Everyone knows, don’t they, that Valentine’s Day is one of the most popular times to dine out. With less than two weeks to plan, reservations are already filling up. Here are some Valentine’s Day dinner specials that have come to our attention, and now to yours.
- The English Grill at the Brown Hotel, 233 W. Broadway, Valentine’s Day 5-course menu includes a choice of Bourbon-spiked sweet potato with candied pepper bacon or a hearts of palm salad with Capriole Farms goat cheese and pomegranate vinaigrette; crispy oysters or crispy goat cheese ravioli with spinach-ouzo Rockefeller sauce; passion fruit sorbet intermezzo; entrée choices of filet mignon with Stilton bleu creme, pan-roasted halibut with citrus hollandaise or charred chickpeas with spice ginger-tomato curry over orecchiette pasta,; and dessert of bittersweet chocolate genoise with raspberry-Chambord panna cotta and white chocolate crumble.
The dinner, which will be served Saturday, Feb. 11, Monday, Feb. 13 and Tuesday, Feb. 14., will be $85. The Brown Hotel is also offering overnight accommodations with upgrades like rose petal baths and high-end champagne. For more information or to make a reservation, call (502) 583-1234.
- Brasserie Provence, 150 N. Hurstbourne Pkwy., will offer a 3-course Prix-Fixe Menu that incorporates “more than a dozen ingredients known to ignite romance” on both Saturday, Feb. 11 and Tuesday, February 14. Two seatings are available each night, an early seating from 5 to 6:30 p.m., or a later seating from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
The menu: an amuse-bouche of honey chili pepper avocado mousse canapé, followed by a choice of appetizer (lobster bisque, Groganica farm lettuce salad, baked oysters, or a vegetarian tart), entrée choices of beef filet mignon, grouper and sea scallops duo, chicken roulade or a special vegan dish and desserts of warm flourless chocolate cake, chocolate raspberry crème brûlée, St. Valentine’s blackberry chocolate cake, or a fig sorbet, fresh watermelon and strawberry compote.
The price is $65. Call (502) 883-3153 or go to www.brasserieprovence.com.
- On Valentine’s Day only, both LouVino locations (1606 Bardstown Rd and 11400 Main St. Douglass Hills) will offer a 4-course dinner of Southern-inspired dishes from executive chef Tavis Rockwell.
LouVino’s Valentine’s Day menu includes a choice of duck confit steamed buns or seared tuna with sesame, wasabi and avocado-ginger purée; Bibb salad with honey-champagne vinaigrette; a choice of grilled filet with bourbon-mushroom demi or seafood scampi with capellini; and chocolate passionfruit pan for dessert. Optional wine pairings will complement each course and the restaurant’s extensive wine list, including flights and cocktails, will also be available.
The four-course meal is $60 and an additional $30 for the featured wine pairings. Seating times are at 5, 7 and 9:15 p.m. with a two-hour maximum for each. For reservations go to www.louvino.com.
- Butchertown Grocery and its upstairs lounge, Lola, 1076 E. Washington St., will celebrate Valentine’s Day with a 4-course meal Tuesday, Feb. 14 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Diners may eat downstairs on cozy leather and linen banquettes or upstairs at Lola with candlelit tables and couches. Chef Bobby Benjamin’s special menu will feature wild blossom tea-cured salmon with spaghetti squash, Creekstone Hanger steak and assorted sweets for dessert.
The cost is $85; wine pairings will be available for an additional $40.Call (502) 742-8315 or go to butchertowngrocery.com.
- Corbett’s – An American Place, 5050 Norton Healthcare Blvd., has planned a 5-course dinner Friday, Feb. 10 through Tuesday, Feb. 14. The menu includes an amuse of West Coast oyster with gin and tonic granita; smoked quail on toasted cornbread; cranberry and walnut pork pâté; lobster and lump crab fricassee; N.Y. strip steak; Opera cake and mignardises.
