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Photograph: Courtesy of AJ Annunziata

The best restaurants for Valentine’s Day dinner in NYC

Reserve a table for a romantic night out at one of these spots ASAP.

Amber Sutherland-Namako
Written by
Amber Sutherland-Namako
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Whether you love it or you’re still deciding which way to swipe, Valentine’s Day raises feelings like heart-shaped mylar balloons escaping to their destiny in the sky. For some, it evokes notions of romantic restaurants and big candy boxes. For others, it inspires a hasty run in the direction of the closest dive bar. In any case, the big day will arrive before you know it, and reservations fill up fast on February 14. These are the best places right now to book an evening to remember or an incidentally festive Monday night out.   

RECOMMENDED: Full guide to Valentine’s Day for NYC

Valentine’s Day dinner in NYC

  • Restaurants
  • Seafood
  • Financial District

The view from and surrounding The Fulton at Pier 17 is just so pulse-quickening it can make almost any occasion romantic, and its powers abound on love’s biggest night. Lap up the shimmering East River view with three courses like selections from the raw bar, lobster salad with black truffle dressing and longevity noodles with more of that celebratory shellfish, plus dessert. À la carte items will also be available. 

Price: $158 per person. From Saturday, February 11-Tuesday, February 14. 



  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • Restaurants
  • Lower East Side

Last year’s best new date place, Ye’s Apothecary still has a smattering of reservations open for February 14. Previous menu favorites include the chili filet-o-fish and the Singapore duck fried rice in the relative newcomer’s lovely, jewel-toned space. 

Price: Standard menu prices hover around $20.

 

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  • Restaurants
  • East Village

Spots are selling out fast at Cadence vegan soul food restaurant, but pairs of tickets for its five course tasting menu were still available at the bar at press time. Cozy up over some of the best plant-based plates in town.

Price: $100 per person.

  • Restaurants
  • Midtown East

Home to one of NYC’s most exciting appetizers, Little Mad sleek industrial-chic dining room is imbued with literal and atmospheric warmth from its open kitchen. Its five-course Valentine’s Day prix fixe includes oysters, pork belly and yellowtail.

Price: $135 per person. An optional wine pairing is an additional $65.

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  • Restaurants
  • Seafood
  • Cobble Hill

Charming Saint Julivert, on a cozy, parkside corner in Cobble Hill, is about as intimate as you can get outside of your own kitchen. Its Valentine’s Day menu spans four courses of some of the spot's seafood favorites, newer preparations and the promise of an extra nibble or two. 

Price: $125 per person. 

  • Restaurants
  • Gowanus

Occasional pops of rouge blush like a secret Valentine’s crush at Brooklyn’s Victor, which will celebrate the day with three savory courses and a dessert. Choose from a trio of shellfish options to start, followed by saffron gnocchi and mains like roasted scallops, wood-fired duck and turmeric cauliflower. A spiced chocolate tarte is for dessert. 

Price: $85 per person.

 

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  • Bars
  • Roosevelt Island

Panorama Room opened in 2021 with one of NYC’s best newly-seen views from the Graduate Hotel’s 18th floor. Vistas from around the bar inside and out on the terrace are as breathtaking as they come, and reservations are still available for a mostly seafood, cocktail-oriented à la carte menu that includes oysters, raw bar towers and trout roe nachos. 

Price: Snacky items range from $18 for an order of truffle fries to $175 for a seafood tower with oysters, shrimp and lobster. Most cocktails are around $20.

  • Restaurants
  • Indian
  • East Village
  • price 3 of 4

Downtown Indian gastropub Baar Baar will roll out of Restaurant Week and into Valentine’s Day specials this February 14. Its three-course menu will be accompanied by live music and a duo of novel cocktails ($19 each) on the year’s most heart-shaped day.

Price: $70 per person. An optional wine pairing id $40 per person. 

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  • Restaurants
  • Upper West Side

February 14 is also Dagon’s second anniversary, and it’s hosting a four-course dinner for the dual occasions. Oysters, salmon crudo, spiced beet shish barak and chocolate mousse are all on the pretty spot’s special set menu. 

Price: $75 per person. 

  • Restaurants
  • Contemporary Asian
  • Flatiron
  • price 3 of 4

Options abound at stylish Hortus this Valentine’s Day, where the four-course prix fixe begins with scallops in Thai basil and yuzu crème fraîche, followed by your choice of apps like and mains like from the crowd-pleasing à la carte menu.

Price: $65 per person. An optional wine pairing is an additional $40. 

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