Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and you don’t want to get caught without a romantic plan. Luckily, San Francisco’s greatest chefs have already worked out a few memorable menus for the big day, and all you have to do is make a reservation in advance.
Whether you prefer steak or seafood, international flavors or American classics, these Bay Area favorites have what it takes to wine and dine your sweetheart.
See also: The 7 Most Romantic Spots In San Francisco
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20 Cosmo Place / Website
Whether you’re looking to get romantic over a champagne dinner for two, prefer to spend the day with your best galentines or see the holiday as a way to celebrate as a family, Le Colonial is prepared to make the night deliciously memorable. Enjoy a three-course prix-fixe meal for lovers, priced at $225 per person, or a three-course family-style meal for parties of three or more at $90 per person. Couples will dine on grilled Copper Creek filet mignon, rack of lamb curry, California tamarind dungeness crab, squash and meatball curry, and sea bass steamed in banana leaves. The family-style dinner includes braised pork shoulder, squash-meatball curry, Copper Creek Angus shaken beef, the steamed sea bass and local tamarind crab.
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558 Castro Street / Website
This Castro date destination is perfectly prepared to please every palate come Valentine's Day. Treat your sweetie to a three-course meal al fresco among Fable's glorious garden patio, serving your choice of starters, mains and desserts. Begin with lobster bisque, duck liver mousse or fennel citrus beets carpaccio; follow that with filet mignon, stuffed quail, halibut or vegan lasagna; then finish with delectable "heartbeet" chocolate cake, a trio of seasonal sorbets or creme brulee. All this for $100 per person, and that includes one sparkling wine or mocktail.
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PIER 1½ The Embarcadero N / Website
Peruvian-born Chef Gastón Acurio shares his culture’s rich flavors every day with a seaside view at this celebrated eatery, but the Valentine’s Day menu is especially romantic. Enjoy your choice of appetizer, main dish and dessert; choosing from a wide variety of dishes including cebiche classico with local halibut and leche de tigre, nigiri norteno with main lobster and cilantro aioli, squid ink ravioli stuffed with dungeness crab meat, vegetarian berenjena criollo, stir-fry beef tenderloin, churrasco and so much more.
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252 California Street / Website
From the mind of celebrity Chef Michael Mina, Estiatorio Ornos serves Mediterranean classics with a modern twist. For $165 per person, you'll be wined and dined with a four-course meal alongside a special caviar service featuring golden osetra, Russian osetra or Kalgua. To start, enjoy a mezze platter for the table complete with dungeness crab dolmades, tuna tartare, crispy pita, zucchini fritters, trout roe, oysters and more. The second course offers Maine lobster hilopites with traditional Greek pasta, the third course boasts your choice of lamb crepinette or sea bream avgolemono, and the fourth finishes with sokolatopita cocoa cake with preserved citrus and ruby raspberry sauce.
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301 Mission Street / Website
Another restaurant menu from Chef Michael Mina and partner Ayesha Curry, this time with more of a surf and turf lean. The International Smoke Valentine's Day menu offers a chef's tasting experience for $135 per person and an optional $50 beverage pairing. Start with an amuse bouche of caviar waffle with spiced creme fraiche and honey, then enjoy a first course of tuna tostada with avocado, seaweed salad and toasted peanuts. Second course brings charcoal grilled pork with lemongrass, the third course features king crab fry bread, and the fourth offers roasted duck breast with butternut squash and confit tortellini. Finish your meal with baked Alaska with chocolate dacquoise, vanilla ice cream and cognac flambe.
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101 California Street / Website
It's an omakase extravaganza at our list's third restaurant from Chef Michael Mina with partner Chef Ken Tominaga. Pabu Izakaya will serve top-tier Japanese-inspired faire for $155 per person with an additional, optional $95 per person sake pairing. Enjoy a sashimi spread of bluefin tuna, amberjack, ocean trout; as well as uni chawanmushi with black truffle and shitake mushroom, crispy skin suzuki with shrimp dumpling and ginger dashi, and 28-day dry-aged prime rib eye steak from Schmitz Ranch. Add to that nigiri, caviar, oysters and dessert, and you’ve got one magical evening.
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