Valentine’s Day 2021: Our 14 picks for San Diego dining specials
Although restaurant dining rooms remain closed, takeout and patio specials abound
San Diego restaurant owners are quickly reopening for the opportunity to serve outdoor diners on Valentine’s Day, traditionally the second busiest day of the year for dining out after Mother’s Day. We’ve picked 14 romantic meals local restaurants are serving either on their patios or for takeout on Valentine’s Day weekend. (Listed in alphabetical order.)
This story is for subscribers
We offer subscribers exclusive access to our best journalism.
Thank you for your support.
A.R. Valentien (La Jolla)
Chef Jeff Jackson will be serving a takeout four-course prix-fixe menu for $95 per person with a two-person minimum. It’s available Feb. 13 and 14 for curbside pickup only. The menu includes lobster minestra soup, a little gem wedge salad, pressed chicken and black truffle pot pie and sweetheart verrine dessert. Optional “embellishments” include 50 grams of Petrossian Ossetra caviar and brioche for $220 or shaved black truffles for $100 an ounce. Orders must be placed by Feb. 8. 11480 N. Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, (858) 453-4420, lodgetorreypines.com
Ballast Point (Miramar)
The 25-year-old brewery will serve an outdoor, three-course Valentine’s Day meal for two with beer and wine pairings included for $70. Dishes include Hazy IPA steamed mussels, shrimp and crab stuffed Petrale sole and triple chocolate tower dessert. A special Valentine’s Day rosé fruit beer will be tapped for the occasion. 9045 Carroll Way, San Diego, (858) 790-6901, ballastpoint.com
Whether you’re looking for casual or fine dining or something in between, here are some San Diego restaurants serving up special menus for Valentine’s Day 2022
Breakfast Republic (Multiple locations)
Rise & Shine Hospitality Group will be offering a gourmet brunch for two at its Breakfast Republic and Fig Tree Cafe locations on Feb. 13 and 14. Cost is $40 for two. Dishes include strawberry cheesecake pancake, lovebird breakfast plate and a mimosa kit. It’s available for takeout and patio dining from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. For details, visit breakfastrepublic.com and figtreeeatery.com
Cesarina (Point Loma)
Chef Cesarina Mezzoni is serving a five-course takeout-only dinner for two priced at $69.95. The menu includes a fagottino puff pastry stuffed with Pecorino cheese and pears, choice of salad, agnolotti pasta stuffed with beef and ricotta, an additional pasta course and Neapolitan lemon sponge cake dessert. The pre-order, to-go meal is available beginning Feb. 7. 4161 Voltaire St., San Diego, (619) 226-6222, cesarinarestaurant.com
Civico 1845 (Little Italy) and Civico by the Park (Bankers Hill)
These Calabrian sister restaurants in Little Italy and Bankers Hill will be serving a Southern Italian three-course prix-fixe Valentine’s Day meal for $49 per person. Dishes include fettuccine pistacchio e gamberi, vegan carbonara, and panna cotta alla fragola. Each meal includes a glass of Prosecco sparkling wine. Available for outdoor seating and takeout. Civico 1845, 1845 India St., San Diego, (619) 431-5990, civico1845.com; Civico by the Park, 2550 Fifth Ave., Unit 120, San Diego, (619) 310-5669, civicobythepark.com
Cloak & Petal (Little Italy)
For every one of Cloak & Petal’s four-course Valentine’s Day dinner for two sold, the restaurant will donate two meals to people in need. Cost for two is $100. Dish options include blistered shishito peppers, mugu fugi kakuni (pork belly), braised short ribs, miso-glazed salmon, roasted vegetables with tofu and lava cake or cheesecake. Available for carryout or patio dining. 1953 India St., San Diego, (619) 501-5505, cloakandpetal.com
Common Stock (Hillcrest)
Chef Sam Deckman will serve a three-course, prix-fixe menu with starters choices of blistered shishito peppers in maple tahini or grilled artichoke hearts with aji verde sauce, entrees of Jidori rotisserie chicken and Caesar Brussels sprouts or St. Louis cut pork ribs with Asian barbecue sauce and charred broccoli, followed by a romantic dessert. Cost is $35 per person onsite or $25 if ordered to go. Optional bottle of sparkling wine is $20. Available Feb. 13 and 14. 3805 Fifth Ave., San Diego. (619) 310-5298, eatcommonstock.com
Green Acre Campus Pointe (La Jolla)
