Whether you’re dining with a lover or sharing space with loved ones, these Auckland restaurants will amplify your affections – think set menus and one-night-only desserts.
Bar Magda
Celebrations at Bar Magda are lavish this Valentine’s Day. The kitchen is set to serve a
five-course menu to guests, celebrating land and ocean. Choose between a glass of champagne or a cocktail concocted especially for the occasion. This dining room is otherworldly, and an ideal site for transporting someplace else for romantic date.
Address: 25b Cross St, Auckland Central
At San Ray on Ponsonby Rd, a chocolate tiramisu paired with mezcal cherries will be available for one night only. Photo / Babiche Martens
San Ray
For an especially summery celebration, visit Ponsonby Rd’s San Ray. Seasonal fare, including tomato and sweetcorn, will be served alongside fresh seafood and lamb, with their signature Californian-Mexican flavours. The dessert, a chocolate tiramisu paired with mezcal cherries, will be available for one night only.
Address: 118 Ponsonby Rd, Grey Lynn
You can expect a special evening at Blue in Ponsonby. Photo / Babiche Martens
Blue
Spend your evening under a string of lights or tucked away in low lighting, at Blue in Ponsonby. The team will cater to couples and lovers with a menu of the chef’s choice. You can expect Blue’s reliable celebrations of excellent seasonal cuisine from Aotearoa, as well as a glass of bubbles (included in your booking). Dietaries can be accommodated – just ensure to include them in your reservations.
Address: 1/1 Franklin Rd, Ponsonby
Esther’s usual high tea, pictured here, will receive an update for Valentine’s Day. Photo / QT
Esther
If dinner plans are done, invite whimsy into your afternoon. From 12.30pm to 2.30pm, Esther will host a High Tea, in collaboration with Baby Buck Baking’s Victoria Roebuck. You can expect both savoury and sweet bites designed by Roebuck, with the main draw being a twist on her beloved Baby Bruce cake (named for the defiant Bogtrotter in Roald Dahl’s Matilda). The limited-edition slice will be topped up with pistachio, inspired by Esther’s Mediterranean menu, and roam the dining room on a trolley. Gin and tonics will also roll around the room, or there’s the option to enjoy bottomless Prosecco. If you’re lucky, you might win the draw to go home with a full-size Baby Buck vintage-inspired cake.
Price: $89 per person or $109 including bottomless prosecco.
Later in the day (from 5.30pm onwards), Esther will also host a candlelit dinner. A sparkling cocktail will be served on arrival, and a three-course dinner will follow. The menu promises “sun-kissed” Mediterranean flavours.
Address: 4 Viaduct Harbour Ave, Auckland Central
Onslow’s dining room. Photo / Babiche Martens
Onslow
Onslow will welcome diners for Valentine’s Day celebration on Friday evening and for Saturday lunch and dinner, so their service might suit if your schedule is already busy. The kitchen will send out five courses for the celebration, after Champagne is poured on arrival. Highlights include a starter of heirloom tomatoes and nectarines and a dessert of Valrhona and dark chocolate crémeux (best shared).
Address: 9 Princes St, Auckland CBD
Perch at the bar or in a booth at Juno. Photo / Babiche Martens
Juno
This intimate dining room, tucked into the ground floor of Ponsonby’s The Greenhouse, will certainly amplify romance for your Saturday evening. On the set menu, you’ll find snapper crudo paired with seasonal produce, prawn toast and Juno’s coveted sticky date pudding. Champagne will also be poured on arrival.
Address: 20 Williamson Ave, Grey Lynn
The outdoor dining at Azabu, Mission Bay. Photo / Babiche Martens
Azabu
At Azabu’s Mission Bay location, you’ll find platters designed for two, consisting of ceviche, sashimi, tuna, hosomaki and more (with the kitchen’s usual Japanese-Peruvian palette). This will be in addition to the usual à la carte service, so you’ll be able to add more to your meal.
Address: 44 Tamaki Dr, Mission Bay
From 5pm in Ponsonby, Azabu has a special set menu. The kitchen is promising its best dishes, paired with bubbles and cocktails in a setting designed for two.
Address: 26 Ponsonby Rd, Grey Lynn
Grab a booth at Bistro Saine. Photo / Babiche Martens
Bistro Saine
It was awarded best new restaurant in Viva’s Top 50 Restaurants for 2025, and the French-inspired bistro will showcase its talents this Valentine’s Day with a set menu, including oysters, confit stone fruit, chicken liver parfait and creme brulee.
Address: 51 Albert St, Auckland Central
Pici’s cacio e pepe. Photo / Sylvie Whinray.
Pici
Karangahape Rd’s cosiest Italian dining room is inviting both dates and mates for a five-course dinner. Plenty of Pici favourites are included on the set menu – think focaccia, cacio e pepe and tiramisu. There’s a wine pairing available, but everyone will be served a rosé to start (unless you clarify a non-alcoholic preference).
