By David Taylor & Harry Powers
The smell of romance is wafting through the East End air ahead of Valentine’s Day, and a bouquet this intoxicating must mean that Hamptons and North Fork restaurants are hard at work preparing romantic dinner menus and heartwarming takeout options. Here are 10 charming East End Valentine’s date options that your special someone is sure to love.
Almond Restaurant in Bridgehampton is offering a romantic special menu in honor of Valentine’s Day. The four-course “Shades of Red” menu is $90 per person and will be the only menu available on Monday, February 14. Take your pick from delightful dishes such as foie gras torchon, ricotta raviolo, up-island duck breast, Turkish spices rack of pork, roast scallops, and finish your incredible meal with a blood orange and chocolate dessert. 1 Ocean Road, Bridgehampton. 631-537-5665, almondrestaurant.com
If your partner loves tacos as much as you do, head over to K Pasa for a special Valentine’s week menu. From February 14–20, enjoy appetizers such as hamachi crudo and duck carnitas empanadas, entrees including chocolate mole short rib and blackened salmon, and for dessert, warm your heart with the decadent red velvet tres leches cake. Prix fixe is $45 per person, and both takeout and dine-in are available. 2 Main Street, Sag Harbor. 631-800-8226, 1-800-taco.com
Open for their first Valentine’s Day at the new year-round Southampton location, Lobster Roll aka LUNCH is offering elevated dinner menu options like succulent scampi-style shrimp, filet of flounder and char-broiled black angus shell steak. If you’re keeping warm in Palm Beach or elsewhere and can’t make it to Southampton, try out the nationwide shipping offered on their hot and cold lobster roll kits, which include a pound of lobster meat, two jars of mayonnaise, special seasoning packet, butter, New England-style split-top rolls and a lemon, along with step-by-step instructions for making and assembling your lobster rolls at home. The lobster roll kits are $129, pre-shipping. 32 Montauk Highway, Southampton. 631-283-3464, lobsterroll.com
North Fork couples may want to look into date night at North Fork Table & Inn this Valentine’s Day. They’re offering a special dine-in menu, plus a takeaway dinner option for two. For $165 per person, folks dining in can indulge in locally-sourced dishes such as a two-mile salad with baby beet, goat cheese snow, mulled cabernet wine and pine nuts; a North Fork roulade with monkfish sausage, wakame and herb bouquet; a peppered filet mignon and butter-poached lobster served with potato expressions and winter truffle gravy; and a chocolate soufflé with candied orange, mascarpone and sherbet. The four-course Love on the Go takeaway dinner can be picked up February 11–14, complete with bleeding heart salad, surf and turf, sticky cake and chocolate-covered strawberries. 57225 Main Road, Southold. 631-765-0177, northforktableandinn.com
Calissa in Water Mill will celebrate Valentine’s Day with a special full-course menu for the holiday. The menu features a winter hummus and grilled langoustine for appetizers. Main course specials include pappardelle with lamb ragu and black truffle, in addition to sea scallops with Maine lobster and Greek fava. Chef Bob Abrams’ carrot cake with cream cheese frosting will be a sweet way to end a delicious meal with your sweetheart. 1020 Montauk Highway, Water Mill. 631-500-9292, calissahamptons.com
When scouting the Town of Southampton for the ideal Valentine’s date spot, expand your view beyond the Southampton Village, because Tuckahoe is hiding a real gem in Manna at Lobster Inn. The waterfront restaurant’s special sweetheart menu, served February 12–14, offers three divine courses and a glass of Altaneve prosecco for $60 per person. The menu features options such as crab fritters, halloumi shawarma, filet mignon medallions, wild mushroom risotto, chocolate covered strawberries and chocolate budino. 5 Inlet Road, Tuckahoe. 631-728-5555, mannarestaurant.com
Wainscott’s Highway Restaurant & Bar is offering Asian specials for date night from February 10–13, as well as a $180 takeout package for anyone looking for a romantic night in. The package serves two with dishes including crispy duck, chicken and cabbage dumplings, papaya and crab salad, spicy tuna tartare, peanut noodles, Thai chicken stir fry and bok choy. 290 Montauk Highway, Wainscott. 631-527-5372, highwaydinerandbar.com
The Preston House & Hotel in Riverhead has a prix fixe worth falling in love with this Valentine’s Day. For $98 per person, plus $30 with wine pairing, couples can relish dishes lovingly prepared by Chef Drew Hiatt such as Marzipan foie gras torchon with riesling jelly, dried fruit and nuts; champagne chicken potato puree with pignoli nuts, baby tomatoes, peppadew peppers and basil; steelhead trout with caviar, braised celeriac and citrus curry nage; and white chocolate pavlova blood orange sorbet and citrus segments. 428 East Main Street, Riverhead. 631-775-1500, theprestonhouseandhotel.com
Nick & Toni’s in East Hampton is dishing out a Valentine’s prix fixe menu on Monday, February 14 with three courses for $100 per person. Diners can enjoy lobster bisque, grilled Montauk pearl oysters, local fluke crudo, seared jumbo prawns, oven-roasted domestic lamb chops, grilled big eye tuna, NY wagyu strip steak, pistachio budino and rainbow cookie torta. 136 North Main Street, East Hampton. 631-324-3550, nickandtonis.com
Chef Nicholas Vogel of The Restaurant at Baron’s Cove in Sag Harbor has a special Valentine’s menu created using ingredients sourced across the East End. The three-course menu ($85 per person) features dishes such as seared foie gras with pistachio crumble, pomelo gastrique, brioche toast points; smoked spinach and ricotta ravioli with toasted hazelnuts, carrot puree, fried sage; peppercorn crusted 10 oz NY strip steak with garlic and herb confit, shiitake mushrooms and béarnaise sauce; seared local tuna with charred edamame and spicy radish slaw, ginger aioli and more. The menu is available February 11–14. 31 West Water Street, Sag Harbor. 631-725-2101, baronscove.com
This story first appeared on DansPapers.com.
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