Dine Outdoors In Private Pods For Valentine’s Day In New York

Although indoor dining at New York City restaurants is scheduled to resume at 25% capacity on Valentine’s Day, many diners will still choose to dine outdoors; restaurants with outdoor space have encouraged that through the colder weather with heated, ambitious constructions nicknamed “streeteateries”. The latest incarnation is also one particularly in sync with the romantic, private nature of Valentine’s Day: intimate spaces for two in enclosures ranging from greenhouses to tents to yurts. And even some of the city’s most exclusive fine dining restaurants are taking part.  

Among the best:

Daniel Daniel Boulud’s signature gastronomic showcase on the Upper East Side wouldn’t look out of place beachfront in the south of France: striped fabric bungalow/cabanas closed off with drapes. For Valentine’s Day, the restaurant is offering a special three course menu from February 12^th-14^th featuring choices of appetizers such as Maine sea scallop “Rosette” ceviche or Maine lobster salad; main courses such as black truffle crusted Dover sole or a duo of Pennsylvania duck; and for dessert, choices such as French Kiss, a dark chocolate lip shaped pastry with Illanka cremeux, a chocolate custard, and red fruit coulis or Pineapple Heart, hibiscus roasted pineapple with brown sugar sablé. The same menu will also be available for lunch on the 13^th and 14^th.

Nougatine Master chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten set up glass winter cabins at several restaurants including five spacious ones on the terrace of the more casual sibling of his flagship on Columbus Circle. Within each cabin, the heating is adjustable, there’s a Sonos speaker system for diners to play their choice of background music and the décor is sleek with grey banquettes and hanging glass light fixtures. For Valentine’s Day weekend, a five course menu will be served from the 12^th-14^th at lunch and dinner including tuna tartare with caviar and brioche, shrimp and mushroom risotto with black truffles and a choice of steamed black bass with preserved lemon-olive dressing and peppercorn crusted Wagyu beef tenderloin with broccoli rabe, sesame, basil and sriracha butter.

Lafayette At his brasserie in NoHo, Chef Andrew Carmellini also went the route of glassed in cabins, a grouping of 12 “snow chalets” decorated with handwoven rugs, alpaca throws and hanging snowflakes with a dual heat source: space heaters and a mini fireplace. The main menus for brunch and dinner feature classics such as French onion soup, beef short rib Bourguignon and Fondue Savoyarde, a mix of Comte, Gruyere and Swiss Emmenthal with grated black winter truffles. Additions for Valentine’s weekend, February 12^th-14^th include sautéed Foie Gras with almond financier, tardivo and huckleberry jus; grilled Arctic char with horseradish pomme purée, baby leeks and kaluga caviar beurre blanc and Butternut Squash Ravioli with black trumpet mushrooms, hazelnuts, brown butter and black winter truffle.

American Express in conjunction with the restaurant reservation app Resy is sponsoring yurt villages nationally with three prominent restaurants in the city, two in Manhattan, one in Brooklyn. The only sticking point is that you have to be an Amex cardmember to reserve. The advantage for Platinum or Centurion cardholders, though, is the offer of extra dishes or some other amenity as offered by each restaurant.

Crown Shy Chef James Kent‘s sophisticated New American restaurant with global influences spread out its ten yurts accessorized with shearling throws and colorful paintings on its street in the Financial District.  Choices on its Valentine’s Day menu include a pull apart olive loaf with caviar; scallop crudo with citrus and radish; goat cheese caramelle (stuffed pasta in the shape of a wrapped hard candy) with black truffle; dry aged duck with couscous, apple, fennel and XO sauce and chocolate lava cake or sticky toffee pudding for dessert.

Fairfax The yurt interiors of this more casual restaurant in the West Village suggest a forest with a crown of greenery hanging from the canvas ceiling and a rustic cabin with red and black checked tablecloths, earth tone print wall hangings and snowshoes leaning on the side. The menu for Valentine’s Day features dishes such as smoked trout pate; branzino with fregola, olives, fennel and oregano pesto; short rib with butter beans, arugula and aged balsamic and cherry chocolate tart.

Lilia Chef Missy Robbins’ much lauded Italian restaurant in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood has set up a 10 yurt encampment in the triangular lot outside of the restaurant.  Inside each yurt the décor is minimalist but the four course changing menu is not, presenting a selection of appetizers and the pastas for which the restaurant is known before a substantial main course and dessert. Among the offerings on Valentine’s Day are: cacio pepe fritelle; Prosciutto di Parma with parmigiano butter and balsamic mustard; speck affettato, grilled cardoons with salsa verde and romanesco with lemon, garlic and parsley as antipasti. The pasta course includes corzetti alle erbe (Ligurian circles of pasta with a decoration stamped in the center) with pine nuts, marjoram and parmigiano Reggiano; beet filled casunziei (a filled pasta in a half moon shape) with butter, poppy seeds and smoked ricotta; and mafaldini (flat, wide ribbon shaped pasta) with pink peppercorns and Parmigiano Reggiano. A wood grilled rib eye with rosemary and garlic follows with warm double chocolate cake with whipped cream as the finish.

Don Angie Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli’s innovative modern Italian restaurant in the West Village was one of the first to construct an outdoor structure designed to be more permanent and to reflect the design of the restaurant with its stripes and dark red color. But the dining cabins within it are separate. The regular menu will be served for Valentine’s Day featuring dishes such as sourdough pasta cacciatore composed of Mezcal-braised chicken, the spicy Italian pork nduja and Sicilian olives and lasagna pinwheels with sweet sausage, pancetta and ground veal. But there are also a few additions including lobster Francese and Sardinian potato dumplings with black winter truffles.

The Greens During the summer, this rooftop restaurant at Pier 17 in the Seaport District was a collection of patches of grass with lawn chairs and an elevated picnic menu. In winter, the views of the East River and Financial District skyscrapers remain the same but the 28 spots are now glassed in cabins decorated in alpine style. Award winning New York bar/restaurant Dante is contributing cocktails such as an Alpine Negroni and Hot Buttered Rum and the food menu lists cold weather specialties such as cheese fondue with sourdough bread, sausage, apple and pear and spiced buttermilk fried chicken. A few other offerings are being added for Valentine’s Day including burrata with Meyer Lemon jam, olive oil, basil and toasted black bread and caramelized beef tenderloin with roasted carrots and miso mustard.

Novita This Northern Italian trattoria near Gramercy Park is a neighborhood favorite for its homey preparations and cozy setting. For Valentine’s Day, the restaurant is setting out a special three course menu in its greenhouses giving guests a choice of several selections in each course. Among the offerings: lobster salad with crabmeat and mango; filet mignon with Barolo wine sauce and truffled mashed potatoes; imported Mediterranean branzino with mixed seafood in tomato broth and homemade mascarpone cheesecake with raspberry sauce.