HOW TO CELEBRATE VALENTINE’S DAY IN LOS ANGELES LIKE AN EATER EDITOR

Valentine’s Day is almost here again, which means it's time to crank up the romance and plan a night out (or in) at one of Los Angeles’s restaurants or bars. Luckily, the city has plenty of options for whatever type of celebrating is on deck, whether plans include going all out with omakase and martinis to follow, or a more laid-back night in with wine and dumplings at home. Here are a few options from the editors at Eater, just in case you’re still figuring out what to do.

The LA bang-bang date

I’m in favor of Valentine’s Day bang-bangs (or Valentine’s Eve, if you’re like me and never go out on actual Valentine’s Day) — the food kind — wherein a couple chooses to go eat at two places, not one, so each person can have their cake and eat it, too. Maybe you follow up your ripe-for-date-night ceviches at Ricardo Zarate’s the Hummingbird with burgers and fries at Lowboy (a nightcap at Bar Flores upstairs completes the picture). Or grab tacos for two at the fantastically realized back-alley taqueria Ditroit before a square pie to share and drinks at De La Nonna in the Arts District. (Bonus if you go dancing at next-door disco the Let’s Go! after). Or head to Koreatown (because the answer, as a friend told me, is always Koreatown), where you might start with snacks at the neon-lit Jilli before migrating to the Prince for fried chicken and beers in one of its plush burgundy banquettes. Karaoke after to top off the night is never out of the question. — Nicole Adlman, Eater cities manager

The chilly South Bay beach date in mid-February

The biting late-winter chill from the Pacific Ocean has its own kind of romantic feel, with waves crashing against the dreary Manhattan Beach pier while bundled-up joggers stride along the beachside trail. This is a South Bay beach date without the sun, which doesn’t make sense unless you live here like I do. Summers bring hordes of tourists to Manhattan, Hermosa, and Redondo Beach, but winters are for locals and those willing to come to the beach cities when the weather goes below 60 degrees Fahrenheit. If I were planning a Valentine’s Day-adjacent date, I’d take a moody late-afternoon stroll on the pier, taking in the relative silence as a luxurious retreat from the usual rowdiness of our toddler son. Normally, a martini might be too dramatic a start, but the Arthur J’s Mad Men vibes make a strong, clear cocktail a solid first move. Carrying a buzz, I’d take us over to Nando Trattoria where late-aughts decor takes me back to the era of restaurant design when we first met. Servers here amp up the Italian charm every night of the week, where they’ll recommend carpaccio topped with truffle vinaigrette or fried squash blossoms. Share a paccheri pasta topped with langoustines and prawns, the dried pasta cooked to a firmer al dente as it would be served in Sicily. For dessert, head to Brewco Social for a fudgy soft-serve sundae with sweet maraschino cherries. — Matthew Kang, lead editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest

For introverts and the hang-at-home crowd

After years of waiting tables, Valentine’s Day is forever ruined for me. It can be an especially stressful night for service staff and the subsequent PTSD now keeps me sequestered at home or a hotel on February 14. Securing dinner reservations can also be tricky on this celebrated and busy night, so start the date by securing a bottle from Silver Lake Wine (with outlets in Altadena and Highland Park). The next stop should be takeout from an LA operator who boxes up everything with great care like Mini Kabob in Glendale or Canoga Park with its legendary juicy kabobs, rice, and hummus. Uchi in West Hollywood offers to-go boxes that look like art, while Din Tai Fung’s Taiwanese xiao long bao and dumplings are packaged like a romantic gift. For more casual bites out of Highland Park, Mala Class’s soups and dan dan noodles are perfect on a cool winter night. For dessert, it’s a minor miracle that Oakobing’s Korean bingsoo (shaved ice) can be delivered in perfect frozen condition. And if a more dense and decadent sweet is in order, specialties from Sawtelle’s Uncle Tetsu Cheesecake will certainly hit the spot. The shop has plenty of options but go for the burnt Basque or ube cheesecake. — Mona Holmes, editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest

For a no-reservation Valentine’s Day

It’s easy to get caught up as one day tumbles into the next, with nights filled with chores and errant emails. With tasks occupying a fair amount of brain space, Valentine’s Day tends to creep up mostly unannounced and arrives as a (welcome) surprise. While some have the forethought to enter the Hunger Games of reservations and book a table for dinner in advance, there are plenty of others (maybe even you?) who are now just opening Resy to find very limited options available. Instead of fretting about booking a 9 p.m. table when you usually eat at 6 p.m., head somewhere a bit more laid back with everyone else who is in the same boat. Start with sidewalk pizza and wine at Quarter Sheets before heading a block over to the Short Stop to play pool or dance under the spinning disco ball. If near Koreatown, find romance over a smoky grill at all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue spot Jjukku Jjukku or split plates of skewers and gyeran-jjim at the dimly lit Dan Sung Sa. Chinatown offers the retro charm of LaSorted’s paired with drinks from teahouse turned late-night bar, Steep, or go all in on tacos at Cypress Park’s Taqueria Frontera followed by cheap beer and a good crowd at Footsies. If two full stops still feel like too much, pick up some pupusas from California Grill and settle in at the Thirsty Crow in Silver Lake where happy hour runs until 9 p.m. every day and a vinyl DJ is often set up in the corner. — Rebecca Roland, editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest

2025-02-07T21:01:23Z