Romantic Restaurants for Valentine's Day in the Austin Texas Area

Come with me as I take you on a tour of my favorite five romantic restaurants in the Austin Texas area. I believe every day can be Valentine's Day, and I've eaten at each of these romantic restaurants several times. I'll tell you about the atmosphere, price range, menu highlights, and provide links to each so you can do your own research. I'll even share a way to eat for less at two of my favorite places. A visit to any of these five Austin area restaurants will make for an intimate, romantic, and memorable Valentine's Day dinner date night. An as always, dressing for dinner in Austin Texas is whatever you want it to be from jeans all the way to formal attire.

Chez Nous - Austin, TX

For an intimate dinner in an authentic French bistro, head to Chez Nous in downtown Austin. The owners are from Paris and Chez Nous has been beckoning romantics since 1982. Chez Nous offers a menu du jour (soup, salad, entree, and dessert) for $25.50 per person or you can order off the menu. Appetizers include Assiette de Charcuterie - an assortment of pâtés, imported ham and dried cured sausages, served with cornichons and niçoise olives, Chèvre Chaud sur Canapé - baked goat cheese on French bread rounds with cracked black pepper and a splash of extra virgin olive oil, and, of course, Escargots. Entrees include Escalopes de Veau en Papillote - medallions of veal scallopini baked in parchment with sliced madrange ham and gruyere and served with a white wine, tarragon and cream sauce and Coquilles St. Jacques aux Champignons Sauvages - pan‐seared barneget day boat scallops served with a cider cream reduction and topped with crispy sauteed wild mushrooms. Be sure to save room for dessert because desserts at Chez Nous Austin are divine and include Chocolate Mousse, Profiterolles (two pastry puffs, filled with vanilla ice cream, topped with a warm chocolate sauce ), Crème Brulée, and Crêpe Normande (homemade crepe filled with apples stewed in calvados, served with crème fraiche and caramel sauce).

Chez Nous is moderately expensive (entrees in the $20s and $30s) and is open for dinner from 6:00pm - 10:30pm (closed Mondays). For complete menus, see the Chez Nous web site.

Gumbo's - Round Rock, TX

Just north of Austin, Texas lays a hidden gem of a restaurant located in a historic building that originally served as a stagecoach depot in the 1800's. Gumbo's restaurant in Round Rock offers unique Cajun cuisine in a romantic atmosphere with exemplary service and an extensive wine list. Appetizers include Oysters Rockefeller, Crab Cakes, Escargots, and, of course, Gumbo. Creative salads like Almond Goat Cheese Salad and Creole Tomato Feta Salad compliment your romantic meal. Main course options include fish, beef, and pasta. My favorite dish is the Salmon Rockefeller (click here for photo) which is salmon "blackened with Cajun herbs & spices, topped with sautéed crabmeat and scallions and served over creamed spinach and herb butter garlic cream sauce." If you are carnivorous, the Tenderloin St. George (click here for photo) comes "blackened with Cajun herbs & spices, topped with sautéed crabmeat with scallions and béarnaise sauce, and served over red wine pepper sauce." Make sure you select Gumbo's dirty rice as your side dish - it's perfection. If you have room for dessert, choices include several types of Bread Pudding and Cheesecake, along with a superb Key Lime Pie.

Gumbo's Round Rock is open daily for lunch and dinner. Reservations are not accepted unless you are a party of six or more so plan to arrive no later than 6 p.m. or wait until 9 p.m. to avoid a wait (they close at 10 p.m.). Gumbo's has live music Friday and Saturday nights on their outdoor patio. With entrees priced in the $20s, Gumbo's is moderately expensive. Check out the Gumbo's web site to see complete menus and directions.

