Valentine’s Day has a way of sneaking up on us. We’re just getting used to it being a new year and, all of a sudden, February 14 is just around the corner. If you’re anything like us, you’re probably reading this and thinking, “I sure could use some elaborate ideas right about now.” Don’t fret, we’ve got you covered.

To help a fellow (scatterbrained) romantic out, we’ve listed 20 local restaurants that are serving up special meals this Valentine’s Day. Fancy gifts and romantic getaways are lovely treats but sometimes a simple dinner date is a perfect way to show someone how much you care. After all, the best way to a person’s heart is through their stomach, right?

Looking for some conversation starters? If you and your partner just started dating, you could look deeply into each other’s eyes as they twinkle in the candlelight and ask the 36 questions that lead to love. If you’ve been together for a while, you could ask the same questions to spice things up a little.

Whatever you end up talking about, we can guarantee that the food and ambiance will elevate the experience — Sonoma County restaurants are going all out this year to provide guests with a special evening over Valentine’s weekend. We’ve also included some at-home treats that can be ordered for pickup or delivery. Click through the above gallery to see the restaurants and what they have to offer.

Santa Rosa

John Ash & Co.

The chefs at John Ash & Co. have crafted an extensive prix fixe menu for Valentine’s Day. The menu includes various gourmet dishes to choose from for a three-course dinner, such as Hog Island oysters, ahi tuna tartare, angus beef carpaccio, vegetable napoleon, tomato gnocchi and roasted prawns, herbs de Provence-crusted rack of lamb, grand marnier chocolate pot de crème and strawberry pomegranate sorbet. The meal is $79 per person and reservations are highly encouraged. Reserve your dinner on OpenTable.

4350 Barnes Road, Santa Rosa, 800-421-2584, vintnersresort.com/dining/john-ash-co

Johnny Doughnuts

This Bay Area doughnut darling has released limited-edition sweet treats for Feb. 14. Their Valentine’s-themed Doughnut Hole Box ($27) features 12 assorted doughnut holes and is packaged with a handwritten card. The cut-off for online order of this limited-time box is Thursday, Feb. 10, at noon, and it is available for pickup from Feb. 11 to Feb.14.

Johnny Doughnuts will also be serving its classic doughnuts with a Valentine’s twist — such as the ​​heart-shaped bismark filled with vanilla pastry cream, dipped in chocolate and coated with red sprinkles — in-store from Feb. 9 to Feb. 14. Custom doughnut gift boxes can also be ordered online for pickup or delivery during this time and will include a Valentine’s Day card and themed doughnuts.

1200 Fourth St., Santa Rosa, 707-308-4836, johnnydoughnuts.com

Mountain Mike’s Pizza

Longtime California pizza staple Mountain Mike’s Pizza is serving up the love all month long with heart-shaped pizzas available on Valentine’s Day and the rest of February. The pizzas are served in love-themed pizza boxes and come with one topping of your choice, available at the same price as a large, one-topping pizza. 

Locations in Cloverdale, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa and Windsor. mountainmikespizza.com

Ricky’s Eastbound

Ricky’s Eastbound will host a Valentine’s Dinner on Feb. 14, from 4:30-8 p.m. The Valentine’s entree specials will include almond-crusted salmon, red wine-braised lamb shank, grilled filet mignon and a pizza special with pancetta, pears, leeks and fontina. The entrees, excluding the pizza, come with a variety of sides, such as mashed potatoes and veggies. Valentine’s desserts include a berry shortcake and a butterscotch pot de creme. Reservations are not required.

5755 Mountain Hawk Dr., Santa Rosa, 707-843-5143, rickyseastbound.com

Walter Hansel Wine & Bistro

For Valentine’s weekend, Feb. 11 through Feb. 13, Walter Hansel Wine & Bistro will have a special menu full of indulgences. The menu includes an assiette de fromage (a tasting of assorted cheeses), Shigoku oysters, escargot a la bourguignonne, lobster bisque, beet salad, chicken cordon bleu, vegetarian risotto, grilled filet mignon, crème brûlée and more. Call 707-546-6462 or visit OpenTable to reserve a table.

