18 Valentine's Day events around the UK
With restaurants reporting a 41% increase in reservations on Valentine's Day in 2017 compared to an equivalent evening in February, it's a day that businesses shouldn't turn a blind eye to.
Data from OpenTable also found that UK diners book their Valentine's Day meals 12 days in advance.
So with that in mind (and only seven days until the big day) here are 18 restaurants and hotels offering special Valentine's packages.
One Aldwych hotel, London (pictured)
Covent Garden's One Aldwych hotel is offering five Valentine's experiences. A Sutan ‘On Fire' tasting menu at Eneko at One Aldwych will feature five-courses of Basque country dining, ending with a rose marshmallow and strawberry sorbet dessert (£52 per person).
The Indigo restaurant is serving a dairy- and gluten-free Valentine's tasting menu for £75 per person. Highlights from the five-course menu include poached Dorset lobster, heritage carrots and coastal herbs and a raspberry parfait with Lallier Grande Cru Rosé Champagne granita and passion fruit sorbet.
Film & Fizz, a dinner and movie evening event, will welcome 30 guests a night to watch The Greatest Showman with a glass of Lallier Champagne and popcorn followed by a three-course dinner in the Indigo restaurant (£55 per person).
The Lobby Bar will add a new cocktail, Take a Chance on Me, to its menu. Intended to be shared, one half is a blend of Plymouth Gin and gooseberry liqueur, while other is Rémy Martin VSOP Cognac and buckthorn liqueur. Both sides are topped with Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut Champagne.
Throughout February and March a One Great Weekend package is available for couples. It includes accommodation for two with full English breakfast, two glasses of Lallier Grand Réserve Champagne or a cocktail each, complimentary use of the Health Club and a late check-out.
Rudding Park, Harrogate
Rudding Park in Harrogate is offering a Luxury Valentine Escape or Luxury Valentine Gourmet Escape package on 10 and 14 February.
The one-night Luxury Escape includes half a bottle of pink fizz and a pink rose in the room on arrival, plus a five-course sharing menu at Clocktower, accompanied by live music and a gift.
The one-night Luxury Gourmet Escape includes dinner at Horto, the hotel's three-AA-Rosette, fine-dining restaurant. It includes half a bottle of pink fizz and a pink rose in the room on arrival, a pre-dinner cocktail and a gift.
Dukes London
Dukes London is offering four special packages between 9-18 February.
The Romantic Retreat (from £510) includes an overnight stay, a bottle of Champagne, a five-course dinner at the GBR restaurant, a gift-wrapped Floris London hyacinth and bluebell candle, breakfast and late check-out.
The Luxury Escape (from £1,270) includes the same, but with the addition of 12 red roses and a helicopter tour of the city. The Deluxe Escape (from £1,400) swaps out the helicopter tour for a horse and carriage ride for two through Hyde Park.
The Ultimate Luxury Valentine's Escape (from £2,295) includes an overnight stay in the Duke of Clarence Penthouse Suite with balcony overlooking Green Park, 24 red roses, a horse and carriage ride, a massage for two, a bottle of Champagne, a box of Fortnum & Mason chocolates, a five-course dinner for two at GBR, a gift-wrapped Floris London hyacinth and bluebell candle, breakfast in the suite and late check-out.
Bobby's East Anglian Oysters, London
Old Spitalfields Market's Bobby's East Anglian Oysters stall is offering an oyster shucking class on Valentine's Day. Guests will have a dozen oysters to shuck, with instruction from owner Bobby Groves. Guests will enjoy the oysters with wine. The session costs £30 per couple, with up to eight people per session.
Beaverbrook, Leatherhead, Surrey
Six packages are available at Beaverbrook's the House and the Garden House. Three of the options are a Valentine's Celebration, including a one-night stay with Champagne and chocolates, a meal for two and a full English breakfast (£575 the House; £535 the Garden House); a Romantic Weekend Retreat consisting of a one-night stay on 16 or 17 February with Champagne, chocolates and a full English breakfast for two (£405 the House; £365 the Garden House); and a Valentine's Dinner with Laurent-Perrier (£95 per person for eight courses at the House; £75pp for seven courses at the Garden House).
