Where to Celebrate Valentine’s Day in Brooklyn
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. It’s a complicated day in terms of public opinion— a celebration of love versus a Hallmark holiday, the worst restaurant night of the year versus a chance for a romantic night out. No matter what it is you’re feeling, this list has got something for you to do. Cheers to love with a chocolate-themed tasting menu, dance the night away with your friends, or take your date roller skating, or go single and mingle at multiple events.
Dining
Bay Ridge
Positano
10018 4th Avenue, between 100th and 101st streets.
This Italian spot is serving a four-course feast for the holiday, complete with lobster rolls, meatballs, a pear gorgonzola salad, black linguine, and chef’s tasting dessert. What’s more romantic than re-enacting the Lady and the Tramp pasta scene?
Price: $85 per person. Reservations here.
Bed-Stuy
Hart’s
506 Franklin Avenue, between Fulton Street and Jefferson Avenue.
Love stinks, and Hart’s has the menu to prove it. Join them for their fourth-annual serving of smelly foods, including crudite with stinky cheese fondue, fried herring, beef tongue with puntarelle and anchovy, and cranberry semifreddo. Whether you’re holding your nose with a date or friends, the romantic and low-lit spot is a great choice for the day.
Price: $70 per person. Reservations here.
The Fly
549 Classon Avenue, between Fulton Street and Putnam Avenue.
Just like its sister restaurant Harts, The Fly knows how to throw a theme party. This year, it’s Burning Love, featuring flaming drop shot cocktails, jalapeno poppers, and rotisserie chicken fra diavolo. The spot will also have a DJ on sight, “come one, come all.”
Price: A la carte.
Bushwick
Brooklyn Cider House
1100 Flushing Avenue, between Irving and Knickerbocker avenues.
This Bushwick cidery will be highlighting their signature drink this Valentine’s, with pours from 80-year-old barrels in between courses. For dinner guests can enjoy dishes like crab cakes, surf and turf, vegetarian bibimbap, and apple pie. There are dishes for both gluten free and vegetarian guests available.
Price: $69 per person, including cider. Reservations here.
Casa Ora
148 Meserole Street, between Graham and Manhattan avenues.
It’s never too late to find a Valentine’s date— especially with Casa Ora’s singles night on February 13. The party will include prosecco, empanaditas, arepitas, guacamole, and other small dishes. For those who’ve already got a date, Casa Ora will also be open on the day-of serving their regular a la carte menu.
Price: $115 per person on the 13, a la carte on the 14. Reservations here.
Faro
436 Jefferson Street, between Wyckoff and St. Nicholas avenues.
This five-course tasting menu will feature foie gra, buffalo milk ricotta, agnolotti with wild boar, and a white or dark chocolate dessert. Guests can choose to add a wine pairing to the menu, or choose one of Faro’s many other drinks.
Price: $115 per person. Reservations here.
This Queer Kitchen @ Sweet Chili
1045 Flushing Avenue, between Vandervoort Place and Morgan Avenue.
This Queer Kitchen is hosting a Gaylentine’s party this year at Sweet Chili in Bushwick. The four-course meal “will have you meeting new queers with every course (& maybe a fun surprise),” they write, inviting guests to bring a date, a friend, or fly solo. The menu served will be vegetarian friendly, alongside all-night drink specials.
Price: $40 per person. Tickets here.
Dumbo
Atrium
15 Main Street, between Plymouth and Water streets.
Dumbo’s Atrium restaurant is serving a classic four-course pre-fixe menu for Valentine’s Day this year. Tempura oysters, smoked scallops, winter greens spaghetti, monkfish, and chocolate fondant are all on the menu, with an additional wine pairing also available for guests.
Price: $85 per person, optional wine pairing for $45. Reservations here.
Flatbush
The Ox Tavern
1301 Newkirk Avenue, between Argyle and Rugby roads.
The Ox Tavern is serving a three-course menu and a free glass of wine for the holiday, with more details to be announced on their Instagram. It’s perfect for neighbors and those who want to enjoy a more casual atmosphere.
Price: To be announced.
