Romantic dinner spots
Need to spoil a loved one, want to make a more serious commitment, or just want to celebrate a second date. Here are some romantic dinner spots to try out for Valentine’s Day or year round.
Luxembourg City
Le Sud or Bick Stuff – the full monty
For that tête à tête meal where privacy is paramount for what you have to say, head to Le Sud, with its almost theatre-like atmosphere. The Valentine’s Day menu created by chef Cyril Solbes starts with oysters and truffles, followed by scallops and lobster, and pigeon fillet in an orange crust with foie gras. If the food doesn’t wow your significant other, then the price tag of €130 per person will.
Bick Stuff in Clausen is also small, with an intimate setting. The Valentine menu has a savoury truffle crème brûlée, scallops and roast duck with five courses coming in at just €70.
Mu Luxembourg or SixSeven – the view
Mu Luxembourg will leave your date speechless as they take in the stunning views at this restaurant in the Sofitel Luxembourg Le Grand Ducal. Choose from steak, grilled octopus or fresh tuna. Everything is sourced locally in Luxembourg even if the menu is quite limited, and the tables for two are spaced far apart to give you some privacy.
SixSeven seemed to take an interminable time to open, but you can get a window seat for the views now. White table-cloths and a somewhat sterile decor in the main restaurant, the bistro has a more laid back feel. Oysters, crab, foie gras and truffle grace the tapas menu, ceviche and tartare the starters, and octopus and ribeye steak the mains. You can get the latter for two to share.
The five-course valentine's day menu includes caviar, foie gras, veal, lobster, but comes at an eye-watering €333 or €500 with wine pairings.
Le Bouquet Garni or Bonds – cosy
Stone walls and a roaring fire make Le Bouquet Garni not just romantic but cosy. Set in an 18th century house opposite the Grand Ducal Palace, chef Johan Félicès has created a great seasonal gourmand menu for €74 that includes lobster bisque, scallops, veal, and Caribbean chocolate lava cake. The Valentine's Day menu includes foie gras, seared scallops, veal tenderloin and chocolate tart, and costs €98.
A fairly new alternative, Bonds Urban Food Bistro has a stylish but cosy feel with exposed stonework and graffiti, and velvet seating. Here you can try oysters, lentils in truffle cream with mushrooms, caviar, Japanese beef, octopus and sea bass, plus Eugenio's rice pudding or a slice of carrot cake with ginger ganache.
La Mirabelle – intimate
Caviar, foie gras, steaks and scallops await you at this establishment with wooden floors, dark walls and spaced out tables. The Valentine's menu includes turbot and veal, and will set you back €95. Sister restaurant Le Bistro du Sommelier also has a Valentine's menu.
La Cristallerie/Plëss – Michelin-starred
A special anniversary or celebration? Then Michelin-starred La Cristallerie is the place to take your partner. The "Experience" four-course menu will cost you €148, but you’ll get sea bream, foie gras, Iberian pork and oysters, and a chocolate dessert. If that is just too much money, even for your sweetheart, head to sister restaurant Plëss, only slightly cheaper, with fried foie gras and caviar on its €110 Valentine's menu.
Le Fin Gourmand – home from home
This Hollerich-based bistro has a cosy, homely feel, with wooden floors, dark leather or velvet chairs, and blinds. The menu blend flavours and offers a selection of wine, in addition to vegan options. You can try the ceviche, or croquettes, steak tartare and magret de canard, plus veal cooked in Hungarian paprika with mushrooms.
Sister restaurant La Table d'Epicerie in Mondercange has a similar a la carte menu, with a thumbs up for the sea bream dim sum ravioli.
Schéiss – classy
Seafood lovers should head to this floor-to-ceiling-windowed eatery in Belair, for Zeeland shrimp, Cape Ferret oysters, crab, Scottish salmon, Icelandic cod, monkfish, and North Sea sole. A good place for a Valentine's Day lunch too.
Casa Espana - sharing is caring
If you don't have the budget for a Michelin-starred meal, why not share some tapas from this city-based sister of El Barrio. An almost-identical menu means you can tuck into gambas in garlic, octopus, chorizo, croquettes and patatas bravas. It's open until 23.00 so you don't need to rush.
