How to Celebrate Valentine’s Day 2023 in the San Francisco Bay Area

The patron saint of romance and beekeeping is making his way to the Bay Area. Yes, it’s already time to start thinking about what to eat, drink, and do on Valentine’s Day this year.

Good news: Restaurants, vintners, and confectioners throughout the Bay Area are here for the holiday. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a long-term romantic relationship, about to have a define-the-relationship conversation with your on- and off-again person, enjoying the single life with friends, or falling in love with yourself. Here are some top-tier ways to enjoy Valentine’s Day 2023 from the South Bay to wine country.

For a fancy night out with your partner

In San Francisco, modern Filipino restaurant Abaca is offering an 11-course menu for the lovers out there. The decadent meal will include oysters with calamansi pearls, a tomato ensaymada with uni butter, ginataang crab bisque with black truffles, duck breast, tinutungan rice sa palayok, rose hip panna cotta, and more. Tickets cost $125 per person.

La Societe

The Mission District’s Flour + Water is giving White Lotus with its menu dubbed “Palermo is for Lovers.” The $185 menu intertwines Californian and Sicilian flavors with items including fregola sarda with Dungeness crab and blood orange and sesame cannoli. Reservations are available online.

On the French side of things, La Societe is offering an $88 three-course prix fixe menu featuring numerous options per course. Citrus-cured halibut crudo, Maine lobster, and the restaurant’s spin on deviled eggs with trout roe and caviar are all possibilities. Reservations are available between 5 and 9:30 p.m.

In North Beach, Cassava is telling fans on Instagram that its Valentine’s Day menu is the most creative in more than 10 years. Uni custard, bone marrow with kimchi, and crab mac n’ cheese are just a few of the star dishes. The meal, which states no dietary restrictions can be accommodated, will cost $175 per person and is available to book online.

In the East Bay, Pomella in Oakland will offer a special Lover’s Brunch on Sunday, February 12. Rose pistachio granola, blood orange mimosas, French toast, shakshuka, and merguez hash are all on the menu. Beloved East Bay doughnut maker Donut Savant will pitch in a special treat, too. And, for the entire month of February, Pomella will offer a weekly selection of chocolate cake including Oreo chocolate, salted caramel, triple chocolate, and malted chocolate. On February 14, Pomella will offer its standard a la carte menu with a return visit from the triple chocolate cake. Pomella’s Instagram has all the details and instructions on how to place pre-orders.

Pomella

Down south, Burlingame’s Saffron will offer a custom cocktail for any nightcap conversations. The Sun Also Rises, an elderflower pepper-infused gin drink with juniper gin syrup, Chambord, and prosecco, is bringing a literary spin to the holiday. To be clear, the Indian restaurant’s full menu is available on Valentine’s Day, too.

For going out with your pals

Hit rooftop bar Kaiyo for a $65 two-course prix fixe dinner and a show. Musician Matt Jaffee will serenade cocktail lovers on February 14 from 4 to 10 p.m. There’s an optional caviar service, too, along with Nikkei oysters, sushi, and a seafood platter. The restaurant’s new miso caramel bread pudding, made from Japanese milk bread, cajeta, and shiro miso topped with whipped cream, will make a debut that evening, too. Reservations are available online.

Over in the Marina, Peruvian restaurant Jaranita is another option for a bigger group. The rotisserie will offer a three-course menu for $59 per person featuring octopus glazed with anticuchera sauce, empanadas, arroz con pollo, lomo saltado, and more. For dessert, tres leches cake is the move for the whole squad. Reservations can be made online.

Kaiyo

Or maybe you and the group chat are heading out of the city to celebrate. Wine country’s Stanly Ranch is throwing down on Saturday, February 11 and Tuesday, February 14 with a $125 three-course prix fixe menu and wine pairing at resort restaurant Bear. Guests can also book a massage, aromatherapy oil creation, a chocolate truffle-making class, a lover’s lane walk, and more. In Napa, La Cheve is offering rose concha bouquets to send to your pals, too — vegan options are available.

Mama in Oakland has it covered for the gang with pan-fried beef and pork meatballs. They’re available as an add-on to a three-course prix fixe dinner that costs just $37 per person, and dietary restrictions can be accommodated.

For a stay-at-home evening

For a bit of sensational splendor, the Bay Area’s chocolatiers have you covered. At the Castro’s Kokak Chocolates, queer Filipina chocolate maker Carol Gancia brings full-bodied treats to the holiday. Gancia has rolled out a new series, the Hearts on Fire truffle collection with 18 single-origin dark chocolate truffles made with Nacional cacao from Ecuador. There are teddy bear lollipops made of dark chocolate with raspberry finishing and a dark chocolate PB&J heart with raspberry jam and hazelnut filling, too. If that’s not enough for you, Malena Lopez-Maggi’s East Bay Xocolate Bar is offering a “Portrait of my Ex” truffle, amongst other Valentine’s Day goodies, to send off “the jerk that ghosted you.”

Kokak Chocolate

San Francisco’s only nonalcoholic bottle shop Boisson has plenty of booze-less booze for a taste of something spirited. Nonalcoholic beer is in a golden age, and there are numerous hemp-based or alcohol-free wines to take home.

In the East Bay, those for something to dig their teeth into can look to Sunday Bakeshop. The pastry shop’s lychee black tea chiffon cakes with raspberry namelaka filling and Swiss buttercream are available for pre-order. The shop is teaming up with florist E’Pume Studio, and there’s pick-up available in San Francisco, too. If you order before February 4, there’s a $25 discount.