10 Classy Valentine’s Day 2016 Dining Ideas to Impress Your Date

Start booking reservations before it’s too late.

Stage Restaurant is offering a special Valentine’s Day menu that includes a Kona lobster seafood cake, similar to its crab cake above. (The presentation will be different for the Feb. 14 dinner.)

Photo: Courtesy of Pacwest Studios

Hey, high roller, we get it: You want to show your valentine an extravagant time. These restaurants will help make that happen. Oh, and, if you really want to go the extra mile (literally), we even have a suggestion for off-island dining. 

Top of Waikīkī

Drink and dine 18 stories high with a 360-degree view of the city in this revolving restaurant. Top of Waikīkī’s special four-course menu starts with a creamy tomato soup and compote grilled-cheese sandwich and a coconut panna cotta with crab and scallops. Prime striploin with a cherry jus, pan-roasted farm tomatoes and confit baby potatoes is the entrée. And for dessert, indulge in a cherries jubilee butter cake topped with Tahitian vanilla gelato.

For two, $170 ($210 with premium cocktail and wine pairing). Feb. 14, 2270 Kalākaua Ave., 923-3877, topofwaikiki.com

Stage Restaurant

Treat your sweetheart to Stage Restaurant’s Valentine’s Day seven-course, prix-fixe dinner menu. The meal begins with an aerated potato topped with caviar, crème fraîche and hydroponically grown micro greens. Other menu items are Shinsato Farm gyoza; squid-ink pasta with yukari-spiced, crispy calamari; Kona lobster seafood cake; seared Kobe-style beef or pan-roasted Chilean sea bass; and a Valrhona Manjari dark-chocolate mousse with port-infused cherries.

For two, $220 ($340 with wine pairings). Feb. 13 and 14, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., 1250 Kapi‘olani Blvd., 237-5429, stagerestauranthawaii.com

Tiki’s Grill & Bar

Although Tiki’s Grill & Bar will be offering its regular full dinner menu, don’t miss out on the special one-night Valentine’s menu. Upgrade the experience with its Oceanfront Valentine’s Day package at the Aston Waikīkī Hotels & Resort. It comes with the Valentine’s prix-fixe menu for two—Island-grown watermelon-heart salad, Kona clams with angel hair pasta, filet mignon with lobster tail and a chocolate trio for dessert. Plus, you and your date can continue the celebration with a bottle of Taittinger Brut Champagne, roses and more chocolate—all while enjoying an ocean view.

For two, cost ranges from $210.94 to $263.69. Feb. 14, 4 to 10:30 p.m., $210.94 for reservations made before Feb. 1, $263.69 for reservations made after Feb. 1, Tiki’s Grill & Bar, 2570 Kalākaua Ave. Oceanfront package must be booked online at eventbrite.com.

Michel’s

For a romantic ambiance, head to the quintessential romantic restaurant, Michel’s at the Colony Surf. Its special Valentine’s Day dinner begins with a salmon tartare with French caviar, followed by Kona baby abalone and wild mushroom soup. Then, choose between a blackened beef carpaccio or the Hawaiian Kualoa Ranch oysters. For the main course, pick between Michel’s beef Wellington or the steamed Island onaga. For dessert, you can indulge in either a Belgian white-chocolate cheesecake topped with fresh raspberries and raspberry sauce or a dark-chocolate gelato coupe with fresh strawberries, mascarpone cheese and roasted hazelnuts.

For two, dinner starts at $300. Feb. 12 to 14, seating starts at 5 p.m., Michel’s at the Colony Surf, 2895 Kalākaua Ave. 923-6552, michelshawaii.com

Hōkū’s

The signature restaurant at The Kāhala Hotel & Resort is hosting a Lover’s Menu for the weekend of Valentine’s Day. It features an ‘ahi cube and vegetables prepared bagna càuda style, a poached half Maine lobster with a curry lobster sauce, and your choice of a grilled beef tenderloin with sautéed foie gras or a sous vide Colorado lamb chop with a pine-nut mash. Dessert is a seasonal strawberry compote with ice cream. Or upgrade the experience even more with an overnight stay at the luxe hotel.

