There’s a lot to love about Valentine’s Day in Southwest Florida. Maybe it’s a selection from Norman Love Confections’ Valentine’s Day Collection, replete with 10 heart-shaped dark, white and milk chocolates with vanilla rum, coconut cream pie and Pinot Noir flavors— just to name a few.
Life is sweet, but dinner can be savory—like a roasted duck leg confit at Osteria Tulia. Read on for Valentine’s Day specials around Naples, Bonita Springs, Fort Myers and beyond.
Feb. 10-14
Five-Day Affair
Don’t wait until Valentine’s Day: This three-course meal is available at Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar beginning February 10. Start with your choice of salad before picking between filet mignon or a 35-ounce Prime tomahawk/north Atlantic lobster tail surf and turf before finishing with chocolate butter cake or cheesecake to sweeten the deal.
Feb. 11-18
Dinner for Two
In addition to its normal dinner menu,The Silver King Ocean Brasserie offersr a special Valentine’s three-course prix fixe menu for $150 a couple. Start with a classic wedge salad, before slicing into a beef Wellington for two. Finish with a chocolate Rocher torte with raspberry sauce. Reservations recommended.
Feb. 11
Perfect Pairings
Chocolate and beer? More of that, please. Norman Love sweetens the deal at Palm City Brewing in San Carlos Park. Grab your tickets—$16 for one, $30 for couples—and make your way to have your pairing at any time Saturday, Feb. 11. It’s a match made in heaven. (We mean you and your loved one, of course.)
Feb. 13
Black Hearts
Not in the Valentine’s Day mood? Not a problem. A partnership between Ceremony Brewing and Quality Thyme Meals brings a four-course dinner cloaked in angst and moody overtones to the brewery. Beginning at 6:30 p.m., diners will delight—or not?—in courses such as “Your Ex Would Hate This” (black rice arancini stuffed with wild mushroom medley, demi-glace and black truffle paired with Essence of Petrichor Pilsner). Tickets start at $70 (no beverages) and go to $85 per person with beer and $90 per person with wine.
Feb. 14
Hogfish Heaven
Beginning at 4 p.m., start with Maine Moondancer oysters with a yuzu melon granita ($22). Then, jump to Hogfish Harry’s day-boat snowy grouper, comprising spiced-snow grouper, Florida rock shrimp and butternut squash plus a Shimeji mushroom parmesan risotto and flame-kissed California asparagus and a Champagne truffle brodo ($52). Finally, follow your passion (and your heart) with a passion fruit mousse shaped into a heart, replete with chocolate ganache, tuxedo strawberry and a raspberry gastrique ($16). Order all three dishes or make your pick of individual items.
Feb. 14
Low Key Valentine’s
Ceremony Brewing takes the pressure off with a casual Valentine’s Day date offering. Champagne by the glass and 20 percent off bottles of wine meet surf and turf burgers—gochujang mayo, truffle gouda, shrimp and onion on a potato roll— from smash-burger pop-up Only Doubles.
Feb. 14
From Italy, With Love
Nothing quite compares to the romanticism of Fifth Avenue South, and Osteria Tulia embodies that. For $125 per person, your prix-fixe menu lets you select from a list of appetizers ranging from burrata to tuna sashimi, pasta (for a $25 upcharge), entrees such as wood-roasted scallops or roasted duck leg confit and finish with gelato, tiramisu or “My Better Half”—cocoa shortbread, milk chocolate ganache, passion fruit curd, meringue and red currants.
Call 239-213-2073 for reservations.
Feb. 14
Chef’s Kiss
Sure, it’s not the opportunity to share a Lady and the Tramp-style pasta kiss, but Cape Coral’s Nice Guys Pizza does present the opportunity to share a bottle of Dom Pérignon Champagne and four corn dogs for $350. For something a little more budget-friendly, Nice Guys offers several $55 V-Day specials, too, such as a bottle of wine, appetizer, and pizza.
Feb. 14
Riverside Romance
Dazzle your date with water views and an impressive menu from Oxbow Bar & Grill, which features a Valentine’s Day special of Tournedos Rossini and scallops with Yukon mashed potatoes and asparagus for $64. Reservations recommended.
