The Lane is celebrating the most romantic date of the year with a Valentine’s Day afternoon tea, served in the opulent surroundings of the Grand Saloon at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in the heart of London’s Covent Garden. Available between 9-15 February, the special Valentine’s edition features a sumptuous layered chocolate sponge adorned with pink icing and red love hearts, accompanied with mini sticky toffee with custard oozing from the centre and pink lemonade tarts topped with a heart meringue. Savoury bites include madeleines topped with lapsang-souchong glazed salmon and pickled fennel, bitesize cannelés with goats cheese and pickled beetroot, and a signature puff pastry sausage roll made with Cornish sausage meat. Warm scones will be brought to the table with salted whipped butter, cream and homemade jam while you sip Rare Tea Company teas. Perfectly paired for the occasion with a bottle of bubbly by Taittinger or Nyetimber.
An indulgent three-course Valentine’s set menu will be served at all of The Ivy’s restaurants from 10-19 February. After receiving a glass of Veuve Clicquot Rosé Champagne on arrival, guests can choose from a selection of culinary delights, including duck liver parfait, creamy buffalo mozzarella and truffle arancini to start, while main course options include lobster linguini or fillet of beef. Make sure to leave a little room for the raspberry heart mille feuille dessert. Indulgent heart-shaped layers of white chocolate and puff pastry, finished with a warm raspberry sauce.
Tom Booton, head chef of The Grill at The Dorchester, has crafted a delicious four-course meal for Valentine’s. To be enjoyed in the opulent elegance of the gilded restaurant, the meal begins with cured brill and lamb and finishes with an irresistible chocolate orange temptation. The four-course menu including welcome cocktail costs £280 per couple and will be available on 11, 12 and 14 February.
Five-star St James’s Hotel & Club will celebrate Valentine’s Day with a beautiful set menu served in its restaurant, the Michelin-starred Seven Park Place by William Drabble. An evening of fine dining and paired wines will feature a chef’s menu that’s been carefully curated to showcase the finest ingredients. Diners will begin with a hand-selected assortment of canapés, followed by langoustine consommé with black winter truffle; seared Scottish scallop with celeriac, apple and vanilla; and roasted breast of duck flavoured with honey and black pepper. Dessert is a set cream with rose jelly and pistachio alongside an assiette of chocolate.
Many dates have taken place over the waters since The Pump Room opened its doors in 1789. Featured in novels by Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, this is a must-visit destination in Bath �� especially for an afternoon tea or dinner on Valentine’s. Be serenaded in the stunning Georgian surroundings by a classical music trio and share the moment with a loved one over an afternoon tea (from £35 per person). Available from 12pm-4pm, enjoy a decadent selection of savouries, freshly baked sweet treats and homemade scones, coupled with an optional chilled glass of Moët Chandon to toast the day. In the evening a special Valentine’s dining menu will be available (£60 per person). Enjoy a glass of Chandon sparkling wine together on arrival, before settling down to a four-course menu, accompanied by music from the resident pianist. Evening sittings at 6.45pm, 7pm, 7.15pm and 7.30pm.
Hosted in the new Alex Webb on Park Lane restaurant at the InterContinental London Park Lane, MasterChef: The Professionals 2020 winner Alex Webb is serving up a five-course tasting menu on Valentine’s, inspired by nostalgic flavours from his childhood and travels. The evening starts with a raspberry and champagne cocktail and canapés on arrival, followed by five dishes featuring creative flavour combinations such as Langoustine tail, scallop and black mushroom ravioli with smoked leek purée and ash; a rib-eye of beef with chicory and beef jus; and black cod served with sea herbs, onion purée, pickled onions, crispy potato and champagne sauce. Finish off with the show stopping croquembouche for two with strawberry crème patisserie and poached strawberries. Price is £110 per person (additional £45 with three paired wines).
Boasting panoramic views of The City, Searcys at the Gherkin will have special set menus running on the day. Located on level 39, the Helix restaurant will be offering a fizz-tastic Champagne Valentine’s Afternoon Tea with traditional tea-time treats and a glass of Moët & Chandon (£80 per person), or tuck into a four-course dinner accompanied by a glass of rosé champagne (from £149 per person). Highlights include Orkney Bay scallops, shellfish bisque; Norfolk mussels, celeriac, cavalo nero, lemon and chive butter sauce; and Lake District lamb rump. Dessert to share includes island dark chocolate hazelnut dome and a milk chocolate ganache with raspberry coulis.
