From the best new restaurants and gift suggestions to Galentine’s and Meerkats(!) we have picked some of the best ways to spend Valentines 2020 whatever your relationship status.
Once again St Valentine’s delightful day is upon us! For some this will be met with excitement, for some dread, and others indifference; whatever your thoughts and opinions of the day or your relationship status, we have put together some ideas to get you through it!
Couples
Special night, with some pretty special food
For those lucky in love, there are some gorgeous new restaurants that are popping up. Isabel’s heads straight to the top, beautiful décor throughout (including the ladies’), No. Fifty Cheyne in Chelsea, Gold in Portobello, Daphne’s in South Ken and Sketch – a long standing favourite – has also had a gorgeous renovation that we didn’t even know it needed. For something a bit different, Maggie Jones is a rustically romantic little spot where you can eat by candlelight and almost forget that you are in the middle of one of the busiest cities in the world. Clos Maggiore also needs a mention, but no chance of getting a reservation this close to the big day – maybe next year.
Isabel, Mayfair
If you don’t fancy the more traditional dinner out, what about a couples massage offered [spa] or if you are tired of being out all the time, how about cooking a meal and home together, and treating you both to some lush new nightwear; Pour Les Femmes have some great, sustainably sourced products that feel amazing, or for something a little sexier, you can always rely on Rigby and Peller.
Bars
Pre-dinner drinks would have to be either The Beaufort Bar at The Savoy for some black and gold delightfulness or The Claridge’s Bar for some dark and moody sultry-ness although, there’s a good chance that these spots will be quite popular so some good alternatives would be The Coral Room at the Bloomsbury hotel or The K Bar at the Kensington Town House. You also can’t fault any of Mr Lyans bars for the best cocktails in town (check out Lyanness). He has specialised not only in FANTASTIC tasting cocktails, but also uses no perishables, no fruit and even no ice! Who said sustainability can’t translate to cocktails?!
Lyaness, Southwark
Gifts
The head of the fashion pack, Anna Wintour, recently offered, in an interview for Vogue, her suggestions for gifts on Valentine’s day. She suggested for newer relationships, something fun, “not too serious with a sense of humour, or maybe even think about cooking them dinner” and recommends Bon Appetit for some recipe ideas (she likes the squash carbonara if you want to go for her choice). Those in a more longer-term relationships, she suggests something that’s sentimental to the two of you, such as bracelets from Scosha.com, rings from Tiffany’s or jewellery isn’t his thing, or tickets to a sporting event. She was recently inspired by a couple she saw wearing matching sweaters from Loverboy (and apparently Prada have some good ones too) for those with a more fashionista tendency. For more gift ideas for the man in your life Lux Life Digital have a well thought out list of ideas that is hard to beat.
If none of those are quite special enough, as tradition goes, this is a year that we can flip the tables and propose to our guys. Now that’s a day he won’t forget! So here are some ideas to get those creative juices flowing.
Loverboy sweater by Charles Jeffrey available at www.matchesfashion.com.
Galentines!
Makeovers and Treats for you
Date night or Galentine’s, every one loves a makeover, so how about a trip to Selfridges impressive make up hall to get dolled up after picking up a new outfit? Selfridges wrote a great overview of their hot picks right now here. We are loving the current collections from Maje and Reformation; simple and elegant they will give you that effortless style that will be sure to turn some heads. They are bang on trend for 2020, we love this article by Glamor magazine that provides a really good overview of what to be looking out for as you peruse what’s on offer…we couldn’t say it better so why not check it out their article here.
Unny Metallic V Neck Mini dress, Maje Josephine puffed sleeve silk-satin mini dress, Reformation
And if you’re not in the market for some new clothes or make-up then Selfridges have the best range of non-clothing treats (as if we need to tell you).
Treat your instragram.
Make sure your phone is charged up and head over to the wonderfactory for the most instragrammable pics at every corner!
www.wonderfactory.co.uk
Night on the tiles
We love the newly opened Blooms in South Ken for a night on the town, its hugely instragammable, the cocktails are good and the DJ’s even better! It’s a great venue where you can quite easily enjoy yourself from the afternoon to through ‘til the early hours.
Spa
If you fancy something a little less effort, how about a spa trip? There’s nothing like a day at the spa to reboot and recharge the batteries or how about getting your best pals together. Some of the Spa’s even include an afternoon tea.
Our top 5 lux Spa recommendations in London are:
- Rosewood Hotel
- The Lanesborough
- Corinthia Hotel
- The Dorchester
- The Taj
Meerkats
If you’re just not in the mood for valentine’s day at all, there’s a zoo in El Paso, from where, somewhat controversially, you can buy a cockroach, name it after your ex and have it fed to a meerkat, although there are probably healthier ways to get over your ex!
Whatever you do, enjoy V-day!Use it as an opportunity to spend some time with whomever you love, whatever the relationship! It’s all go
