Fall in love with these Valentine’s Day menus, pairings and specials
Madison chefs, bakers and food purveyors are pulling out all the stops to help you celebrate.
There are a lot of options out there for Valentine’s Day dinner. We’ve compiled a list of 24 suggestions — including dinners, cookie kits and a few pairings — that will help you show your special someone how loved they are. (And if you don’t want to splurge on dinner, check out our Valentine’s Day gift ideas.)
A Dreamy Disney Meal
Inspired by the iconic “Lady and the Tramp” scene, Chef Giovanni at Bar Corallini is offering a three-course meal (some light cooking and assembly required) of an antipasti board, spaghetti and meatballs and a dark chocolate budino dessert. (Make it vegetarian by choosing the vegetarian antipasti board and vegetarian spaghetti and eggplant fritters option.) Place your order by noon on Feb. 11 for pick up Feb. 12-14. Bonus: Bar Corallini wants to see your recreation of the classic “Lady and the Tramp” spaghetti noodle slurp. Post your best reenactment on Instagram and tag @barcorallini for a chance to win a $50 gift card to the restaurant. $75 (dinner for two), view menu
Split a “Snackuterie” Box
Café Hollander has curated a special Valentine’s Day Snackuterie Box that includes salami, whipped goat cheese, crostini, brownie bites, berries, balsamic syrup, caramel sauce, chocolate salami, candied walnuts, beignets, peanut brittle and white cheddar cheese curds. Place your order by calling the restaurant, or order online starting Feb. 8. If you and your partner feel comfortable visiting the restaurant, consider renting one of Hollander’s dining domes Feb. 12-14 and order the Valentine’s Day special — a beef and broccoli flatbread as an appetizer and paella fried rice for the main dish. $35 (Snackuterie Boxes), view menu
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Coffee for Your Cutie
Check out Colectivo‘s Valentine’s Day specials, which include a cherry cordial cappuccino, available through Feb. 16; a San Valentín limited edition coffee blend, available through Feb. 14; a cherry coffee cake box or a cookie kit (place your order by Feb. 11); or a treat from the coffee shop’s Troubadour Bakery, including a pink raspberry almond croissant, a conversation heart shortbread cookie or a cherry coffee cake muffin — all available Feb. 10-14. Prices vary, view specials
Vegan or Steak Dinner, Plus Other Goodies
Christine’s Kitchens‘ Valentine’s Day options include everything but the kitchen sink. Preorder (by Feb. 11) a New York strip steak dinner for two, or a vegan dinner for two featuring butternut squash stuffed shells as the main. If you’re not looking for a full dinner, check out the Kitchens’ many other offerings, including keto chocolate strawberries, a beer lovers gift box, a sweet and savory bits board and a ton more. $65 (steak dinner for two), $50 (vegan dinner for two), view menu
Splurge This Season
“Indulgent,” “sumptuous,” “elegant” — DelecTable‘s description of its “Feast for Love” dinner wants to make sure you know what’s in store with this special menu. Enjoy seafood bisque, seared ahi tuna crudo, cocoa coffee rubbed strip steak, truffled Yukon gold dutchess potatoes, butter poached asparagus, goat cheese spinach flan and double dark flourless chocolate cake. Order by Feb. 9 from this University Avenue spot inside vomFASS for pickup Feb 12, 13 or 14. $120 (dinner for two), $220 (dinner for four), view menu
Take Home a Cookie Kit
Get hands-on with a cookie decorating kit from The Dessert Lady. A Date Night kit for two includes 10 puzzle heart cookies, 2 bags of Royal icing, assorted sprinkles and candies, two hot cocoa boms from Krenare’s Custom Desserts. Preorder now for Feb. 13-14 delivery within a 25-mile radius of DeForest. $30 (cookie kit), view offering
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So Italian You Can Barely Pronounce It
An authentic Italian dinner just feels right for Valentine’s Day, or St. Valentine’s Day, as D’Vino refers to it on its special menu. Dig into trio di gusto, pizza con pera, braised short-ribs, baci dolce and a wine pairing from this King Street wine bar and restaurant. $75 (per person), view menu
