Here’s Where to Make Dinner Reservations This Valentine’s Day in Orange County
Hearing the phrase “Valentine’s Day” can either stir up a smile or a pang of anxiousness—especially if you don’t have your plans sorted out. But don’t fret! If you need a little inspiration for how to make your sweetheart’s day, we’ve got you covered. Whether it’s your first V-Day together or you’re celebrating a romance that’s lasted a few decades, these OC-based Mexican restaurants are perfect for a Valentine’s Day dinner with your other half.
Easy Breezy
What: Five-course prix fixe dinner or the Bubbles and Ocean Blues Experience
Where: Las Brisas
Pricing: $135 per person (prix fixe dinner); $750 per couple (Bubbles and Ocean Blues)
Begin your meal with an amuse of a champagne toast and a gazpacho shooter, followed by the first course with your choice of a corn mousse, black bean and mango or spicy tuna tostada. For the second course, you and your sweetie can choose one of three options: a winter salad, tortilla soup or a beet and goat cheese salad. Then for the third course, choose among the shellfish veracruz, scallops and the Mediterranean branzino. Entree options include grilled lamb chops, a butternut squash tamale and a filet of beef. To finish the meal with something decadent, enjoy a dessert course with a choice of a flan, tres leches cake or a chocolate swirl cheesecake.
Want to kick it up a notch? You can upgrade your experience with Las Brisas’ Bubbles and Ocean Blues package. With this package, you can enjoy the chef’s prix fixe menu with a guaranteed ocean view, one chilled 750 ml bottle of Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque and two keepsake floral Perrier-Jouët champagne flutes.
Las Brisas will be offering the prix fixe menu from Feb. 11-14 (in addition to the regular dinner menu through Feb. 13). The prix fixe menu will be the only available dinner menu on Feb. 14.
Location: Laguna Beach
Dine With Your Sweetheart
What: Three-Course Sweetheart Menu for Two
Where: El Torito
Pricing: $55
For a fun and filling evening, we suggest going with El Torito’s Special Three-Course Menu for Two, which lets you choose from an array of delicious Mexican dishes to customize a truly tasty Valentine’s Day dinner. Choose between a Mexican Caesar salad or housemade tortilla soup for a starter, then for your entree, your options are flame-grilled chicken or steak fajitas, tacos vampiros, a fajitas duo or the Macho Combo (a platter with El Torito’s four most popular items: a pasilla chile relleno, a chicken and sour cream enchilada, a beef barbacoa taco and a chicken tamale). Then for dessert, share a plate of sopapillas, cinnamon-crisp cheesecake, deep-fried ice cream or El Torito’s signature Mudd Pie.
This special menu will be available from Feb. 10-14, so be sure to get those reservations in soon!
Locations: Anaheim, Dana Point, Irvine, Laguna Hills, Orange, Tustin, Westminster, Yorba Linda and Cypress
Heart and SOL
What: Participate in the #FoodisLove campaign
Where: SOL Mexican Cocina
Pricing: No set price
This year, treat your date to the taste of Baja and plenty of tequila at SOL Mexican Cocina. Want to impress your Valentine? We recommend ordering the grilled Wagyu steak, served with avocado, tomatillo salsa and cebollitas, and pair it with a frozé or a tableside margarita del SOL. And since Valentine’s Day this year lands on a Tuesday, we certainly suggest partaking in SOL’s Taco and Tequila Tuesday for special prices on food and drinks (available after 3 p.m. at both OC locations).
Pay some sweetness forward by ordering SOL Mexican Cocina’s Rosca de Churro for dessert—a dish the restaurant has selected as a part of the #FoodisLove campaign. As a part of the charity initiative, proceeds from purchasing the dessert will benefit St. Vincent Meals on Wheels.
Locations: Irvine, Newport Beach
Born and raised near the Pacific Coast, Jordan Nishkian is a California girl through and through. She graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a BA in Creative Writing and a BA in Anthropology, and her favorite place to be is curled up in a comfy chair with a book in her hand and a pen in her hair.