3535 Guerneville Road, Santa Rosa, 707-546-6462, walterhanselbistro.com

Sonoma Valley

Tips Roadside

Tips Roadside will serve a special Valentine’s Dinner on Feb. 14, which features a prix fixe menu with some of the restaurant’s best Wine Country comfort food. The meal begins with a Cobb salad and a glass of champagne, the entree is a choice of smoked chicken or smoked prime rib, and the sides include creamed spinach, smoked mushrooms, baked potatoes and sourdough rolls. There will be a red velvet cake for dessert, and a full bar will serve local wines, craft cocktails and house-brewed beer. The meal is $95 per person and reservations are required. Reserve your table on Tock.

8445 Sonoma Highway, Kenwood, 707-509-0078, tipsroadside.com

Glen Ellen Star

The cozy Glen Ellen Star will host a Valentine’s Day event on Feb. 14 at 5 p.m. with a prix fixe menu by Chef Ari Weiswasser. The Valentine’s menu features tasty seasonal fare including gougères (French puff pastries with cheese), wood oven-roasted golden beets, a winter salad with citrus dressing and whipped labneh, wood baked-scallops, grilled Snake River Farms zabuton steak, pommes puree with grated black winter truffle, and a chocolate mousse for dessert. The meal is $100 per person and reservations can be made on Resy.

13648 Arnold Drive, Glen Ellen, 707-343-1384, glenellenstar.com

The Girl & The Fig

Sonoma’s the girl & the fig serves French-inspired cuisine in a romantic atmosphere, making it a prime spot for a Valentine’s date night. The weekly rotating Bistro Plats Du Jour three-course prix fixe menu takes the guesswork out of what to order and features elegant dishes such as steak tartare, duck confit, wild flounder meunière and the chocolatey salted fig caramel trifle. Pair any of these signature dishes with an award-winning Rhône varietal wine. Wrap up the Valentine’s Day celebration with the girl & the fig’s sea salt chocolate chunk cookies.

110 West Spain St., Sonoma, 707-938-3634, thegirlandthefig.com

Wit & Wisdom

Sonoma’s Wit & Wisdom will celebrate Valentine’s Day with a four-course menu, which has a vegetarian option. The meat and seafood menu ($115 per person) includes romantic delicacies such as kumiai oysters, reserve caviar, king crab and endive caesar salad, hamachi crudo, ricotta gnudi, seared ahi tuna and wood-fired filet mignon. The vegetarian menu ($95 per person) features mushroom toast, black perigord truffle, heart of palm and endive caesar salad, beet carpaccio, ricotta gnudi and winter vegetable pot pie. Both menus have a raspberry macaron with almond, white chocolate and fresh raspberries for dessert. Reserve your table on SevenRooms or OpenTable.

1325 Broadway, Sonoma, 707-931-3405, witandwisdomsonoma.com

Petaluma

Acre Pizza

Another spot to pick up some heart-shaped pizza for your sweetheart. The thin-crust original comes with cheese; there’s an option to add pepperoni, potato or pesto. Also in Sebastopol.

1080 Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma; 6760 McKinley St., Suite 150, Sebastopol, acrepizza.com

Cafe Bellini

Cafe Bellini has a special three-course Valentine’s Day dinner for $49 per person on Feb. 14. The first course is a choice between a burrata salad with tomatoes, fresh basil, balsamic glaze and olive oil, or risotto with shallots, cremini mushrooms, asparagus and parmesan cheese. The second course is a choice between a 12-ounce New York steak with fresh asparagus and chimichurri sauce; chicken scallopini in a demi-glace with marinated artichokes, fingerling potatoes and baby spinach; or petrale sole in a lemon butter wine sauce with garlic mashed potato and asparagus. The third course is a choice between tiramisu or creme brûlée cheesecake.

100 S. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma, 707-774-6160, thecafebellini.com

Cattlemens

Cattlemens will serve a special Valentine’s dinner from Feb. 11 to Feb. 14 for $45 per person. The dinner includes a 14-ounce New York grilled steak and steamed lobster tail, served with a garden salad, sourdough bread, ranch-style beans and baked potato. 

