ST. LOUIS — Valentine's Day is coming up this Monday, Feb. 14. But a holiday all about love can extend all weekend long in the St. Louis area this year.
If you're still looking for unique ways to celebrate that special person in your life, we gathered up some ideas to help you out.
9 Mile Garden
Whether you’re single, taken or somewhere in between, the food truck garden said it has a little something for everyone with events each day this Valentine’s weekend.
The fun kicks off Friday from 5 p.m.-midnight with a Valentine’s Day cocktail party in the 9 Mile Garden Canteen. The event includes a free welcome cocktail, music, games and movies.
Those looking for some last-minute gifts for their loved ones can browse a selection of items Saturday. There will be an indoor market from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. featuring local vendors. The event is organized in partnership with Pop-Up STL. A vendor lineup will be announced soon.
On Sunday, it’s a celebration of female friends with the Galentine’s Day brunch. It goes from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. There will be a DIY photo booth, self-care samples, women-owned local businesses selling items, rom-com movies on the big screen and bottomless mimosas and bloody mary drinks, of course!
All of the Valentine’s Day weekend events at 9 Mile Garden are free to attend.
AO&Co
The neighborhood market and café in Botanical Heights has put together a perfectly romantic bundle featuring several local businesses. The Valentine’s Day gift package includes a bouquet of flowers from Rudy’s Flower Truck, a box of bonbons from NOMIS, a bottle of prosecco rose and a Valentine’s Day card designed by Emily Stahl.
A limited number of bundles are available for preorder on AO&Co’s website here. Pickup will be available Saturday and Sunday.
Build-A-Bear
A stuffed animal might not be the first thing you think to give your grown-up valentine, but Build-A-Bear is working to change that this year. The St. Louis-based company has rolled out a line of stuffed animals for adults.
Options include bears that look like a bouquet of roses – and smell like them, too, with a scent package placed inside. Other adult-themed options include a lion in boxers for your “mane” squeeze or a dog in satin pajamas holding a seltzer drink.
Café la Vie
The restaurant and bar located inside Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton is taking diners’ taste buds on a romantic trip with a special Valentine’s Day dinner called “A Honeymoon in France.” The five-course prix fixe dinner starts with a bite-sized of Laura Chanel Chevre Cornet and a choice of an aperitif of either a Maine Lobster Crepe or Foie Gras Torchon. The meal continues with a blood orange sorbet and either sea scallops or a filet of beef for the main course. Diners will choose from either a chocolate and raspberry gâteau or creme brulee for dessert.
The cost is $72 per person. Reservations are recommended and can be made on OpenTable.
Chao Baan
If you’re looking to cozy up at home with some delicious local takeout, Chao Baan is offering a one-night-only special for Thai food fans. The meals for two include either stir fry or curry, plus one appetizer and dessert. It’s available for $45 for takeout Monday. Orders can be placed by calling Chao Baan at 314-925-8250
City Museum
Grab the kids, your sweetheart or both and head to City Museum for a family-friendly Valentine’s Day event.
City Museum will have photo ops in the “tunnel of love” and several other heart-related activities and cookie-making kits. The Valentine’s Day events go from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 12, and 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 13. There also will be a family dance party Saturday afternoon on the second floor.
The museum’s historic log cabin on site also will be transformed into “The Love Inn” for the weekend, featuring music and themed drinks for grownups and kids.
All Valentine’s Day activities are included in the normal City Museum admission price, which is $18 per person. Kids 2 and younger are free.
Clementine’s Creamery
The “naughty and nice” ice cream shop has given us the scoop on their special flavors for Valentine’s Day. All flavors are available in their shops and for national shipping.
Clementine's limited-edition flavors are:
- Love handles: signature dairy base with chocolate sandwich cookies with dark chocolate pretzels and brownie
- Cinful bunz: signature dairy base infused with rumchata, butterscotch schnapps, cinnamon and vanilla
- Vegan rose cream: non-dairy coconut base infused with natural rose water and a ribbon of vegan fudge
- Red velvet: signature dairy base infused with Godiva dark chocolate liqueur, crème de cacao and dark chocolate powder
Commonwealth
Wine and dine your date with a three-course dinner and drink menu inside the Angad Arts Hotel. The executive chef has created several options for each course for guests to choose from. Each course is served alongside a curated cocktail that's meant to compliment the flavors of each dish.