The Valentine’s Day dinner is $85, with seatings at 5 to 6:30 p.m. and 8 and 10 p.m. Call (502) 327-5058.
- Chef Madeleine Dee at Fond, 2520 Frankfort Ave., is considerate of those loving couples who may be separated by necessity on Valentine’s Day proper, so her “Amour” menu will be available this weekend, as well as on Valentine’s Day and for the rest of the weekends in the month of February. That menu will feature Fond’s fig pizza; baby Brie en croute with walnuts and strawberry jam; fried champagne oysters with aioli and shaved fennel; seared scallops on ratatouille with tomato beurre blanc; filet with lobster sauce and roasted cauliflower; and chocolate ganache torte with gold leaf, pomegranate, and strawberry caramel. The meal is served BYOB and will cost $75. The Wine Rack will have pairings planned and a 10% Fond discount). Call (502) 727-363 or email FondLouisville@gmail.com.
- Equus and Jack’s Lounge, 122 Sears Ave., is offering a Valentine’s Day 3-course menu that will feature a surf and turf entrée with lobster and prime beef medallions with the option of additional first courses. A dessert of devil’s food cake with chocolate and raspberry mousse adds a festive finale to the evening. The dinner is $50. Call (502) 897-9721.
- All Bristol Bar & Grille locations will celebrate Valentine’s Day with dinner specials and wine pairings Friday, Feb. 10 through Tuesday, Feb. 14. In addition to regular dinner items, diners can enjoy a special holiday menu featuring an appetizer, choice of entrée, dessert and optional wine pairing. Valentine’s Day details for Jeffersonville and Downtown locations are listed below. For information on menus at Bristol Highlands and Bristol East, go to www.bristolbarandgrille.com, or call (502) 456-1702 (Highlands) or (502) 426-0627 (East).
In honor of Bristol Bar & Grille’s 40th anniversary this September, diners who submit a card detailing a romantic memory shared at the Bristol within the past 40 years will be entered into a drawing. One randomly-selected winner from each location will be chosen.
The Bristol Jeffersonville, 700 W. Riverside Dr., Valentine’s Day menu includes appetizer of baked Brie en croute; a choice of seared Homestead Heritage filet with truffle salt, or seared Chilean sea bass and shrimp with citrus fruit buerre blanc; and dark and white chocolate mousse with house-made strawberry sauce and chocolate bark for dessert.
The Bristol Downtown, 614 W. Main St., Valentine’s Day menu includes heart-shaped Capriole goat cheese with peppercorns and house-made tomato concassé; a choice of pan-seared halibut Normandy with a mushroom cream velouté sauce or Homestead Heritage filet Oscar with jumbo crab claw meat and quinoa hash cake. Dessert is still to be determined.
- Varanese, 2106 Frankfort Ave., will serve its annual A Taste of Love: Aphrodisiac Menu from Friday, Feb. 10 through Tuesday, Feb. 14. The à la carte menu is composed of “a seductive selection of appetizers, entrées, and desserts that are comprised of aphrodisiac ingredients designed to stimulate the appetite and inspire the heart.”
Starters include a salad made of hearts of Romaine, Hearts of Palm and Fried Artichoke Hearts topped with snow pea tendrils and gorgonzola cheese; beef tenderloin crostini with caramelized onions and melted Boursin cheese; jumbo fried oysters with mustard remoulade and chipotle cocktail sauce garnished with micro cilantro; or Angus Steak tartar served with fried quail egg and toast points.
Entrée choices are pan seared Hawaiian butterfish served over crab and chive risotto; grilled ribeye steak served with smoked bacon cavatappi mac n cheese; seared diver scallops and fried lobster ravioli; grilled tournedos of beef tenderloin; or grilled colorado double cut lamb chops served over roasted bleu cheese fingerling potatoes and grilled asparagus.
“Dessert for Two” will be peanut butter chocolate banana pie topped with shaved chocolate served with blackberry-chocolate chip ice cream. Calling (502) 899-9904 or email letsdine@varanese.com.