5012 Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma, 707-763-4114, cattlemens.com/restaurants/petaluma

2400 Midway Drive, Santa Rosa, 707-546-1446, cattlemens.com/restaurants/santa-rosa

North County

Grata Italian Eatery

Teaming up with local farmers and businesses, Grata Italian Eatery put together a “Show Your Love (for Sonoma County)” five-course dinner for two. The locally-sourced Valentine’s Day menu includes oysters on the half shell with two glasses of champagne for the first course; ricotta gnudi with duck confit for the second course; wild mushroom and chicories salad for the third course; and osso buco with polenta and ratatouille vegetables for the fourth course. For dessert, enjoy bon bons and chocolate covered strawberries. The dinner for two is $160. Call 707-620-0508 or visit OpenTable to book a reservation.

186 Windsor River Road, Windsor, 707-620-0508, gratawindsor.com

Dry Creek Kitchen

The culinary team behind Dry Creek Kitchen is offering a seasonal five-course tasting menu throughout Valentine’s weekend, Feb. 11-14. The Valentine’s menu, which can be complemented with an optional wine pairing, includes a petite brie en croûte with mustard greens and dijon vinaigrette; crisp amberjack in a bonito broth; seared squab breast with a French onion tart; charbroiled filet and seared scallop with potato fondant and asparagus; and a blood orange semifreddo with dark chocolate and a fennel biscotti for dessert. The Valentine’s meal is $120 per person and the optional wine pairing is $75. 

317 Healdsburg Ave. Healdsburg, 707-431-0330, drycreekkitchen.com

Hazel Hill

Hazel Hill at Montage Healdsburg will have a four-course Valentine’s Day menu by Chef Jason Pringle on Feb. 14 from 5-9 p.m. The first course consists of white asparagus with hazelnut and cured egg; the second course is a choice between scallop quenelle with sunchoke, smoked onion and razor clam, or big eye tuna with blood orange and pistachio; the third course is a teleeka ravioli with baby artichoke and black truffle; and the fourth course is a choice between wagyu beef with polenta and wild mushroom, or lobster thermidor with fingerling potatoes, spinach and gruyere. There will be a chocolate semifreddo with hazelnut and passionfruit for dessert. 

The restaurant will also have festive menus over the Valentine’s weekend, including the Romance Dinner on Feb. 12 from 5-9 p.m. and the Romance Brunch on Feb. 13 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Call 707-354-6900 or visit OpenTable to make a reservation.

100 Montage Way, Healdsburg, 707-354-6900, montagehotels.com/healdsburg

The Matheson

The Matheson in Healdsburg will serve a five-course tasting menu for Valentine’s Day, with seating available in the main dining room, chef’s counter, bar table and the mezzanine level. The dinner is $150 per person and includes tai snapper crudo, Dungeness crab bisque, lobster gnocchi, Alaskan halibut, Flannery Beef New York and volo chocolate mousse. Reserve your table on Tock.

106 Matheson St., Healdsburg, 707-723-1106, thematheson.com

Geyserville Grille

Geyserville Grille will host a Wine and Dine Your Valentine event featuring a four-course meal prepared by Chef Danny Nooris with a complimentary glass of champagne. The Valentine’s menu has a variety of seasonal dishes to choose from for each course, such as poke tuna furikake fries, roasted vegetable minestrone, house-made butternut squash and ricotta ravioli, herb crusted wild salmon, roasted pork tenderloin, chocolate lava cake and more. The meal is $80 per person and required reservations are available for Feb. 14 from 5-8 p.m. Call 707-857-3264 to make a reservation.

