Even in a ‘normal’ year, 43%* of us choose to dine at home on 14 February. This Valentine’s Day, we may have no other option but that doesn’t mean we can’t make it special. Order in a restaurant meal kit, dust off the candles and break out the fizz and you’re all set. Of course, you may be joined by your school-age children but at least you won’t struggle to find a babysitter or a taxi home.
NATIONWIDE DELIVERY
Elite Bistros at Home
Chef Gary Usher has launched two Valentine’s sharing menus to help you mark the date in style. Start your evening with cocktails before four fabulous courses including 35-day aged fillet of beef with dauphinois potatoes or a truffled celeriac pithivier for the vegetarian in your life. Order as soon as possible as we expect these to sell out fast. £140 for two.
Gauthier Soho
Alongside eight fabulous plant-based courses, the Valentine’s vegan box from chef Alexis Gauthier comes with candles and rose petals for your table, a dedicated playlist and handmade granola for the morning after. Available for free nationwide delivery on Friday 12 February. £100 for two.
Hame by Adam Handling
Push the boat out with a decadent six-course menu from Adam Handling, the chef behind restaurants in Chelsea and Covent Garden. Alongside lobster tagliatelle and a whole honey-roast duck, you’ll get a 30g tin of caviar and a bottle of rosé Champagne. Available for nationwide delivery on Friday 12 February. £250 for two.
Hawksmoor
Hawksmoor at Home has released a Valentine’s box, available for delivery from Thursday 4 February to Saturday 13 February. As well as 35-day dry-aged bone-in prime rib and Matt Brown’s ultimate oven chips, you’ll get a bottle of Champagne and two sour cherry negronis. £135 for two (£85 without alcohol).
Home by Nico
The Valentine’s edition of the Six by Nico boxes is well worth cracking out your best plates for. After lobster and prawn tortellini and aged fillet of beef, you’ll be treated to a raspberry trifle. They’ve also thrown in a bottle of Tempranillo. It’ll keep for two days so we’d be tempted to save the four-cheese macaroni with smoked pancetta for another day. For delivery on Saturday 13 February. £80 for two.
Hope & Anchor
Order the Valentine’s feast from this Lincolnshire food pub and you’ll get hand-dived scallops, beef wellington and chocolate délice from the south bank of the Humber direct to your door. For nationwide delivery from Friday 12 February to Sunday 14 February, order by 2pm on Tuesday 9 February. Also available for pickup or local delivery from Wednesday 10 February to Sunday 14 February (order up to 10am on Sunday 14 February). £100 for two.
House of Feasts
Chef Damian Wawrzyniak’s three-course menu ticks all the Valentine’s boxes. Cured salmon? Check. Aged sirloin? Check. Chocolate mousse? Yes please. There’s a vegetarian version too which includes classic Polish-style dumplings. Available for nationwide delivery on Friday 12 February. £60 for two.
Paco Tapas
This tapas bar from the team behind neighbouring Casamia has created a four-course menu box for nationwide delivery on Saturday 13 February or timed pickup from the restaurant. Alongside tapas favourites like croquetas and patatas bravas, you’ll find more inventive dishes such as stuffed quail and Duroc ribs as well as a bottle of cava. £120 for two (£140 with nationwide delivery)
Pied a Terre
This Charlotte Street stalwart has created a vegan feast to share with your Valentine. Indulge in a Bourgignon with chestnuts and a 100% chocolate mousse with raspberries. Add a bottle of rosé Champagne (vegan, natch) to toast your amour. Order by 3pm on Wednesday 10 February for nationwide delivery on Friday 12 February. London collection or delivery available up to Saturday 13 February. £50 for two (£110 with Champagne).
Smokestak
Everyone’s favourite east London barbecue restaurant is offering two Valentine’s meal kits for delivery nationwide on Friday 12 February. After rhubarb fizz cocktails, tuck into salt-baked beetroot, Smokestak’s much-lauded 15-hour beef brisket, pulled pork and sticky toffee pudding. Order before 6pm on Wednesday 10 February. £75 or £115 for two.
Stein's at Home
Fancy celebrating with lobster thermidor or Cornish ribeye steak? Rick Stein’s classic dishes have been boxed up ready to enjoy at home with your loved one. Each of the two Valentine’s menus includes a half bottle of Champagne plus a Padstow candle to transport you to the coast. Heck, you can even start the day with a Cornish breakfast box if you really want to get in their good books. Available for nationwide delivery on Wednesday 10, Friday 12 and Saturday 13 February. £101 or £136 for two.
