Four iconic restaurants, four exquisite ways to fall in love with the city…
On Valentine’s Day, London reveals a softer, more luminous side. Candlelight flickers behind Mayfair façades, violins echo through grand dining rooms, and the city’s most beautiful restaurants become theatres of romance. From the glamour of Mayfair to the Parisian charm of Covent Garden, four iconic addresses, Sexy Fish, Bacchanalia, Balthazar and J. Sheekey, offer distinctly different yet equally unforgettable ways to celebrate love.
Sexy Fish, Mayfair
At Sexy Fish, Valentine’s Day unfolds with theatrical flair and an unmistakable sense of drama. Across the weekend, the restaurant’s signature aesthetic, deep blues, sculptural art and shimmering interiors, sets the stage for an evening that feels more like a private performance than a dinner reservation.
A bespoke Valentine’s dessert, a delicate vanilla cheesecake layered with strawberry, calamansi sorbet and white chocolate crumb, provides a sweet crescendo, while live music weaves through the evening. In the intimate Coral Reef Room, diners are accompanied by a roaming violinist, while the main restaurant transitions from live vocals to DJ sets, saxophone and percussion as the night deepens. The effect is immersive and seductive: a celebration of love played out to a carefully orchestrated soundtrack.
@sexyfishlondon | sexyfish.com
Berkeley Square House, Berkeley Square, London W1J 6BR
Bacchanalia, Mayfair
Few settings in London feel as operatic as Bacchanalia. For Valentine’s Day, its grand classical interiors become the backdrop for a celebration that feels timeless and mythic. Throughout the weekend, live musicians – piano, harp and vocals, create a sense of occasion that lingers from lunch into late evening.
At the heart of the experience is a specially created dessert, the Calliope Heart: milk chocolate mousse layered with raspberry and lychee, offered as a poetic gesture to guests. Optional touches, champagne, flowers, discreet embellishments, allow the evening to be shaped into something personal.
@bacchanalialdn | bacchanalia.co.uk
1-3 Mount St, London W1K 3NB
Balthazar, Covent Garden
Balthazar brings Paris to London with effortless ease. Over Valentine’s weekend, its upstairs private dining room, Le Grand Salon Privé, opens for intimate celebrations, while live piano music drifts through the space on Saturday evening.
The Valentine’s menu is classic yet indulgent, designed for sharing and slow enjoyment. Guests begin with refined starters, baked Camembert with truffled honey or house-cured gravadlax, before moving to a centrepiece of côte de boeuf and Madagascan prawns, accompanied by traditional French sides. Dessert arrives as a shared composition of raspberry and milk chocolate mousse with salted caramel shortbread.
@balthazarldn | balthazarlondon.com
4-6 Russell St, London WC2B 5HZ
J. Sheekey, Covent Garden
At J. Sheekey, Valentine’s Day is celebrated with understated sophistication. The restaurant’s refined seafood-led menu is designed to be shared, beginning with sashimi, burrata with beetroot and truffle honey, and roasted Galician octopus. The centrepiece is a signature roasted shellfish platter—lobster, scallops and tiger prawns, served with mussels, coastal greens and lemon-garlic butter.
The evening concludes with an Amedei dark chocolate and passion fruit Paris-Brest, followed by takeaway truffles, a final gesture that extends the romance beyond the table. It is a celebration defined by quiet luxury and impeccable craft, where every detail feels considered.
Together, these four restaurants capture the many faces of London romance: theatrical and immersive, classical and grand, Parisian and nostalgic, refined and quietly indulgent. Whether marked by live music, candlelight, champagne or shared plates, Valentine’s Day in the capital becomes less about spectacle and more about atmosphere, a delicious feast and celebrating love in all its forms.
@jsheekeyldn | j-sheekey.co.uk
28-32 St Martin’s Ct, London WC2N 4AL
