Valentine’s Day carries a different expectation for everyone—a low-key evening sipping beers while playing pool, a picnic on your apartment floor with a TV displaying a faux fire, or a romantic steak at Valentine’s Day restaurants in Chicago sweetened with caviar.
Whether you’re looking to impress your partner with a lavish meal, searching for the prettiest and most romantic restaurants, or even taking yourself on a solo date, there are splendid ways to celebrate. After all, love can be truly intoxicating. If you’re still searching for Chicago Valentine’s Day restaurants, we have some reservation recommendations for you right here.
1. BLVD Steakhouse—the official steakhouse for Valentine’s Day dinner
The BLVD steakhouse radiates Old Hollywood glamour—unbridled decadence, grand chandeliers suspended above ornate velvet seating, and a taupe, plum, and camel-hued interior coat. Its seductive ambiance makes it one of the quintessential places to impress your partner.
The romantic pre-fixe menu includes the choice of BLVD’s famous Wedge Salad, Onion Soup Fondue, Tuna Crudo, or Steak Tartare. Followed by a Mushroom Risotto with black truffles, Salmon topped with salmon caviar and stone ground white grits, or the 8oz Prime Filet with mashed potatoes and roasted mushrooms.
Price: $125 per person
Address: 817 W Lake St, Chicago, IL 60607
Reservations:Make a reservation here
2. Rose Mary — Italian-Croatian cuisine that will dazzle your partner
Since its inception, Rose Mary has been a central addition to Fulton Market. No matter what you order on the menu, the Italian-Croatian dishes will salivate your mouth with each bite. Combined with its sharable menu, it’s one of our preferred Valentine’s Day restaurants in Chicago.
And this year, Rose Mary is offering a pre-fixe menu for two with all the menu fan favorites. Each table of two will enjoy the Tuna Crudo with veal aioli and Grilled Oysters to start, followed by the Mezzaluna with duck ragu and the Mushroom risotto with the addition of black truffle. As a main course, couples will share the Lamb Saddle served with Roasted Baby Carrots and a shallot vinaigrette and the Sweet Potato with a prosciutto vinaigrette. For dessert, indulge in the Chocolate and Honey Madarica served with a rum-soaked biscuit and crispy chocolate crunch.
Price: $105 per person
Address: 932 W Fulton St, Chicago, IL 60607
Reservations:Make a reservation here
3. Bar Esmé — a delightful, affordable tasting menu
If you’ve wanted to try one of Chicago’s most progressive, daring, and innovative menus but can’t hand over an entire month of rent, you’re in for a delightful surprise. Bar Esmé will have an affordable and approachable dining experience for Valentine’s Day this year. On February 10th and 11th, render your partner speechless when they realize they’re on the steps of Esmé and watch their tastebuds explode as they consume the artistically palatable four-course menu.
Price: $75 per person
Address: 2200 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60614.
Reservations: Make a reservation here
4. Sepia — an upscale Michelin-star Valentine’s Day dinner
Sepia is built on contradictions—refined yet rustic, vintage yet contemporary, delicate yet lively—but all these distinct differences seamlessly meld together to create a space with a gravitational pull. Housed within a 19th-century print shop, this refined dining room integrates the original details with modern touches.
It’s one the more intoxicating Valentine’s Day restaurants in Chicago to take your partner. The menu will make you fall in love with dishes like the Potato and Gruyere Tortellini made with caramelized onion consommé, sherry, and sourdough or Sablefish Misoyaki with charred cabbage, smoked cream cheese, sesame, and furikake.
Price: $150 per person with an optional $75 wine pairing
Address: 123 N Jefferson St, Chicago, IL 60661
Reservations:Make a reservation here
5. Virtue — love is a virtue at this Southern American restaurant
The definition of virtue is the behavior showing high moral standards—and Virtue as a restaurant does just that. The Southern American spot leads with a culture of hospitality and kindness, a warmth that effortlessly glides throughout the space. The menu items will entice you and your partner with familiar flavors and surprise you with new ones. And it’s one of the Valentine’s Day Restaurants in Chicago that will be celebrating on February 13th and 14th.