Mark Kempson, head chef at Michelin-starred restaurant Kitchen W8 in Kensington, will serve up a six-course seasonal tasting menu for 14 February. Dishes include warm parmesan churros with pickled walnut and winter truffle; Scottish langoustine and crab broth; Cornish monkfish with wild leeks; and passion fruit cheesecake. The Valentine’s Day tasting menu costs £110 per person or £175 per person with a flight of wines. A discretionary gratuity of 15% will be added to the total bill.
Dine among the clouds at sky-high bar and restaurant, Bōkan, in Canary Wharf and indulge in a delicious seven-course tasting menu from executive chef Robert Manea. Menu highlights include sweetheart cabbage, sauerkraut and burnt mayo; cod cheek, ras el hanout and lemon condiment; and chocolate and orange bon bon, with a glass of champagne.
Kitchen at Holmes at Holmes Hotel London is running its popular secret rooftop cinema experience again this year, launching on Thursday 9 February and showing a series of the best Valentine’s Day movies. Available from 9-19 February (6pm-10pm), the special offering will feature a tasting menu which includes smoked burrata, black truffle arancini and courgette spaghetti alongside a glass of Perrier Jouet Grand Brut to have in the restaurant prior to heading upstairs onto the secret terrace. Guests can enjoy an abundance of fur throws, a special popcorn menu and a screening of romantic classics including Pretty Woman, Crazy Stupid Love, 10 Things I Hate About You, The Sweetest Thing, and A Star is Born. Tickets are £70 per person which includes dinner, film and a welcome drink.
11. Crazy, Stupid, Love movie nights at Bombay Sapphire Distillery
Experience: 10, 11, 14 and 18 February – Hampshire
Bombay Sapphire Distillery in Hampshire is hosting Valentine’s movie nights on Friday 10 February, Saturday 11 February, Tuesday 14 February and Saturday 18 February. Starring Emma Stone, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling and Steve Carell, Crazy, Stupid, Love will be shown in the distillery’s cinema room and guests will also get a Valentine’s cocktail on arrival and light snacks and interval cocktail to enjoy throughout the film.
12. Drake & Morgan x Taste Film’s Mean Girls cinema and dining experience
Experience: 11-12 and 18-19 February – London
This immersive “eat what you see” Mean Girls experience from Drake & Morgan and Taste Film is so fetch. Nestle in at The Refinery City Point in Moorgate, London, and indulge in a menu consisting of six imaginative dishes and drinks, all cleverly inspired by the cult film’s favourite moments. Screenings will be held on the weekends of 11-12 February and 18-19 February.
M Restaurants is partnering with Thames Limo for the ultimate Valentine’s experience on the River Thames. Board a private boat that takes you past some of London’s most iconic buildings and sights and sip on Laurent Perrier champagne while indulging in three decadent courses with each showcasing the highest quality Wagyu beef (vegetarian options available). Private hire of the boat including a three-course meal for two and a bottle of Laurent Perrier champagne is priced at £2,700 for two hours or £3,700 for three hours. Available to book from 11-14 February. Timings are 12.30pm-3.30pm, 4pm-7pm or 7.30pm-10.30pm.
14. Michelin-starred masterclass at Benares Mayfair
(Image credit: Lateef Photography)
Experience: 12 February – London
Couples who love to cook together can book a Michelin-starred seafood cooking experience at Benares Mayfair, from 10am-1pm on Sunday 12 February. Hosted by executive chef Sameer Taneja, guests will get access to his top tips and tricks while making spectacular Indian dishes. After the masterclass, head to the main dining room for a romantic lunch for two.
Take in glittering, panoramic views of The City at Sky Garden. Choose from a standing access package with a glass of Moët & Chandon Rosé (£22) or book a table for two and enjoy a sharing board and a bottle of Moët & Chandon Brut Imperial Champagne, alongside a live DJ (£150). Alternatively, opt for one of the decadent dining packages, including elevated fine-dining menus from head chef Kerth Gumbs at Fenchurch or relaxed yet refined dishes at Darwin Brasserie.
