16 Ways to Celebrate Valentine's Day in LA

This North Hollywood patio restaurant has a cozy fireplace, a full bar, and a private dining room, easy to book for a low-key date. It's popular for Valentine's dinners even without one fixed-price menu, since the a la carte format lets you order as much or as little as you want. Reservations move fast in the two weeks before Feb 14, so call ahead.

Cara Cara sits on the rooftop of the Downtown LA Proper Hotel with skyline views and a menu built around wood-fired proteins. It's one of the more scenic dinner spots downtown for a date, worth booking specifically for an after-dark reservation. Call ahead to ask about any Valentine's-specific offer for 2027, since the hotel runs seasonal packages that change year to year.

Tucked into Topanga Canyon along a creek, this is one of the most romantic dining rooms in LA, candlelit tables, string lights, and an outdoor patio that feels miles from the city. The restaurant's own site confirms a Valentine's Day prix-fixe menu ran in 2026, a strong sign it will return for 2027, though the exact menu and price hadn't been posted as of this update.

The Fairmont's in-house restaurant, Lumière, serves a French-leaning brasserie menu in a Century City hotel that's easy to turn into a full night out, dinner, then a stay upstairs. In past years the hotel has bundled Valentine's dinner, brunch, and spa options into a package; as of this update no 2027 offer is posted yet, so check the hotel's offers page or call closer to February.

A ride through the canals of Naples Island in an authentic Venetian gondola, complete with a captain doing the paddling, is one of the more novel date ideas in the LA area. It's a popular Valentine's week booking every year, though the operator doesn't publish an official seasonal package name, so plan on booking the standard cruise rather than a specific promo.

Pedal a swan boat around Echo Park Lake with the downtown skyline and the fountain as your backdrop, a classic, inexpensive LA date that works any time of year. It's not a Valentine's-specific event, just a reliably pretty and cheap way to spend an hour together.

A guided horseback ride into the Hollywood Hills, with a chance to catch the sunset over the city, makes for a memorable and slightly adventurous date. Pricing varies by ride length and isn't consistently published on the ranch's own site, so call ahead to confirm the current rate and availability before you plan around it.

A classic double-feature drive-in, cars pull in for two movies on one ticket, which makes for an easy, low-pressure date night. General admission starts from around $13 on weeknights and a bit more on weekends, though it's worth confirming the current price when you go, since drive-in pricing shifts.

Cinespia has a history of screening The Notebook as a Valentine's Day tradition inside the ornate, rarely-open-to-the-public Los Angeles Theatre downtown, complete with a dressed-up crowd and a party after the film. It hasn't been confirmed as running every single year, so check Cinespia's event calendar as February approaches rather than assuming a fixed date.

The Montalbán runs an open-air rooftop movie pop-up for Valentine's Day, with a full bar, a concession stand, and Wagyu burgers alongside the screening, currently advertised on the venue's own site as a recurring feature. It's a step up from a standard movie night if you want something with more production value.

Lucha VaVoom mixes Mexican masked wrestling, burlesque, and comedy into one raucous night, and they run a Valentine's-timed edition of the show at the historic Mayan Theatre most years. It's a great pick for couples or a group of friends who want something louder and funnier than a dinner reservation.

Free to enter, with surrounding trails open to hikers around the clock, Griffith Observatory is one of the best budget date ideas in LA, especially if you time a picnic in Griffith Park to catch the sunset over the city before heading up for the view at night.

Walking the pier at sunset, past the Ferris wheel and the arcade with the ocean turning gold, is a free, no-planning-required date that works for couples or a group of friends. Grab food from one of the pier's restaurants or bring your own, then find a spot to watch the sun go down.

The Huntington's Rose Garden is one of the prettiest places in LA to spend an afternoon, sixteen themed gardens in total, with the Rose Garden and the Conservatory among the most popular for a romantic wander. Admission starts from $29 for adults on the lower-priced weekday tier.

For anyone who'd rather stay in, Eastside Cheesecakes delivers handcrafted cheesecakes across the LA area, with curbside pickup and nationwide shipping options too. Check their current shop closer to February for Valentine's-specific flavors, seasonal specials rotate and pricing isn't fixed.

LA Fun Events runs speed dating nights across the city year-round, Sherman Oaks, the South Bay, North Hollywood, Long Beach, and more, usually sorted by age bracket. They're a reliable option if you want an actual singles event around Valentine's week rather than a one-off listing that might not repeat.