For restaurants, Valentine's Day is more than just an occasion to celebrate love — it’s a marketing opportunity. As one of the year's busiest evenings, it's the perfect time to welcome new guests and familiar faces.
But the secret to standing out isn't just in the food. It's about creating experiences that make your restaurant the go-to destination for romance.
The right Valentine's Day promotion can transform your venue into the perfect celebration spot, giving diners a compelling reason to choose your restaurant for their special evening.
Here’s a look at 12 Valentine’s Day promotion ideas that your diners will love.
1. Introduce limited-edition dishes
Restaurants that offer special menus are one of the top three factors influencing dining decisions on Valentine's Day.
Spruce up your menu with some exclusive, signature dishes that mark this special occasion. Apart from bringing in new customers, it will also help you delight returning guests with fresh, new dishes.
Introducing limited-edition dishes is a great way to innovate and experiment. If any of these dishes are well-received by your guests, it might be a good idea to give them a permanent spot on your menu.
2. Create a prix fixe menu
From what to wear to where to eat, we are expected to make several choices every day. Why not make it easier for your diners to decide what to order by offering an exclusive Valentine’s Day prix fixe menu?
A prix fixe menu is a set menu that offers a multi-course meal at a fixed price. You can curate a 3-5 course meal with a mix of popular and new dishes. Think of it as delivering a bespoke Valentine’s Day experience from start to finish.
Make sure you don’t overwhelm guests with too many options and keep the menu simple. You should also take into account dietary preferences and have alternate options available if needed.
Apart from simplifying decision-making for customers, a prix fixe menu for special occasions helps you prepare ahead of time, manage busy periods and control costs.
Want to showcase your Valentine's Day menu to potential diners?
Quandoo for Restaurants makes it simple with the Menu Highlights feature. You can spotlight your special Valentine's offerings on your restaurant's profile page. This helps diners preview your offerings before they book, making their decision to choose your restaurant even easier.
3. Offer a complimentary cocktail or dessert
Everyone loves a pleasant surprise. The idea is to offer the unexpected and catch your diners off guard in a memorable way. And what better time to do this than the day of love?
Use this opportunity to surprise your diners with a complimentary cocktail or dessert, in celebration of Valentine’s Day.
This ‘surprise and delight’ tactic works wonders for improving loyalty, brand perception and customer retention. Moreover, there’s also a chance that a few of your customers might take to social media to talk about the surprise, helping spread the good word about your restaurant.
4. Double date packages
Why limit Valentine's Day to tables for two? Turn Valentine's Day into a social celebration by offering special packages for double dates.
When four people dine together, they can enjoy perks like complimentary sharing platters, a bottle of wine or special group desserts.
This is perfect for couples who want a more social celebration, friends who love dining together, or those looking to make their Valentine's Day dinner more fun and relaxed. It's a great way to attract groups while differentiating your venue from the typical Valentine's Day experience.
5. Valentine’s Happy Hours
Make the most of off-peak hours by creating special Valentine's deals for early birds.
You can offer deals like buy-one-get-one-free cocktails, half-price glasses of prosecco or 30% off selected wines. Complement these drinks offers with Valentine's-themed snacks or small bites.
This smart pricing strategy helps spread out dinner service, maximise table turnover and attract diners who prefer quieter dining times or are looking for better value.
6. Valentine’s Week special
Who says romance is just for February 14th? Keep your Valentine's specials running all week long and give couples more chances to celebrate.
It's a win-win: couples can dodge the Valentine's Day crowds and celebrate when it suits them best, while you get to delight more diners throughout the week.
7. Reward early bookers
Reward couples who book ahead with exclusive perks that make their Valentine's celebration extra special.
Early bookers get priority choice of the most romantic spots in the house – from cosy corner tables and window seats with views, to intimate quiet spots away from the buzz.
It's a simple way to fill your reservations early while giving couples more reasons to choose your restaurant for their special evening. Plus, it helps you better plan your Valentine's service and manage resources ahead of time.
Use a restaurant reservation system such as Quandoo for Restaurants to accept and manage reservations with ease. This will help you control the flow of diners, predict wait times and optimise service levels.
8. Take special requests
From arranging a bouquet and opting for a specific table to preparing a dessert with a message on it, people are bound to have special requests on this day.
Create a memorable dining experience for them by taking requests. Instead of doing this manually, use a reservation system that allows you to take and track special requests. This leaves less room for error and saves you time.
9. Run a contest on social media
Running a contest on Facebook or Instagram is a good way to create brand awareness, increase engagement and attract diners.
It’s easy to execute. All you have to do is come up with a simple contest idea and an attractive prize. In this case, the prize could be offering a free Valentine’s Day meal to the winning couple(s).
Here are some contest ideas for Valentine’s Day:
- Ask couples to share their favourite memory and tag your restaurant
- Get followers to tag the person they want to spend Valentine’s Day with in the comments
- Ask followers to caption an image and the couple with the wittiest caption wins
- Ask people to complete a sentence (eg. “My love for you is like ____”)
Make sure the contest is easy to understand and quick to participate in. Regardless of the contest mechanics, coin a brand-specific hashtag and encourage followers to tag your restaurant. This will increase brand visibility and get people talking about your restaurant.
10. Host a lucky draw
Add excitement to Valentine's Day dining with an exclusive lucky draw for all dining couples. Every table gets a chance to win attractive prizes. From a complimentary future dining experience to weekend getaway packages partnered with local hotels.
You can even build anticipation by announcing some prizes in advance on your social media channels. It's a simple yet effective way to make the evening more memorable while encouraging future visits.
11. Partner with a local business
Another Valentine’s Day promotion idea for restaurants is partnering with local businesses. You can partner with a spa, theatre, cab service or local retailer and offer gift vouchers to couples who dine in your restaurant on Valentine’s Day.
But why stop at vouchers?
Create an atmosphere that turns dinner into an experience. Set the mood with live performances or add interactive moments that get everyone smiling. These special touches transform a regular Valentine's dinner into an evening couples will remember.
12. Create photo opportunities
What better way to seal Valentine’s Day than with a photo memory.
Create photo opportunities and encourage guests to capture memories in your restaurant on this special day. You can install a pretty Valentine’s-themed backdrop at the entrance or even serve picture-worthy cocktails and desserts that get people to click.
In all likelihood, customers will post these pictures on social media and tag your brand, leading to word-of-mouth marketing and increasing brand appeal.
After all, 69% of millennial diners take a photo of their food before eating it.
Try these Valentine’s Day promotion ideas for restaurants
Valentine’s Day is a crucial day for restaurants and implementing these promotion ideas will help you reach new diners, stay ahead of your competition and increase return on investment.
Make your Valentine's promotions even more effective by showcasing them on your Quandoo profile using the Special Offers feature. Highlight your deals and put your romantic offerings front and centre when diners are making their Valentine's Day plans.
Apart from this, spread the word through multiple channels – social media posts, emails, text messages, Google Business profile and other platforms where your restaurant has a presence.
The key is creating buzz well ahead of the day to drive bookings and make your restaurant the go-to destination for Valentine's celebrations.
