14 Valentine’s Day ideas in London that don’t suck
It’s Valentine’s Day again, which is either lovely news, or a terrible reminder of a day that can feel incredibly cringey. Whether you’re planning on being with a partner or running away from all the noise with some friends, here are some Valentine’s Day ideas for things to do in London that don’t suck
No cocktails named after beds of roses, no ‘just the two of us’ packages in Maldives, no personalised bottles of fizz. We’ve got your back with this list of 14 good value, high quality, non-cheesy things to do in London for Valentine’s Day, whether you’re celebrating or not.
Go for a British dinner with Caribbean influences
British and Caribbean flavours aren’t often thought of together, but one London restaurant is combining the two for a special Valentine’s Day menu. The Fenchurch Restaurant in the City is offering a six-course dinner with a glass of champagne to start. Dishes are unusual and intriguing, like oyster with blood orange and cucumber; pumpkin cappuccino; taco and smoked duck, and mains of Cornish crab; Lumina lamb and Wagyu beef. £165 per person, on 14 February only. 1 Sky Garden Walk, London, EC3M 8AF.
Listen to music high up
Alright, rooftop restaurants are a bit of a Valentine’s Day cliche, but if they’re done well we’ll give them a free pass, as everyone loves a rooftop. Bōkan on the 38th floor of a Canary Wharf skyscraper boasts floor-to-ceiling windows to admire the view, and there are less of the bridge-and-tunnel crowd you’ll find at other rooftop spots. For Valentine’s Day they’re offering a five-course modern European dinner with a glass of champagne and live music throughout the night. From £150 per person, 14 February only. 40 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9TP.
Hear some live violin alongside some DJing
Saxophones are often paired with DJs, but violins and pumping bass is a more intriguing prospect. Bocconcino Soho, the Italian restaurant in the West End, is gearing up for a Valentine’s Day feast with live musical accompaniments. Expect truffle burrata, braised Osso Buco with creamy polenta and gremolata, and baked celeriac with truffle beurre blanc and pickled vegetables. From £85pp, 14 February only. 59 Great Marlborough Street, London, W1F 7JY .
Read more: Valentine’s Day isn’t a cause for celebration if you’ve been catfished by a fraudster
Savour the romance of train travel
…By not getting on a train, but having a lovely dinner near a train station. Hear us out… The Great Northern Hotel at King’s Cross St Pancras captures the spirit of the golden age of train travel, and especially on Valentine’s Day when there is a live jazz accompaniment to modern British dishes, such as lobster thermidor tart and grilled fillet steak. A glass of Simpsons Canterbury sparkling rosé is included complementary. From £69 per person, 14 February only. Pancras Road, London, N1C 4TB
Go to Asia, by way of the home counties
Sopwell House, the country pile turned luxury hotel in Hertfordshire, is hosting a pan-Asian evening for Valentine’s Day. Expect lobster dumplings, soy honey glazed cod, chicken with Chinkiang vinegar, and ‘Buddha’s Delight,’ a traditional Asian dish with glass noodles, sugar snap peas, shiitake mushrooms, cloud ear, lotus root and lily bulb. They’re throwing in a comped glass of champagne too, which seems to be an en vogue move this year. £98 per person, 10 and 14 February. Cottonmill Lane, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL1 2HQ.
Go and be cute together
Somerset House is hosting an exhibition about the cultural artefacts that have derived from the word ‘cute’, which sounds, erm, pretty cute. The image being used to promote the exhibition is a CGI cat dressed in a rainbow and wearing a little party hat, to give you an idea of the type of cuteness lying within. Throughout February, Strand, London WC2R 1LA.
See a brilliant queer show
You may have seen Afterglow all over Instagram, with its evocative poster of two guys entangled within one another. This piece of writing by the US playwright S. Asher Gelman has already played in New York, Madrid, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, and Mexico City, and returns to London following sellout runs in 2019. It is a “sensual exploration” of monogamy, polyamory and “modern love.” Perfect, not at all awkward, conversation fodder for Valentine’s Day, then. Throughout February, 77-85 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BD.
Read more: Record price rises force Brits to change Valentine’s day plans and cut back on dating
Or see the queen of sex herself, live on stage
Sarah Jessica Parker is as New York as a streetside bagel, and yet here she is, sunning herself under the bright lights of London’s West End. The Carrie Bradshaw actor is making her London theatre debut in Plaza Suite, where she plays three separate women who all end up in the same hotel room. It’s exciting that London gets ownership of the ultimate New York icon for a while, and tickets are still available for 14 February. From £95. Savoy Ct, Strand, London WC2R 0ET.
Stay at the most romantic spot in town
The Old War Office on Whitehall is the London hotel opening of the decade. A Raffles property, the building, with all of the luxurious mod-cons of a five-star hotel, has taken over the former governmental rooms where the highest level meetings would take place about Britain’s war effort. Yes, it was here where Winston Churchill decided that Britain should go to war. How about laying your head in that former meeting room for the night? Churchill’s ghost is friendly, we promise. Whitehall, London SW1A 2EU.
Visit the UK’s most romantic destination
Nope, it’s not Bath: Keighley in West Yorkshire has been voted Britain’s most romantic place to go for a staycation. Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Emily and Downton Abbey have all been shot in the market town, which has visitable historic attractions including Cliffe Castle, Dalton Mills and the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway. Tour Scanner analysed Imdb to find out where the most romantic films were shot, then calculated the percentage of romance films compared to the total number of films from each destination.
Go to London’s most amazing new cultural centre
The freshly refurbished National Portrait Gallery is a romantic proposition without even trying: with a bold new Tracey Emin work etched into the metal doors as you enter and a huge new entrance with statues of historic females greeting you, it is a Portrait Gallery for the 21st century. Goodbye to the pokey little entrance door on Charing Cross Road. We particularly like how Victorian paintings and photography have been displayed next to each other to acknowledge how both art forms existed at the same time. Forward thinking, if you ask us. St. Martin’s Pl, London WC2H 0HE.
See a very sexy new movie
Forget Saltburn, Poor Things is the sexy, proactive film to catch this Valentine’s Day. It stars Emma Stone in some very (very) raunchy scenes you’ve probably already read about, but if not, the 101 Dalmatians actor plays a young woman who meets a lawyer and embarks on an epic journey across the continents. Stone puts in one of the turns of her career.