South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Restaurants you and your boo will love
Here’s that Valentine’s Day list you’ve been looking for
Do not mess this up. Valentine’s Day is a big deal if you are coupled up (or tripled up for the more adventurous). You need to get the whole romantic dinner right.
Fortunately for you South Florida is a culinary mecca. There are excellent choices for you and your boo in foodie destinations such as Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Delray Beach and West Palm Beach.
Here are a few (and we’ll be adding to this list, so keep coming back).
AND Fish Kitchen and Bar
1200 N. Ocean Blvd., in Pompano Beach.
954-944-9515. Marriott.com.
This new restaurant inside the Fort Lauderdale Marriott Pompano Beach
Resort and Spa focuses on fresh-catch seafood. For Valentine’s Day there is a four-course prix fixe dinner ($65 per person) with seating starting at 6 p.m. Choices on the menu include roasted oysters, fried green tomato caprese, linguine mussels, lamb chops, blackberry panna cotta and chocolate lava cake. Beach House Pompano
The views from this popular oceanside restaurant are what make it so conducive to cuddling, especially the upstairs area. And the fare coming out of the scratch kitchen got a rave review from Mike Mayo, our dining critic. Seating for the rooftop is $250 for two hours and includes a bottle of Moët, a choice of entrees and dessert (you must leave a $100 deposit to hold a table). Downstairs in the dining room the Valentine’s Day special is a six ounce filet scampi ($38).
Bird and Bone at the Confidante
4041 Collins Ave., Miami Beach. 786-605-4043. Hyatt .com.
Dinner on the terrace at this restaurants inside the Art Deco treasure of a hotel is pretty much perfect for deep eye-gazing with each other. The special prix fixe menu ($138 per couple) opens with a craft cocktail before launching into a four-course menu including roasted strawberries, crab and uni dumplings, Angus porterhouse steak and s’mores.
Boulud Sud
255 Biscayne Blvd. Way, Miami. 305-424-1234. BouludSud.com.
Chef Daniel Boulud’s downtown Miami restaurant, being run by executive chef Clark Bowen, will have a Feb. 14 tasting menu ($85 per person, an additional $55 per person with wine pairings) with cauliflower soup, yellowfin tuna crudo, Agnolotti de Taleggio,
scallops and a variety of delectable desserts including milk chocolate chestnut bars and grapefruit givre.
Cantina Laredo Modern Mexican
501 Silks Run #1120, Hallandale Beach. 954-457-7662. CantinaLaredo.com.
Located in the Village of Gulfstream, this Mexican restaurant has a week-long (Feb. 11-16) special menu ($35 per person) that includes choices such as mango salad, vegetable soup, crab enchiladas, roasted chicken, filet mignon, mixed berries in tequila cream and flan. Try dining on the terrace to up the romantic factor.
Diez y Seis at Shore Club
1901 Collins Ave., Miami Beach. 305-695-3226. SBE.com/restaurants/ brands/diez-y-seis.
Chef Jose Icardi is offering a four-course prix-fixe menu ($55 per person) with dishes such as caviar guacamole, oyster gratin and striped bass. You can also order Moët Rosé Impérial by the glass ($20) or by the bottle ($150).
Escargot Bistro
1506 E. Commercial Blvd., Oakland Park. 754-206-4116. EscargotBistro.com.
This cozy little eatery will have a special menu on Feb. 14 with price options: appetizer and main course
($68), main course and dessert ($68) or appetizer, main course and dessert
($86). The menu that evening will have such fare as salmon “cake” puff pastry, crayfish bisque and escargot (of course!) for appetizers; beef tenderloin, lamb stew and duck breast for
the main course and crème brûlée, macarons and mango/pear sorbets for dessert.
Galley
600 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach. 561-231-6000. Hilton.com.
This restaurant inside the Hilton West Palm Beach that focuses on farmto-table food is offering couples what they are calling a “Sophisticated Steak Dinner for Two
($125) with soup or salad, rib-eye steak, glass of wine, oven baked cookie and a glass of prosecco. If you’re looking for something more casual, there’s the “Love at First Slice” special ($16) where the pizza has pepperoni slices in the shape of a heart and the “Olive You”
($16) mezze platter. You can also order a classic aphrodisiac with a half dozen oysters ($18) to get the night moving in the right direction. There will also be special craft cocktails (all $13) such as: the “Flaming Heart” with Tabasco whiskey, hibiscus liqueur, lemon juice, sriracha salt and garnished with a strawberry; the “Love Boat” with port wine, champagne garnished with pomegranate seeds and an orange peel and the “Love Potion” with gin, pomegranate juice, lime juice, prosecco over a ball of dry ice.
Jimmie’s Cafe 47
148 N. Federal Highway, Dania Beach. 954-921-0688. Facebook.com/JIMMIES
-Chocolates-Cafe-47-13237
6399735.
This Caribbean-inspired tapas bistro just happens to be attached to one of the best chocolate shops in South Florida and few Escargot Bistro in Oakland Park
things say Valentine’s Day like a chocolate sweet treat. The cafe is serving a prix fixe menu ($69 per person, tax and gratuity not included) with such choices as grilled shrimp, braised pork shoulder, mushroom caps, Cornish game hen, fresh catch, pork tenderloin, flan, cheesecake and a chocolate tort.
Le Bistro
4926 N. Federal Highway, Lighthouse Point. 954-9469240. LeBistroRestaurant.com.
Owners Elin and Andy Trousdale have announced a seven-course dinner ($85 per person) with options including the likes of Flowering Goat Cheese for Two, wild mushroom soup, filet mignon, lamb chops, lobster and crème brûlée. Mai-Kai Restaurant
3599 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale. 954-5633272, ext. 1. MaiKai.com.
The tiki-licious Mai-Kai will have a special menu for couples ($123) with dishes such as coconut lobster bisque, surf and turf with filet mignon/lobster tails, cherries “Hawaiiana” and bananas Bengali for two.
Three at Wynwood
50 NW 24th St. #101, Miami.
305-748-4540. Three Wynwood.com.
This eatery in oh-so-hip Wynwood run by chef Norman Van Aken will have a three-course menu ($75 per person) with such dishes as chicken and chestnut raviolo, conch chowder, steak and short ribs, citrus flan tart and opera cake.
Trophy Room
12300 S Shore Blvd., Wellington. 561-793-2110. TrophyRoomRestaurant.com.
This new restaurant in Wellington will have a special menu for two under the leadership of chef Joseph Bonavita Jr. The options on Feb. 14 will include a shellfish platter with Kusshy Oysters, shrimp cocktail, king crab, mussels bruschetta and Passmore Ranch Caviar ($85 small,
$125 large); a whiskey-aged porterhouse for two ($95) and roasted Dover sole ($52).