Valentine's Day falls on February 14 and is not a public holiday, so restaurants keep their usual opening days and it is one of the busiest dinner nights of the year for bookings. In an OpenTable survey of 1,506 Canadians taken ahead of Valentine's Day 2026, 49 per cent said they planned to eat out, and 40 per cent of Valentine's diners said finding and booking a table was difficult.
Restaurants that publish an occasion menu usually replace the regular menu with a set prix fixe of three or more courses, served on February 14 or across two or three nights around it. Prices are per person before tax and tip, and wine pairings are an add-on. Published Valentine's menus at independent restaurants and hotel dining rooms in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa in 2026 mostly cost about $85 to $200 per person, with a few tasting menus near $300.
Read the booking terms before you commit: set menus can come with fixed seating times, deposits or cancellation charges, and some weekly promotions such as two-for-one nights, discounts and happy hours exclude Valentine's Day. Cheaper options are a dinner-for-two deal at a casual restaurant, a takeout dinner for two ordered ahead, or a meal with friends on Galentine's Day, February 13.