Bella Ciao and Partigiano - love on a budget
Feeling the pinch in your wallet but want to treat your loved one? Head to one of these two sister pizza places (they also have other Italian specialities such as tagliata and cannolis). Sharing starters of fried mozzarella and basil or fried seafood will set you back €12-14, whilst the pizzas, many with an unusual mix of toppings, are mostly under €20. Staff are attentive, and in Partigiano you'll get egg-shell blue decor mixed with shabby chic gold framed mirrors, plus some excellently cheesy 1960s French pop. At the newer Bella Ciao, expect burnt orange banquettes and velvet chairs, wooden floors and nicely spaced tables.
Outside the city
Ma Langue Sourit – Moutfort
Cosy, intimate and with soft lighting, you’ll get Michelin-starred food (two stars) from this place, where the chef may serve you, and where there are vegetarian options and wine or non-alcoholic pairings for your dishes.
OSE - Mondorf-les-Bains
A relatively new restaurant run by young chef Jean Baptiste Durand, and boasting a pastry chef and sommelier. The name stands for original, savoureux et équilibré, and that's what you'll get from the very reasonably priced three-course menu at €39, which offers beetroot with horseradish ice cream, leaks stuffed with fish and served with squid ink, fish seaweed tartare, and pork with mushrooms. The main menu has plenty of fish and meat options, including beef and lamb, and the ambience is light, airy, raw wood and nicely spaced apart tables.
Elch – Bertrange
Wooden beamed ceilings and wicker chairs or leather sofas create an intimate, chalet-style atmosphere. Prawns and scallops, duck, and beef headline the main dishes for the evening.
Naga - Mondercange
White whicker chairs, wood floors and dark walls make this a lovely spot for a private dinner. The Valentine's day menu has lobster ravioli and risotto with truffles.
Gusto Naturale - Schifflange
A dark but modern interior with comfy velvet chairs and food, often cooked in the coal oven, presented beautifully to impress your date, plus a large parking area, so you don't have to worry about where to leave the carriage. A 10-course St Valentine's menu costs €85 and includes oysters, artichoke, quail, lamb, octopus and finishes with a slice of Tiramisu of Love!
Lea Linster – Frisange
A five-course meal from award-winning (and now Michelin starred) Luxembourgish chef, including caviar, crab, deer and sole for €155, or six courses with the addition of langoustine for €185. The dining hall has lovely views of the surrounding countryside, and tables are very discreet, so you won’t have to listen to anyone else’s chatter.
De Peffer Kär – Huncherange
Serving a Valentine's menu of foie gras, veal or wild turbot, and a vegan option. It has a simple brown décor, and a choice of 700 wines, and products are all sourced locally, where possible.
A Guddesch – Mersch
Suitably dark interiors with low lighting to give this place a romantic feel. A Guddesch is part of a traditional farm, which offers wild boar, deer, and Luxembourgish beef, with local dishes too. The Valentine's menu is served from 10-12 and 14 February, and includes tuna salad, beef or sea bass, a dessert and cheese plate, and is a steal at €58 for four courses and €72 for five.
Maison Lefevre – Esch-sur-Alzette
Low lighting and nicely spaced tables, it’s far from dingy, and has clean crisp light colours and a giant chandelier to bring out the fine dining aesthetic. A four course meal of veal tenderloin, roasted turbot, Irish Black Angus beef, dessert or cheese board is €60, or you can pick choices a la carte with vegetarian options.
Um Scheierhaff – Canach
Offering tagine style lamb, pork cheek, pan-fried veal or risotto with mushroom and spinach, you can’t really go wrong with this place, and the tables are very far apart – good for a private conversation.
Fani – Roeser
Oyster and lobster starters, tortellini stuffed with rabbit, deer, pigeon - you name it, it’s probably on the menu here. There’s also a tasting menu, a veggie one, and that high-class feel of lovely crisp white table cloths. It's got one Michelin star too.
The Luxembourg Times has a new mobile app, download here! Get the Luxembourg Times delivered to your inbox twice a day. Sign up for your free newsletters here.