Five Filling Courses
Eno Vino will not let you go hungry with its five-course prix-fixe dinner featuring a smoked ham, cheddar and nut salad, pan seared scallops with pancetta, wild mahi mahi and risotto, beef tenderloin and chocolate cake. Wine pairings are available, and you can order the meal to-go for for dine-in Feb. 13-14. $75 (per person) view menu
Find Love at Fairchild
If you’re ready to dine in, better reserve your spot quickly for Fairchild Restaurant‘s Valentine’s Day Tasting Dinner. The menu includes courses of crab, lamb tartare, chestnut gnudi, salmon, caramelle, beef and chocolate budino. The menu will be available Feb. 12-14 and there’s an optional $75 wine pairing. $125 (per person), view menu
“Cupid’s Making House Calls,” According to Food Fight
You can always count on Food Fight Restaurant Group‘s lineup of eateries to offer fun holiday specials. For Valentine’s Day this year, choose take-home options that include “lovesagna” from Hubbard Avenue Diner, dinner for two from Luigi’s Pizza, a five-course at-home meal from Cento, a burger and shake special from Monty’s Blue Plate Diner and sweet treats from Carl’s Cakes. Prices vary, view all offerings
Chocolate and Cider Kit
Two local makers — Hidden Cave Cidery’s Walker Fanning and Wm. Chocolate’s William Marx — have teamed up for a limited edition chocolate and hard cider pairing kit. The pairing includes three single-origin chocolate bars and three bottles of hard cider. Serving instructions are included for a self-guided Valentine’s Day cider and chocolate pairing. $25 (kits available at Star Liquor Madison or for preorder by calling 608-255-8041)
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Vegan Pop-Up
Treat your vegan valentine to a plant-based meal this Feb. 14 from Just Veggiez. The menu features stuffed chix with raspberry barbecue sauce, southern fried drumsticks, lemon basil asparagus risotto, cheesy garlic and chives mashed cauliflower and Just Veggiez’s signature sautéed “veggiez.” Order by Feb. 13 and pick up your meal at Goodman Community Center’s Ironworks building on Feb. 14. $70 (dinner for two), $120 (dinner for four), view menu
Last Call for L’Etoile Takeout
The Valentine’s Day meal (available Feb. 12-14) will be the last takeout-specific offering from L’Etoile, which is also wrapping up its family-style takeout meals this weekend. The upscale eatery will close briefly to gear up for a reopening in April. So enjoy what might be your last at-home L’Etoile meal with the Valentine’s Day dinner for two featuring a smoked white fish and salumi first course, a surf and turf main and a “box of chocolates” dessert. $150 (dinner for two), $55 (wine pairing, white or red), view menu
Flowers and Cake
Whomever at Madison Sourdough came up with this idea, we love where your head is at — the Williamson Street bakery has partnered with Briar Loft Floral Boutique to offer a bouquet of flowers to go with your Valentine’s Day cake or pie order. Choose one of three six-inch round cakes (Persian Love Cake, Chocolate Truffle Cake or Raspberry Cake), or a nine-inch French silk pie. Add a Briar Loft flower arrangement that capitalizes on the Valentine’s Day color palette. $85 (flower arrangement), $28-$35 (cakes), $36 (pie), view details
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Dipped in Chocolate
Fondue feels like it was tailor-made for Valentine’s Day. Dip and nibble over a pot of bubbly chocolate courtesy of Melting Pot. Reserve a table or order a Melting Pot To-Go Date Night In, a three- or four-course fondue kit. $43.90 (three-course fondue kit for two), view details
Mark Your Calendar
Mint Mark is taking orders from now until Feb. 11 for its Valentine’s Day carryout menu. Enjoy Mint Mark’s Everything Biscuit, truffled potato gratin, white wine-braised endive, arugula salad, a 12-ounce center-cut filet and chocolate tarte. Add an optional drink pairing that adds on four passion fruit cocktails and a bottle of wine for $50. $99 (dinner for two), view menu
It Even Comes With a Rose!
