Patch Picks: Romantic Restaurants

Love is in the air!

Well, it’s there, although it may be frozen from all the snow and cold. But, what better way to raise the temperature and get things sizzling than to enjoy a romantic dinner with someone you love, or at least like a lot.

Next Monday is Valentine’s Day. Along with all the candy and flowers that will be purchased, dinner out is almost a requirement.

Keep in mind the number of lovers who will be dining out, and consider calling or making an online reservation when possible. Here are some of our Patch Picks for romantic dining spots in Naperville.

Setting the mood is key. So, start the evening with a cocktail, maybe a mango tango or “The Knockout” and some appetizers, such as the chilled seafood sampler, just for two. Enjoy a salad or soup and then it is time for the main course. Here the options range from meatloaf to roasted chicken “picatta style” to lamb chops, filet mignon and lobster tail.

Who can argue with a restaurant that offers choices of butter! Maybe pass on the Gorgonzola garlic butter—depending on how strong your love is—and choose the Cabernet goat cheese butter instead.  It sounds luscious. Don’t forget the sides such as mushrooms, asparagus, broccoli and mashed potatoes.

Who would leave before dessert? Chocolate is supposed to be an aphrodisiac, and the warm chocolate brownie cake with vanilla bean ice cream or chocolate mousse sound enticing.

This spot off Freedom Drive offers a special Date Night menu for $29.99 per person. The menu offers three appetizers to choose from, including grilled artichokes, four-cheese spinach and artichoke dip and a caprese salad. Entrees on the special menu include prime rib, trout, salmon, BBQ ribs and New York strip.

Dessert options include a white chocolate brownie and a silky chocolate soufflé cake. If you have special food requests, the restaurant also offers a gluten-free menu.

Eating at La Sorella can be difficult only because everything sounds so good. And, if you don’t pay attention to your date and look over at the table next to you, you may wish you ordered what they did. The food all looks so good.

The restaurant offers a special gluten-free menu. Appetizers range from bruschetta to risotto, mussels to calamari. Don’t pass on the salads, which all sound fabulous, unless you want to make more room for your main course. Dinner options range from sharing a pizza with your sweetie to a variety of pastas dishes and entrees that include chicken, salmon, tilapia and pork chops.

The steakhouse opened in Chicago in 1978 and now has locations around the country. The name says it: steak is the thing. The menu, however does offer many options. Starters include broiled sea scallops in bacon, tuna tartare, colossal shrimp cocktail and baked five onion soup. Enjoy a salad, such as a Caesar or just a lovely sliced beefsteak tomato.

Go all out for a double cut filet mignon or maybe a porterhouse. Those options don’t excite you? Then, maybe you’d prefer lobster, crab cakes or chicken. Again, here you have a variety of side options from mashed potatoes to steak fries to veggies. Anything legendary must be worth eating. Consider Morton’s legendary hot chocolate cake or Morton’s legendary sundae.

What could be more romantic than sharing small plates with your date? If you’d prefer to keep things light and nibble on a bit of this and that before a little late-night nibbling then this may be your perfect dining option for Valentine’s Day.

The restaurant in the Willoway Mansion offers an extensive variety of tapas, cold and hot. Whether you’d like artichokes or potato salad, empanadas or bunuelos there are almost too many options to choose from. But, these are small plates, so try as many as you’d like. Or, if you’d prefer to enjoy some paella there are several options including vegetarian, seafood, which includes shrimp, mussels, clams, scallops and squid, and Valencia with chicken, shrimp, mussels, and clams.

Enjoy some sangria with your meal. Do not leave before dessert. Might I suggest the tarta de pera, delicia de chocolate or moussa de abellanas. Just saying it in Spanish sounds romantic.