Countdown to Valentine’s Day 2020.

Amore Italian-Style

Set in a beautiful brownstone on a tree-lined block, flower- and candle-bedecked Felidia has been a romantic favorite for diners for 38 years. For Valentine’s Day, Felidia is serving a four-course San Valentino Tasting Menu dinner at $158 per person with an optional Kaluga Caviar course. Complementing the specially designed heart-shaped ravioli (Cuore Matto) are over-the-top dishes like Wagyu beef bresaola and a Tutto Tonno platter comprised of Big Eye tuna tartare, carpaccio, avocado, burrata and Kaluga caviar. Guests will also receive a tasting of Felidia’s most coveted desserts and Italian delights.

To be transported to Rome without buying a plane ticket, Lupa has a special $79 four-course Valentine’s Day menu that will inspire amore and oohs and ahhs. The meal begins with a choice of aphrodisiacal appetizers like broiled oysters, or carne crudo with truffle Fonduta and quail egg. More indulgent truffles can be added to the tonnarelli cacio pepe for the primo course followed by two shareable dishes, whole roasted red snapper or quail “love birds.” Red-for-romance strawberry tartufo is the perfect dessert.

Spend Valentine’s Day in NYC’s historic Flower District at Feroce Ristorante in the Moxy Chelsea, named “Best New Italian Restaurant to Open Worldwide” by Italian food and wine magazine Gambero Rosso. Guests will enjoy  aphrodisiac-inspired specials like carpaccio di Capesante, scallops thinly sliced and served with taggiasca olives, cauliflower, and organic dill in a blood orange dressing; and saltimbocca di rana Pescatrice, roasted monkfish wrapped in prosciutto di Parma, aged for 24 months, served with zucchini and olive tapenade. The meal climaxes with a sinfully rich mousse al cioccolato e limponi, a heart-shaped chocolate mousse served with organic fresh raspberries.

Fun with Names

Fish Cheeks has curated a bright seafood-centric menu with unapologetic heat to keep the sparks flowing. Spice things up with a choice of two set menus for two with favorites like the coconut crab curry, crab fried rice, and Manila clams with sweet basil. The “No Sleep” High West bourbon cocktail mixed with Mr. Blacks cold brew liqueur, cinnamon syrup and almond milk is the perfect finish (or start) to the evening.

Boqueria wants you to have fun this Valentine’s Day with special Barcelona-inspired, romance-inducing tapas options. You can express your intentions by choosing “No Commitment,” an array of à la carte signature tapas, or the prix fixe “Classic Love Story,” Chef Marc Vidal’s selection of seasonal dishes and Spanish classics. “Three Little Words” will bring you an assortment of decadent favorites like hand-carved jamon Ibérico and croquetas de pollo y morcilla while “The Grand Gesture” notches things up with ostras con espuma de patat, a grilled oysters on the half shell with potato cream; and a tarta de chocolate con nueces y café, molten chocolate cake.

Palais by Perfect Pie will offer a menu of special sweet and savory dishes for Valentine’s Day with fun names like the “Whole Lotta Love,” Beau Soleil oysters with American sturgeon caviar and cucumber mignonette; and the” I’d Steak My Life On It,” roasted halibut steak with spinach and romantic roasted red pepper sauce followed by Don Giovanni’s tagliatelle with chanterelles, wild mushrooms and Italian white truffles. The tongue-in-cheek meal finishes on a sweet note with the signature dessert by former White House Executive Pastry Chef Bill Yosses, a chocolate heart brimming with bon bons and cognac, served broken or whole, as requested.

Sweets for the Sweet

In celebration of Valentine’s Day Black Tap is rolling out the decadent Red Velvet Cake Shake, a red velvet cake batter shake with a vanilla frosted rim with red and white sprinkles topped with a slice of red velvet cake, whipped cream and a chocolate drizzle. Now that’s love.

Intimate new East Village Bakeshop Red Gate Bakery has created swoon-worthy strawberry buttercream Oreos (an all-butter Oreo cookie made with black cocoa, sandwiched around sweet and tangy strawberry buttercream), the perfect finish to an evening of romance.

It’s All about the Drink

Cocktail bar and lounge, Ophelia, will be offering a Rose and Chocolates Soirée this Valentine’s Day. Tickets are required. A VIP pass includes a private table for two, a long stem rose, Champagne on arrival, a bottle of Moët & Chandon Champagne and chocolate truffles. If you want to go a little further, Ophelia has a “Proposal Package” which puts you in a private cove, covered in rose petals, and further ensures you’ll get the desired answer with a bottle of Dom Pérignon or Ace of Spades Champagne, two dozen long stem roses and a box of chocolate truffles, all orchestrated according to your personal wishes.

For sports-minded lovers, J. Bespoke offers a speakeasy vibe that addresses all interests. On Valentine’s Day, the cocktail lounge rejiggers its usual sports programming to show romantic sports movies all day. As you munch on fun bites like truffle fries and spicy honey pizza, you’ll sip the special cocktail of the evening, the Little Red Corvette, made with raspberry-infused vodka, fresh ginger, Aperol, fresh lime, mint leaves, jalapeno tincture, garnished with rose buds, while you watch romantic sports films like Bull Durham, Jerry Maguire, Love & Basketball, Fever Pitch and Rocky. Your date will be impressed – you enter through an unmarked brass door at the back of a coffee bar.

makes sure your cocktails are served with a selection of aphrodisiacal dishes. For Valentine’s Day, Cantina will serve a special three-course meal with a pitcher of their signature margaritas or sangria for two. You’ll sip your tequila as you tuck into aphrodisiacal dishes like baked Blue Point oysters (ostiones al horno) with poblano rajas gratin and desserts like guava cheese cake with fresh fruit compote. You can keep the party spirit alive at Cantina’s after-dinner party with drink specials and music by DJ Javi.