Tables for Two: Valentine’s Day Menus in Washington

Keep checking back to this list, as we’ll be updating it daily with new restaurant menus and specials.

Addie’s
Located across from White Flint Mall, Addie’s will offer diners a choice between à la carte selections and a prix fixe, three-course menu. Tuna and lobster tartare, rose-petal-jam-and-foie-gras sandwich, and an oyster shooter are the appetizers on the Valentine’s Day menu. For the entrée, order squab à l’orange with pan-seared scallops, a veal medallion and lobster with potato risotto, or pan-roasted monkfish with pork cheeks. Desserts include a chocolate-and-peanut-butter-mousse cup with banana brûlée, chili-chocolate-mocha ice cream with molten-chocolate cake, and a strawberry-vanilla mousse parfait with a heart-shaped wafer. The menu is available Friday, February 13, through Sunday, February 15.

Art and Soul
Chef Art Smith has designed a three-course menu with couples in mind. The dinner, which emphasizes sharing, will feature a complimentary amuse-bouche, “his and hers” hoe cakes, a surf and turf of rib eye steak and lobster, and dessert. The meal costs $130 for two and will be available Thursday February 12, through Saturday, February 14.

Article One American Grill
This $50-per-person Valentine’s Day menu includes three appetizer options (Maryland crab cakes, braised pork belly, and Spanish charcuterie with pickled vegetables and cured meats), two salads (buffalo mozzarella and oven-roasted tomatoes or a roasted beets with bleu cheese and olive oil), three entrées (filet of beef and shrimp, roasted organic chicken, and roasted halibut filet), and two desserts (molten-chocolate cake with vanilla-bean ice cream and passion-fruit cake with raspberry coulis).

BlackSalt
Forget arrows—at this Palisades seafood restaurant, Cupid casts a fishing line. The nine-course tasting menu features an oyster cocktail with banyuls mignonette and American caviar; Maryland rockfish tartare with a red-chili aïoli; house-cured duck breast in a sage pesto; Pacific butterfish; Maine lobster agnolotti; Hudson Valley Farms foie gras; Taylor and Nantucket bay scallops with smoked bacon, bleu cheese, and leeks; slow-roasted yellowfin tuna in a red-wine jus; and a trio of desserts. The cost is $110 per person. A five-course variation on the menu will also be available for a lesser price.

BlackSalt Fish Market
Looking for an intimate dinner at home? The fish market at BlackSalt has an oven-ready tasting menu available for $120 per couple. The first course is an arugula salad, followed by a choice of clams casino, blue-crab-stuffed Gulf shrimp, or prosciutto-wrapped asparagus with truffle-balsamic vinaigrette. The third course is a choice of 2½ pounds of lobster, two four-ounce petite filet mignons with a red-wine reduction, or Dover sole with scallop-chestnut stuffing for two. Dessert is heart-shaped truffle cake, heart-shaped cheesecake, or chocolate-dipped strawberries. The market also has “to-go heart platters” featuring an array of seafood and sweets. To order, call 202-342-9101 by 8 PM on Thursday, February 12.

Blue Duck Tavern
Executive chef Brian McBride and chef de cuisine Michael Santoro have prepared a four-course tasting menu for lovebirds to enjoy all weekend. The dinner begins with a selection of canapés; then house-made pasta made with black truffle; whole-roasted sole for two with a shrimp custard; and roasted rack of lamb with a selection of vegetables. Dinner concludes with a semisweet chocolate heart with passion-fruit sorbet and raspberry coulis. The tasting menu, which costs $85 per person, will be available from 5 to 10:30 Friday, February 13, through Sunday, February 15. An à la carte menu will also be available for the weekend.

Café Atlántico
Chef Terri Cutrino has prepared an eight-course tasting menu for guests of this Penn Quarter restaurant. The menu—which will be served from 5 to 11 on Saturday, February 14—includes a trio of miniature Cuban sandwiches; “love potion 2009”; mojito-style oysters; pumpkin soup with Cuban guacamole and caviar; foie gras with raspberries and plantains four ways; Cuban-style jerk red snapper; a traditional Cuban stew; and a coffee pot de crème with lime sherbert and Coca-Cola cake. The meal will be supplemented by Champagnes and sparkling wines chosen by sommelier Jill Zimorski. The bar will also offer Zimorski’s “Champagne and caviar” cocktail, which is garnished tableside with tiny caviarlike strawberries from an iced tin. The cost is $85 per person.

