Where to Celebrate Valentine’s Day in Portland

Like every holiday —especially the wintery ones when outdoor dining is a challenge— Valentine’s Day has been rather unconventional these last few years. Going into our third COVID-19 Valentine’s Day, though, restaurants have started to find some kind of structure—some have returned to relative normal, offering full prix fixe dinners on patios and in dining rooms, while others have opted to remain takeout-focused. However you want to celebrate the divisive holiday, Portland has it covered.

Note: Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it may pose a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission.

Hunt and Gather

While Hunt and Gather is mostly known for its high end catering options, this weekend it will welcome diners in for a special, early Valentine’s Day dinner on Saturday, February 12. The five-course dinner includes oysters with caviar to start, followed by a winter caesar salad; agnolotti (similar to ravioli) stuffed with brodo, fennel pollen, and ricotta; wagyu coulotte with kimchi gratin or black cod Cartuccio with mussels and potatoes; and a hazelnut chocolate tart for dessert. Wine pairings and add-ons will also be available.
Details: Dinner is at 6 p.m. at 1203 NW Glisan Street. Tickets are $125 per person, with an optional $50 wine pairing and $20 cheese plate. Reservations can be made online.

Epif

The all vegan Peruvian restaurant and pisco bar Epif will celebrate the romantic holiday with a three-course dinner, perfect for vegans and meat-eaters alike. The meal starts with a red beet bisque, followed by polenta cakes with tempeh, asparagus, and a squash puree with a red wine and raspberry sauce and a chimichurri made with pickled vegetables. Dessert is a vegan chocolate flan topped with raspberries.
Details: Seatings are available at 5 and 8 p.m. for indoor and outdoor dining at 404 NE 28th Avenue, while takeout options will be available at 7:15 p.m. The menu is $54 for dine-in and $45 for takeout, with optional drink pairings available. Reservations and orders can be made at the website.

Piccone’s Corner

An Italian restaurant, deli, and butcher, Piccone’s Corner recently opened its dining room in time for Valentine’s Day, where it will offer a shared menu for two. Dinner starts off with a shared plate of cured meats, cheeses, fruit, and bread, before moving on to a four-course dinner with options at each course: caesar or green salad, pasta bolognese or carbonara, pork chop with polenta and broccoli raab or half chicken with fingerling potatoes and broccoli raab, and panna cotta or fried bread pudding for dessert.
Details: Dinner will be available until 8:45 on Monday, February 14, at 3434 NE Sandy Blvd #400. Reservations can be made by calling (503) 265-8263.

Masala Lab PDX

A food cart serving Indian-inspired cuisine with a local touch, Desi PDX is running a pop-up out of a commissary kitchen, called Masala Lab PDX. For Valentine’s Day, it will offer a special two-person dinner—each meal comes with a charred radicchio salad with cabbage, pomegranate vinaigrette, roasted Brussels, and candied coriander; tandoori spiced potatoes with roasted cauliflower sauce and pickled peas; basmati rice with black cardamom; and a citrus cake. For main the entree, there is an option between chickpea-miso masala lamb shank or vegan tempeh vindaloo. The whole meal is gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free, and 10-percent of all sales will go to the domestic violence support center Bradley Angle House.
Details: Dinner is $105 for the lamb option and $85 for the tempeh option, serving two. Orders are available for pickup from 6:15 to 8 p.m. at 5237 NE MLK Boulevard, and can be placed online.

Normandie

The oceanic themed Normandie —which draws from French, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Northwest influences— is always a romantic spot for a night out, and this Valentine’s Day it will go all out with a three-course dinner. Options are available at each course, including vegetarian selections like chicories salad and root vegetables three-ways, but also meatier entrees including lots of seafood—chile poached prawns with endives, radish, and cucumber; seared King salmon with fennel, bouillabaisse broth, and saffron aioli; and parisienne gnocchi with short ribs are a few options. It ends with multiple dessert options, and diners can add on items like oysters, crab beignets, and wine pairings.
Details: Reservations are still available but limited, with spots for indoor seating at 5 p.m., patio seating at 9 p.m., and bar seating from 5 to 9 p.m. at 1005 SE Ankeny Street. Dinner is $85.

Cooperativa

The Italian marketplace Cooperativa has plenty of options for a romantic pasta dinner at home every night of the week, but for the holiday it’s preparing something special: a pizza bianca dinner for two. The takeout meal includes marinated olives, Italian cheeses, artichoke two ways with Meyer lemon vinaigrette, crab agnolotti with mascarpone and saffron tomato sauce, and a rosemary and sea salt pizza bianca to share, as well as chocolate honey tiramisu for dessert and a bouquet of flowers.
Details: Dinner is $125, and can be ordered online for pickup over the weekend at 1250 NW 9th Avenue Suite 100. Additional items are also available via the website.

Kachka

Portland’s beloved Russian restaurant Kachka isn’t getting too crazy for Valentine’s Day this year, instead opting for a few fun options to show someone you care. On the holiday, its signature dish herring under a fur coat will be heart-shaped, and all weekend it will offer heart-shaped boxes full of treats, including a “Russian to Be Your Valentine” box full of candies.
Details: Reservations for Valentine’s Day are available from 4 to 9 p.m. at 960 SE 11th Avenue. Order forms for the candy boxes are available online.

Ps & Qs Market

An adorable market and cafe in the Woodlawn neighborhood, Ps & Qs is offering its Valentine’s Day menu for takeout and for dining-in this year. Either way, it includes charcuterie, radicchio caesar salad, bucatini with red sauce and meatballs (or vegetarian meatballs), garlic focaccia, and a flourless chocolate cake for dessert. It also comes with an optional bottle of red or sparking rosé.
Details: The special is offered from Saturday, February 12 to Monday, February 14 at 1301 NE Dekum Street. Baskets are $85 and serve two, and wine bottles are $20 each. Find the complete menu and ordering information on Instagram

Zuckercreme

The collaborative market and pop-up concept Zuckercreme will host a special Valentine’s Day dinner at the nearby Caffe Olli this year, cutely titled Smushly Love. The team includes chefs Luna Contreras, Gabriella Martinez, and Angie Barrios Cepeda presenting a five-course dinner of enoki bloom and mole poblano dish, mushroom terrine with sunchokes and guava chutney, a scallop aguachile with chanterelles and crispy crab, wood-fired halibut with yucca puree and king trumpets, and black velvet cake with dulce de leche ice cream and hazelnut crumble for dessert. The pop-up is also offering a takeout pastry box for the holiday.
Details: Dinner is $75 per person at 7 p.m. at 3925 NE Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard. Reservations are available online.

Flying Fish

This sustainable seafood market and restaurant will have a number of specials on its regular menu for the holiday, including beef tartare with oysters, a flourless chocolate cake, and drink specials. It’s also offering a meal kit at home for two, featuring a classic surf and turf: a 16-ounce boneless ribeye and two Maine lobster tails, plus greens salad, red curry-glazed carrots, and coconut chocolate sticky rice for dessert.
Details: Dinner is available through the weekend and Monday, February 14 from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. at 3004 E Burnside Street. Baskets are $85 and serve two, and must be ordered online by 8 p.m. on Friday, February 11, for pick up on Sunday, February 13 or Monday, February 14.