Restaurant Jezebel - Austin, TX

If you can splurge (I mean a few hundred dollars), then experience Restaurant Jezebel in downtown Austin. I had an incredible romantic, intimate foodie-heaven experience here - so much so that I was prompted to write this review on OpenTable.com - "Compliments to our chef du cuisine, Andrew. We splurged with the 7 Course Gourmand Tasting Menu and had the best dining experience of our lives. It was as if we had our own personal chef who created courses based on our preferences. Our server Scott was outstanding - attentive, but not bothersome. Our courses were Helix escargot (notable for not being served in escargot butter - they were not at all greasy), Venison crepinette over horseradish potatoes with a ruby port reduction, Chilean sea bass, ten-hour slow braisedColorado lamb shank, seafood salad with Maine lobster and crab, Hudson Valley foie gras, triple cream brie with local honeycomb, and rum poached Washington Bosch pear with Tahitian vanilla syrup a la mode. WOW!"

Of course, you don't have to go all out if you visit Restaurant Jezebel. Menu items are in the $30 - $50 range so it is expensive. But the minimal lighting cozy and comfortably elegant dining room, lack of line-chefs (all food is prepared by the chef in an open kitchen so you can watch), real china and real crystal make this Austin area restaurant a top pick for a truly original and romantic Valentine's Day dinner.

Dinner hours are Monday - Thursday: 6:00pm - 10:00pm, Friday & Saturday: 6:00pm - 11:00am. For more information, see the Restaurant Jezebel web site.

Perry's Steakhouse and Grill - Austin, TX

The floor to ceiling wine rack alone is worth a visit to Perry's in downtown Austin. You can eat in the romantic Bar 79 during Perry's popular social hour (Monday - Friday from 4pm to 6:30pm), enjoy their extensive wine list along with half-priced appetizers, and consider yourself satisfied and blessed with an inexpensive dining experience in a romantic setting. The appetizers are all delicious, full size and include Cherry Pepper Calamari, Escargot, Seafood Stuffed Mushrooms, Kobe Burger (ground fresh daily) with fries, and Prime Beef Quesadillas.

If you prefer, you can head into the large but still romantic dining room and start withPerry's Signature Fried Asparagus (topped with colossal lump crabmeat) or theColossal Shrimp Cocktail. Entree selections are extensive and include Chateaubriand for Two, Australian Lobster Tail, Hong Kong Style Sea Bass, Double-Cut Lamb Chops, and Prime Bone-In Cowboy Ribeye. Desserts are decadent and include three flaming desserts including Bananas Foster along with Warm Chocolate Cake, and Chocolate Dipped Strawberries.

Perry's is open for dinner until 10pm Monday-Thursday, until 11pm Friday and Saturday and closed Sunday. Food prices range from inexpensive if you take advantage of social hour to expensive in the main dining room. For complete menus and a photo gallery of the interior, see the Perry's web site.

The Melting Pot - Austin, TX

Sitting in a booth with your love and sharing a bottle of wine and fondue sounds romantic and it is. The Melting Pot is frankly a bit overpriced for food you get, but you are paying for the whole fondue experience. Your server prepares each fondue selection (cheese, meat and/or fish, dessert) personally and you are left to enjoy the romance of dipping your foods in delicious fondue sauces and perhaps even feeding each other. A salad is also included. The Melting Pot is in downtown Austin and also in Northwest Austin near Anderson Mill so you don't have to go downtown unless you want to. It's a pricey - you'll spend about $80 per person, but unique romantic dinner experience.

For a lower cost option, take advantage of their happy hour 1/2 price cheese fondue and chocolate fondues along with drink specials at the bar (Monday thru Thursday - 5pm to 7pm and after 9pm. Sunday - 3pm to 5pm and after 8pm). The Melting Pot is open Monday-Thursday until 10:00pm, Friday and Saturday until 11:00pm, and Sunday until 9:00pm. View the menu here. Reservations are recommended.

I hope you get the chance to eat a romantic Valentine's Day dinner at one of these Austin area restaurants. If you do, please leave me a comment and let me know how it was.

Sources:

http://cheznousaustin.com/menu.php

http://www.gumbosroundrock.com/dinner.htm

http://www.opentable.com/rest_profile.aspx?rid=17692

http://www.perryssteakhouse.com/locations-menus/austin

http://meltingpot.com/locations.aspx?z=78660&n=324326