Wood
Simon Wood’s six-course Valentine’s menu is a surefire way to impress. From Highland venison to Yorkshire rhubarb and custard via an intriguing chocolate and beetroot ‘Oreo’, there’s plenty to delight including a bottle of rosé Champagne. What else? Delivery on Friday 12 or Saturday 13 February. £200 for two.
Woodspeen
Follow simple step-by-step videos to create chef Peter Eaton’s carefully planned three-course menu at home. Expect Cornish crab risotto, beef wellington and a pineapple tarte tatin Available from Friday February 11th to 14th. £180 for two.
Ynyshir
Really need to make an impression? The Valentine’s Dirt Box includes some of Gareth Ward’s most famous creations including char siu-style pork belly, short-rib of Japanese A5 beef and sticky toffee pudding with sweet miso sauce. There’s even a bottle of Gusbourne Estate fizz to liven the mood. Order by midnight on Sunday 7 February for delivery the following week ready to enjoy from 12-14 February. £300 for two.
LOCAL DELIVERY OR COLLECTION
21, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
This Quayside quarter bistro has created a five-course Valentine’s menu for collection on Saturday 13 February. Expect seared tuna, wild mushroom ravioli and sautéed duck breast in the lineup. £55.
36 on the Quay, Hampshire
Treat your loved one to a five-course menu, including monkfish ceviche and a sirloin of Australian wagyu, from this pretty restaurant overlooking Emsworth's harbour. Order by 9 February for pickup or local delivery on Saturday 13 February or Sunday 14 February. £75 per person.
Asador 44, Cardiff
Nothing says ‘I love you’ quite like a 50-day dry-aged, on-the-bone Chuleton steak with jamon butter. Order the Asador experience box by 9am on Monday 8 February and you could be tucking into this superb cut of prime Galician beef and a selection of sides come Valentine’s day. Available to collect from its locations in Cardiff, Cowbridge, Penarth and Bristol. £120.
Babur, Forest Hill, London
This neighbourhood Indian restaurant is offering a special three-course Valentine’s menu for collection or local delivery on Sunday 14 February from 2pm to 9pm. Start with a kebab platter (including a vegetarian version) before a choice of creative mains such as Patiala lamb curry or tandoori squash. £32.50 per person.
The Beehive, Berkshire
The Valentine’s Day Signature Menu at Dominic Chapman’s hugely popular country pub offers up retro classics of prawn cocktail, beef bourgignon and chocolate tart. Topped and tailed with canapés and handmade chocolates, the three-course menu is sure to go down well with your chosen dining companion. Available for collection on Saturday 13 or Sunday 14 February. £100 for two.
The Cat Inn, Sussex
This popular village pub has put together a three-course finish-at-home menu for collection or local delivery on Friday 12, Saturday 13 or Sunday 14 February. Order by 6pm on Wednesday 10 February for winning dishes such as salt cod scotch egg with harissa emulsion or roasted hispi cabbage with forest mushrooms. £35 per person (free delivery in West Hoathly and nearby villages; £5 for East Grinstead, Felbridge, Lingfield and Crawley Down).
Duncombe Arms, Staffordshire
You’ll be hard pushed to decide between the whole steamed lobster and the beef wellington on the Valentine’s menu at this pub with rooms to the south of the Peak District. Order before 12 noon on 10 February for collection on Friday 12, Saturday 13 or Sunday 14 February between 2pm and 6pm. £75 for two.
The Elderflower, Hampshire
A four-course Valentine’s menu is available on Friday 12 and Saturday 13 February for collection. Think Dover sole Véronique, slow-cooked short rib of beef and a classic rum baba with chocolate mousse. Call or email to order. £50 per person.
Freemasons at Wiswell, Lancashire
The five-course Valentine’s ‘cook at home’ box from Steven Smith’s much-lauded village inn includes potted organic salmon with handmade crumpets and – la pièce de résistance – a fillet of beef wellington. It’s collection only with timed pickup slots from 1pm to 6pm on Saturday 13 February. £80 for two.
House of Tides, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Poached lobster tart; rump and shoulder of salt-aged Cumbrian lamb; pineapple tarte tatin. These delectable dishes are all part of Kenny Atkinson’s six-course Valentine’s at Home menu. Order by midnight on Tuesday 9 February for collection (1pm to 3pm) or local delivery (postcodes NE1-NE15 and NE20-NE34; 12 noon to 3pm) on Friday 12 February, or by midnight on Wednesday 10 February for Saturday collection or delivery. £60 per person.
Olive Branch, Rutland
You may not be able to relax in the comfort of this inviting stone-built inn but you can enjoy the output from its much-lauded kitchen with a Gourmet Valentine’s at Home package. There are carefully selected wines to accompany each of the five courses which include citrus-cured smoked salmon, Rutland lamb and the Olive Branch’s take on a Ferrero Rocher. Available to collect on Friday 12, Saturday 13 or Sunday 14 February between 3pm and 7pm. £100 for two (wine flight £45 for two).
