality, the omakase counter inside the Oasis food hall serves a relatively affordable omakase menu. There’s a 15-course dinner for $125 that includes dumplings, four pieces of nigiri, handrolls and a “Valentine’s Day surprise.”

One of the city’s most decadent omakase experiences will offer two seatings, a simpler one for the early birds and a coach-ticket-to-Japan-level version later. At 6:30p, $200 buys a 14-course experience, while the 9p seating throws down 16-18 courses at $385, including caviar, truffles, Santa Barbara uni and king salmon belly. 

Whether you've been together for a month or years, it's never a bad idea to wow the pants off of your SO with something elaborate and grand. For that, there's Sexy Fish. They're offering an omakase experience that also includes not a measly complimentary glass, but an entire bottle of Perrier Jouet Grand Brut. Note that the $250 experience is more of an elaborate take on a simple raw-cut omakase experience, with dishes like lobster tempura in a smoked rosemary sauce, tomato udon and truffle, Spanish red prawn nigiri and caviar maki and a full Valentine's Day dessert platter. 

Spend your money on experiences, they say, which is why Harry’s Pizza on Lincoln Road is offering a Valentine’s Day edition of its pizza-making class at $90 for one or $160 a pair. Expect lots of apps and cocktails before moving on to the main event: a heart-shaped pizza you and your favorite pepperoni slice get to craft yourselves. 

Whip out your Wednesday best and hit up this new celebrity hotspot for Valentine's Day. Delilah is offering a prix-fix menu of supper club classics at $210 a person. Standouts include a 50-layer potato and caviar to share, citrus-cured wahoo and a Stone Axe Farm wagyu Manhattan filet. Sweeten up the meal with a chocolate espresso martini for dessert. 

If activities and vodka are your love language, Biscayne Bay Brewing is hosting a cocktail-making class on Valentine's Day. For just $25, learn how to sling Una Vodka cocktails while enjoying passed bites. And when the class is over but the buzz is not, keep the evening chill by sticking around the brewery and sampling a few beers. 

You could try somewhere new for Valentine's Day – or you could go to a tried and true Gables classic and know you'll have a meal to remember. Chef Giorgio Rapicavoli is doing a Valentine's Day experience seven-dishes deep. Highlights of the $129 menu include a new take on his signature parker house rolls (caviar butter is involved), yellowfin tuna tartare with egg yolk chimichurri, mascarpone risotto and Mashima Reserve wagyu ‘vaca frita’ made with confit plantain. Cap off the night with a complimentary glass of bubbly and a s’mores semifreddo for dessert.