Fyve Restaurant Lounge
The Valentine’s Day menu is available only on Friday, February 13 and Saturday, February 14, and diners can choose a $75 prix fixe option. Foods typically associated with romance are on the menu, including oysters, basil, honey, and chocolate. Dishes include an oyster trio with fondue of Blue Point oyster, oyster mushroom, and oyster crackers; tortelloni pasta with smoked mozzarella, ricotta, basil cream, and tomato oil; and rosemary grilled lamb chops with artichoke-and-olive ragu and lavender honey. For dessert, choose from the raspberry tiramisu or the chocolate trio—white-chocolate cheesecake, milk-chocolate pot de crème, and molten-chocolate cake.

Hudson
This Dupont Circle restaurant will serve a special four-course menu for $40 a person. First-course choices are a baby-beet salad, a grilled asparagus salad, and Serrano ham and melon. Choose between lobster bisque and potato-leek soup for the second course. Roasted rack of lamb, risotto, wild striped bass, and black-truffle-roasted natural chicken are main-course options, and for dessert you can try the chef’s house-made ice-cream sandwich, apple beignets, or chocolate-covered strawberries.

Roof Terrace Restaurant & Bar
Executive chef Joe Gurner has planned a three-course menu for this Kennedy Center restaurant, priced at $89 a person. Guests can enjoy a complimentary glass of sparkling wine with their meal, the first course of which is seared ahi tuna with osetra caviar or winter greens with chanterelles, Gorgonzola dolcelatte, and candy-cane beets. The main courses include daube de boeuf, wild rockfish bouillabaisse, and butternut-squash parcels. Desserts are chocolate-and-caramelized-walnut mousse and a crème brûlée napoleon, which includes a macadamia-nut biscuit with lemon and macadamia crème. Reservations are required.

UPDATE

Cafe Milano
This Valentine’s Day—or what Cafe Milano refers to as San Valentino—diners can order from a $69 prix fixe menu from Friday, February 13, through Sunday, February 15. The menu offers pepper-crusted seared tuna with a tempura oyster and a scallop crudo or house-made spinach tonnarelli pasta with braised butternut squash, pancetta, and mushrooms. Choose between the sautéed, nut-crusted sea-bass filet or roasted Angus-beef tenderloin for your entrée; an Italian chocolate-and-hazelnut Nutella tart with caramelized banana and coffee ice cream will be served for dessert. Prix fixe menu served from 4 to midnight on Friday and Saturday, 4 to 11 on Sunday.

Equinox
Chef Todd Gray has created a six-course tasting menu. The meal, which costs $95 ($140 with wine pairings), features pan-fried Rappahannock oysters with caper-parsley butter; bacon-wrapped veal tenderloin with slow-cooked potato torte; crispy sweetbreads with hazelnut-veal reduction; and artisanal cheeses with quince chutney and brioche. The tasting menu will be offered for dinner Friday, February 13, through Sunday, February 15. All items from the tasting menu will also be available à la carte.

Jockey Club in the Fairfax at Embassy Row
This recently restored Dupont Circle restaurant has a three-course menu on February 14 for $95 per couple. The first course is a choice of Maine-lobster bisque, honey-basted quail, and hot-smoked salmon-and-avocado timbale. The entrée, served tableside in a portion for two, is a choice of mustard-cracked rack of Virginia lamb, beef Wellington, or thyme-and-saba-roasted rockfish. Dessert for two is crepes suzette topped with oranges, caramel, and vanilla ice cream; a vanilla-and-chocolate sundae with Medjool dates and orange-pancake crisps; or panna cotta with black cherries and lemon marmalade. Dinner served from 5:30 to 10.

Mrs. K’s Toll House
At this longtime Silver Spring fixture, you can snuggle up near one of three cozy fireplaces. Chef Maurisee Upshur’s four-course, prix fixe menu includes dishes such as smoked salmon sliders with crème fraîche; lobster ravioli with shrimp in a Champagne cream sauce; and seared Atlantic salmon with a orange-and-honey peppercorn sauce. Dessert, served with a complimentary glass of rose Champagne, includes a chocolate marquis and New York-style cheesecake with strawberry sauce and a chocolate truffle. General manager Spiro Gioldasis has added some “lover-inspired” wines, including the Australian First Love Red and First Love White for $10 a glass or $40 a bottle. Two Cupid-inspired cocktails, the lavender martini and red-velvet martini, will be available for $8 each. Prix fixe menu February 14 at 5, 5:30, 7:15, 7:45, and 9:30 for $60 per person.

