Six local restaurants land on Yelp’s 100 top spots to dine on Valentine’s Day

Chances are you’ve already booked reservations for your favorite restaurant on Valentine’s Day. But if you’re still seeking a spot to share with your sweetheart on Feb. 14, six San Diego restaurants have made Yelp’s 2020 list of the Top 100 Most Romantic Places for Valentine’s Day.

The crowd-sourced website, which offers customer reviews and reservation services, looked at customer reviews that praised restaurants for their date night ambiance. It also selected restaurants that offered Yelp’s reservation booking and a “get in line remotely” option via app. As a result, the list is arguably more selective than comprehensive.

Coming in at No. 9 on the Top 100 list is Piacere Mio, an intimate Italian restaurant in South Park that’s known for its homemade pasta. It averaged a 4.5 out of 5 star ranking on more than 1,000 reviews. In 60th place is Juniper & Ivy, the Little Italy fine-dining spot that’s known for its chef-driven menu, award-winning wine list and melting chocolate Yodel dessert. It averages a four-star ranking among 2,586 reviews.

At No. 74 is Ristorante Illando, a cozy, second-floor Italian trattoria in Little Italy with 937 reviews averaging 4.5 stars. The high-end, two-story Little Italy steakhouse Born & Raised comes in at No. 84, with 1,243 reviews averaging 4 stars. Coming in at No. 93 is Starlite, a popular gastropub and late-night cocktail bar in Mission Hills, with a four-star rating based on 1,890 reviews. And finally at No. 96 is Island Prime, the Cohn Restaurant Group’s seafood-centric view restaurant on the south tip of Harbor Island. It has an average 4.5-star ranking among 2,147 reviews.

Ranking No. 1 on the national list is The Pink Door in Seattle, a seafood restaurant with nightly entertainment ranging from tarot readings to trapeze artists and lingerie shows.

According to Yelp, most diners book their Valentine’s Day reservations between Feb. 12 and 14, and the most popular cuisine for Valentines is Italian, new American and seafood.

And for lonely hearts feeling left out on sweethearts’ day, Yelp has also published a list of America’s “Top 100 Dive Bars for your Anti-Valentine’s Night Out.” San Diego was no slouch in this department, either, with six spots making the list.

Coming in at No. 5 is The Lamplighter, a karaoke dive bar in Mission Hills. At No. 11 is the Aero Club Bar, a whiskey-centric bar near Mission Hills. At No. 18 is the appropriately named High Dive Bar and Grill, a sports bar near Mission Bay. At No. 21 is Nunu’s Cocktail Lounge, a neighborhood bar and burger spot near Hillcrest. At No. 34 is Sidecar, a beer and cocktail bar on Morena Boulevard. And finally at No. 98 is The Hole in the Wall, a karaoke bar known for its pitcher drinks in Loma Portal.