Valentine’s Day dinners can often feel so impersonal, but not this year. We’ve rounded up the best restaurant deals that cater to specific tastes and personality traits of the couples.
Whether you an outdoorsy couple, health conscious duo or lovers of the arts, we’ve rounded up the best Valentine’s Day dinners in Dubai for you.
For the Artsy couple
Where: Iris Dubai, The Oberoi Hotel, 27th Floor
Whether you join as a couple or with your gang of gals, the Wine & Paint night is sure to be a fun way to spend time together. Each person will receive an outlined canvas to create their own masterpiece with tips from the onsite instructor.
Extra: You get to take your masterpiece home as well as a Valentine cupcake. A live band adds ambience while you paint.
Price: Dhs369 per person including two glasses of wine or non-alcoholic beverages
Timings: 7.30pm to 10.30pm
Validity: February 14
To make a booking: (056) 9511442
For The Outdoor Couple
Where: Cupid’s Boma BBQ, Anantara Sir Baniyas Island Al Sahel Villa Resort
Take advantage of the lovely cool weather and dine under the star-studded sky feasting on traditional South African fare. Keep warm from the light of lanterns and the central glowing fireplace.
Timings: 7pm to 10.30pm
When: February 14
Price: Dhs350 per person. Additional taxes apply
To make a booking: (02) 8014300
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For The Spice Loving Couple
Where: Rang Mahal by Atul Kochhar, JW Mariott Marquis Hotel Dubai
Get your fill of the famous romantic and sumptuous tales of Mughal Emperors and princesses on a plate through a seven course set menu.
Extra: Luxury limousine pick-up and drop and a special gift for the lady
Price: Dhs950 per couple including a welcome glass of champagne
When: February 14
Timings: 6pm to midnight
To make a booking: (04) 4140000
For the Old School couple
Where: Teatro Restaurant, Towers Rotana
With its rich dark interiors, wooden tables and red leather seating, this old school favourite is a great place to reminisce and rekindle that love-at-first-sight feeling and dine on a sumptouous four course menu tailor-made just for you.
Price: Dhs375 per person including one sparkling drink
When: February 11 to 15
Timings: 6.30pm to 10pm
To make a booking: (04) 3122201
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For the Diet Conscious Couple
Where: The Farm, Al Barari
Five course set menu featuring gluten-free gnocchi, trout, veal cutlets and rosemary-scented raspberry parfait.
Extra: Electric duo Stereo Sound will perform a wide range of pop, soul, swing and funk classics from 7.30pm to 9.30pm. The first 40 ladies to arrive will receive complimentary flowers and chocolates.
When: February 14
Timings: 6pm to 10.30pm
Price: Dhs550 per couple or Dhs300 per person
To make a booking: (04) 3925660
The Couple Who Love The Finer Things
Where: Mint Leaf of London, DIFC
Impress your loved one with a stylish utterly romantic set menu meal, complete with stunning views of the iconic downtown skyline. It doesn’t matter whether you are a vegetarian or a non-vegetarian, they cater to both.
Extra: Live entertainment and special gift for ladies
Timing: From 3pm onwards
When: February 14
Price: Dhs590 per couple or Dhs295 per person for the set menu meal including a welcome drink. Dhs4,999 (advance booking required) for the VIP Valentine’s package which includes exclusive use of the private dining room or outdoor terrace, a dedicated butler, creative cocktails and champagne along with private transport to and from venue. The lady will also receive a box of chocolates and a bunch of flowers.
To make a booking: (04) 7960900
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For The Meat Loving Couple
Where: The Hide, Qasr Al Madinat, Jumeirah
An American-style ‘meatery’ where every dish is a performance.
Décor
Found in the former home of MJs steakhouse, The Hide is certainly built on the urban style that prevails in many of the city’s bars and restaurants right now. Plush red leather seating and exposed brick finishing dominates the main area, whilst you’ll find a gleaming white-tiled backdrop to the bar. The hipster movement extends to the staff, too – they look like they’ve been flown in from Shoreditch – and there’s an outside area that’s perfect for a secluded Valentine’s Day meal.
Ambience
Above all else, The Hide is a fun place to come. The food is often delightfully messy, the staff are easy-going, and it’s a place that, even once you’ve finished eating, you’ll just want to hang around.
Food
While many of the city’s steakhouses seem content to trot out the same old, albeit it decent, options, The Hide genuinely offers something different: forgotten cuts. Flank, hangar, flat-iron, they might well be slightly fattier cuts, but what they lose in the calorie count, they make up for in flavour (and this is no place to order a salad anyway). Elsewhere the highlights are the OMG onion rings with confit duck and mozzarella curd, the tenderloin steak – served on a board with jus poured from a bull’s head – and the DIY steak tartare that comes with a mini bottle of Bloody Mary tonic and a spice grinder to mix.
For Valentine’s Day
Come for a three-Course set menu featuring The Hide classics, as well as a complimentary glass of Prosecco. Wine pairing is also available. (Dhs590/790 per couple)
When: February 14
Timings: 6.30pm to midnight
To make a booking: (04) 4323232
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For the Sea Loving Couple
Where: Pierchic, Al Qasr Madinat Jumeirah
This ‘over-the-water’ dining destination is all set to vow you with decadent five course menu. Begin with fresh oysters and a glass of bubbly before feasting on foie gras pyramid, wild mushroom soup with chicken and truffle tortellini and Grilled sea scallop.