Address: Shop 22, St Kevin’s Arcade, 183 Karangahape Rd, Auckland Central
Cazador’s dining room. Photo / Emily Raftery
Cazador
Dominion Rd’s Cazador will open its doors early at 4pm for the occasion, with a six-course menu that includes cheese before dessert. You can also expect a chilled tomato gazpacho, crab rillette, trevalli crudo, aged grilled duck breast and a fig custard tart.
Address: 854 Dominion Rd, Mount Eden
Gilt’s dining room will open for two romantic nights of service. Photo / Babiche Martens
Gilt Brasserie
If you don’t want to stray too far from the city centre, consider Gilt’s four-course set menu. It is designed to share, so you’ll be leaning in over plates of calamari, kingfish tartare and pomme frites. For dessert, choose between Paris-Brest and chocolate mousse. On Friday, you could opt for à la carte instead (but the set menu is still available). Saturday will be more romantic, with a dining room lit by candlelight.
Address: 2 Chancery St, Chambers, Auckland Central
Ada restaurant in the Convent Hotel. Photo / Babiche Martens
Ada
It’s one of the most exciting dining rooms in the city and expectations are high for these celebrations. House-baked focaccia with truffle butter, ceviche, scotch BBQ anticuchera and a chocolate finish – Ada will put on a show for couples this Valentine’s Day. Vegetarian options are also available, and the kitchen promises “plenty more to discover throughout dinner.”
Address: 454 Great North Rd, Grey Lynn
Find a table at Duo in Birkenhead. Photo / Alex Burton
Duo
Duo’s meticulous set menu will take a tour of summer on land and in the oceans. There’s plenty of seafood offered by the kitchen for this special evening, from oysters to caviar, crayfish and crab. Dessert will suit chocolate lovers: a dark chocolate delice served with crème fraîche.
Address: 138 Hinemoa St, Birkenhead
Forest
Plant-based restaurant Forest is changing pace throughout February, with a pivot that accommodates Valentine’s Day dining. Chef Plabita Florence will turn her inventive eye towards ice cream, with the Dominion Rd digs temporarily transformed into Forest Scoops – right now, you’ll find flavours including plum and shiso sorbet, sesame halva and apricot and marshmallow sticky rice. Alongside the house-made ice cream, there are cocktails and salty sides (think crudités and pickles, and their coveted seaweed-dusted fries). Add a drop in after dinner.
Address: 243 Dominion Rd, Mount Eden
Meet a loved one at Mama. Photo / Babiche Martens
Mama
Italian restaurant Mama will serve three courses, with every dish nodding to the best produce of the season. There are smoky tomatoes, a tangelo vinegar, eggplants and a grilled peach salad to be enjoyed throughout the evening – which delivers chocolate with sour cherries for the dessert. You can add wine pairings and a serving of oysters, or request a vegetarian menu if that’s preferred.
Price: $65 per person, with a wine match available for an additional $55.
Address: Osborne Lane, 3B York Stt, Newmarket
Te Pō Hono
Auckland Zoo is inviting diners to enjoy a three-course meal in the Old Elephant House this Valentine’s Day. For your evening amongst the animal kingdom, you can expect oysters, burratina and beef short rib, with an alternative menu that caters to vegans.
Address: Motions Rd, Western Springs
Cosy up in Ooh Fa’s dining room. Photo / Babiche Martens
Ooh-Fa
Heirloom tomatoes, pies with fennel sausage and buffalo mozzarella and mascarpone ice cream with apricot are on the menu. The five-course menu is especially designed for Valentine’s Day and will run for one night only. A bubbly Albariño Pet Nat will begin the night. Include dietary requirements in your booking (non-alcoholic preferences included).
Address: 357 Dominion Rd, Mt Eden
Tempero will offer a one night only menu. Photo / Babiche Martens
Tempero
Latin restaurant Tempero will serve four courses for one night only on Valentine’s Day. The menu includes ceviche, whitebait, flautas with lamb and chocolate mousse (though dietaries can be accommodated if mentioned at the time of booking). Various beverages will also be paired with the meal, so consider this restaurant for a little more revelry.
Address: 352 Karangahape Rd, Auckland Central
The Wine Room in College Hill. Photo / Babiche Martens
The Wine Room
There will be a Parisian influence in the kitchen and dining room for this occasion, with a set menu led by head chef Ryan Moore. As always, The Wine Room will place an emphasis on the tipples, with a glass of Champagne on arrival and an optional list of wine pairings.
Price: $199 per person ($75 per person for wine pairing)
Address: 2/43 College Hill, Freemans Bay
The private dining room at The French Cafe.
The French Cafe
The French Cafe will usher diners in with a glass of Champagne, before serving up a four-course tasting menu. The kitchen has just switched up its menu, so experimentation and inventive flavours can be expected. All sorts of dietaries can be accommodated – let the kitchen know with your booking.
Address: 210 Symonds St, Eden Terrace
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