​​21712 Geyserville Ave., Geyserville, 707-857-3264, geyservilleinn.com/geyserville-grille

West County

Gravenstein Grill

Sebastopol’s Gravenstein Grill will have a prix fixe menu over the Valentine’s weekend, Feb. 11 through Feb. 13. The Valentine’s menu includes a seasonal amuse bouche, a choice of ahi tuna tartare, pork and duck pate, or a selection of local cheeses for the second course, and a choice of Pacific halibut, local NY strip steak or wild mushroom risotto for the third course. Dessert will be a choice of chocolate pot de creme or Chef Bob’s famous rum cake. The dinner is $80 per person and reservations can be made on Tock.

8050 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol, 707-634-6142, gravensteingrill.com

Canneti Roadhouse Italiana

Canneti will serve a five-course Valentine’s dinner on Feb. 14, which you can enjoy while watching the 1958 movie Houseboat playing on the heated patio at 4:45, 6:30 and 8 p.m. The menu is $75 per person and includes a Belgian endive salad, shrimp croquettes, a seafood lasagnette pasta, stuffed polletto and a cherry meringue pie. Call 707-887-2232 by Feb. 12 to place your takeout order or reserve a table.  

6675 Front St., Forestville, 707-887-2232, cannetiroadhouse.com

Dinucci’s Restaurant

Dinucci’s Restaurant will offer a six-course Valentine’s Dinner featuring classic Italian cuisine and live music accompaniment. The menu will include an antipasti plate for starters, its famous minestrone soup with warm sourdough bread, a garden green salad with a house dressing of your choice, a side of pasta (chef’s choice) with bolognese sauce, your choice of Sonoma Mountain filet mignon or grilled local salmon for the main course (each served with assorted sides), and John and Jill’s Valentine chocolate raspberry cheesecake for dessert. The meal comes with a complimentary glass of brut champagne. Call 707-876-3260 to make a reservation.

14485 Highway 1, Valley Ford, 707-876-3260, dinuccisrestaurant.com

At-Home Treats

Cookie…take a bite!

For Valentine’s Day, this local cookie shop is selling festively-wrapped tins of assorted cookies. The tins range in price from $24.50 to $50 and include anywhere from 16 to 42 of its signature cookies, such as Lemon Moon, Ginger Honey Snap, Chocolate Cherry Bomb and Brown Sugar Hearts. Order online for delivery or pickup at the shop in the Larkfield Center.

430 Larkfield Center, Santa Rosa, 707-291-1785, cookietakeabite.com

Fleur Sauvage

Fleur Sauvage, run by husband-and-wife team Robert and Tara Nieto, specializes in artistic artisan chocolates. The couple recently opened a new storefront in Windsor. Robert, who previously was the pastry chef at Madrona Manor, Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bistro and Jackson Family Wines, crafts the chocolates while Tara runs the front of the store, where you can order espressos, lattes and hot chocolate. For a luxe Valentine’s treat, order their Chocolate Heart Box with 12 assorted bonbons inside ($60). Place order via email and pick up at the store.

370 Windsor River Rd., Windsor, fleursauvagechocolates.com. For more treats from local chocolatiers, click here.

Harvey’s Gourmet Donuts

Known for its artfully-prepared mini doughnuts, Harvey’s Gourmet Donuts is offering festive Valentine Donut-Grams for sweet-toothed lovers this season. The Donut-Gram is $5 and comes with your choice of sugar or chocolate glaze and topped with heart-shaped sprinkles. Pre-order by emailing harveysdonuts@yahoo.com. Pickup at Harvey’s Donut Bar, tucked away near the Sonoma Plaza, or get free delivery in the town of Sonoma on Feb. 13.

414 First Street East, Sonoma, 707-246-5928, harveysdonuts.com

Nom Nom Cakes

The Bodega Bay-based Nom Nom Cakes is offering beautifully decorated Valentine’s Day specials made with organic, locally-sourced ingredients. The specials include fun, decadent treats such as a Valentine’s Day decorating cookie kit, heart cocoa bombs filled with hot cocoa and mini marshmallows, and a chocolate-covered strawberry cake filled with chocolate mousse and topped with chocolate covered strawberries. Order these and/or other Valentine’s specialties online for pickup or delivery.

390 Calle Del Sol, Bodega Bay, 805-350-0680, nomnombaking.com

Two renowned Michelin-starred restaurants from opposite sides of the country are joining forces for a night of haute dining in Healdsburg. 