Greggs, Nationwide
Greggs is offering couples a romantic candlelit experience on Valentine's Day in stores across the UK. Tables, which can be booked in advance, will be decorated with fresh flowers and linen tablecloths. A four-course meal, including pork puff pastry sliders, love heart-garnished bakes and brochette of doughnuts will be served alongside Italian prosecco (£15 for two).
The Corrigan Collection, London
A Valentine's Oyster Masterclass with master oyster shucker Helio Garzon will be held on 10 February at Bentley's Oyster Bar. Guests will shuck and taste oysters with Champagne and learn how to serve them (£65 per person). A three-course Valentine's Day menu includes dishes such as lobster lasagne, oysters, Dover sole with lobster and scallops with blood orange and salsify (£85 per person).
Dickies Bar will offer a Valentine's cocktail named All You Need Is Love, while at Corrigan's Mayfair couples can book a dinner for two at the chef's table with a five-course tasting menu from £500.
La Poule au Pot, London
Belgravia-based French restaurant La Poule au Pot has created a special Valentine's menu only available for dinner on 14 February.
The menu offers three dishes for £60, including dishes such as escargots, coquilles Saint-Jacques, magret de canard au citron vert (duck breast with lime), pintade au Calvados (guinea fowl in a Calvados sauce), crème brûlée and mousse au chocolat.
Royal Lancaster London
The Royal Lancaster London hotel, just off Hyde Park, which has recently completed £80m of renovations, is offering a Royal Valentine's Afternoon Tea (from £35 per person), and a three-course menu in the Island Grill restaurant (from £47.50 per person) including a glass of Moët & Chandon Champagne. The menu will feature dishes including Gressingham duck salad; pan-fried sea bass; roasted fig, pine nut and cherry-wood smoked cheese tart; dark chocolate fondant; and strawberry panna cotta.
Slieve Donard Resort & Spa, Newcastle, County Down
Set in six acres of private grounds, Slieve Donard Resort & Spa overlooks the Mourne Mountains. For Valentine's Day it's offering a five-course Valentine's dinner (£120 per couple) at the Oak restaurant with a glass of prosecco on arrival.
Until 18 February, couples can also partake in the Ultimate Rose Ritual Spa Experience, featuring a candlelit foot ritual with rose petals and rosehip oil exfoliation, ESPA full body massage with rose, geranium and lavender-infused oils, followed by an ESPA Oriental scalp massage with rose quartz crystals. Also included is an ESPA gift, a light lunch, as well as full use of the spa facilities (£105 for Monday-Thursday and £120 Friday-Sunday).
The Alexandra hotel and restaurant, Lyme Regis, Dorset
Overlooking Lyme Bay, the Alexandra hotel and restaurant is offering three Valentine's packages: a two-night weekend break, a seven-course tasting menu, and a private dinner in the lookout tower.
The weekend break, to be taken on either on 9-10 or 16-17 February, costs from £545 and includes accommodation, a bottle of rosé Champagne, handmade fossil-shaped chocolates in the room on arrival, full English breakfast and a seven-course Valentine's tasting menu with wine pairings.
In the Alexandra restaurant, the Valentine's menu will be available on the 9, 10, 14, 16 and 17 February and costs £90 per person. It includes Exmouth oysters with raspberry vinegar and shallot dressing, spiced, potted, hand-picked Brixham crab, white peach and prosecco granita, mustard-infused Devonshire ribeye steak, salted-caramel fondant with toffee popcorn and vanilla ice-cream, and a selection of West Country cheeses with homemade chutney and artisan biscuits.
A private dining experience is also available in the Lookout Tower in the hotel's garden. A private butler will serve a three-course meal with a glass of Champagne, Champagne sorbet, strawberry platter, cheese, coffee and petit fours for £99 per person.
