Valentine's Day in South Bank

OXO Tower Restaurant

Love is in the air at OXO Tower’s rooftop restaurant and brasserie with live music playing throughout the evening. Choose from three courses at the upscale Restaurant (£100 per person) where options include langoustines, crab, monkfish and stone bass, or three courses at the Brasserie (£80 per person) with dishes including venison steak, porcini ravioli and seared tuna on the menu. For dessert highlights include classics like tarte tatin, profiteroles, prosecco panna cotta and milk chocolate soufflé.

Available 14 February only. Restaurant £100 per person, Brasserie £80 per person (for 3 courses). Find out more and book here.

Skylon

Feel the love at the newly revamped Skylon restaurant and bar at Royal Festival Hall this Valentine’s. Be serenaded by a live jazz trio and gaze over the river Thames (or into each other’s eyes?) as you indulge in a decadent five-course tasting. Start the evening with oysters before tucking into delicacies like beef carpaccio, salmon tartare, chervil and wild garlic risotto and pan-seared cod loin. For dessert there’s a choice of rhubarb soufflé frozen nougatine with confit clementines or coconut tapioca with mango sorbet, followed by a selection of petit fours.

Available on 14 February only. 5-courses for £90 per person. Find out more and book here.

Sea Containers Restaurant

Treat your special someone to a luxurious four-course dinner with a glass of Laurent-Perrier La Cuvée Rosé and gorgeous views over the river to St Paul’s at the Sea Containers Restaurant. The Valentine’s menu starts with a limited-edition amuse, followed by heritage beetroot and goat’s cheese salad or tuna tartare. For mains, enjoy wild mushroom risotto with black truffle or Cornish stone bass with coconut and sea herbs and end with a decadent chocolate tart to share.

Available 14 and 15 February. The 4-course menu costs £79 per person including a glass of bubbly. Find out more and book here.

Hannah Japanese Restaurant

Feast on a unique 11-course omakase tasting menu this Valentine’s Day at the exclusive Japanese omakase restaurant Hannah at County Hall. Created by chef, owner and sake sommelier, Daisuke Shimoyama, this is an exquisitely presented fine dining experience featuring incredible seasonal ingredients carefully sourced from top producers. Among the 11-courses are intriguing creations such as grilled lobster with sea urchin, grilled wagyu sukiyaki with autumn truffles and roasted tea ice cream.

The Valentine’s menu costs £185 per person, optional sake pairing £115. Find out more and book here.

Brasserie Blanc

Let love take centre stage at Brasserie Blanc Southbank where they are running a variety of delicious specials especially for Valentine’s week (from 12-15 Feb), including a crab and scallop mousse agnolotti, herb-crusted Cornish rack of lamb and selection (or ‘assiette’) of mini soufflés. There is no set menu and dinner is a la carte, although a deposit is required to book a table on 14 February.

The Valentine's week specials are available from 12 to 15 February. Find out more and book here.

Côte Brasserie

Celebrate Valentine’s a la Française at Côte Brasserie at the Royal Festival Hall from 10-16 February with their special two-course menu inspired by Alpine cuisine. The menu offers confit duck with cherries or pan-fried salmon served with a Tomme de Savoie cheese tartiflette, followed by a special take on Côte’s baked Alps dessert featuring a frozen white chocolate and passion fruit parfait, covered in torched meringue, and to finish a selection of Petits Fours.

The Valentine's menu is available from 10 to 16 February. Find out more and book here.

Palentine’s party at Limin’

South Bank’s Caribbean restaurant and bar Limin’ at Gabriel’s Wharf is ditching the flowers and candlelit dinners and hosting a Saturday night party for ‘Palentine’s’ instead! Get your gang together and book a table for a three-course Caribbean feast, complete with the famous Limin’ rum punch to kickstart the evening. On the Palentine's set menu are Trinidadian favourites like trini puris, freeters and mac and cheese with fried chicken, slaw and sweetcorn, while keeping the good vibes flowing through the night there’s DJ Benny on the decks and lots of prizes to win.

Available on Sat 15 February. The Palentine’s menu costs £39 per person. Find out more and book here.

Classic romantic films at BFI Southbank

BFI Southbank is serving up the perfect Valentine’s Day date night selection of films on Friday 14 February. Grab some drinks from the bar and settle in with your love to enjoy one of half a dozen fantastically romantic features showing throughout the day, including: The Apartment, Picnic at Hanging Rock, My Beautiful Laundrette, Love and Basketball and Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Find out more and book here.

Marin Alsop conducts Piazzola

On Friday 14 February the Royal Festival Hall hosts a seductive evening of music from American and Latin American composers performed by the Philharmonia under conductor Marin Alsop. Highlights include iconic works by Astor Piazzolla accompanied by tango dancing by the champion tango pair Davlanti-Lo and Adrien Bariki-Alaoui, who will also be leading a free tango dancing workshop in the ballroom after the performance. Find out more and book here.

Big Belly Comedy Club

Single? Taken? Or emotionally shaken? Everyone's welcome at South Bank’s very own comedy club Big Belly! Across the Valentine’s weekend there’s a whole host of stand-up comedy nights to book tickets. Catch live stand-up showcases on Thu 13 Feb, Fri 14 Feb and Sat 15 Feb or throw some bottomless pizza into the mix too with the bottomless brunch on Saturday or the outrageously fun bottomless karaoke brunch on Sun 16 Feb. Find out more and book here.

Visit the London Aquarium after hours

Date night with a difference! On Thursday 13 February the SEA LIFE London Aquarium stays open late for SEA LIFE Lates, an evening opening when the entire aquarium becomes a child-free zone. Without excitable kids tearing around the place, you and your special someone can explore this immense space at a relaxed and peaceful pace with a complimentary drink in hand and more than 6,000 underwater creatures to admire. Find out more and book here.

Embark on a 'Blackout Experience' at The London Dungeon!

For something really off-beat this Valentine’s, how about an extra scary blackout visit to The London Dungeon?! Instead of the usual walk-through spooky shows, this time you’ll be embarking on a completely unexpected journey in total darkness. The experience promises jump scares at every turn and does come with an intensity warning! After adventuring through the dungeons in the dark, you’ll emerge at the tavern where you can take a breather for a drink – although beware the mysterious tarot reader who will be waiting to reveal your darkest future...

The Blackout Experience happens on Wed 12 and Fri 14 February. Booking is essential! Find out more and book here.