Valentine's Day in London: the best events and deals

Dreaded Valentine’s Day is imminent. For Londoners who have yet to make arrangements Telegraph Travel is here to help. Below we’ve listed attractions in the capital that have made a special effort to celebrate (or cash in on) the occasion, as well as restaurants and bars throughout the city that are offering specially themed menus. If escaping the crowds is preferable, our guide to last-minute Valentine’s Day holidays includes conventional romantic options and more intrepid trips such as an ice-driving adventure in northern Sweden.

A reliable setting for a romantic dinner at any time of the year, French restaurant Galvin at Windows offers Michelin-starred French cuisine, an imposing panorama from the city from its perch on the 28th floor of the Park Lane Hilton hotel and, for those interested in such things, a potential celebrity sighting in the form of its manager Fred Sirieix, now better known as the maitre d’ at the First Dates restaurant and First Dates Hotel.

Starting for one week from Friday February 10, the restaurant will serve a set Valentine’s lunch menu (£35 for three courses) featuring the likes of salmon with chilli, lentils and watercress, and banana millefeuile with salted caramel and chocolate. Its menu prestige, meanwhile, will be enhanced for the week (it’s £79 for three courses) and on February 14 a special Valentine’s Day menu will be served. Priced at £99 for three courses it features Balmoral venison with game pie and pancetta, and raw Orkney scallops with caviar and lime. (And should the setting appeal but the menu not cater to your tastes, you could always visit one of London’s many other rooftop restaurants instead.)

Mayfair’s exuberant Sexy Fish will take on an even more playful air this Valentine’s Day. On Saturday February 11, Sunday February 12 and Tuesday February 14, the team will be in celebratory mood and the restaurant dressed for the occasion - expect the building to be covered in neon, filled with balloons and home to a DJ who will play until 2am. Diners who deviate from the a la carte will also have the option of ordering from a six-course tasting menu (£110 per person), which includes the likes of oysters with myoga and shiso, and beef tartare with ume and truffle. Couples who order that menu on the Tuesday will also be gifted “a sexy Coco de Mer goody bag filled with cheeky treats to take home, which is guaranteed to set the mood”.

Also Caprice Group restaurants, The Rivington restaurants in Shoreditchand Greenwichwill celebrate the occasion in more humble fashion. Their three-course menu costs £38 in Shoreditch or £38.50 in Greenwich - why bother with the extra 50p? - and includes scotch duck hearts with sautéed spinach and diablos sauce, alongside poached pear with chocolate.

Mayfair Indian restaurant Jamavar’s five-course tasting menu (£45 vegetarian; £50 non-vegetarian) offers a trio of crab and tandoori scallops, signature dish Malai stone bass with avocado chutney, and rhubarb falooda.

On offer at the Conrad London St. James hotel, the Love Knot afternoon tea invites guests to pick a gift from a jewellery menu while indulging in the expected staples. The jewellery on offer has been selected by jewellers Storey by Storey and Regency Jewels and includes a Love Knot bracelet for £85, earrings for £230 and a diamond necklace for £20,000. The tea itself is £59 if served with free-flowing champagne, or £39 without. The tea is available from February 9 to 16. And if that doesn’t quite take your fancy you can search for alternatives via our guide to London’s best afternoon teas.

In Knightsbridge, Tom Sellers’ Restaurant Ours has created a special four-course Valentine’s Day menu featuring langoustine tortellini, lamb rack with aubergine and black olive, and chocolate fondant with ginger and pecan. It costs £60 per person.

Grain Store in King’s Cross is counting on couples having very similar tastes: its Valentine’s Day menu is designed for them to share. It features a whole seabass stuffed with lobster mousse, twice-baked cheese soufflé with truffle and apple tart tatin with cinnamon ice cream. It costs £80.

The Zetter Townhouse in Clerkenwell is taking a different approach by catering instead to groups of friends or couples who have broadened their horizons. Its ‘Ménage a trois’ menu, available on Valentine’s Day, will offer groups of three one complimentary cocktail for every two ordered.

And in the City, South Place Chop House at the South Place Hotel has put in place a similar offer. On Valentine’s Day, diners on tables of three or more will be treated to a complimentary cocktail each. For something more formal (and romantically minded), the hotel’s Michelin-starred Angler restaurant is offering a six-course tasting menu for £100. It is available on the 11th, 13th and 14th of February - couples keen to dine there might like instead to avail of the hotel’s Valentine’s overnight package. A one-night B&B stay with dinner in the restaurant, hand-made chocolates, champagne and in-room ‘love kit’ costs from £475; it’s available on February 10th, 11th, 14th, 17th and 18th.

If dinner sounds good but eating out doesn’t appeal, La Belle Assiette can arrange for a chef to cook a meal in your home. Costing from £70 per person, menus cover all manners of cuisine and there are over 100 London-based chefs to choose from. They also take responsibility for doing the food shop, serving everything up and sorting out the cleaning afterwards - and a free bouquet of flowers will also be gifted to those who book the service for Valentine’s Day.

By Piccadilly Circus, Hotel Café Royal’s Akasha Wellbeing spa is hosting London’s first Aquatic Healing Retreat in its watsu pool, offering what it calls “a creative approach towards movement and wellbeing for couples”.They will be taught how to tune into the rhythm of their bodies through a treatment that might, dependent on their needs, incorporate massage, yoga-like stretching and other therapies. The treatment is available until December 31 and costs £660 per couple.

At Barts bar in Chelsea, the team has joined forces with chocolatiers Rococo to host a chocolate cocktail masterclass at 6pm on Saturday February 11. Guests will have the opportunity to make three distinct chocolate-infused cocktails, with the session costing £40.

If you want to make a grand gesture (or make amends for a major digression), you can arrange for a private cruise for two along the Thames on Valentine’s Day. Costing £949, the experience invites couples to take exclusive use of a Citycruises heritage river boat. A four-course dinner will be served as they float along the Thames and a musician will be on board to serenade the duo as they take in the sights (though if that sounds a bit much you could presumably ask them to remain ashore). For less extravagant river cruises, the company also offers speedboat rides along the Thames (at £155 per couple) and two-hour group Valentine’s Day cruises priced at £78 per couple.

You could also admire the city from the London Eye on the South Bank. Its “champagne experience” rotation includes a glass of Pommery white its mawkishly titled “Cupid’s Capsule” package allows couples to book a capsule for their exclusive use. Costing £380, it also includes a bottle of champagne and box of chocolates. Both offers are available from February 10 to 19.

For an alternative Valentine’s night out, Junkyard Golf Club in Brick Lane offers crazy golf, various bars and street food - and a feel-good reason to visit. On the night itself, all ticket revenue taken for games of crazy golf will be donated to Love Support Unite, a charity that supports education projects in Malawi. Games cost £9.50 per person.