Feb. 14
Written in the Stars
For $32, treat you and your date to honey butter fried chicken and biscuits accompanied with Champagne at the rooftop Beacon Social Drinkery at the Luminary Hotel & Co. No reservations are available; seating is first-come, first-served.
Feb. 14
On the Water
Jumbo lump crab roulade paired with chardonnay. An impossibly tender Filet Chateaubriand dished alongside fondant potato. A chocolate bomb and heart eyes across the table with your special someone. Hungry? Falling in love? Naples’ Edgewater Beach Hotel offers this three-course dinner menu for $160 per couple.
Feb. 14
A Golden Rind Valentine
There’s nothing cheesy about splitting a bottle of wine and a charcuterie board, but there is plenty of cheese involved. Fort Myers’ Golden Rind Cheese & Wine offer’s this V-Day combo from 4-7 p.m. for $150 per couple.
Feb. 14
Heart of Marino
A bottle of wine, pretzel charcuterie board and a show? Couples are signing up for that at Vichino’s Cafe & Wine Bar in Bonita Springs. Musician Deborah Marino performs love songs. Doors open at 6 p.m.; show starts at 7 p.m., and tickets—including wine and pretzel board—are $100 for two. Single tickets—no extras included—are $35.
Feb. 14
Plenty of Fish in the Sea
Fish Restaurant offers its dinner menu from 12-9 p.m. but also boasts a special Valentine’s Day menu including lobster bisque, red snapper and a heart-shaped white chocolate hazelnut praline. Reservations recommended.
Feb. 14
Cocktail Chemistry
Edison & Ford Winter Estates speaks to the importance of chemistry, with your partner and your libations, through this partnership with Captiva Spirits. Participants mix up two cocktails, nibbleon appetizers and take home a box of Norman Love chocolates. Tickets start at $90 per person for non-members, $80 for Edison Ford members for the event running 5-7:30 p.m. Advanced registration required by February 7.
Feb. 14
Cheers to your Love
At Bar Tulia, start with roasted strawberry caprese ($28), foie gras torchon ($31) or culurgiones ($35) before moving on to your pick of braised beef short rib ($49) or roasted bone-in veal chop ($65). Call 239-438-1031 for reservations.
Feb. 14
How Sweet it Is
Dinner for two for $149? That’s the deal at Naples’ Dorona, which offers a prix fixe menu comprising two caesar salads, two petite beef tenderloins and Maine lobster tails, and finishes with two tiramisu. What’s sweeter than that?
Feb. 14
La Vie En Rose
Make your choice from a curation list of items for this three-course meal at The French. Start with items like an apple and endive salad, move on to an Alaskan halibut or roasted half chicken (among others) and finish with a lemon butter cake or chocolate marquise. Cost is $125 per person, call 239-315-4019 for reservations.
Feb. 14
Melt for You
Love so strong you just melt in your booth. Or maybe that’s the fondue? Celebrate at The Melting Pot with rose finishes starting at $214 per couple for this four-course meal. Upgrade to include a bottle of Champagne and two dozen roses for $349.
Feb. 15-18
Valentine’s Week
Love will set you free. At least, that’s what could happen at Fort Myers’ Eat Liberty, known for its high-energy, small scale and inventive plates. Promising a “radically different” menu, Eat Liberty opens its reservations 1/27 for evening slots with no fixed menu or pre-set prices.
Feb. 16
Dinner and a Show
It’s more than a meal—it’s an experience at the Luminary’s Workshop culinary theater for this four-course meal prepared by Executive Chef Mark Heimann. The dinner will be prepared with four wine tastings presented by Trinchero Family Estates, and you’ll leave with a takeaway pasta gift. Cost is $150 per person. Tickets are available online.
Feb. 19
Slow Jams
R&B lovers—and lovers in general—are invited to Jungle Bird Tikibar for the adults-only Slow Down R&B Day Party Valentine’s Day Edition featuring local artists, musicians and live entertainment. Tickets cost $20.