Nage
Forget appetizers, entrées, and desserts. This restaurant’s à la carte menu is divided into “foreplay,” “inter” course, and, um, “happy endings.” The options include oysters with Meyer-lemon-and-pink-peppercorn mignonette; foie gras three ways; grilled-lobster-and-haricots-verts salad with pickled radish and lobster-roe beurre blanc; salt-crusted filet mignon; and passion-fruit profiteroles with white-chocolate-and-caramel sauce. The naughty-minded menu will be offered from 6 to 11 on Saturday, February 14.

Restaurant 3
This classic American restaurant in Clarendon will offer $3 glasses of Champagne and Hershey’s Kisses on its tables Saturday, February 14. A four-course dinner, $120 per couple, includes a half bottle of Gruet sparkling wine. The first course is a choice of shareable oysters Rockefeller or lobster cocktail. Next is a choice of Caesar or asparagus-and-goat-cheese salad. Main dishes include red snapper or shell steak with mashed potatoes and fontina spinach. For dessert, couples will share chocolate mousse with a chocolate-covered strawberry.

Restaurant Eve
The tasting room at this Old Town destination restaurant is offering a seven-course menu with wine pairings for $180 per person. Entrées include butter-poached lobster and seared venison loin. A three-course version of the menu will also be available for $95 per person.

Rocklands Barbeque and Grilling Company
Even this barbecue spot is putting on the romance. It’s offering two special menus—one a supper for two, the other for the lonely-hearts club. The menu for two—$30.99 per person, $49.99 with Champagne—includes a rack of baby-back ribs, mashed potatoes, and chocolate brownies. The lonely-hearts menu—$14.99 per person, $24.99 with Champagne—includes pork loin, corn pudding, and apple compote. (Also locations in Arlington, Alexandria, and Rockville.)

Taberna del Alabardero
Chef Dani Arana is serving classic Spanish lunch and dinner menus on Valentine’s Day. The prix-fixe, four-course menu is $95 per person for dinner (reservations begin at 5), $70 per person for lunch (11:30 to 2:30). Tapas on the menu include oysters with vodka, tuna tartare with cinnamon, and scallops over carrot purée. The first course is truffled rice with grouper au gratin, the main course a beef strip loin with fruit compote and coffee sauce. Arana calls the dessert “a play of love” between chocolate and strawberries.

Bastille
At this Old Town French spot, a special three-course Valentine’s dinner menu ($45 per person, $70 with wine pairings) begins with a choice of cherry-and-ricotta cromesqui, black-truffle-and-potato soup, or seared yellowfin-tuna carpaccio with Moroccan-spiced couscous salad. The entrée options are grilled quail with port-and-fig reduction, grass-fed filet mignon, and sea bass with roasted-tomato-and-piquillo-pepper ragoût. For an additional $9, you can include a cheese course with spiced poached pear and bleu des causses panna cotta. Dessert is either Morello-cherry-and-Valrhona-chocolate cheesecake or cherry compote with pistachio-and-cherry chocolate bark. The Valentine’s menu will be served both Friday, February 13, and Saturday, February 14. Friday night, the regular menu will also be available.
Dinner is served from 6 to 10.

Dante Ristorante
This Northern Italian restaurant in Great Falls will serve an à la carte Valentine’s menu from Thursday, February 12, through Sunday, February 15. Appetizer choices include avocado-tomato-and crab salad ($16), bacon-wrapped sea scallops with lobster sauce ($16), and arugula salad with walnuts and apples ($12). For the main course, there’s veal scaloppine ($26), crab-stuffed rockfish with lemon wine sauce ($28), or risotto with lobster, crab, and tomato ($30).
Dinner is served from 5 to 10:30.

The Majestic
This retro Old Town restaurant has created the Love Affair, a three-course dinner for $75. Starters include mussels with house-cured bacon, Caesar salad, chicken-liver pâté, fried green tomatoes, and poached-oyster stew with American caviar. The main courses are seared scallops with oyster mushrooms, New York strip with French fries, seared rockfish with celery-root purée, cauliflower ravioli, braised lamb shank, and the “lovebird,” a whole herb-stuffed and roasted Cornish game hen. Dessert is a choice of coconut cake, Key-lime pie, hazelnut-chocolate torte, apple strudel, pineapple upside-down cake, and an American-themed cheese plate.
The menu will be served Saturday, February 14, from 5 to 10. It will also be available at the bar with à la carte pricing.

