Spontaneity can be a good thing, but on Valentines it will screw you. Finding a romantic table at a cool restaurant is nearly impossible. Forgetful you may be, but well connected you are: we found five of the most romantic places in town, all with reservations open for you and yours.
Poole’s Diner
Phone: 919 832-4477
Christensen’s meal promises to be exquisite, and it’s extremely reasonable:
Vivace
Phone: 919 787-7747
Food $45 / $75 with Wine Pairings
piccolo
l’olio cucinato il tonno- oil-poached tuna, pecorino tuile
dapprimi
minestra di patata- truffled potato soup
bruschetta- sweet potato, grilled ciabatt, pinenut crema, fried rosemary
insalata- radicchio, endive, fennel, blood oranges, roasted walnut vinaigrette
risotto- carolina shrimp, melted tomatoes, spinach, asiago fondue
secondi
papardelle- housemade pasta, braised pork belly , crispy sweetbreads, french horn mushrooms, cipollini
pollo premuto- pressed chicken breast, gnocchi, brussels sprouts, celeriac
la padella ha bruciato il triggerfish- carolina triggerfish, artichoke ravioli, crab brown-butter vinaigrette, mache salad
la bistecca di gruccia cotta ai ferri- grilled hanger steak, herbed polenta, swiss chard, mushroom ragu
dolce
torta di amore per due- amaretto chocolate torte for two
South
Phone: 919 789-0606
Food $45 / $75 with Wine Pairings
amuse
champagne tomato consomme
first course
creamy asparagus soup- lavender creme fraiche, fried leeks
pickled hearts of palm salad- baby arugula, housemade farmer’s cheese, grapefruit
grilled georgia quail- bbq vinaigrette, allen bros. grits
fried green tomatoes- crab salad, grilled lemon aioli
main course
slow braised lamb shank- smoked tomato orzo, turnip greens
seared sea scallops- orange marmalade, sweet potato mash, caramelized onions
wild mushroom “dirty rice"- pee dee river rice, chili, scallion, okra, asparagus
cliff’s market roasted chicken- goat cheese bread pudding, cauliflower maque choux, madeira pan gravy
(bone-in ribeye for two will be verbally featured at $55 per person)
dessert
chocolate fondue for two
Zely & Ritz
919-828-0018
$45 per person
First Course
Joe Thompson’s Prawn Ceviche with Meyer Lemons
Organic Mixed Green Salad with Candied Pecans, Dried Fruit and Blood Orange Vinaigrette
Chapel Hill Creamery Farmer’s Cheese Wrapped in Puff Pastry with Baked Apples
Hearty Beef & Beer Brisket Soup
Second Course
Harris Robinette Grass Fed, Pasture Raised Ribeye with Creamy Edamame Risotto and Chimichurri Sauce
Pan Seared Red Snapper with Herb Roasted Yukon Gold Potatoes & Shiitake Mushroom Sauce
Emerald Farms Rack of Lamb with Creamy Rosemary Mashed Potatoes, Wilted Greens & Roasted Garlic & Shallot Sauce
Poached Maine Lobster with Sweet Carrots, Rutabaga, & Pumpkin Ragout with Sweet Butter Vanilla Sauce
Third Course
Lay Me Down Chocolate Truffle Cake, Raspberry Panna Cotta,
Chocolate& Caramel Cookie Sandwich Dipped in Dark Chocolate
Served with Two Complementary Glasses of Bubbly
Frazier’s
Phone: 919 828-6699
Food $65 / $95 with Wine Pairings
first course
Citrus-Braised Endive, Elodie Farms Local Goat Cheese, Pickled Beets, Mache
Grilled Breast of Quail over Warm Spinach, “Toad in the Hole” Crouton, Bacon Lardons, Spicy Frozen Grapes
Herbed Ricotta Cheese & Bosc Pear Agnolotti, Roasted Spaghetti Squash, San Marzano Tomato Marmalade, Pancetta Chips & Chervil Buerre Monte
Smoked Salmon & Yukon Gold Potato Blini with Dill-Lemon Butter, Red Onion Creme Fraiche, Poached Duck Egg, Baby Arugula
entrees
Seared Alaskan Halibut, Confit of Purple Potatoes, Melted Radicchio, Yellow Pepper Emulsion
Cylinder of Seared Tuna on Wilted Leeks, Red Lentils, Cripsy Maitake, Nicoise Olive Buerre Rouge
Roasted Squab Breast on Celery Root Puree, Confit of Leg “Package”, Red Pearl Onions, Celery Branch Salad, Roasted Onion Truffle Jus
Butter Vanilla Poached 2 lb. Lobster on Mascarpone Thyme Polenta, Blood Orange Pinwheels, Frisee Salad, Citrus Reduction ($7 Supplement)
Grilled Filet of Beef, Truffled Pomme Puree, Crispy Salsify, Hon Shimejis, Bordelaise
dessert quartet
Wild Strawberry Purse,Passionfruit Sorbet & Cream Soda Float, Milk Chocolate Pearls with Baby Banana Gratin, Dark Chocolate Crema & Spicy Cinnamon-Macadamia Toffee