When: February 14
Timings: 6.30pm to 11.30pm
Price: Dhs2,500 per couple for food only or Dhs1,800 per person for the non-alcoholic package
To make a booking: (04) 4323232
For the Movie Lovers
Where: Gaucho, Lounge Area
Cuddle up and spend time together bringing the romance alive with swoon-worthy classics like Pretty Woman, Dirty Dancing, Ghost and The Body Guard.
When: Throughout February. Please call to find out which movie is running for the day you choose.
Timings: 7.30pm (do check in case of change)
Price: Dhs100 per person including cinema and unlimited empanadas, popcorn and soft drinks. Additional menu items are also available on a la carte basis.
To make a booking: (04) 4227898
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For The Desert Loving Couple
Where: Al Maha, A Luxury Collection Desert Resort & Spa
Soak in the timeless charm of the golden dessert under the stars amid sand dunes with chocolates, roses, bubbly and a seven course degustation menu
Price: Dhs950 per person for food, one glass of champagne, one box of chocolates and one rose
When: February 14
Timings: 7.30pm onwards
To make a booking: (04) 8329211
For the Extravagant Couple
Where: Private Domes, Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi
Enjoy an alfresco candlelit dinner, under the stars, with a specially designed five-course menu set to inspire your palate and your heart. We’re talking of exquisite fare such as strawberry smoked seared foi gras , oven roasted Kobe tenderloin with white truffle shavings and the grand finish with the divine chocolate cake made with Emirates Palace’s exclusive La Perle Noir chocolate
Price: Private Domes at Dhs4,000 per couple, West Wing Terrace seats at Dhs2,000 per couple
When: Valentine’s Day. The Outdoor seating is for up to fifteen couples only.
Timing: 7pm to midnight
To make a booking: (02) 6907999
For the Romantic Couple
Where: Bistro de Arts, Address Dubai Marina (entrance on marina promenade)
A classic Parisian bistro in the heart of Dubai Marina.
Décor
Found nestled into a corner of Dubai Marina, there’s a real rustic charm to things at Bistro des Arts. Inside is minimum fuss, simple, clean. Meanwhile an awning hangs over a lovely terraced area hiding tables that spill out from the interior as if on a Parisian side street. Perfect for a Valentine’s Day evening, you might say.
Ambience
Although Bistro des Arts enjoys a spot on the always-frenetic marina promenade, there’s a quiet calm that envelopes the place of an evening. There’s a very different feel here than with many Dubai-based operations: it actually feels a little more like a small, family-run business. The after-work crowd ensures a light buzz of terrace chatter from around 7pm, with the place is generally packed after nine.
Food
French home-cooked meals are the order of the day at Bistro des Arts. Choice is large, portions even larger. Some excellent daily specials are available, while the starters offer some fantastic fish options and devilishly decadent classic French bites. Choosing a main course can be tricky – it took us a good 15 minutes to settle on a final option – but the tender French guinea fowl breast and full-of-flavour roasted potatoes ultimately proved an excellent choice. If you’ve still got room for dessert then there are a whopping 13 options and, as you would expect, a first rate cheese board.
For Valentine’s Day
Bistro Des Arts are serving a special three course meal: oysters, followed by guinea fowl or lobster ravioli and apple crumble. Dhs215 for all three courses or Dhs180 for starter and main or Dhs130 for main and dessert.
To make a booking: (04) 5511576
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The Seafood loving couple
Where: Novikov, Sheraton Grand Hotel, Sheikh Zayed Road
This Asian-fusion restaurant could have the best array of seafood in the city.
Décor
Boy is this place big… big, sleek and rather trendy in fact. It actually feels like you’re going to a club – only one with a massive seafood selection, which we admit is rare. Take the lift from the lower level lobby and into subdued lighting with a red hue that discreetly envelopes the room. A large floor space is packed full of dark wood tables and chairs and, at the far end of the room, a fresh fish market counter dominates.
Ambinence
Come to Novikov around 7pm and you might be forgiven for thinking that this Asian-fusion restaurant – that also boasts outlets in Moscow and London – is struggling. To state this here, however, would be a little disingenuous, as by 9pm it’s absolutely packed to the rafters – on any day you care to mention.
Food
We’ve seen some packed menus in our time, but Novikov must have more choice than any in Dubai. Dim Sum, tempura, noodles, sushi, sashimi; your decision here will need time, thought and staff assistance. Thankfully the team here really know their stuff – no mean feat with the amount on offer. Whatever you choose – and we heartily recommend you opt for the valentine’s Day offering (below) – the sharing concept here sees small plates with a real emphasis on style. The dishes are mini works of art with no shortfall of flavour. The highlight however, has to be the seafood market counter. From giant crabs legs to meaty French Gillardeau oysters by way of fish you’ve simply never heard of, it’s an awesome selection.
For Valentine’s Day
A special menu including half a dozen of oysters, caviar blinis, carabineros sushi, yuzu sorbet, field greens with black truffle, Japanese Wagyu beef and lobster, neatly rounded off with a raspberry mousse and white chocolate. (Dhs 1,950 per couple)
To make a booking: (04) 388 8744
For the Cruise Loving Couple
Where: Dubai Marina Yachtclub
What can be more romantic than cruising together on a luxury 43ft yacht floating on love, stunning views of the Dubai sunset and delicious food? While cruising for three hours you can enjoy a three course set menu, a bottle of bubbly, unlimited house and soft beverages.
Extra: Dedicated captain and hostess to cater to your every need and a 50 minute Balinese Massage Spa voucher for two provided by The Address Dubai Marina.
When: February 12 to 14
Timing: 8.30pm to 10.30pm
Price: Dhs7,500
To make a booking: (04) 3627900