For two, $240 (rooms start at $495 per night). Feb. 12 to 14, 5:30 to 10 p.m., 5000 Kāhala Ave., 739-8760, kahalaresort.com

Chef Mavro

This Honolulu restaurant may be nearly booked for Valentine’s Day already, but you can still wine-and-dine your valentine on Feb. 13 with the same special menu. Dinner starts with caviar and a poached Stellar Bay oyster and the restaurant’s popular “Osmose,” a Peterson’s Upland Farm egg with truffle “osmose” and potato mousseline. The next three protein courses features steamed snapper with shiitake mushrooms, Keāhole lobster with cream of Kahuku corn and Tajima wagyu loco moco with a fried quail egg. After a brie de meaux baked in brick dough, you’ll finish your meal with a pre-dessert—honeydew melon in Champagne geleé—and a Waialua chocolate crémeux with a raspberry coulis.

For two, $350 ($528 with wine pairings). Add fresh Périgord truffles to any dish for $27 more. 6 to 9 p.m., 1969 S. King St., 944-4714, chefmavro.com

Pa‘akai

Whisk your valentine away to Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore, called a “Top Honeymoon Hot Spot” by the Travel Channel. The hotel’s restaurant, Pa‘akai, is offering a four-course dinner menu featuring Kona and Maine lobster bisque; a second course of local honey, creamy goat cheese, Pūpūkea greens, tomatoes and onions; a choice between bone-in New York steak or grilled Island snapper; and dessert of Waialua chocolate pot de crème and strawberries. Or opt for dinner and a concert with Irie Love that night in the Ku‘ilima Foyer. Cocktail hour for the Fire and Ice Gala starts at 6 p.m., with dinner served at 7 p.m. The concert runs from 8 to 9:30 p.m.

For two, dinner costs $280 with wine pairings. For two, the concert costs $190. Feb. 14: Dinner, 6 to 9 p.m.; concert, 6 to 10 p.m.; 57-091 Kamehameha Highway, Kahuku, 293-6000, turtlebayresort.com

53 By the Sea

Splurge on your date at the oceanfront 53 By the Sea. Its special holiday menu boasts King crab crostini, foie gras terrine, Kaua‘i shrimp in a zucchini-lobster sauce, and a choice among beef tenderloin, lamb chop, sautéed lobster tail and scallops, the catch of the day or a Spanish-inspired vegetable medley. You can supplement this prix-fixe meal with Maine lobster or even more foie gras for an extra cost. Dessert is a vanilla cheesecake with a caramel-poached pineapple.

For two, $250. Feb. 14, 5 to 10 p.m., 53 Ahui St., 536-5353, 53bythesea.com

Alan Wong’s Honolulu

It may not seem like the most romantic restaurant—especially when you first pull up—but Alan Wong’s Honolulu makes up for the lack of view with a spectacular lineup of appetizers and entrées for couples to share. The special menu features apps such as a crab-shrimp-lobster-avocado-tomato cocktail and a octopus crudo with capers, lemon and olive oil. Entrée dishes include a seared North Shore Aquafarms tilapia with kālua pig and Naked Cow truffle butter or the prime striploin medallion with Waialua asparagus. Dessert is a surprise.

For two, $190. Feb. 14, 5 to 10 p.m., 1857 S. King St., 949-2526, alanwongs.com

Cane & Canoe

Since Valentine’s Day falls on the weekend, why not turn it into a weekend getaway? Whisk your lover away to Maui and dine at Cane & Canoe, which is serving up a four-course prix-fixe menu. Choices for the entrée are Maui coffee-crusted beef tenderloin, sesame-miso-crusted ‘ahi, grilled mahi mahi or exotic mushroom pad thai. The restaurant will also offer Pacific oysters on the half shell (additional $24 for half dozen). Price for two: $170 ($260 with wine pairings) — and that doesn’t include airfare.

Feb. 14, 5 to 9 p.m. 1 Bay Drive, Lahaina, Maui, (808) 662-6682