Valentine’s Day in London

Given that Valentine’s Day this year falls on a Monday, the annual celebration of love has been extended to include the preceding weekend. There is plenty of cynicism about the event but in food terms, it offers the chance to check out some of London’s best restaurants.

Even for those who are eager not to cooperate with the gushy goings-on, there are even restaurants that are promoting anti-Valentine’s Day tie-ins. The London Word has seen some of the best places that are serving up romantic fare…

One of London’s best Spanish restaurants is Cigalon by Chancery Lane. It is well known for providing Spanish cuisine with a contemporary twist. It’s offering a Saint Valentine menu priced at £32 for three courses. If you are feeling a bit extravagant, you can add on a glass of rosé champagne for an extra £7.50.

If you are looking to get a bit more for your money in terms of an experience, there are a couple of restaurants that throw in more than food into the bargain. The Restaurant Sauterelle offers a captivating package for £50 while Belgravia’s Mango Tree is another restaurant providing additional extras on top of the food. The cuisine itself is rather special with several dishes prepared for the day. As well as the dining experience, each lady will receive a hand-selected gift from Thailand. Very useful if you happen to have forgotten to buy a present.

A different style of dining is to be found at Amico Bio in Smithfields. This place is intent on showing that Valentine’s Day does not need to be about oysters, and their freshly made, original and seasonal Italian cooking should be a lovely way to spend the evening.

There is also much more to Valentine’s Day than sitting down to a meal. Chocolate is never far away from Valentine’s Day. Premier chocolatiers have got in with special promotions connected with the event.

Sloane Square’s Cocomaya has some intriguing offerings, which include heart-shaped chocolates in both pink with a champagne jelly ganache filling and red with a passionfruit ganache filling; heart-shaped cookies; bleeding heart meringues and chocolate roses in pink red and white.

But finally, if you’re sick of the vomit-inducing spectacles of soppy romanticism and public displays of affection, there are several places where you can indulge your misanthropy. One of the places laying on an anti-Valentine’s Day is The River Room, which is on the second floor of the Millbank Tower. For £65, you get a four-course dinner as well as a party that goes on until two in the morning.

A party on February 12 that will appeal to anyone wary of romantic sentimentality is going on at the Proud Galleries. Simply titled ‘F**K Valentines’, this is chance to get ripped and enjoy the company of the Fuel Girls, who will bring their adrenaline-filled fire, champagne and aerial shows.

Finally, one event that could be interpreted either way will be going on Valentine’s Day itself at Dishoom. The restaurant will be celebrating the Indian festival of Velan-times Day, which features a woman hitting her man over the head with a rolling pin. Expect many cartoonish scenes!

Cigalon
115 Chancery Lane
City of London
WC2A 1PP

Tel: 020 7242 8373

Restaurant Sauterelle
The Royal Exchange
Bank
EC3V 3LR

Tel: 020 7618 2483

Mango Tree
46 Grosvenor Place
Belgravia
SW1X 7EQ

Tel: 020 7823 1888

The River Room
2nd Floor Millbank Tower
21-24 Millbank
Westminster
SW1P 4QP

Tel: 0845 500 3500

Cocomaya
186 Pavilion Road
Knightsbridge
SW1X 0BJ

Tel: 020 7259 0164

Proud Galleries Camden
The Horse Hospital
Chalk Farm Road
Camden
NW1 8AH

Tel: 020 7482 3867

Dishoom
12 Upper St Martin’s Lane
Covent Garden
WC2H 9FB

Tel: 020 7420 9320

Image by By WordRidden courtesy of Flickr