The Best Valentine’s Day Restaurant Ideas
With so much love in the air during Valentine’s Day, chefs will have to come up with creative and beautiful food ideas for their restaurants. What better way for couples to celebrate their love other than with tasty food (and butterflies) in their belly?
The pressure is high on a chef’s shoulders. So, we’re helping you come up with special Valentine’s Day menu ideas faster and easier.
Valentine’s Day Restaurant Ideas
Let’s start with the ambiance, shall we? Before we get to the Valentine’s Day food ideas, make sure your restaurant is set up for couples to have an unforgettable romantic night out.
Some best practices can sound like:
Set up an online reservation system
An online reservation system doesn’t only make your team’s life easier, but it’s also a fantastic source of information that will impress your guests.
Include an area where the person who wants to reserve a table can include personalized information, from their favorite wine to a special dessert or a special request that will help them propose to their significant other.
You’ll definitely give your guests an experience to remember.
A romantic décor
We all know it by now: dim light, candlelit dinner, roses—all of these make couples feel like they’re on cloud nine.
Here are just some ideas:
- Put a red carpet at the entrance.
- Put a few flowers on the tables.
- Candles… candles everywhere (but make it safe!)
- If possible, have a dim red light turned on.
- A live band singing soft songs.
Be up to date on trends
You just know that your dishes will end up on a lot of Instagram and TikTok accounts. Delight your audience with restaurant settings and food plating that go well with the latest trends.
On top of that, remember to not use social media only to hunt for trends, but to promote your offers, too.
Valentine’s Day Food Ideas
Appetizers
Appetizers are the very first dish your guests will enjoy once they’re in your restaurant, so let’s make it special.
The appetizers should play into the overall ambition you have for the entire dinner course. Do you want this first dish to be on the sweeter side like a strawberry ricotta bruschetta? Do you want something fun and salty like cream cheese stuffed mushrooms?
No matter the choice of appetizers, see if you can get creative with them and include Valentine’s Day-themed colors and shapes.
Entrée
This is a good dish to start getting creative with, but not to go too overboard and fill up your guests before the main dish.
Good entrée ideas could be:
- Crab cakes with a side of vegetables
- Duck breast with pomegranate
- Bacon-wrapped chicken breast with shallots
Whatever you choose, make sure you have a good drink to recommend with the food.
Main course
Now, here comes the fun! The possibilities are limitless.
Do you have a signature dish you want to adapt to Valentine’s Day theme? Do you have an innovative idea that will keep guests coming every year?
Go for it.
If you’re asking us, we’d love to share with you these Valentine’s Day food ideas:
- Seared scallops with a carrot puree
- Braised short ribs with gravy
- Seafood-Stuffed Salmon Filets
Desserts
The desserts are the pillar of a good Valentine’s Day menu. Not only will they make any sweet-tooth person happy, but they’re also super fun to create.
You can have fun crafting a heart-shaped cookie, putting together a chocolate fondue or making a lava cake. Or you can go for the more impressive, fancy type of dessert like a no-bake mini cheesecake with salted caramel, blackberries and figs.
A Valentine’s Day dinner can’t be successful without fresh produce in your dishes. And the hassle of getting fresh produce from local farms? You have enough on your plate already!
That’s why Riviera will source all the produce you want from the best local farmers and deliver it right to your kitchen without you even lifting a finger. Check out our website to find out more!