If you haven’t had a meal from Monona Bakery and Eatery yet, now’s the time. The eatery’s special take-home dinner for two includes a salad, Parmesan potato stacks, roasted Brussels sprouts, pan-seared pork chops and crème brûlée. You’ll also get a red rose with your dinner. (How cute is that?) Call to place your order. 608-283-9987, view menu
Take and Bake From Papavero
The most disappointing part of takeout is that it’s sometimes cold by the time you get it home. Osteria Papavero is making sure that doesn’t happen this Valentine’s Day by offering a take-and-bake menu that involves assembly and reheating at home. Choose between a meat dinner or a pescatarian dinner, four courses each. (And don’t worry, Papavero’s classic budino di caramello is one of two dessert options.) $130 (dinner for two), $250 (dinner for four), view menu
Meal Kit + Virtual Cooking Class
Pasture and Plenty is hosting a virtual cooking class where you’ll assemble a farm-to-table Valentine’s Day dinner meal kit on Feb. 13. The event benefits P.E.O. Women Helping Women Reach for the Stars. Pasture and Plenty is also offering a Valentine’s cheese plate for two ($13) or special Valentine’s wine picks ($14-$24). $65 (omnivore or vegetarian meal kit for two), view menu
Enjoy Pig at Your Place
A pig in a fur coat is going the take-and-bake route this year, too. Enjoy crab cakes, warm spinach salad, cassoulet and a flourless doubled-baked chocolate cake courtesy of chef Dan Bonanno, our 2017 Chef of the Year. Add on a “You’ve Got a Peach of My Heart” cocktail kit for an additional $55. $100 (dinner for two), view menu
For the Diner Who Likes Options
RED‘s Valentine’s Day menu makes sure you get exactly what you want with three to six options for all three courses. If you’re not feeling the marinated beet and mandarin salad or the lobster bisque, go with the seared scallop or assorted sashimi. Pick between beef tenderloin, the Aphrodite roll, olive oil poached halibut, sushi and sashimi dinner, the Cleopatra roll or the Garden of Eden roll for your main. And good luck deciding between forbidden coconut rice, lemon meringue pie or flourless chocolate cake for dessert. $70 (per person), view menu
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A Pair-fect Menu
Valentine’s Day celebrates the love shared between pairs, so The Statehouse‘s special menu is all about pairings. Smoked salmon is paired with caviar for the starter, steak and lobster are presented together for the main, and chocolate and cherry merge for the dessert, which is white chocolate cheesecake and dark chocolate truffles with a port cherry sauce. Not feeling a full dinner? Consider a Valentine’s Day at-home brunch instead. $110 (take-home dinner for two), view menu
V is for Vegetables
If you’re missing Surya Cafe’s fare, check out what chef Lauren Montelbano of The Vibrant Veg is offering this Valentine’s Day. Her vegetarian menu features potato, fennel and caramelized onion; kale, Brussels sprouts and roasted grape with maple-almond granola; a vegetable, herb and cashew cheese tart; green beans with oyster mushrooms and preserved lemon vinaigrette; and a chocolate strawberry mousse trifle. $40 (dinner for one), $75 (dinner for two), $140 (dinner for four), $180 (dinner for six), view menu
Classic Steak Dinner
Vintage Brewing Co. is coming in hot with a “served hot and cooked to temp” dinner that includes a house salad, New York strip steak, roasted new potatoes, glazed carrots, demi glaze, chocolate cake and chocolate-covered strawberries. Place your orders before Feb. 10. $60 (dinner for two), view menu
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