From heart-shaped pizzas to candlelight dinners, unique Valentine’s Day dining options abound
Ah, Valentine’s Day. A day to express gratitude and appreciation for the loved one in your life. Or to make up for not expressing it quite enough the rest of the year.
From heart-shaped pizza to miniature golf to a candlelight dinner, we’ve got some night out options for all your moods.
Keep it simple, sweetie
It’s basic math. Valentine’s Day is about love + everybody loves pizza = heart-shaped pizza.
A heart-shaped pizza is a great way to recognize that it’s Valentine’s Day without making too big a deal about it. And there are many places that will stretch their dough into the shape of your love.
Bella Napoli in Schaumburg is serving up a 12-inch heart-shaped, woodfired pizza all month, as well as dinner specials Feb. 14-16.
CPK offers heart-shaped pizzas now through Feb. 16 as part of their Sweet Deal for Two, which includes one starter, two entrées and one dessert from a prix fixe menu. It starts at $55 and is available for dine-in and takeout.
Giordano’s has their heart-shaped deep-dish pizzas available now through Feb. 16 locally and to ship nationwide.
Lou Malnati’s is crafting 9-inch heart-shaped, deep-dish pizzas in cheese, sausage or pepperoni for the month of February at all area location. Plus, Lou’s is donating $1 from each specialty pizza sold to local food banks through Feeding America. The pizzas can be shipped nationwide with a 9-inch heart-shaped cookie through Tastes of Chicago.
Moretti’s is offering a 12-inch, thin-crust heart-shaped pizza for $17.49 (toppings extra) all month long. They’ll also have entrée specials in their restaurants Feb. 14-16 and special his and hers cocktails throughout February. Locations are in Barrington, Bartlett, Elgin, Fox Lake, Hoffman Estates, Lake in the Hills, Mount Prospect, Rosemont and Schaumburg.
Tievoli Pizza Bar in Palatine, whose name is “I love it” spelled backward, is offering all their pizzas in heart shapes on Friday, Feb. 14, which is coincidentally the restaurant’s second anniversary.
Make it experiential
Nothing says romance like a murder mystery. Or maybe not, but it’s a fun couples activity and it’s on Saturday night in case you have other plans on Friday, Feb. 14. Martini Room in Elgin is hosting a night of suspense, surprise, murder and martinis. Set in the 1920s, you have to solve the murder of a top syndicate mob boss. Each $55 ticket includes hors d’oeuvres, raffle prize giveaways for mystery winners and the murder mystery materials. Cocktails, including special 1920s speakeasy creations, will be available for purchase.
Head to Puttshack in Oak Brook for a ready-made date night on Feb. 14, complete with a Simple Booth selfie setup to capture a memory. All guests will receive a special valentine’s card with a promo code for one free game of golf Feb. 15 to March 15.
At suburban WhirlyBall locations in Naperville and Vernon Hills, you can celebrate with food and friends during the 4 of Hearts promotion. Perfect for a pair of couples, four friends can enjoy an hour of WhirlyBall, two apps and a dessert to share. They’re also offering 14% off all amusement bookings.
If you want to really bring the romance
CityGate Grille in Naperville is hosting Candlelight Serenade: A Romantic Valentine’s Dinner for Two on Friday and Saturday. Share a dinner for two with a specially curated menu by the glow of candlelight. The four-course meal is $180 per couple and includes entrée choices of filet and lobster Oscar, Chilean sea bass or vegetable pappardelle, all the while being serenaded with live music by Isabella Isherwood.
For classic, old-school romance, you can’t go wrong with Rosebud. The Italian restaurant is offering a multicourse menu featuring coconut shrimp and harbor salad, followed by your choice of filet and lobster, filet and sea bass, or filet and crab cake. A bottle of house wine — red, white or sparkling — is included to toast the evening, and the night concludes with a slice of red velvet cake. It’s $175 per couple.
Truluck’s in Rosemont is offering the “Sinners & Saints” valentine’s menu, with offerings like Brie and lobster mac and cheese, lobster tempura bao, and surf and turf with ora king salmon and wagyu strip steak. The TRU Temptation specialty cocktail features vodka, amaro, fresh lemon, almond and strawberry and is garnished with dried tea roses. For a “TRU“ly luxurious start to the meal, try Truluck’s new private label caviar, TRU. The menu is available now through Sunday, Feb. 16.