Celebrate Valentine’s Day at Philadelphia’s Best Restaurants
Whether you prefer multi-course new American feasts splashed with wine, burgers and beers, or modern takes on international cuisine, Philadelphians will have an overwhelming list of places to celebrate this Valentine’s Day with great food and drink. Better yet, our favorite Philadelphia restaurants are each attempting to out-do themselves with couple-friendly tasting menus, holiday specials for two, and special extended hours.
Dive into the full Valentine’s dining guide (specials included) below:
a.kitchen
135 South 18th Street, 215-825-7030, akitchenphilly.com
a.kitchen will offer a special $65 five-course prix fixe tasting menu. Dishes will include: Date-glazed Foie Gras Bon Bon; Roasted Maiitake Mushroom with squash consommé and creamy polenta; Lobster Ravioli with parsnip and tangerine; Roasted Beef Tenderloin with a sweet onion-gruyere tart; and Chocolate Layer Cake with crème fraiche ice cream and caramel sauce.
Amada
217-219 Chestnut Street, 215-625-2450, amadarestaurant.com
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with traditional Spanish tapas in historic Old City Philadelphia. Guests can choose a four-course prix fixe menufor $60 or $75 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Selections will include: Ensalada de Jamón, Serrano ham and fig salad with cabrales and spiced almonds; Dry-Aged Strip Steak with chard and smoked bacon demi; Truffled Gratin with baby vegetables, truffled cauliflower and vanilla; Lobster with sea beans and blood orange; and Pastel de Chocolate with alpaco-cardamom mousse, almond dacquoise, canella ice cream and orange. Wine pairings available.
Barbuzzo
110 South 13th Street, 215-546-9300, barbuzzo.com
Barbuzzo will offer a special four-course, $65 per person prix fixe tasting menu, excluding tax and gratuity. Selections will include: Anitpasta for Two with charred broccolini with chile, lemon and mint whipped sheep’s milk ricotta with vin cotto, olive oil, herbs and sea salt shaved local red carrot, raw baby beets with pistachio pesto and served with grilled French table bread; La Quercia Prosciutto Rossa with smoked tomato tapenade, burrata from Puligia, arugula and saba; Lancaster Beet “Love Letters” with red beet ravioli, sheep’s milk ricotta filling, roasted butternut squash, beet greens, hazelnut brown butter and balsamic; and Marcie Blaine Chocolate Fondue with espellete chile and cinnamon infused 70% single origin dark chocolate, toasted almond pound cake, fresh strawberry, espresso brownie, vanilla bean marshmallow and pineapple.
Chifa
707 Chestnut Street, 215-925-5555, chifarestaurant.com
Enjoy Latin-Asian cuisine for Valentine’s Day at Chifa. Guests can choose a four-course prix fixe menu for $60 or $75 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Dishes will include: Hiramasa Peruvian Ceviche with leche de tigre, sweet potato, mote, rocoto aioli and pickled red onion; Oysters on the half shell with Szechuan pepper mignonette, strawberry and lime espuma; Mar y Tierra, Korean BBQ marinated hanger steak and lobster a la plantxa with shredded cabbage; Crispy Skin Rouget with curried sunchoke puree and pickled lily bulb; and Milk Chocolate Mousse with almond dacquoise, salted almond butter and ginger-yogurt sherbet. Wine pairings available.
City Tap House
The Radian Balcony, 3925 Walnut Street, 215-662-0105, citytaphouse.com
The restaurant will offer a special a la carte Valentine’s Day Menu in addition to the regular selections. Menu items will include: Oysters Rockefeller with braised Swiss chard, smoky bacon and Pernod cream; Surf ‘n’ Turf for Two, a hickory-smoked double-cut Berkshire pork chop with langoustines bouillabaisse; Stout-Braised Lamb Shank with Peruvian purple potato puree and roasted haricot verts; and Dark Chocolate Tiramisu with raspberry jam. Featured draughts will include: Young’s Double Chocolate Stout; Timmerman’s Strawberry Lambic; and Dock Street Bubbly Wit. A special beer cocktail, the Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Float - vanilla ice cream, Timmerman’s Strawberry Lambic and Young’s Double Chocolate Stout – will also be available.
Cuba Libre
10 South Second Street, 215-627-0666, cubalibrerestaurant.com
From Saturday, February 11 through Tuesday, February 14, Chef Guillermo Pernot will evoke sultry 1940s Cuba and serve a special three-course prix fixe tasting menu for $78 per couple, plus tax and gratuity. Selections will include: Ostras Julio Lobos, baked oysters with spinach, goat cheese, scallions and aguardiente sauce; Filete de Res, pan roasted filet mignon with tortilla de planto maduro and culantro béarnaise; Langosta Thermidor, lobster tails gratin with butter, cream, gruyere cheese, mushrooms, “forbidden rice” and lobster sauce; and Isla Flotante, vanilla meringue floating on natilla custard sauce with caramel and toasted almonds.
Distrito
3945 Chestnut Street, 215-222-1657, distritorestaurant.com
Distrito to offer modern Mexican cuisine and cocktail pairings for Valentine’s Day. Guests can choose a four-course prix fixe menu for $45 or $60, plus tax and gratuity. Menu items will include: Cape May Sangria Oyster with blanco tequila, pickled cucumber and chive; Huarache de Alcachofa, confit artichokes with Serrano ham, San Simon crema and micro cilantro; Los Callos, diver scallops with pineapple, grapefruit and habañero reduction; Langosta a la Plancha, seared lobster with salsa vera cruz, sevilla olives and caperberries; and El Fuerte, flourless chocolate cake, peanut butter mousse, spiced peanuts and Patron XXO caramel. For $25 guests can add a cocktail pairing.
