Whether you buy in to the romantic notions associated with Valentine’s Day or not, chances are you are making plans to go to dinner with that special someone this weekend. Single or in a relationship, Valentine’s Day marks the perfect excuse to indulge in some seriously delicious food, from chocolate-covered strawberries to decadent meals at your favorite restaurant. Date night or a night out with your best friend, just about every restaurant across Delmarva is showcasing Valentine’s Day specials for you to partake in. We couldn’t possibly list them all, so we’ve selected a few of our top favorites for Valentine’s Day dining. Enjoy!
**For the 2016 edition of this article, simply click here.**
12933 Sunset Avenue
410-213-8110
For dining on the harbor, make a reservation at Sunset Grille in West Ocean City. The interior is perfection, with sweeping views of Sunset Marina, the harbor, and Ocean City. For Valentine’s Day, Sunset Grille is offering a three-course specialty menu for $69 per couple. Start with the cream of crab soup or a steakhouse chopped salad before moving to the shared second and third courses. The second course includes your choice of oysters Rockefeller, warm brie, or a flatbread. For the third course, there’s roasted rack of lamb for two, paella for two, or roasted beef tenderloin for two. With pan seared scallops, butter poached lobster, jumbo shrimp, saffron risotto, tomato, onion and chorizo, we’ve definitely got our eyes on the paella.
The High Spot
305 High Street, Cambridge, MD
410-228-7420
Thehighspotgastropub.com
Our recent trip to Downtown Cambridge brought us to one of our favorite restaurants for lunch, and cued us into their Valentine’s Day menu. The prix fixe specialty menu at The High Spot will be available for three days, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and is $95 per couple. Start with your choice of any house bottle of wine or four draft beers. Appetizers include a delicious line up, with your choice of mussels, crab dip, bacon wrapped shrimp, or beer and gravy fries. Second course includes a soup and salad combo to share, followed by the main course of two surf & turf dinners. Round out your evening with your choice of any dessert on the menu to share.
502 W. Main Street, Salisbury, MD
410-677-6757
If you plan on spending Saturday evening in Salisbury, we suggest making a reservation at Brew River. The special prix fixe menu is $34.99 per person. Your choice of soup and salad arrives first, followed by your choice of entrée. The options include a slow roasted, house cut 12-ounce prime rib, chicken imperial, broiled stuffed shrimp, bourbon salmon, or Maryland crab cakes. Top it all off with your choice of turtle cheesecake, chocolate heaven, red velvet cake, or Smith Island coconut cake.
601 Coastal Highway, Fenwick Island, DE
800-362-3463
www.nantucketsrestaurant.com
Nantucket’s is celebrating the holiday weekend by re-opening! We’ve missed stopping in the Fenwick Island restaurant for our fresh seafood fix. The only problem is we can never quite decide what to order! The quahog and scallop chowder is always a favorite here, so with the blustery weather predictions for the weekend, we definitely suggest sharing a bowl with your date. And while you’re at it, how about sharing some oysters on the half shell? For mains, we’re thinking Tuscan roasted Atlantic salmon, encrusted filet mignon, or Nantucket’s bouillabaisse.
789 Garfield Parkway, Bethany Beach, DE
302-539-4550
DiFebo’s certainly thinks outside of the box when it comes to Valentine’s Day. This year marks the 17th year for their annual Aphrodisiac Weekend. All entrees will include aphrodisiac ingredients made with love. Reservations are recommended!
The Parkway
114 Garfield Parkway, Bethany Beach, DE
302-537-7500
www.parkwaydana.com
The Parkway in Bethany Beach consistently exceeds our expectations. An old favorite of ours, we’re always disheartened when they close their doors for a few weeks every winter. Fortunately for us, The Parkway will be open Valentine’s Day Weekend! Rumor has it they are almost completely booked for Saturday night, so make your reservations ASAP. We’ve acquired a long list of Parkway favorites over the years, including the crème brulee, crab cakes and the rack of lamb. But we’ll let you pick you own favorites…
12723 St. Martin’s Neck Road, Bishopville, DE
410-641-1189
Lighthouse Sound has been offering a fantastic date night special all winter-long, so it’s no surprise they are offering an equally fantastic Valentine’s Day menu chocked full of delicious options, including appetizers, soups, salads, entrees and desserts. For entrees, we are partial to the surf & turf, a 6-ounce tenderloin paired with a 6-ounce cold water lobster tail; the salmon Oscar, topped with lump crab meat, steamed asparagus, and hollandaise sauce; or the NY strip, 14-ounces of beef seasoned and seared to perfection. And don’t forget to save room for dessert – the white chocolate bread pudding with vanilla ice cream is perfect for sharing.
2800 Baltimore Avenue, Ocean City, MD
800-523-2888
The Dunes Manor is offering a ‘Sweet & Spicy Valentine’s’ Day with a five-course gourmet dinner preceded by one-hour of salsa and one-hour of bachata lessons. The five-course gourmet dinner is $79 and will include entrée selections such as filet & lobster tail, stuffed quail, and venison strip steak. And for just $10 a person, enjoy an hour of salsa and an hour of bachata lessons with your sweetheart to really work up an appetite. Of course there are weekend and single night hotel packages available as well…head to their website for details and pricing.
Ristorante Antipasti
3101 Philadelphia Avenue
410-289-4588
www.ristoranteantipasti.com
Nothing says I love you quite like heart-shaped food…and Italian food at that! Ristorante Antipasti, one of our favorite places to indulge in authentic Italian cuisine in OCMD, is offering heart-shaped pasta on Valentine’s Day! Make your reservations now and celebrate the start of a new season at Antipasti.
Bluecoast Seafood Grill
1111 Highway One, Bethany Beach, DE
302-539-7111
www.bluecoastseafoodgrill.com
Not free for dinner? How about starting your Valentine’s Day celebration earlier in the day with a Valentine’s Day Champagne Brunch at Bluecoast?? The fun starts at 11am, and will include five-courses for $50. Call Shannon Colburn at 302-539-7111 for tickets and/or information.
The Buttery
102 2nd Street, Lewes, DE
302-645-7755
Butteryrestaurant.com
For our friends planning a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner in Lewes, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention The Buttery. Located in historic downtown Lewes, The Buttery boasts plenty of coziness and charm. While they aren’t offering a specific Valentine’s Day menu, it’s a perfect spot for an incredibly romantic evening. There’s also duck a l’orange, filet au poivre, and vegetable cassoluet to consider for entrees. Or stumble in on Sunday for a romantic, post-Valentine’s Day brunch. Sunday brunch options include the likes of duck confit hash, Belgian waffles, filet mignon served with two eggs any style, the Chef’s quiche and omelet of the day, and more.