Greenpoint
Cherry Point
664 Manhattan Avenue, between Norman and Nassau avenues.
For a more low-key celebration, Cherry Point in Greenpoint will be offering their regular menu, with a few additional dishes “perfect” for the day. They also keep the bar and some tables unreserved, for those who haven’t had time to ensure their reservation.
Price: A la carte. Reservations here.
Fornino
849 Manhattan Avenue, between Milton and Noble streets.
For those who prefer to avoid the crowds, Fornino will deliver a pizza lovers dinner for two. The meal, which comes in a box with a bow, includes a cheese and fruit platter, salad, and two heart-shaped pizzas. Finish the meal with the tiramisu with strawberries. This special will be available from the 14th-16th, from 3:00pm-6:00pm.
Price: $55 per person, a la carte in person.
Park Slope
Camperdown Elm
441 7th Avenue, between 15th and 16th streets.
Park Slope’s Camperdown Elm will be serving a five-course pre-fixe menu this year. Dishes on the roster include oysters, iberico ham croquettes, bouillabaisse, and beef tenderloin. An optional wine pairing is also available.
Price: $75 per person, optional $50 wine pairing. Reservations here.
Prospect Lefferts Gardens
Risbo
701 Flatbush Avenue, between Winthrop Street and Parkside Avenue.
Put your hands up, because Risbo is offering a free glass of champagne to all the single ladies that walk in the door on Valentine’s Day. The spot is having a party this year, with drink specials and a to-be-announced special menu for the occasion. 90s R&B will be playing, and there’ll be a DJ and dancing until late.
Price: A la carte.
Sheepshead Bay
il Fornetto
2902 Emmons Avenue, off of E. 29th Street.
This Sheepshead Bay institution is having a romantic three-course menu for Valentine’s Day, as well as a la carte options. The pre-fixe includes dishes like lobster bisque, oysters rockefeller, NY strip, and chocolate cake. Enjoy the meal on the water, with il Fornetto’s big windows and impeccable view. Plus, Roll N’ Roaster is right across the street, and we won’t tell if you stop in for a roast beef sandwich after for the road.
Price: $46.95 per person, a la carte available. Reservations here.
Williamsburg
de Mole
2 Hope Street, between Roebling and Havemeyer streets.
De Mole, a Mexican staple of North Brooklyn, is having an appropriately themed chocolate Valentine’s Day menu. The five-course menu will feature dishes like sopa de elote, a corn soup, ceviche, duck taquitos, carne asada, and a special exploding chocolate bomb. The bomb, when dropped on the table, will open up with ice cream and flowers for an extra $25 supplement. If you’re not interested in a pre-fixe menu, De Mole will also serve their a la carte menu on the 14.
Parties, Shows, and More
For those of you who are more interested in parties and music than candle-lit dinners, these Valentine’s activities have you covered.
Bushwick
Voulez-vous? Encore!
260 Meserole Street, between Morgan Avenue and Bushwick Place.
This theatrical dance party has a Belle Epoque Parisian theme, featuring choreography for flash-mob style dancers with the West Side Story choreographer, and plenty of queer influencers like Glow Job, and Thee Suburbia. The party will be hosted by Theatre C, as party of their Retro Factory series, which is “dedicated to the history of queer spaces and uplifting queer marginalized communities.” The fun will start at 9:30pm.
Price: Tickets here, $15-100 online, $45 at the door.
Manhattan Beach
Kingsborough’s Lighthouse
2001 Oriental Boulevard, on campus at Kingsborough Community College.
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with romantic jazz at Kingsborough’s Lighthouse. The show, performed by Tatiana Eva-Marie and the Avalon Jazz Band, will feature Parisian jazz classics, and includes wine and cheese for all those who attend.
Price: Tickets here, between $45-47.
Williamsburg
Valentine’s Roller Disco Brunch Party at Schimanski
54 N. 11th Street, between Kent and Wythe avenues.
Keep the party going on the 15th with Schimanski’s roller disco party. There will be live entertainment, DJs, professional roller dancers, and food. Of course, bottomless mimosas are also available.
Price: Tickets here, starting at $23, $59 for bottomless mimosa upgrade.
This article was originally published on February 7, 2020.