East London bar Silverleaf at the Pan Pacific London hotel will host whisky tasting sessions every Tuesday and Thursday until 28 February. Whisky experts from the Silverleaf team will present an intimate sensory tasting experience within the bar’s hidden tasting room, Alba. With a tasting session on Valentine’s Day, enjoy a romantic date by sampling a range of rare and deliciously peaty and smoky tipples. Each tasting consists of five different whiskies, served in 25ml measures.
Italian delicatessen Lina Stores has created the “perfect night in” to celebrate Valentine’s. The box includes a pasta kit for two of choice; green cerignola olives; truffle cheese; finocchiona; focaccia bread; and pistachio and olive oil cake. There is also a veggie option that will swap truffle cheese for taleggio and finocchiona for sun-dried tomatoes, and an optional bottle of prosecco, too.
Michelin-starred chef Tommy Banks and his team have created a Made in Oldstead six-course feast for those celebrating Valentine’s at home. The three menus (beef, halibut and vegetarian) use ingredients foraged for, picked or grown on or around Banks’s family farm in Oldstead. Dishes include charred spring onions with confit potatoes and goat’s cheese sauce and prime salt-aged beef wellington with roasted hen of the woods mushrooms, onion sauce and leek top emulsion. Finish with a salted caramel and yoghurt cremeux served with chicory root caramel. For those wanting to further indulge, there’s also an optional wine pairing available via Banks Brothers. Orders are open until 10 February for nationwide delivery.
This steak tasting sharing box (£50, serves two) from Farmison & Co is the perfect Valentine’s gift for the foodie lover in your life. Showcasing flavoursome grass-fed steaks – fillet barrel, bavette and picanha – the box comes with bearnaise butter, F&Co chophouse sauce, peppercorn sauce and is served with french fries with chicken schmaltz made using the world-famous Pierre Koffmann potatoes. Other sharing boxes include beef wellington for two (£45); steak bordelaise (£45, serves two); and the couples chicken and truffle box (£28, serves two).
Share the love this Valentine’s with Devon Hampers. There’s a whole range of hampers to choose from this year, including the movie night for two (£34); Cornish lust cream liquor and chocolates (£39.95); Devon love hamper (£58.95); Cornish lager and steak pasty hamper (£33.95); prosecco and truffles cream tea (£35); and the charcuterie-style picnic (£80.50). Other gifts include a Devon fudge selection box (£25); a Braemar Juliet mug (£12.50); Cornish chocolate letter box gift (£30); and an Apollo RB heart cheese board with three knives (£19.95).
Darts Farm is one of the few UK producers to craft chocolate from bean-to-bar at its in-house chocolatier, Cow & Cacao. This hamper contains an incredible selection of hand-crafted treats, including a box of truffles, milk chocolate dipped oranges, a milk chocolate and raspberry heart lolly, and expert chocolatier Louise’s favourite single origin bar.
This gift of love from Paul really does say “je t’aime”. The raspberry millefeuille heart is expertly crafted from layers of buttery puff pastry, raspberry jam, whipped cream and fresh raspberries. The chocolate and praline millefeuille heart is a chocolate lovers’ dream, with layers of buttery puff pastry, chocolate, chocolate praline cream, whipped cream and hazelnuts for an added crunch. It also comes with a delightful box of mini macarons.
23. Flapjackery ‘Love You’ and ‘Be My Valentine’ flapjack box
Sweet treats
With this tasty treat from Flapjackery you can get “Love You” or “Be My Valentine” inscribed in white chocolate on the top of a giant slab of millionaire flapjack (equivalent to four individual pieces). This centrepiece is then surrounded by eight other pieces of Flapjackery flapjacks in flavours you choose. Alternatively, choose a smaller box with four, rather than eight, extra pieces of flapjack.
Patisserie Valerie’s collection of Valentine’s baked goodies are lovingly handmade and available for nationwide delivery. The menu includes the Valentine’s Patisserie box (£32.95); strawberry love heart cake (£43.95); chocolate heart cake (£33.95); macaron box (six for £9.95 or 12 for £16.95); and red velvet cake (from £33.95).
