Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, bringing a familiar question: Where should we eat? If your idea of a romantic night includes dinner out, these Portland-area restaurants, listed alphabetically, are a good place to start.
With only a few days to go, scoring a prime-time reservation could be tricky. But if nothing is available right now, reservation sites such as OpenTable and Resy allow you to set alerts for specific dates — Saturday, Feb. 14, in case you forgot — and times.
Andina
The upscale Pearl District Peruvian restaurant, 1314 N.W. Glisan St., is offering a prix fixe dinner for $110 per person that includes an orange duck canapé, beef heart empanadas, grilled teres major steak and dessert. Keep an eye out for reservations here.
Arden
This intimate Pearl District wine bar and restaurant, 417 N.W. 10th Ave., is serving a $125 prix fixe dinner from chef Erik Van Kley over two days this Valentine’s Day weekend. As of this writing, Saturday appears to be fully booked, but a table for two is available in Arden’s sidewalk shed at 5:15 p.m. on Friday.
Bellpine
The restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton hotel, 900 S.W. Washington St., has several Valentine’s options from new chef de cuisine Jocelyn Chacon, including afternoon tea for $125 on Saturday and Sunday, a five-course Valentine’s Day tasting menu for $140 on Saturday and a Galentine’s “Girl Dinner” Tuesday through Saturday for $35 at Meadowrue bar. Find reservations here.
Campana
Portland’s best pasta spot — and top Italian restaurant overall — is serving a five-course tasting menu for $120 per person from its perch in the Woodlawn neighborhood, 901 N.E. Oneonta St. Watch for cancellations here.
Canard
Gabriel Rucker and Andy Fortgang’s boisterous bistro, 734 E. Burnside St., is offering a three-course tasting menu for $95 with a choice of steak tartare or foie gras dumplings, chicken-fried trout or steak frites and dessert. Watch for cancellations here.
Flying Fish Co.
This Portland seafood shack, 3004 E. Burnside St., will serve up several Valentine’s Day specials this year, including Dungeness crab cakes. As always, the night calls for oysters, and Flying Fish has them in abundance.
Higgins
Calling all night owls — as of this writing, downtown Portland’s beloved farm-to-table restaurant at 1239 S.W. Broadway has a few reservations available for those who don’t mind eating after 9 p.m. Also consider checking the days on either side if you don’t mind celebrating Valentine’s Day a little before or after.
Kachka Fabrika
This sister bar to the great Kachka, 2117 N.E. Oregon St. #202, is offering oysters, cocktails and “sophisticated elegance” via a five-course tasting menu for $75 per person. Watch for cancellations here.
Langbaan
You likely had to jump on these reservations last month, but the Thai tasting menu hotspot named America’s most outstanding restaurant at the 2024 James Beard awards, 1818 N.W. 23rd Place, would be a fine place to celebrate Valentine’s Day with a little pre-planning. Consider setting an alarm to check for availability in January 2027.
Le Pigeon
Those looking to get a jump on Valentine’s Day might consider a visit to this French American restaurant from two-time James Beard Award winning chef Gabriel Rucker, 738 E. Burnside St. As of this writing, a table is available for the always romantic chef’s tasting menu at 8:45 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12.
Normandie
The $110 per person Valentine’s Day tasting menu is already fully booked, but reservations are available on Friday, Feb. 13, and Sunday, Feb. 15, at this neighborhood bistro tucked just around the corner from Le Pigeon and Hey Love bar, 1005 S.E. Ankeny St.
Ox
Another reservation page worth bookmarking, this wood-fired Argentine grill, 2225 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., has been one of Portland’s best restaurants since it opened in 2012. The Valentine’s Day dinner is $150 per person. It’s also been fully booked for weeks.
Pal’s
This new restaurant along the Columbia River, 515 N.E. Tomahawk Island Drive, is offering a four-course Valentine’s Day menu with mini martinis and creative seafood dishes for $65 per person. Reservations for this dinner, which is 21+ only, are available here.
St. Jack
Reservations are no longer available for Valentine’s Day in the dining room at this elegant French restaurant in Northwest Portland, 1610 N.W. 23rd Ave., but fans can snag tables on Thursday, Feb. 12, or Friday, Feb. 13, (with time slots available for both as of this writing) or take a flyer in a walk-in seat in the bar area.
Dining and Cooking