Address: 1462 E 53rd St, Chicago, IL 60615
Reservations: Make a reservation here
6. Tanta — a romantic Peruvian escape
Invite your partner on a sensory journey through Peru at this Valentine’s Day restaurant in Chicago with a pre-fixed menu delivering four irresistible courses. Guests will have the opportunity to indulge in authentic Peruvian dishes such as sliced petite striploin served with beet gnocchi and pesto, seared salmon with clams and squid, cebiche, crispy pork belly, lobster and shrimp salad, gulf shrimp, and chocolate cake. Vegetarian options will also be available for each course in addition to a limited à la carte dinner menu.
Price: $86 per person
Address: 118 W Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60654
Reservations: Make a reservation here
7. Sushi | Bar — an intimate speakeasy omakase Valentine’s Day Chicago dinner
If you or your partner are sushi aficionados, then Sushi | Bar is the ideal Valentine’s Day restaurant in Chicago. The intimate speakeasy encapsulates the ambiance of traditional Japanese sushi bars from the 1930s through an alluring atmosphere and intimate experience with the chefs. The menu showcases imaginative flavors using the finest sourced fish worldwide—consistently rotating—which will enrapture your senses.
For Valentine’s Day, you will start the night with a champagne toast before seated at the rose-petal-covered, candle-adorned sushi bar. The menu will include Valentine’s Day-inspired nigiri bites, seasonal supplements like caviar and truffles on select bites, and an indulgent dessert.
Price: $255 per person
Address: 405 North Wabash Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, 60611
Reservations: Make a reservation here
8. Daisies — if you’re looking for a blissful Italian evening
One of the few things better than receiving a bouquet of actual daisies on Valentine’s Day is heading to one of the most exciting restaurants in the country. This year, head to Daisies with your love with a shareable four-course, prix-fixe dinner filled with Chef Joe Frillman’s signature vegetable-focused pasta dishes.
Couples can settle into Daisies’ warm and inviting dining room while digging into an appetizer platter with dishes like Smoked Sturgeon Rillette and Butter Poached Turnip Tart. For the main courses, couples can choose two pasta dishes and two entrees to share, such as the Pappardelle with beef cheek sugo, Tajarin with lobster amatriciana, Grilled Trout with sunchokes, and more. Top it off with signature desserts to end the evening in decadence. This is one of the Valentine’s Day restaurants in Chicago that won’t disappoint.
Price: $110 per person
Address: 2375 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
Reservations: Make a reservation here
9. Venetuex — for your Parisian l’amour
After strolling the Magnificent Mile or ice skating at Maggie Daley Park, take your long-time love or new beau to the elegant French brasserie, Venteux, for a Valentine’s Day dinner in Chicago. The romantic spot exudes a sultry Parisian atmosphere, making it perfect for an intimate dinner.
Venteux will be offering tempting dinner specials such as the Surf & Turf for Two, featuring an 18 oz prime dry-aged NY strip and a tasty Maine lobster, or the Wagyu Filet served “Oscar Style” with tender asparagus and stone crab. If you’re feeling ostentatious, you can bring this romantic evening to the next level by indulging in an order of Beluga Caviar, presented with balsamic pearls, smoked egg yolk, and a glass of Absolut Elyx vodka.
Address: 224 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60601
Reservations:Make a reservation here
10. Maple & Ash — an elegant Valentine’s Day restaurant
For those looking to spoil your partner this year, Maple & Ash is one of the Chicago Valentine’s Day restaurants that will sweep them off their feet. Upon entering with its candlelit, elegant dining room, guests will be transported into a romantic harbor.
Settle into the evening with a glass of bubbles from the restaurant’s Champagne cart that’ll be roaming around the room while indulging in the signature seafood towers or premium caviar from around the world.