The special menu is available Friday, Saturday and Monday, and could be a good option for those looking for last-minute reservations, which can be made online here. The cost is $150 per person.
Dalie’s Smokehouse
The St. Louis County barbecue joint is offering a meaty twist to the traditional romantic dinner. Valentine’s Day specials from Dalie’s include smoke prime rib and stuffed lemon raspberry chicken breast. Each entrée comes with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and a side, while supplies last. The specials will be available Saturday and Sunday, no reservations needed.
Edera Italian Eatery
The crew will open their doors Monday, a day they’re usually closed, for a special holiday menu. The special items available Valentine’s Day only include oysters Rockefeller, braised beef cheeks, rack of lamb and a rich chocolate torte. The menu will be available Feb. 11-14. The traditional menu also will be available those days.
Reservations are available for the romantic courtyard chalets and for indoor dining. Reserve your table on Edera’s website.
Fiddlehead Fern Café
Get a caffeine boost or pre-dinner drink at the Shaw coffee shop Monday evening. Fiddlehead is holding a special happy hour from 5-8 p.m. on Valentine’s Day. The special event includes live music, macarons, cocktails and more.
The Fountain on Locust
The St. Louis restaurant known for its drinks and desserts is offering a feast for you to enjoy in the comfort of your home. The Fountain on Locust has a limited number of take-home dinners with pickup timeslots available Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The restaurant will be closed Monday, as part of its normal business hours.
The meal includes gourmet beef and cheese ravioli for two, a St. Louis City Salad for two, a bottle of bubbly and a box of handcrafted chocolates and truffles. Dinners are packaged cold and come with instructions how to heat them up at home for whenever you’re ready to celebrate. The take-home meal bundle costs $75 and can be ordered online here.
The Gentle Barn
If you’re looking for a unique gift for the animal lover in your life, The Gentle Barn has a moo-ving option for you. The animal sanctuary, with a location in Jefferson County, is offering to send personalized virtual hugs from one of its cows.
The Gentle Barn offers a cow hug therapy program, which helps trauma victims, veterans, at-risk youth and many other people who just need to de-stress. The barn has all kinds of animals on site, but it’s the cows who were rescued after escaping from a slaughterhouse that are the stars of the show, offering hugs to anyone who needs one.
The Valentine’s Day special includes a virtual cow hug that you can send to anyone for a donation of $10 or more.
Gioia's Deli
Give your date the gift of award-winning and always-celebrated hot salami. Gioia's has put together a Valentine's Day box that's perfect for the meat lover in your life. It includes a limited-edition hot salami hat and a hot salami crock pot log. The cost is $30. They're available beginning Thursday at both locations, online and through Doordash, while supplies last.
Imo’s Pizza
If you’re looking for a low-key dinner at home, you can still sweeten things up with Imo’s. The “square beyond compare” is changing things up for Valentine’s Day, offering its famous St. Louis-style pizzas in the shape of a heart instead. The special pies are available now through Valentine’s Day.
Juniper
The Central West End restaurant is offering a four-course tasting menu for $65 per person. A beverage pairing can be added on for $35 per guest.
The menu includes: oysters w/blood grange granita and caviar, fermented carrot with miso and togarashi, roasted hen of the woods mushroom on red grits with popped and creole spiced sorghum, and a choice of beef tenderloin with celery root, parsnip, grilled onion, garlic and fermented soy caramel or skate wing with sauteed spinach and trout roe vin blanc. Red velvet cake will be served for dessert.
The menu will be available Friday and Saturday for dine-in or carryout. Reservations can be made for Valentine’s Day on Juniper’s website.
Katie’s Pizza & Pasta Osteria
The pizza and pasta spot, with locations in Rock Hill and Town & Country, is offering a prix fixe meal for both dine-in and to-go.
