Find Your Ideal Valentine's Day Meal
Whether your date-night dining style leans towards the classic or the quirky, Portland's restaurants are cooking up events that are sure to make you and your sweetie swoon.
CLASSIC AND CLASSY
Bar Avignon will offer a three-course, prix fixe Valentine's Day menu featuring house-cured Steelhead gravlax with lemon goat cheese, glazed Painted Hills short ribs with chestnuts and apples, and chocolate mud pie with hazelnut chocolate truffles. $50 per person, optional wine pairings available. Call 503-517-0808 for reservations.
Serratto welcomes new couples, "well-seasoned" duos and everyone in between for a romantic, candle-lit night of specials featuring caviar, oysters, and lobster. The regular dinner menu will also be available, full of freshly-prepared pastas, savory game, beef and poultry, and comforting winter produce. Reserve a table by calling 503-221-1195.PORTLANDIA IN LOVE
Olympic Provisions keeps Portland weird with hand-delivered Salamigrams. Send a singing messenger with a bouquet of heart-shaped salami to your sweetie's office, or reserve a table at either Olympic Provisions restaurants for love-themed Valentine's Day dinner specials. Reservations are recommended. Northwest: 503-894-8136, Southeast 503-954-3663.
Riffle NW shows local love with Grochau Wines and Jacobsen Salt Co: A four-course meal paired with four hand-harvested Oregon sea salts and four Willamette Valley wines. Guests will choose their own dining adventure from a variety of dishes like oysters and caviar, Lobster and sweetbread ravioli, diver scallop with braised oxtail and bone marrow, and lobster stuffed monkfish wrapped in crispy bacon. $95 per person, including food, salt, and wine. For reservations, call 503-894-8978 or email [email protected].
DINNER AND A MOVIE
The Heathman Restaurant & Bar offers an entire evening of old-school romance with a five-course meal from chef Michael Stanton and a screening of the film No Reservations. Dishes will include mushroom risotto, quail and French truffles, beef tenderloin, and tiramisu. $75 per person, dinner begins at 6 pm, call 503-790-7752 for reservations.
AN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIR
Andina celebrates Dia De Los Enamorados with a special wine dinner, featuring a choose-your-own, three-course menu of Peruvian tapas, traditional entrées, and dessert, as well as a half bottle of premium Champagne or red wine per person. Live music from Toshi Onizuka will fill the bar and restaurant, and Danny Romero will perform upstairs in the Tupai event space. Prices begin at $85 (depend on wine selection), and reservations are available at 503-228-9535.
Biwa channels the V-Day traditions of Japan with a handful of shareable surf and turf specials for two in addition to the full regular menu. It'll be like Lady and the Tramp, but with ramen. They'll be taking reservations for parties of two, save your space by calling 503-239-8830.
Find amore at Nostrana this Valentine's Day with variety of romantic, seasonal dishes for sweethearts to share. Dishes will include Half A Dozen Oysters, Half A Dozen Ways; Bistecca alla Fiorentina for Two; and Cipriani Hotel Dark Chocolate Gelato with Brandied Cherries. Reservations recommended, call 503-234-2427.
MODERN ROMANCE
Eat. Drink. Love. at Departure's Bollywood-inspired Valentine's Day event. Chef Gregory Gourdet will offer a family-style meal of coconut curry mussels with charred onion naan, tandoori chicken, pork vindaloo, seafood masala with scallops, Dungeness crab, shrimp, and cod. The special menu will be available February 14th through 17th. $60 per person, reserve a table by calling 503-802-5370.
The team of chefs at Alberta's Aviary will surprise your senses with a four-course, customizable Valentine's Day menu. Options include sunchoke soup with Meyer lemon, local truffles, and black olive brittle, citrus-cured sturgeon with Asian pear and American caviar, ginger caramel pork belly with turnip puree and mustard greens, and chocolate torte with sesame bananas and bourbon ice cream. $65 per person, reserve your spot by calling 503-287-2400.
Castagna will be offering three nights of romance with a weekend-long contemporary, romantic six-course tasting menu from chef Justin Woodward. Expect dishes like ribeye with oxtail, cauliflower and oysters and chamomile custard with petals, pollen and tea sorbet. Reservations available February 14th through 16th for this $75 fixed price menu. Wine pairing available for $45, call 503-231-7373.
CARNIVORE CANOODLING
Paley’s Place invites you to share a steak: This Valentine’s Day, Paley’s Place executive chef Patrick McKee will be offer specials like roasted ribeye for two alongside creamed kale and fresh Dungeness crab, or half-size portions of entrees and craft cocktails at the bar. Call 503-243-2403 for reservations.
Chef Scott Dolich's newly meat-centric Bent Brick will relaunch the week of V-Day with a February 13th pre-Valentine's Day event for the whole family. All proceeds from the donation-based picnic-style party will support local Portland schools. Reservations and more info available by calling 503-688-1655.
Even more dining-out options: Besaw's, The Country Cat, Genoa, Imperial, Le Pigeon, Little Bird, Paulée, Urban Farmer, Wildwood, Pacific Pie Co., Pix Patisserie & Bar Vivant, Simpatica. More to come!