The Pheasant, Yorkshire
Order the Phezeroo Valentine’s Special from this elegant Harome hotel and you’ll be tucking in to four delightful courses come 14 February. Share a seafood platter, including Whitby crab and oak-smoked salmon, followed by a 60 day-aged sirloin with a chestnut mushroom and truffle sauce. Order by 12 noon on Monday 8 February for collection on Sunday 14 February between 2pm and 5pm. £45 per person.
Pony & Trap, Somerset
The Pony at Home has created a special ingredients box for Valentine’s weekend. Whether you go veggie with mushroom pâté then cauliflower steak, or choose prawn cocktail and fillet of beef, each three-course menu requires only minimal prep. Collect from Chew Magna or The Pony North Street in Bristol. £70 for two.
Pulpo Negro, Hampshire
Order the enticingly named Love Box from this Alresford tapas restaurant, a former GFG regional award winner, and you’ll be able to sample such delights as sherry-pickled pears and 12-hour Rioja-braised ox cheeks along with two bottles of wine. Email by 7 February to order for collection on 13 and 14 February. £80 for two.
The Red Lion Freehouse, Wiltshire
Tortellono of Cornish lobster; fillet and daube of Stokes Marsh Farm beef; financier of Valrhona chocolate: it’s clear the five-course Valentine’s tasting menu from this rural dining pub is going to win hearts in a way your own kitchen efforts simply can’t. Order by Thursday 11 February for collection on Friday 12 or Saturday 13 February. £115 for two (£145 including cocktails and wine).
Root, Bristol
Root at Home is offering a Valentine’s sharing box for collection on Saturday 13 February from its Bristol base. Suitable for vegetarians, it includes a mushroom and lentil kiev, pressed potatoes with Parmesan and thyme and a chocolate fondant among its seven delectable plant-focused dishes. £50 for two.
Salt, Warwickshire
Choose from one of two sharing boxes from Salt at Home for collection or local delivery on Friday 12 February or Saturday 13 February. Each three-course menu features creative dishes that earned this Stratford-upon-Avon restaurant, a former Best New Entry. Maybe truffled goat’s curd mousse, beetroot jelly and pickled beetroot or Papouasie chocolate, salted caramel, hazelnut cake and blood orange curd? £100 or £115 for two
Salutation Inn, Devon
The four-course menu from this much-loved boutique inn makes the most of its maritime location. Start with fruits de mer including Porlock oysters and Lyme Bay hand-dived scallops before a main of lobster thermidor. Pre-order by 5pm on 10 February for collection on Friday 12, Saturday 13 or Sunday 14 February. £68.50 per person.
The Small Holding, Kent
For those lucky enough to live close to this farm-to-table restaurant’s Kilndown base, you can expect great things from the five-course menu delivered to local postcodes on Saturday 13 February. Alongside a bottle of award-winning sparkling from nearby Squerreys, the GFG’s ‘Chef to Watch’ Will Devlin has put his creative talents to dishes of oysters pickled in wild garlic vinegar, barbecued lobster with fermented tomatoes and miso and chocolate pudding. To check delivery postcodes and to order, click here. £180 for two.
Wine & Brine, County Armagh
This popular Moira venue has put together the kind of Valentine’s menu that gives ‘takeaway’ a whole new meaning. Think tournedos Rossini with dauphinoise potatoes and truffle sauce followed by chocolate and salted caramel fondant. If that’s not the way to win them over, what is? Available for collection on Friday 12 February or Saturday 13 February. £85 for two.
The Woodsman, Warwickshire
Our 2020 Best New Entry has launched a four-course Valentine’s menu that’s sure to put a smile on your loved one’s face. Scallops with black truffle and Noilly Prat; confit leg of Creedy Carver duck; dark chocolate mousse with passionfruit curd – this is not your usual takeaway. Order by 7pm on Wednesday 10 February for collection between 3pm and 7pm on Sunday 14 February. £110 for two including cocktails.
Woolf & Social, Norwich
Fancy something a bit different? Our Best Local Restaurant for the east of England has organised a nationwide cookalong for Valentine’s weekend. Learn essential cooking skills with chef Francis Woolf as you whip up four glorious courses. For just £10, you can access the live video and recipe. Live locally? For £50, you’ll get an ingredient hamper delivered to your door (£100 with booze, including a bottle of Champagne). The live cookalongs take place on Friday 12 February or Saturday 13 February at 6pm and you can access the recording from Saturday afternoon if you’d prefer to wait until the big day. £10, £50 or £100 for two.
