Valentine’s Day Rendezvous

Valentine’s Day, the holiday that celebrates love with cards, flowers and chocolates, is best topped off with a romantic dinner.

And the fundamentals that contribute to making that dinner just right? An intimate, cozy setting. Food expertly prepared and well presented. Service that is unobtrusive. Yet as Chef Leanne Kelleher, owner of The Tides in Vero Beach, is quick to point out, the main ingredient of the perfect Valentine’s Day dinner is the person with whom you share the evening. “If you are enjoying Valentine’s Day in the true spirit of the occasion, you will focus on that special person. The food, setting and service will be complementary to the evening.”

The Tides is cozy by nature, ensconced in a 1960s-era house that was converted to a restaurant over two decades ago. Although it seats 100 inside – and another 50 or more outside – the main dining room is small and the rest of the dining space is tucked away in separate rooms or on the patio. Most of the diners on Valentine’s Day come in twos, Leanne says, so that a table for four is set to decrease the proximity of the pair and transform it into an intimate table for two.

The food on Valentine’s Day at The Tides fits the occasion, but don’t expect a prix-fixe three- or four-course dinner. “We don’t have specially priced dinners for Valentine’s Day or any other special occasion,” she says. “We would rather have people come in and spend what they want to spend and have a nice night. That’s our goal.” Leanne and her chefs offer items that lend themselves to a preparation for two, such as a whole yellowtail snapper, lobster Thermidor or chateaubriand. And when it comes to appetizers, salads and desserts – chocolate, of course – they encourage sharing.

Read the entire article in the February 2012 issue