The price is $50 per person and includes a four-course meal: butternut squash arancini, Calabrian kale Caesar, lasagna verde alla Bolognese and tiramisu. There’s also a vegetarian version available. An optional $40 wine pairing can be added on.
The Valentine’s Day prix fixe meal deal is available Feb. 7-14. Dine-in reservations can be made online here. Curbside reservations can be made here.
KNEAD Bakehouse + Provisions
KNEAD is offering sharable cheesecakes for 1-2 people. Each order comes with one turtle and one chocolate strawberry rose cheesecake. Both desserts have a sourdough shortbread sugar cookie base. The cheesecakes cost $11.99 and are available for preorder on KNEAD’s website.
The Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis
The hotel has several options for a heartfelt weekend, including a special getaway and an indulgent culinary experience.
The Ritz-Carlton is offering a special prix fixe three-course dinner at The Lobby Lounge. It’s available Feb. 11, 12, and 14 from 5-10 p.m. and costs $70 per person. Reservations can be made by calling 314-863-6300.
rootberry
Have a chef-prepared meal ready in your kitchen without all the dishes to clean up afterward. Rootberry is a fairly new startup in the St. Louis area, offering plant-powered dinners and sides that are ready to heat and eat within minutes.
This Valentine’s Day, it’s offering the “rootberry romance” four-course dinner for two, which includes one sharable side, two salads, two entrees and one dessert. The bundle is available for $49.99 with free delivery straight to your door. Orders must be placed online by Feb. 9 for delivery on Friday, Sunday or Valentine’s Day.
Rudy’s Flower Truck and 1220 Spirits
How about a gift with floral aromas from both flowers and booze? 1220 Spirits has teamed up with Rudy’s Flower Truck for a Valentine’s Day bundle that’s perfect for the gin and tonic lover in your life.
The “lover’s libation gift pack” includes a bottle of 1220’s color-changing Morpho Gin, a five-stem Morpho-inspired bouquet from Rudy’s, two tonic glasses and two bottles of 1220 tonic.
Order online here for pickup Feb. 12 or 13 at 4 Hands Brewing Co.
Tempus
The doors will be open this Sunday and Monday at Tempus for dinner in The Grove. The menu will look similar, if not the same, to what they typically offer. What’s special is that Tempus is usually closed on Sundays and Mondays, but it’s firing up the kitchen to cook up special meals for the holiday.
Reservations can be made online here. All guests must show proof of vaccination or a negative result from a PCR COVID-19 test from within 72 hours of the scheduled reservation time.
Vicia
The James Beard Award-nominated restaurant is cooking up something special this Valentine’s Day weekend.
Vicia will offer an eight-course chef’s tasting menu for a romantic evening of feasting and sharing the love of food with the one(s) you love. It features six savory courses and two desserts, highlighting local, winter ingredients. Each guest also can toast with a glass of rose and a few other surprises.
The special menu will be available Feb. 11, 12 and 14. Cost is $170 per person. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination is required for all diners. Make reservations online here.
Volpi Foods
If meat and cheese is part of your valentine’s love language, Volpi Foods has a special for you.
The family-owned cured meats business is putting together a special charcuterie board for the holiday. The plate includes meats in the shape of roses, along with cheese, jam, chocolate and fruit. Boards are customizable and can be ordered from Volpi’s retail shop on The Hill until Friday, Feb. 11 by calling 314-446-7950. Volpi will be closed Sunday and Monday, as part of its regular business hours.
Whisk
The bakery on Cherokee Street has a couple options to sweeten up your Valentine’s Day, including a DIY dessert kit.
Whisk is offering custom “conversation hearts,” which are a cookie version of the tiny candies. Customers can place orders to have their own words written on the cookies in a variety of colors, or they can order a dozen cookies that have a mix of sweet and sassy sayings.
If you’re looking for a fun project to do with your sweetheart or a special person in your life, you can order a DIY sugar cookie box. It includes 12 blank-slate cookies, three royal icing colors and a variety of sprinkles.
Orders can be placed online now for pickup Feb. 10-14.