Butchies, London
Fried chicken restaurant Butchies on Rivington Street, Shoreditch, has introduced a Valentine's Day sharing menu. Available for one day only, and priced at £15 per person, the menu kicks off with deep-fried oysters with spicy rémoulade, followed by You Sexy Thing, a fried chicken sandwich with two fried buttermilk chicken fillets coated in powdered chilli and cacao shake, topped with house pickles and Butchies hot sauce, sandwiched between a double-sized, heart-shaped butter-toasted brioche bun.
Comptoir V, London
Vegan restaurant Comptoir V in Kensal Rise has a specially designed a three-course menu for Valentine's Day which will include a Moroccan sharing starter, which comprises an array of small dishes to share; a choice of mains including signature dish ‘Return of the Mac' (vegan Mac and ‘cheese' with BBQ mushroom ‘ribs' and garlic sauteed spinach); and chef's special dessert, along with a glass of vegan sparkling wine. (£24.95 each)
Coworth Park, Ascot, Berkshire
Dorchester Collection's luxury country house hotel and spa, Coworth Park in Ascot is inviting guests for an overnight stay for two with breakfast, a bottle of champagne and special chocolate amenity on arrival.
Romance at Coworth Park includes a three-course dinner for two at the Barn with a sommelier's choice bottle of wine. Couples are then welcomed back to their room adorned with rose petals. (£125, or £200 with wine pairing)
Also available is a Valentine's Day Afternoon Tea in the Drawing Room is priced at £55 including traditional finger sandwiches and pastries, a glass of bubbles and a red rose.
Tibits, London
Vegetarian and vegan restaurant group Tibits has announced a Valentine's Day package available at both Bankside and Heddon St restaurants.
The package for two people includes a bottle of prosecco, two main plates, two desserts and tea or coffee for £75. Dishes available on the day will include Tibits signature roast tandoori cauliflower and sticky toffee pudding.
Guests will also have the chance to win prizes from a draw during the evening including a bottle of Prosecco, a Valentine's cocktail and dessert.
Darbaar, London
Darbaar has created a Valentine's tasting menu inspired by the royal banquets of India, priced at £60 per person.
For starters, head chef Abdul Yaseen has created the vegetable platter featuring wild mushroom galouti, baked purple sprouting broccoli and chilli paneer; the seafood platter with lobster soup and kadai scallop and a delicately spiced crab and cod cake; or the meat platter with saffron chicken tikka, Hyderabadi duck parcel and grilled lamb pasanda.
To follow, options range from tandoori achari paneer pasanda with a layered paneer and raisin pie spiced with fragrant saffron and royal cumin, to a kerala-style tawa sea bream with green moong lentil and shrimp kedgeree, and the vibrant Jodphuri-spiced Kentish lamb saddle with saag lamb mince and chilli and corn curry sauce.
The dessert on offer is a Valrhona 64% dark chocolate mousse with fragrant cinnamon ice cream.
Granary Square Brasserie, London
King's Cross restaurant Granary Square Brasserie has teamed up with Veuve Clicquot and friendship app Bumble BFF to celebrate Valentine's Day by launching a Soul Mates dinner series.
On 14 and 15 February, the restaurant will host events celebrating friendships where guests can enjoy a free glass of Veuve Clicquot rosé, take pictures in a photo booth with props and break open Clicquot piñatas filled with sweet treats and temporary tattoos.
Cloud 23, Hilton Manchester Deansgate
While looking out at the city below, Cloud 23 is offering guests a Pink Champagne Progression. The five-course events offers plates of cray fish blini, peppered beef carpaccio and aged brie and balsamic onion volivon with Jacquart rose, Kir Royale, and Bollinger Rose (£65 per person, window seat guaranteed).
A Pink Champagne Truffle Trolley (£15 per person) and love-themed afternoon tea (£35 per person), including chocolate fondue, cherry scones and cantucci biscotto will also be on offer for the day.
All of these experiences are accompanied by live music, as a saxophonist and DJ make music from eight until late for one night only on 14 February.