On March 31, the husband-and-wife team behind Single Thread restaurant, Kyle and Katina Connaughton, will welcome Junghyun “JP” and Ellia Park of the two-Michelin starred Atomix for a night of culinary collaboration. The two couples will craft a 10-course tasting menu reflecting both restaurants’ Asian-influenced cuisines and service styles. 

Single Thread, which last year retained its elusive three Michelin stars and made No. 37 on the annual “The World’s 50 Best Restaurants” list, serves unique Japanese dishes made from fresh ingredients supplied by the Single Thread Farm. Atomix, located in New York City, came in on No. 43 on the top 50 list, with the awards body calling its innovative Korean cuisine “groundbreaking.”

This is not the first time Single Thread and Atomix have teamed up for a night of Asian-fusion fine dining. In 2019, the Parks hosted a collaborative cooking night with the Connaughtons in New York, during which the four restaurateurs shared their respective techniques and philosophies. 

“We are incredibly excited to cook and collaborate with our good friends JP and Ellia,” said Chef Kyle Connaughton in a press release. “We had the pleasure of joining them at Atomix in 2019 and it was so inspiring to see not only their cuisine but also their warm hospitality. We look forward to sharing that inspiration with our team and welcoming them to our home.”  

The couples met before their joint cooking ventures came to fruition, when the Parks visited and dined at Single Thread shortly after its 2016 opening.

“We still vividly remember how our first dining experience moved us, through its unique space, cuisine and hospitality,” the Parks noted. “We kept in touch with Chef Kyle and Katina since that visit, and have become good friends since. Collaborations are thrilling because we can exchange two restaurants’ culture and cuisine, and learn so much from the experience.”

Single Thread’s philosophy of “omotenashi,” a Japanese word meaning to anticipate and wholeheartedly tend to a guest’s every need, serves to enhance its farm-driven Japanese cuisine. Pair that focus on hospitality and seasonality with Atomix’s sophisticated Korean fare and you get a match made in upscale, Asian-dining heaven. 

The collaborative 10-course meal will be served at Single Thread in Healdsburg on March 31 and is priced at $425 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Wine pairing is an additional $300 per person and the reserve wine pairing is $500 per person. Reservations will be available beginning Feb. 1 on Tock. 

Single Thread, 131 North St., Healdsburg, 707-723-4646, singlethreadfarms.com

You’re heeding Sonoma County health officials’ recent request that you stay home as much as possible, until the omicron variant slows its spread. But you still want wine, and you want it now — or at least in time for tonight’s dinner. What to do?

There are rescue “crus” out there for you, services and stores that have sharpened their skills at getting wine to people, pronto, since the pandemic hit nearly two years ago. Order and pay for wine online, then have the goods delivered to your door or your vehicle in the parking lot. No need to enter a store. Convenient and conscientious.

Some contact is necessary to complete a wine transaction, however, as alcohol handoffs from retailers can only happen with photo ID proof that the recipient is 21 or older. In some cases, a signature is required. (In the early, chaotic days of COVID-19, state regulators didn’t actively seek out selling-to-minors scofflaws, but the danger is real today that a business caught providing booze to minors will lose its alcohol sales license.)

Still, the contact is minimal when it comes to buying wine online and having it delivered or available for curbside pickup. Wear a mask and disinfect your hands before and after; the deliverer will do the same, making for a shopping experience that is safer than pushing a cart through aisles and standing in line at the register.

These retailers offer online ordering with delivery and/or curbside pickup. We’re not counting in-store pickup here — once through the doors, you might as well shop for wines yourself.

Sonoma’s Best Modern Mercantile

If you live in the town of Sonoma or visit there, you’re in luck. This store and deli has free delivery to addresses in the 95476 ZIP code, with a minimum six-bottle order. They offer free curbside pickup, too. Sonoma Valley and Carneros wines are plentiful — lots of love is given to Bedrock Wine Co., Bucklin and Mathis, among other producers. There are also some interesting French and Italian bottles, as well as California outliers such as Obsidian Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon from Lake County and Paul Lato Matinee Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara County. All wines are selected by wine director Todd Jolly.

