Since its transformation from vegetarian cafe to leafy neighbourhood restaurant, the Otago has found a niche as the dining choice for grinning, love-struck couples looking to escape the west end’s bustling mainstream bars and restaurants. Small, dark and cosy, the menu is compact but varied with staples such as fillet steak and gourmet meatballs and spaghetti alongside a changing selection of pastas and seafood dishes, and an invariably adventurous specials board mixing Italian, French and Scottish influences. While it’s often deathly quiet during the week, the atmosphere really takes off at weekends.
3 Golden Square, 3 Golden Square, Aberdeen, 01224 639 944
Following the bizarre news that Aberdeen topped a poll of favourite romantic destinations (ahead of Liverpool and Portsmouth no less), the city’s restaurants are likely to be booked solid for Valentine’s Day. Formerly known as the Melting Pot, an intimate little restaurant dedicated to the much undervalued 1980s fad of fonduing, the premises has been expanded to include the made-for-lovers Oyster bar and the candlelight-bathed Dining Room. All three options lend themselves to romance, be it a quiet first date or a less-than-subtle attempt to spice things up between the sheets.
Advertisement
The Three Chimneys, Colbost Dunvegan, Isle of Skye, 01470 511 258
Securing a table at the Three Chimneys almost guarantees a captivated date. Repeatedly voted among the top romantic restaurants in Britain, its location in the remote wilds of Skye combined with the first-rate food and cosy decor makes it a gloriously seductive package. Nestled on the edge of a sea loch, the menu changes regularly. Skye seafood is the house speciality, but all the dishes are created using locally sourced produce, whether it’s venison or eggs mimosa. Next door the House Over-By offers six much-coveted five-star rooms.