The Palm
Does lobster spell love for you? This see-and-be-seen steakhouse is offering a $125 Champagne-and-lobster dinner for two. The menu is a choice of Caesar or mixed-greens salad, a four-pound lobster split for two, one of the Palm’s sides, two desserts, and two glasses of Mumm Napa Brut Prestige. The menu will be offered Thursday, February 12, through Sunday, February 15.
Dinner is served from 3 to 10 on Thursday and Friday, 5:30 to 10 on Saturday, 5:30 to 9:30 on Sunday.

Vinifera Wine Bar & Bistro
11750 Sunrise Valley Dr., Reston; 703-234-3550
On Friday, February 13, and Saturday, February 14, you’ll find an $89 four-course menu with a complimentary Champagne toast included (wine pairing is $60 more). The menu features chilled lobster salad, seared foie gras, oysters with scallop ceviche, roasted prawns with scampi risotto, and grilled sirloin with potatoes.
Dinner is served from 5 to 11.

Willard Room
The classic Willard InterContinental hotel’s recently renovated dining room is offering a $99 five-course menu on Saturday, February 14. It includes carrot-and-ginger soup; sea-scallops-and-black-truffle salad; pan-seared halibut with braised cabbage and Key-lime/ Champagne sauce; pan-seared filet mignon with roasted potato and a red-wine reduction; and meringue kisses.
Dinner is served from 6 to 10.

Asia Nine
An à la carte menu as well as a special Valentine’s Day menu will be available for lunch and dinner at this open-late Penn Quarter bar/lounge. Soups and salads (all $8) include curried clam chowder and coconut-chicken-and-shrimp soup. Entrées include a 16-ounce veal chop ($28), grilled filet mignon with coconut-lime shrimp ($28), and pineapple-curried grilled shrimp ($25). Dessert is either the Chocolate Lover, which is chocolate génoise, chocolate ganache, and baked hazelnut, or the Cappuccino Delight, which is coffee mousse, chocolate ganache, and coffee glaze.
Lunch is served from 11 to 3, dinner from 3 to 1.

Bangkok Joe’s
A $45 four-course meal will be served at this Thai restaurant at Georgetown’s Washington Harbour. Oyster tempura, fuzzy noodle-wrapped shrimp, and lobster dumplings are the first-course options. Lobster-wonton soup and a mixed green salad are the second courses. The main courses are filet mignon with chocolate demi-glace, grilled giant prawn with red-curry sauce, and pan-roasted red snapper. For dessert, choose between the chocolate seduction cake and the white-chocolate ice cream with warm banana-strawberry crepe. The regular à la carte menu will also be available.
Dinner is served from 4 to 11:30.

Café du Parc
This French bistro has planned a $40 three-course menu for Saturday, February 14. It begins with the choice of a charcuterie board or crispy shrimp with a vegetable salad. Entrées are either roasted rockfish with layered vegetables or veal top round with Parmesan, white asparagus, and roasted potatoes. Dessert is chocolate mousse with ginger ice cream.
Dinner is served from 6 to 10.

EatBar
Tired of all the Valentine’s Day hoopla? Head for this Arlington hangout on Saturday, February 14, and enter the anti-Hallmark Valentine’s Day card contest (card-making supplies will be provided). A panel of judges will award prizes to the top designs.
During the contest, EatBar will offer the “single appreciation” platter ($18), a choice of three cheeses or charcuterie selections plus three snacks or small plates. The “first date” platter ($45) is six cheeses or charcuterie selections paired with eight snacks or small plates.
EatBar is open from 4:30 to 10.

Evening Star Cafe
A $60 four-course meal will be served on Valentine’s Day at this funky Del Ray neighborhood restaurant. The menu begins with either an oyster duo or lobster soubise. Then there’s a choice of “surf and turf” of house-braised bacon and lobster brandade or baby-beet-and-beef tartare. For the main course, choose between grilled beef tenderloin or grilled Scottish salmon. Dessert is house-made chocolate. Wine pairings are an additional $15.
Dinner is served from 5:30 to 11.