If you’re stuck for a boozy gift this Valentine’s, then Drinks Distilled’s “spirit compass” could be a great place to help you choose. The spirits, bar and glassware website has a handy Q&A that will help you find a tipple or product – all in less than a minute. Drinks Distilled also has a range of gift sets on sale for Valentine’s.
Chocolate drinks brand Knoops has launched a sweet range of gifts for Valentine’s. Available in-store and online, the Knoops Valentine’s hot chocolate gift set (£25) features 43% milk chocolate flakes and a tube of limited edition strawberry marshmallows to create the perfect, indulgent hot chocolate. The set is wrapped in stylish black and pink gift packaging with heart imagery, ideal for gifting loved ones.
Raise a glass to your loved ones with Chapel Down’s Rosé Brut NV. Made from 100% Pinot Noir and sourced from fruits yielded in Kent, Sussex and Essex, this English sparkling offers great balance and purity of character.
Is your loved one culinary mad? Treat them to some world-class cookware from US brand HexClad. Dubbed the “Rolls Royce of pans” by Gordon Ramsay, the range brings the performance of stainless steel, the durability of cast iron, and the convenience of non-stick to your everyday pan. Pots, pans and woks are available to buy as single items, and there’s also a range of sets.
Start Valentine’s Day with the perfect cuppa on 14 February. Bird & Blend Tea Co.’s Love Potion is a magical blend of chocolate, rose and strawberry loose tea with added candy love hearts.
Nouveau Wine is 100% vegan and delivered straight to your door. Picked from an old block overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in South Africa, Nouveau Love Bite is a fresh beaujolais-style Cinsault from the Stellenbosch area. These old vines create a healthy concentration of red fruits, soft tannins and a moreish saline note in this natural wine. Sealed with a love bite design by artist James Graham.
The new gift box includes a bottle of No.3 Gin, which has been voted the world’s best four times, as well as two NUDE x No.3 Gin martini glasses, which have been developed using scientific expertise to keep liquid cooler for twice as long as a classic glass.
Silent Pool Distillers, the sustainable gin brand made on the Albury Estate in the heart of the Surrey Hills, has produced a Valentine’s Day gift box for its bestselling Rose Expression gin. Distilled with a unique rose tea infusion, Rose Expression has a distinctive yet delicate rose flavour, and the 70cl bottle comes packaged with a pair of beautiful Copa-style gin glasses.
Eighty per cent of wine purchases are made by women, yet wine is still considered a man’s pursuit. Outpour – a female-founded wine shop and women-only wine community – is here to change that. Founded by Joanne Koukis, who left her corporate barrister job to launch the company, Outpour offers a curated selection of wines and related events designed to make drinking and learning about wine more accessible and welcoming.
34. Words with Wine book and wine subscription box
Gifts
Delight your book and booze-loving Valentine with a monthly subscription to Words with Wine, the UK’s first book and wine subscription box. Each box arrives with a full-size bottle of wine, a book of the month and an information card. Recipients have access to an online book club where members can discuss their thoughts on the book and share photos. Non-alcoholic options are also available, as are one-off book and wine sets.
Swap prosecco, rosé and other drinks traditionally associated with Valentine’s Day for a beautiful bottle of Forest Gin produced by husband and wife team Karl and Lindsay Bond. To make the gin, the pair steep some classic gin botanicals (including organic juniper berries and coriander seeds) in organic grain spirit before taking a pestle and mortar to bundles of botanicals foraged from Macclesfield Forest in Cheshire. The concoction is then distilled through a copper condenser and blended with local spring water. This gin is available in a special gift box, where it comes with a branded crystal G&T glass.
Nothing says “I love you” like tequila, right? Cazcabel Tequila is a range of authentic, high-quality, natural tequilas which can be used in cocktails or sipped neat and savoured. Flavours include Cazcabel Blanco, Reposado, Coffee Liqueur (which is blended with luxury arabica coffee), Coconut Liqueur (made using prized coconuts from Jalisco, Mexico) and Honey Tequila Liqueur (the first of its kind, which is made with 100% natural honey).
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Recipe: gnocchi di spinaci (spinach gnocchi)
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