Ela
627 South Third Street, 267-687-8512, elaphilly.com
The restaurant, which is usually closed on Mondays, will exclusively serve a four-course prix fixe menu on Monday, February 13 and Tuesday, February 14. The special menu is $65 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Dishes will include: choice of Oysters with Earl Grey, kohlrabi and caviar or Fluke Tartare with black pepper, yuzu, chicken skin and caramelized onion or Shaved Kale Salad with whole grain mustard vinaigrette; choice of Lobster Risotto with truffle, pumpkin and caramel or Whipped Foie Gras with dates, cauliflower and mustard seeds; choice of Cobia with beets, pumpernickel and pomegranate or Ribeye with potato, piopini and smoked parmesan; and choice of Chocolate with liquid caramel and citrus or Robiola Bosina Cheesecake with red wine strawberries. An optional wine pairing will be available for $30 per person. The a la carte menu will not be available on February 13 and 14.
Garces Trading Company
1111 Locust Street, 215-574-1099, garcestradingcompany.com
Guests can choose a five-course prix fixe option for $45 per person or a six-course prix fixe option for $65 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Selections will include: Lamb Pappardelle with lamb ragout and sunchoke puree; Mortadella-Stuffed Poussin with pistachio sabayon and roasted cipollini; Bavetter Steak with sauce vert and tomato conserva; and Chocolat with valrhona chocolate mousse, chocolate-covered pretzels, and a peanut butter center. An optional wine pairing will be available for $25 per person.
Jamonera
105 South 13th Street, 215-922-6061, jamonerarestaurant.com
Jamonera will offer a special four-course, $65 per person prix fixe tasting menu, excluding tax and gratuity.
JG Domestic
2929 Arch Street, at the Cira Centre, 215-222-2363, jgdomestic.com
Celebrate Valentine’s Day at JG Domestic, located at the Cira Centre near 30th Street Station. In addition to the a la carte menu, guests can choose a four-course, prix fixe menu for $65 or $85, plus tax and gratuity. Dishes will include: Smoked Ricotta Ravioli with black trumpet, arugula and preserved lemon; Barnegat Light Diver Scallops with braised lentils, cauliflower and orange; Colorado Lamb Loin with grilled lamb belly, Wild Striped Bass with barley, blood orange and olive; and Caramel with toffee panna cotta, caramel-rum gastrique, crème fraiche sherbert and fig.
Lolita
106 South 13th Street, 215-546-7100, lolitabyob.com
Lolita will offer a special three-course, $45 per person prix fixe tasting menu, excluding tax and gratuity. Selections will include: Tostaditas de Atún with avocado leaf crusted tuna tostaditas, crispy malanga chips, avocado, jalapeno crema, jicama-orange salad; Carne Asada a La Lolita with garlic-morita rubbed beef tenderloin, crispy yucca, poblano rajas, smoky plantain crema; and Mexican Chocolate Pot de Crème with cinnamon crème fraiche, chile candied peanuts and whipped cream.
Sbraga
440 S. Broad Street, 215-735-1913, sbraga.com
From Saturday, February 11 through Friday, February 17, Chef-owner Kevin Sbraga will offer a special six-course prix-fixe menu in addition to the regular $45 prix-fixe menu. Menu selections will include: Orecchiette pasta with braised rabbit, sweet potatoes and rosemary; Steelhead Trout and Sole with dill sauce, potato tuille and napa cabbage; Coulotte Steak with pot au feu, turnips, onions and carrots and Chocolate tart with Grand Marnier ice cream.
Tinto
114 South 20th Street, 215-665-9150, tintorestaurant.com
Guests can choose a four-course prix fixe menu for $75 or $90 per person, plus tax and gratuity. An additional wine pairing for $40 or $55 per person will be offered. Selections will include: Lobster Cortadito with lobster consommé, caviar and truffled froth; Foie Gras Mousse with brioche toast and strawberry escabeche; New York Strip Steak with herb roasted trumpets and truffled goat cheese; Gnocchi de Calabaza with golden raisins, marcona almond, spinach and acacia honey cream; and Marcona Almond Souffle with house-made Amarena cherry-Garces ice cream and white chocolate anglaise.
For more information on Philadelphia dining, visit visitphilly.com/restaurants-dining. Traveling to Philadelphia for Valentine’s? VisitPhilly is currently offering a “seriously awesome” rate for any stay in February at nine hotels. Just use the “secret password,” available via this link: http://bit.ly/y1J8Id

a.kitchen will offer a special $65 five-course prix fixe tasting menu. Dishes will include: Date-glazed Foie Gras Bon Bon; Roasted Maiitake Mushroom with squash consommé and creamy polenta; Lobster Ravioli with parsnip and tangerine; Roasted Beef Tenderloin with a sweet onion-gruyere tart; and Chocolate Layer Cake with crème fraiche ice cream and caramel sauce.
Barbuzzo will offer a special
The restaurant will offer a special a la carte Valentine’s Day Menu in addition to the regular selections. Menu items will include: Oysters Rockefeller with braised Swiss chard, smoky bacon and Pernod cream; Surf ‘n’ Turf for Two, a hickory-smoked double-cut Berkshire pork chop with langoustines bouillabaisse; Stout-Braised Lamb Shank with Peruvian purple potato puree and roasted haricot verts; and Dark Chocolate Tiramisu with raspberry jam. Featured draughts will include: Young’s Double Chocolate Stout; Timmerman’s Strawberry Lambic; and Dock Street Bubbly Wit. A special beer cocktail, the Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Float - vanilla ice cream, Timmerman’s Strawberry Lambic and Young’s Double Chocolate Stout – will also be available.


