Food News: Valentine's Day roundup

Regardless of where you stand on the subject of Valentine's Day - a cheesy Hallmark holiday that only serves to make smug couples smugger and singles miserable or a genuinely nice idea - there's no disputing the fact that Prague is a world-class destination to celebrate or not celebrate. Some of the city's most romantic restaurants are offering special menus for Thursday, Feb. 14, meaning that even if you're just a lover of food, there's plenty on offer to put you in the mood.

Casa di Carli in Old Town has a three-course Valentine's Day menu for 1,050 Kč per person. The Italian restaurant's menu includes a starter of pumpkin cream soup or tuna carpaccio, an entrée of John Dory fish with artichokes or roasted pigeon, and a dessert of banana-almond cake with ice cream. To book, call 224 816 688.

For a taste of Asian fusion, Buddha Bar in Old Town has a five-course menu for 1,990 Kč per person that features poached striped Venus, foie gras with umeshu sauce, cod satay, veal in a red-pepper sauce and strawberry sorbet with fresh cream. Call 221 776 300 to book.

High in the sky, the Aureole Asian fusion restaurant and bar, atop the city's tallest building, has a six-course menu of oysters, foie gras terrine, a selection of sushi, creamed corn with coconut and Yakitori satay, steak with potato-fennel purée and coconut and mango mousse. Call 222 755 380.

Hergetova Cihelna, with some of the best views of Charles Bridge, is offering a three-course Valentine's Day menu with two types of tuna, chicken breast with potatoes and truffles, and a chocolate fondant with ice cream and fresh berries. The cost is 1,145 Kč per person; to book, call 296 826 103.

Kampa, sister restaurant to the above, and with similar great views and romantic setting, has a three-course menu of salmon tartare, steamed sole with parsley purée and chocolate Marquise, all for 1,450 Kč per person. Call 296 826 112.

In Malá Strana, Terasa U Zlaté Studně presents seven courses for 2,100 Kč per person for Feb. 14, with scallops, veal tartare, celery cappuccino, lamb sweetbreads with orange, halibut with black risotto, beef steak with truffles and potato purée, and a special Valentine's Day cake as well as pralines. Call 257 533 322 to reserve.

At the hotel Hilton Old Town, the Zinc restaurant has a four-course menu that includes a bottle of wine, as well crab, salmon, steaks and sweets. The dinner, which costs 2,590 Kč per couple and also includes a welcome drink, soft drinks and tea or coffee, will be accompanied by live jazz. Call 221 822 300 to book a table.

For a Latin flair, the Cuban restaurant and cocktail bar La Bodeguita del Medio in Old Town has a reasonably priced menu for 769 Kč a person, which comes with lobster soup with prawns, duck breast with risotto and panna cotta with stawberries. Call 224 813 922.

Run by the same folks, La Casa Argentina, also in Old Town, has a four-course menu accompanied by live music and dancing. The menu comprises brie with figs and brioche, beef broth with artichokes, roasted chicken with salad, and a tartelette with chocolate creme and chilli. To reserve, call 222 311 512.

The Cowboys steakhouse in Malá Strana presents a Valentine's Day menu with shrimp and avocado timballe, Café de Paris-style beef entrecôte with frites, and strawberry cappuccino with ice cream. Call 296 826 107 to book.

At the CzecHouse Grill & Rotisserie in Hilton Prague, in Karlín, Feb. 14 will see a special six-course menu that costs 2,950 Kč for two people and features foie gras terrine with plum chutney, lobster and white truffle ravioli with Armagnac foam, grapefruit and Campari sorbet, fillet of Atlantic sole on a saffron risotto, milk-fed veal tenderloin and black-truffle potatoes with a Montepulciano reduction, a Valentine's fig tart with Valhrona bitter chocolate sauce and mascarpone ice cream, finishing off with espresso and pralines. After dinner, a welcome glass of Moët & Chandon Champagne is included at the Hilton's Cloud 9 sky bar, where there will be a Victoria's Secret fashion show, special cocktails and a house DJ. To book, call 224 841 111.

Lastly, the newly opened Bistrot M at La Boucherie Moderne (reviewed Jan. 30), will be open specially in the evening of Feb. 14, with two seatings for a set menu at 6 and 8 p.m. The menu costs 1,795 Kč for two people and includes a glass of Cremant d'Alsace, an amuse-bouche of duck tartare with fresh basil and extra-virgin olive oil, Tian vegetables with fresh goat cheese and rucola salad, roast beef with Béarnaise sauce or a fillet of dorado with roast potatoes and Provençale vegetables, and chocolate fondant with coulis of red fruits. To reserve, call 702 033 020.

Fiona Gaze can be reached at
fgaze@praguepost.com