Valentine’s Day, a day of love and fun. A day celebrated with delectable food, drinks, gifts and both romantic and adventurous dates. Make your Valentine’s Day special, unique and memorable!
Dining Spots for Valentine’s Day:
There is no shortage of delicious restaurants and cozy dining spots for your Valentine’s Day dinner (or lunch). Here are 3 of our favorites:
Marker 32
Ambiance: Immerse yourselves in the intimate waterfront setting of Marker 32. Opened in 1992, it has remained a local favorite for special events and date nights for a reason. Here each table is softly illuminated by candlelight, with a view overlooking the intracoastal, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere.
Menu Favorites
- Fried Green Tomatoes: Begin with delicious and perfectly fried green tomatoes for the table.
- Oysters: Marker 32’s oysters are always huge, fresh, and deliciously salty.
- Seared Scallops: Plump and savory, we always order scallops. Either as a starter or for your main course, they won’t disappoint.
- Maine Course: Blue crab cakes, wood grilled salmon and the bone-in pork chop are some of our favorites. They even offer a wonderful kids’ menu, if you plan to make your Valentine’s Day an evening for the whole family! Our oldest loves their steak tips.
- Wine Pairing: You also get to choose from an extensive wine list, to accompany both your surf or your turf. Ask your waiter or waitress for recommendations on pairings.
- Dessert: Conclude the evening with a decadent dessert. Two of our favorites are cheesecake and peanut butter pudding. This brings a sweet end to a memorable Valentine’s Day meal at Marker 32.
Mavi
Situated along the marina, Mavi offers you a beautiful sunset view this Valentine’s Day. As the sun sets, the sky transforms into a canvas of colors where you can capture the best pictures before your Valentine’s Day dinner. Mavi has a much more casual vibe if you’re looking for something laid back. They offer live music most evenings and their atmosphere is more beachy-bar, than high class romance. But it’s still one of our favorites.
- Cocktails: Mavi has a great, large outdoor bar that we love to sit at and have a drink. They also can make you just about any cocktail you’d like.
- Seafood Specialties: We love their crispy calamari, mussels and fish sandwich. Ask your server what’s fresh that day!
- Entrees: Stuffed flounder, salmon and ribs are some of our favorites, depending on what fresh catch they have in that day.
- Desserts: Their house made baklava and carrot cake are both absolutely mouthwatering.
- Kid Friendly: This is a perfect place to bring the kiddos, we often walk up and down looking at the boats and yachts while we wait for our meal. There is also a small hangout area next door where you can play games or relax watching the sunset before or after your meal. The kids love the fried shrimp and burgers.
River & Post
With a rooftop featuring panoramic Jacksonville views, River & Post gives you not only delightful cocktails and tasty bites, but a date-worthy view.
- Brunch: Each Saturday & Sunday, you can find the most mouth-watering brunch menu at River & Post. Famous for their chicken and waffles and deadly Bloody Mary, it’s a brunch your date will surely enjoy. They even make a vegan version of their chicken and waffles that is a tasty treat for non-meat eaters!
- Rooftop menu: I highly recommend sitting on the rooftop before or after your dinner, the views are amazing and the bar drinks, bountiful. They feature a lighter menu for rooftop dining. We typically enjoy some cocktails and share their blue cheese chips, pretzel (with 3 mustards), nachos, or a flat bread.
- Lunch or Dinner: For a full meal, you’ll dine inside and enjoy one of their deliciously savory main courses, or a decadent dessert. For lunch we love vegan burgers or tacos and for dinner, some of our favorites are the crab cakes, dynamite shrimp, and bouillabaisse. YUM!
- Cocktails: River & Post has some amazing cocktails, our favorite is the Summit, featuring Titos, elderflower, blueberry syrup and lemon soda. Refreshing, light and delicious.
Creative Date Night Ideas for Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to elevate your date night. Here are some creatively romantic date ideas that go beyond the dinner table.
Beach Walk & Cocktails
One of our favorite things to do is stroll along the beach for a little romance. Stop and stick your toes in the ocean, look for beautiful shells, hold hands and enjoy the ocean breeze.
- Set the Scene: Whether you choose Hannah Park, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach or Jacksonville Beach, you can’t go wrong. Pack a little bag with some refreshments for your beach walk. Cheers to love!
- Lemon Bar: After your beach stroll and before your fancy meal, enjoy one of the many beachside establishments for a refreshing cocktail and/or appetizer. Our number one spot is Lemon Bar. Steps from the sand, they are one of the only beach front completely outdoor bars (as in- walk right out onto the sand). They have tons of special events like silent disco, live music, etc. So be sure to check out their website.
Blue Springs
- Get Away: This Valentine’s Day have an even bigger adventure and get out of town! Take your significant other (or family) to see the hundreds of manatees gathered in Blue Springs during the winter months. It’s a majestic sight and one you’re sure to remember for a long time.
- Kayak: Blue Springs also offers picnic areas, kayaks and boat rides. You’ll need to call ahead for availability. You can even make reservations ahead of time for a boat tour. Arrive early! People come from all over to see the manatees and the park frequently fills to capacity.
- Stay in nearby New Smyrna Beach: About 40 minutes away from Blue Springs (and an hour and 40 minutes from Jacksonville), the busy little beach town of New Smyrna Beach is a wonderful place to stay after your day trip to Blue Springs. Their popular Flagler Avenue is filled with lively restaurants and adorable shops that run right into the beach, where you can drive your car right onto the sand!
Roller Skating
Take your person skating: If you want to have some fun, feel a little goofy and let loose, a skating date can be an absolute blast. And our favorite skating spot in Jax is Skate City. They host adults only nights too, so be sure to check their schedule ahead of time (to avoid crowds of kids). We really enjoy going on Sundays and I believe they have adults only nights every Sunday. Check them out!
- Gear: You can bring your own skate or roller blades, but you certainly don’t have to- they have plenty of skates to rent. I do recommend bringing some water and a comfy change of shoes for when you’re done- you’ll work up a thirst!
- Food: If you want to really go for it and indulge in all the deliciously naughty foods- they have it all. From cotton candy, pizza and wings to churros and funnel cakes, they have all the carnival comfort foods. Or finish your skating date with a hop, skip and a jump over to downtown or riverside for some more upscale dining options.
Galentine’s Day
- Galentine’s Day Bars: No significant other? No problem! There are plenty of themed bars just for girlfriends to enjoy the day of love together. Our favorite bar that features an adorable pop up is Grey Matter Distillery, which tuns into PINK Matter Distillery during the month of February.
- Girls Beach Day: You can never go wrong with a beach day with friends! Complete your Galentine’s beach day with some cocktails at Lemon Bar, or a yummy dinner and shopping at Beaches Town Center.
- Charcuterie & Friends: If you prefer a more low-key (giggly) night in, might I suggest hiring Char Above the Bar to (literally) cater to your Galentine’s Day needs and create a drool-worthy grazing table. Seriously, their spreads are Amazing.
Romance With Sublime Rides
I couldn’t possibly finish this blog post without also encouraging you to book your private sunset boat charter with us or gift your loved one with a gift certificate for a future sunset cruise. Boating not your thing? Weird, but okay- how about renting a street legal golf cart to cruise around on with your significant other (or entire family!) while hitting some of the beach spots mentioned above? Book your ride, whatever that may be, and make this Valentine’s Day the most memorable one so far!