Along with their standard lineup of high-quality steak and seafood dishes, guests can treat their significant other to a special Frutti di Mare Risotto available from February 9 through February 14. Plus, for Valentine’s Day only, flowers will be handed out to guests as they arrive to help make the evening memorable.
Address: 118 W Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60654
Reservations: Make a reservation here
11. Galit — a Middle Eastern Valentine’s Day restaurant in Chicago
What better way to spend Valentine’s Day than at one of Chicago’s most romantic restaurants? At the Michelin-starred Middle Eastern restaurants, award-winning Chef Zach Engel focuses on a seasonal and localized Midwest approach to dishes of the Middle East. Diners can enjoy a four-course choose-your-own-adventure menu. Perfect for wine lovers, the diverse list, inspired by all of the regions Zach has lived and worked in, allows there to be something for everyone. Diners can also choose to enhance their experience by adding on a wine journey experience.
Address: 2429 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60614
Reservations:Make a reservation to Galit here
12. Adorn Bar & Restaurant — a lavish Chicago Valentine’s Day dinner
At Valentine’s Day restaurant in Chicago, you can share a five-course tasting menu that guides you through the stages of a relationship one dish at a time! For those who choose not to participate in the shared experience, an a la carte menu will be available alongside the tasting menu. Chef Richie Farina believes that love is a shared experience, resulting in creating a shared tasting menu that promotes the best things in a relationship: intimacy, connection, joy, discovery, and trust.
Address: 120 E Delaware Pl, Chicago, IL 60611
Reservations: Make a reservation at Adorn Bar & Restaurant
13. LYRA — a sensual Greek Valentine’s Day dinner
One of the best Valentine’s Day restaurants in Chicago will offer a special tasting menu for $125 per person, with an optional wine pairing for an additional $55. The first course features choices like Grilled Octopus, Charcoal Grilled Meatballs, or Spanakopitakia, enhanced by an optional Breads & Spreads addition. The second course includes Horiatiki Salata, Kale & Avocado Salad, or Grilled Halloumi.
For the main course, diners can choose from Maine Lobster Linguini, Charcoal Grilled Lamb Chops, or Wagyu Beef Souvlaki, complemented by a selection of sides like Bouzoukia Potatoes, Charred Cauliflower, or Coal Roasted Brussels Sprouts. The meal concludes with Chocolate Tart or Orange Syrup Cake for dessert, accompanied by specially selected dessert wines.
Address: 905 W Fulton Market, Chicago, IL 60607
Reservations: Make a reservation to Lyra here
14. Lure Fishbar — a renowned seafood romantic destination
A renowned seafood destination presents an exquisite Valentine‘s Day menu featuring a variety of appetizers, entrees, and desserts, each with a suggested wine pairing. Starters include pan-seared scallops, fluke ceviche, and roasted baby beets. The highlight is “The Love Boat,” a selection for two featuring sushi, sashimi, caviar, and more. Entrees range from Ravioli Menage a Trois to Braised Short Rib and Pan Seared Duck Breast. Desserts like Chocolate Cake with Tropical Mousse and Raspberry Dome offer a sweet end. Special offerings like Champagne Oysters Shooter and Deluxe Seafood Tower are also available for a romantic dining experience.
Address: 616 N Rush St, Chicago, IL 60611
Reservations: Make a reservation to Lure Fishbar here
15. A Valentine’s Day Candlelit Dinner at Bronzeville Winery
Bronzeville Winery is one of the Valentine’s Day restaurants in Chicago offering an incredible pre-fixe menu option for those celebrating from their acclaimed Chef Lamar Moore. For the Love of Jazz: A Valentine’s Day Candlelit Dinner in Chicago will celebrate love, music, and culinary artistry with Moore’s incredible menu, along with an incredible Jazz soundtrack. Moore’s menu features indulgent and elegant preparations for the amuse-bouche and all four courses, including a choice of three stellar entrees.
Address: 4420 S Cottage Grove Ave, Chicago, IL 60653
Reservations: Make a reservation at Bronzeville Winery here