Jaleo
The downtown DC, Bethesda, and Crystal City locations of José Andrés’s tapas house are adding a handful of specials to their à la carte menu, including oysters with olives and capers ($7); foie gras terrine with membrillo and apples ($9.50); creamy rice with black truffles and La Serena cheese ($12); lobster parmentier with black-trumpet mushrooms ($10); and blood-orange sorbet with olive oil.
Dinner is served from 5 to midnight on Saturday.

Mio
Chef Nicholas Stefanelli has created three menus in honor of Valentine’s Day. The chocolate tasting menu, which features a variety of chocolate-based savory dishes, costs $60 per person (wine pairing is $30 more). Three-course ($48) and six-course ($80) menus are also available.

Oyamel
Chef Joe Raffa has cooked up six specials for Valentine’s Day, including oysters in peppercorn sauce ($12); striped-marlin ceviche ($11); grilled beef tenderloin with ancho and guajillo chilies ($11.50); and passion-fruit soup with yogurt-lime sorbet ($8.50).
Dinner is served from 4 to midnight on Saturday.

The Source
Chef Scott Drewno has created a $115 six-course menu. The dinner begins with Champagne and caviar, then moves on to a choice of five appetizers, including chilled Kumamoto oysters with plum-wine mignonette and spicy garlic-chili quail with cilantro and scallions. An “aphrodisiac” of warm oysters with cucumber vinaigrette comes next. There are six options for the main course, including slow-braised veal cheeks with kabocha squash and huckleberry sauce, and spicy prawns with stir-fried chow-fun noodles and mushrooms. The fifth course is a palate-cleansing rose-lychee sorbet, and desserts include a warm pecan tart with salted-caramel ice cream, and roasted peach panna cotta.
Dinner is served from 5:30 to 11.

Tallula
This casual Arlington dining room is serving a $50 three-course dinner on Friday, February 13, and Saturday, February 14. The choices, divided into “at first sight,” “falling,” and “smitten” categories, include an oyster tasting with almond pearls, velouté, and stout; baby arugula with poached pears and prosciutto; beef strip loin with a poached egg, truffled potato, and candied pearl onions; and an almond-crusted rockfish with carrots and cranberry gnocchi.
Dinner is served from 5:30 to 11.

2941
This French/American restaurant with pond and waterfall views is offering a five-course tasting menu from Thursday, February 12, through Sunday, February 15. For the first course, choose between shrimp-and-avocado salad or yellowfin-tuna tartare. Next is handmade ricotta ravioli, followed by a choice of butter-poached lobster or halibut. The fourth course is a choice between a duo of beef with potato-and-truffle purée or a parsley-crusted rack of lamb. For dessert, there’s passion-fruit cremeux with coconut sorbet, mango, and lime meringue, or a warm chocolate moelleux with raspberry-lychee coulis and white-chocolate/rose ice cream. Dinner is $130 per person ($205 with wine pairings).
Dinner is served from 5 to 10.

Vermilion
This Old Town restaurant is offering a $65 four-course menu. It includes deviled oysters with toasted brioche; baby spinach with bacon; seared scallops with cauliflower, marcona almonds, golden raisins, and curry; beef tenderloin with a crispy risotto cake, trumpet mushrooms, and truffle sauce; and a lamb loin with braised fennel, polenta, and olive purée.
Dinner is served from 5:30 to 11.

Volt
Bryan Voltaggio’s Frederick restaurant is offering a four-course, prix-fixe menu ($69) or nine-course tasting menu ($109); wine pairing is $50 more. Dishes from the two menus include Blue Foot chicken with black truffles; lobster with saffron-braised fennel, bouillabaisse consommé, and rouille pudding; goat’s-milk ricotta ravioli with carrots, snow peas, and toasted cardamom; and chocolate with frozen almond-milk custard, kumquats, and espresso pudding. On Saturday, February 14, and Sunday, February 15, a $28 prix fixe brunch menu will be offered from 11:30 to 2:30.
Dinner is served from 5:30 to 10.

Zaytinya
José Andrés’s Penn Quarter mezze spot is planning a $44 four-course, prix fixe menu and is adding six specials to its à la carte menu. The set menu includes choices of lamb-heart tartare with black cherry, mint bulgur, and grains of paradise; baby clams and Greek sausage with tomato broth and labneh toast; papaya-poached Arctic char with roasted cabbage and preserved lemon; and surf and turf with slow-cooked short ribs and lobster.
Dinner is served from 11:30 to midnight.