1190 E. Napa St., Sonoma, 707-996-7600, sonomas-best.com

Wilibees Wines & Spirits

The two Wilibees locations, in Santa Rosa and Petaluma, offer an expertly chosen range of wines, many from local producers whose wares aren’t in chain stores as they simply don’t make enough. The selection of small-batch whiskeys and craft beer stored in temperature-controlled coolers is also impressive. The Santa Rosa Wilibees has a high-end deli and a wine-and-beer tasting bar. Those not ready to venture inside can order online or by phone, then arrange for curbside pickup.

700 Third St., Santa Rosa, 707-978-3779, wilibees.com

309 Lakeville St., Petaluma, 707-762-2042, wilibees.com

Safeway

All too often, wine buffs find very little excitement when perusing the shelves at chain supermarkets. The big stores carry mostly the same, or similar, wines, supplied by mega wine companies. Yet living in Wine Country has its perks and most of Safeway’s Sonoma County stores have sections devoted to Sonoma and Napa wines, alongside the bag-in-box Franzia Chardonnay, the Barefoot Bubbly and the mass-produced Veuve Clicquot Champagne. Purchases of six or more bottles score a 30% discount.

Safeway has a confusing number of delivery and curbside pickup programs, with varying fees, digital coupons, promo codes and membership perks. Calculating the cost of a wine order from the website is difficult, given the many parameters, but $10 appears to be a typical delivery fee for orders of $30 or more. Exact fees are displayed when the order is placed and take into consideration the value of the order, requested delivery time and distance between the store and destination. In Safeway’s “drive up and go” service, online purchases are delivered by a store employee to your vehicle, which you park in a designated space.

safeway.com

Whole Foods Market

For years, Amazon tried to figure out how to sell, ship and deliver wine to consumers across the country. Thwarted by different alcohol beverage regulations across the states — California is a snap compared to New York and Pennsylvania — the company now routes online wine orders and delivery through its Whole Foods stores in states that allow it. Many of the usual suspects are available — the ubiquitous Kim Crawford New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, Kendall-Jackson Vintners Reserve Chardonnay and multi-varietal maker Josh Cellars, for example. But there are also many Sonoma-made gems, among them Alexander Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Siduri Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, Carol Shelton Wild Thing Mendocino County Zinfandel and Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. There is a $9.95 charge for local delivery, which can happen as quickly as two hours. Visit each store’s website and click on wine; from there, the transaction is directed to amazon.com.

1181 Yulupa Ave., Santa Rosa, 707-575-7915 wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/santarosa

390 Coddingtown Mall, Santa Rosa, 707-542-7411, wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/coddingtown

6910 McKinley St., Sebastopol, 707-829-9801, wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/sebastopol

621 E. Washington St., Petaluma, 707-762-9352, wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/petaluma

201 W. Napa St., Sonoma, 707-938-8500, wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/sonoma

In a pinch — Instacart

This app-driven grocery delivery business serves many Sonoma County wine retailers, among them BevMo, Costco, Glen Ellen Village Market, Lucky, Raley’s and Safeway (which also has its own service). Order wines on Instacart (instacart.com/store/hub/alcohol) by typing in your ZIP code to view nearby businesses and their wine offerings. A gig personal shopper will pick up the bottles and deliver them to the designated address. Contactless delivery is advertised for groceries but is not available for wine. Fees and delivery times vary wildly, depending on Instacart memberships, peak pricing, distanced traveled by the shopper and more.

Bottle prices, shopping/delivery fees and timing of delivery can be tricky to predict with Instacart wine ordering, but it just might work in a pinch.

Ordering from the winery

At the start of the pandemic, when tasting rooms were closed by state order, some wineries offered their own delivery services to keep the revenue flowing and people employed. If you’re keen on buying wines directly from particular producers without leaving the house, call the tasting rooms to inquire about delivery or pickup possibilities. This service might not appear on websites, but you just might get lucky.