Do you have a significant other that you like? Love? Or perhaps wish to love? Or maybe you love them but they don’t feel the same way? Is time running out to find plans for the both of you for Valentines Day? Well then you are in luck, fine people of Richmond! We have put together a procrastinators guide to the perfect Valentines Day dinner, just for you!
Here’s a list of Richmond’s restaurants around town that will boost the uncompromising tenderness you feel for your loved one/soon to be loved one. Aphrodisiacs are a hell of a drug, but they hit the spot just right. So sit down in a low light setting and enjoy the great tastes and love-nourishing ambiance of these fine restaurants who want nothing more than to put you in the right mood for Valentines Day.
Selba
Offering up the pleasure and entertainment of the sense of taste: enjoy a meal, fuel your body, and later explore your sense of touch with Selba. They claim food is their number one importance, so all you’ll have to worry about is your social skills and rekindling the flare that began you and your loved one's wonderful adventure together. Selba has an all-encompassing metro vibe to it; cool and classy, a music bar, a garden room, and even a separate smoking room (for you smoking couples out there).
Amuse
Want to show your significant other that you are cultured and romantic without having to learn French? Bring them to Amuse and all failed attempts at learning French will be forgiven (for the night). Take it from them when they say “Taking our cue from our unique and inspiring environment (with views into both our Sculpture Garden and the Atrium), we create masterpieces that tickle your sense of aesthetics, along with your taste buds.”
Start the night off right and order the special Chihuly-inspired cocktail, The Kaleidoscope, for your lady friend or man friend. They will be amazed by the twinkling of multicolored jewels on your eyes and grease the social wheels of lovey-dovey conversation. This cocktail sports a trio of “jelly jewels” floating in Champagne & Cointreau.
Order the February Prix Fixe Menu to get the best bang for your buck (no pun intended).
Lemaire
Feeling fancy despite knowing your wallet will be kicked inevitably by the end of this lovely traditional holiday? Make your way over to Lemaire and let someone else worry about parking, for you are to embark on a night that would have even made the Epicureans jealous. The modern culinary experience of this restaurant lies within Virginia’s most iconic attraction – The Jefferson Hotel. Sporting an innovative cocktail list, and a wine list of over 200 offerings, Lemaire should prove to exceed your loved one’s expectations. We suggest the seasonal three choice meal package.
Chez Foushee
If classy decor floats your boat, make your way on over to the relaxed Chez Foushee, where slow turning ceiling fans make you feel truly at home (in the south). Put on your fancy pants and enjoy the luxury of a day spa without any of the amenities. With great food, great service, great baguettes, and great lemon butter cake, you’ll feel all buttered up when ready to leave this spacious restaurant famous for fresh and localized foods.
Tarrants
Expect things a little more aphrodisiac-oriented with the affordable neighborhood service of Tarrants Cafe. This fine wine-and-dine establishment features a rich and intimate environment for all to sit close and enjoy the company of one another. The average price for a dinner for two here has a slight range between fifty and eighty dollars. Don’t be cheap, you love this person. Look into their eyes at dinner and see the happiness you have brought them with this evening.
As a recommendation, Assistant manager Russell Roland suggests the shrimp and grits for the Valentines Day persuasion, while another favorite that would work wonders on your date is the mussel cooked in a Thai curry sauce. Or maybe, if you're into it, just get down and dirty with the delectable fried chicken and waffles.
Edo’s Squid
Nothing will recall that nostalgic tear-jerker, Lady and the Tramp, like a good pasta. Let’s only hope the former of those two adjectives describes your Valentine's Day. Don’t let the entrance discourage you, for this fantastic second floor masterpiece of architectural integrity will keep your lover, as well as everyone else, ever so close. But you should branch out of your comfort levels and eat amongst fellow love patrons, for they will be by your side sharing the limited space but loving room.
Expect a long wait if you don’t already have a reservation--and we assume you don’t, since you are looking to us for help. But the charm, camaraderie with fellow lovers, and squid are all worth those loving eyes you will receive when all is good and consumed.
Ipanema
Since this is Richmond, and all people with or without dietary restrictions need to eat to live and to fall in love, Ipanema has the appeal of a slightly subterranean tavern complete with a creative vegetarian fare. The wine list will please connoisseurs, and the reasonably priced, flavorful menu will bring out the suppressed faux carnivore in you. A big hit there, for a wide-ranging clientele, lands with the smoked gouda-and-caramelized onion sandwich. Every sandwich comes with sweet potato fries, and everyone loves sweet potato fries. So go to Ipanema to be hearty and ethnic, or maybe just lay off meat for one meal. Go here and you will find out why it is to no one's surprise Ipanema is considered one of the city’s finest eateries.
By Brad Kutner/originally appeared at gayrva.com