Chef Joe Bower’s Valentine’s Day menu is a prix-fixe three course menu for two that includes a bottle of Codorniu Cuvée Clasico Brut Cava sparkling wine. The menu features a classic shrimp cocktail and grilled Wagyu short ribs with French onion jus, baby carrots and red bliss potatoes. Dessert is gateau Marcel, a vegan dark chocolate mousse with caramel, paired with a Hummingbird cocktail of rum, vermouth, orange curacao and pomegranate. Cost is $85 for two. There’s also a $30 Nightcap special for a dessert and wine or cocktail. Pickup orders for Feb. 14 must be ordered 48 hours in advance. 10300 Campus Point Dr, San Diego, (858) 450-9907, greenacresd.com
Herb & Sea (Encinitas) and Herb & Wood (Little Italy)
Chef Sarah Harris will reopen this year-old Encinitas restaurant’s tented patio on Feb. 13 for a three-course Valentine’s Day dinner priced at $75 per person. Starter choices include blistered tomato and burrata salad or Baja shrimp cocktail, beef filet with truffle butter, stuffed portobello or whole branzino entrees, and chocolate lava cake. Little Italy sister restaurant Herb & Wood’s chef Carlos Anthony is offering both a patio and takeout dinner package with cook-at-home beef Wellington, starters, sides and dessert for $125 per person. Available for pickup from 3 to 5 p.m. Feb. 14 only. Herb & Sea, 131 West D St., Encinitas, (760) 704-8300, herbandsea.com; Herb & Wood, 2210 Kettner Blvd., San Diego, (619) 955-8495, herbandwood.com
Jeune et Jolie (Carlsbad)
Jeune et Jolie has not reopened, but chef Eric Bost will be preparing a take-away, French-inspired six-course prix-fixe dinner for “you or for two” for $100 per person. The menu includes canapes, lobster, ravioli, butter course, aged duck and a chocolate and raspberry dessert. Some dishes will require finishing touches at home. Additional options include fruits de mer for $22 and next morning French toast for $28. Available Feb. 13 and 14. 2859 State St., Carlsbad, (760) 637-5266, . jeune-jolie.com
Juniper & Ivy (Little Italy)
Chef Anthony Wells is serving two four-course prix-fixe menus, one for meat lovers and one for veggie fans, that start at $95 for two on Feb. 12 through 14. Among the dishes are caramelized onion Madeleines, charred snap peas, lobster mac ‘n’ cheese, basil risotto and filet mignon with beef cheek ragu. Dessert for both menus is Black Forest yodel. Dinner is available on the patio or for takeout. Optional specials include a take-home virtual cocktail kit for $75, J&I Candy Box of fresh-baked pastries for $25 and a rose bouquet for $15. 2228 Kettner Blvd., San Diego, (619) 269-9036, juniperandivy.com
Mister A’s (Bankers Hill) and Mille Fleurs (Rancho Santa Fe)
Chef Stephane Voitzwinkler at Mister A’s in Bankers Hill will serve a prix-fixe four-course Valentine’s Day menu on the restaurant’s 12th-floor terrace for $125 per person. Dishes include beef filet Chateaubriand, black truffle and sweet potato agnolotti and roasted duck breast with sautéed foie gras. Its sister restaurant, Mille Fleurs in Rancho Santa Fe, is also offering a $125 prix-fixe meal on its patio Feb. 14. Mister A’s, 2550 Fifth Ave., San Diego, (619) 239-1377, asresaurant.com; Mille Fleurs, 6009 Paseo Delicias, Rancho Santa Fe, (858) 756-3085, millefleurs.com
Operacaffe (Gaslamp Quarter)
This traditional Italian cafe will be offering a takeout-only four-course prix-fixe dinner for two for $95 on Valentine’s Day. Dishes include burrata with truffle oil and arugula, choice of lobster lasagna or porcini mushroom ravioli, and chocolate mousse or red velvet cheesecake. A bottle of house wine can be added for $10. All pickup orders must be placed by Feb. 12. 835 Fourth Ave., San Diego, (619) 234-6538, operacaffe.com
Serea (Coronado) and Lionfish (Gaslamp Quarter)
Chef JoJo Ruiz will reopen the patio for Hotel Del Coronado’s Serea on Feb. 11 and will be serving Valentine’s Day-themed specials all weekend, including pan-seared scallops with fava bean hummus and guava and pineapple layer cake. Ruiz is also reopening the patio at Lionfish Modern Coastal Cuisine at the Pendry Hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter on Feb. 10. Its weekend dishes include strawberry Fraisier and a raw seafood platter with king crab legs and Kusshi oysters. Serea, 1500 Orange Ave., Coronado, (619) 435-6611, sereasandiego.com; Lionfish, 435 Fifth Ave., San Diego, (619) 738-7200, lionfishsd.com
Sign up for the Pacific Insider newsletter
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Pacific San Diego.
