At Radcliffe’s in Delray Beach, diners can enjoy the ’Give Her Flowers’ special, which offers a tasting menu and dishes from chef Blake Malatesta for $120 per person. Photo provided
By Jan Norris
Love is in the air — and on the tables. Valentine’s Day dinners are booking quickly, so if you’re brave enough to go out on what restaurant workers often call “amateur night,” hop to it.
It’s a busy night when seldom-seen diners venture out for an upscale meal. Thus, the amateur moniker.
But specials are set up to handle the Feb. 14 crowds, with restaurants creating dining packages and adjusting service times to accommodate all the two-tops. Hurry, though — many were already booking up last month.
A heads-up for people who usually book The Addison in Boca Raton, recognized as one of the most romantic venues in the area. “We’re doing a wedding on that day and so we won’t be doing the Valentine’s dinner,” a spokeswoman said. “We’ll miss it, too.”
Another popular romantic locale, The Sundy House, remains closed for renovation. It’s not scheduled to reopen until late 2026, according to its website.
Here are other choices. Prices quoted — in effect for Valentine’s Day only—do not include alcohol, taxes or tips, unless noted.
Radcliffe’s, the speakeasy room in Delray Beach created by the owners of the rebranded Wine and Spirits Kitchen, will serve up “Give Her Flowers,” a four-course tasting menu with wines and flowers, and dishes from chef Blake Malatesta for $120 per person. Radcliffe’s, 411 E. Atlantic Ave., 561-243-9463; thewineroomonline.com
Diners at Corvina Seafood Grill in Boca Raton get a three-course dinner, plus surprises, for $99. “Basically, it’s from our full menu to choose from, maybe with an up-charge for some items,” said Eduardo Pagan, host. Choose from dishes such as snapper almondine, crabcakes, scallops or a fresh catch. Two small complimentary surprises will make it a five-course event, he said. Corvina, 110 Plaza Real S., 561-206-0066; corvinabocaraton.com
Thinking French? La Nouvelle Maison, inside the 5 Palms Building in Boca Raton, will serve three prix-fixe courses, sans wines, for $160 per person. Thanks to a 1,300-bottle cellar, oenophiles will be able to choose a wine from a global, but Franco-friendly list. La Nouvelle Maison, 455 E. Palmetto Park Road, 561-338-3003; lnmbocaraton.com
If it’s Italian you crave, Casa d’Angelo in Boca Raton will serve a four-course menu for $135. Expect a few appetizer choices, along with pasta dishes from the menu as a second course, entree choices, and a selection of desserts with coffee. Casa d’Angelo, 171 E. Palmetto Park Road, 561-996-1234; casa-d-angelo.com
Latitudes, the oceanfront restaurant in the Delray Sands Resort in Highland Beach, will have specials served along with the regular seafood-forward menu available daily. The draws here are the view and the Chef’s Seafood Bar — an interactive experience. Latitudes, 2809 S. Ocean Blvd., 561-278-2008; opalcollection.com/delray-sands/restaurants/latitudes/
At Drift in the Opal Grand in Delray Beach, a three-course, prix-fixe menu will be offered. Prices are based on the entree chosen from seven on the menu. A vegetarian choice, roasted vegetable ravioli with a San Marzano sauce and unfiltered extra-virgin olive oil, is $60, while the land and sea entree — rosemary-dusted filet mignon and panko-crusted lobster with asparagus and whipped potatoes — is $95. Several choices are available for appetizer and dessert courses.
Drift, 10 N. Ocean Blvd., 561-274-3289; opalcollection.com/opal-grand/restaurants/drift/
Prime Catch in Boynton Beach will serve an abbreviated menu for the evening. New executive chef Michael Boyet will create the a la carte menu.
Prime Catch, 700 E. Woolbright Road, 561-737-8822; primecatchboynton.com.
At the new Novecento, which took over the former Falcon House in Delray Beach, acclaimed chef Niven Patel brings his Argentinian-inspired cuisine. A special three-course menu will be available for three nights — Feb. 14-16 — for couples who can choose two appetizers, two entrees, and a dessert to share for $95.
Among the dishes included are a burrata, arancini, fiochetti with gorgonzola and charred pears, pistachio-crusted salmon, tiramisu brulee or a warm chocolate truffle cake. Novecento, 116 NE Sixth Ave., 561-450-6101; novecento.com.
Dare to be different
Looking for a different experience? Chocolate and Valentine’s Day are synonymous. Boxes of the stuff are sold everywhere, along with the requisite roses.
Be different. Give your love interest an educational tour of a chocolate shop, and learn to appreciate the confection a bit more.
At 5150 Chocolate Factory in Delray Beach, tours are given on Saturdays. Visitors — only 12 on a tour — see the equipment and learn how chocolate is made, step-by-step. Choosing cacao beans, roasting them, grinding, mixing and tempering — the process is described in detail with the experts who turn out the final bars and candies display.
Although chocolate bars are the mainstays, including the Delray Beach bar, with 76% cacao dark chocolate, specialties include dark chocolate-covered dried cherries ($11.99 a jar), and whimsies such as a chocolate cellphone ($6.99) and six chocolate-covered “golf balls” made of white chocolate ($12.99).
Guests on the tour, which costs $15, get a free bar, as well as 25% off their purchases the day of the tour.
Tours book quickly once reservations open and are sold out for February; consider a gift certificate for a later tour.
5150 Chocolate, 1010 N. Federal Highway, Delray Beach: 561-562-5731; 5150chocolate.com/product/5150-factory-tour-saturdays-at-1pm
Update
Michael Mina’s Bourbon Steak, scheduled to open in December at the renewed Seagate Hotel in Delray Beach, has been pushed back to a mid-March opening.
One more thing
Savor the Avenue, the annual event that has diners eating at long tables set up on Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach, is scheduled for 5:30-9 p.m. March 24. Reservations begin Feb. 3 for this sell-out event, so check downtowndelraybeach.com/savortheave for details and book through your restaurant ASAP.
Jan Norris is a food writer who can be reached at nativefla@gmail.com.
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