Valentine's Day dining guide

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, some Winter Park and Maitland restaurants are boasting specially crafted menus and specials to commemorate the love-filled holiday.

From French or Italian cuisine to Spanish paella, offerings from locally owned restaurants are going head-to-head with those of the bigger restaurant chains. The hope, owners say, is residents will opt stay close to home when treating their sweethearts to dinner this year.

The merchants of Winter Park’s Park Avenue are giving residents even more incentive to stay local and dine the weekend before Valentine’s Day. The second annual Valentine Concert in Central Park featuring Michael Andrew and Swingerhead will be presented a at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 12.

Here’s a snapshot of the Valentine’s Day offers:

Chez Vincent/ Hannibal's on the Square

Located at 511 W. New England Ave. in Hannibal Square are two unique restaurants: Chez Vincent and Hannibal's on the Square. Both restaurants, serviced by the same kitchen, are owned by Chef Vincent Gagliano and his wife, Teri. Both eateries offer traditional French cuisine, but offer its own ambiance and feel. Chez Vincent offers formal dining, while Hannibal’s offers a more casual, yet sophisticated experience.

“People don’t have to sit at the bar and have a full meal. They can just have some appetizers,” Gagliano said.

He also said his restaurant features live music from Wednesday to Saturday.

On Valentine’s Day, customers will have the same special menu available at either location on this day.

The courses will consist of an appetizer, salad, entrée and dessert. One entrée on the menu is a mixed grill of filet mignon with Cognac sauce and rack of lamb with a blue cheese sauce. One appetizer included is a cream of butternut squash soup with crispy bacon. The dessert will be a dark chocolate cake with an Anglais crème and a raspberry coulis. The price is $70 per person and reservations are strongly recommended. Visit chezvincent.com and hannibalslounge.com

Antonio’s

Located 611 S. Orlando Ave. in Maitland, Antonio's features two Italian restaurants. On the first floor, they feature a café and market, which offers casual dining, and on the second floor, they have a restaurant featuring formal dining. General Manager Les Callahan describes his restaurant as offering a unique culinary tour of Italy.

“It’s upscale, authentic Italian cuisine, offering a variety of dishes from various regions of Italy, unlike some Italian restaurants that might focus on one area,” Callahan said. He also added that all sauces are made from scratch.

“There’s not a microwave in the building up or down,” Callahan said.

Their Valentine’s Day event will begin at 5 p.m. and end at 10 p.m. in the upstairs restaurant. Antonio’s will offer a smaller three-course menu, and the price of an entrée will also cover the appetizer and dessert. Items featured include a wood-oven roasted cod, chicken marsala and a New York strip steak. For dessert, their selection includes Tiramisu and a walnut and golden raisin bread pudding. Prices range from $37 to more than $54, depending on which entrée is selected. Reservations are strongly recommended. Visit antoniosonline.com

Paris Bistro

Located at 216 N. Park Ave., Paris Bistro features its own offerings of traditional French cuisine. For this Valentine’s Day, they will be offering a price-fixed menu of $55.95 per person. It will offer a four-course meal, including an appetizer, salad, entrée and dessert.

For the appetizer, customers may choose between baked Brie with apple compote or lobster brandy bisque. There will be a goat cheese, date and spinach salad with orange vinaigrette offered, and the entrées including a honey-herb roasted Cornish game hen and a New Zealand Rack of Lamb with porcini sauce. Tatiana Cerruto, owner of Paris Bistro, said the rack of lamb is one of the specialties of her chef. The Valentine’s Day menu will be served from 5 to 10 p.m. at the Bistro.

“It’s casual, yet elegant, a place to enjoy from lunch to dinner,” Cerruto said.

She also said enjoying wine along with the food can make the experience even more enjoyable.

Visit parisbistroparkavenue.com

SoNapa Grille

Located at 640 S. Orlando Ave., SoNapa Grille’s new location in Maitland offers a range of dining options, such as brick oven flatbreads and main courses that are cooked on an open flame. Adam Barringer, owner of SoNapa, emphasizes his restaurant’s selection of wines as he describes his restaurant.

“It’s a northern California-style restaurant, specializing in wines from Sonoma County and Napa Valley,” Barringer said.

The wine selection includes whites and reds, which can be ordered as half a glass, a full glass or the bottle.

Barringer said they will serve off of their main menu for Valentine’s Day, but that they will feature some special selections. One of these is a six-ounce filet that will be topped with a black cherry port wine reduction. They will also serve a heart-shaped ravioli dish, stuffed with buffalo mozzarella cheese and topped with an Alfredo cream sauce.

Dinner specials will begin at 4 p.m. and end at 11 p.m. Although reservations are not required, Barringer recommends them. Visit sonapa.com

mi Tomatina

Located at 433 W. New England Ave. in Hannibal Square, mi Tomatina Paella Bar offers a wide selection of paellas and tapas, as well as a selection of soups and salads. Paella is a type of rice dish from Spain that is cooked with a variety of ingredients. One example is the Paella Negra, which is cooked with chicken, shrimp, calamari, mussels and roasted pimentos. Tapas are appetizers that are unique to Spain.

Stuart Kirban, co-owner of mi Tomatina, said all paellas are made from scratch with fresh ingredients and are cooked to order. He said they will use their normal menu this year, but will offer a free champagne toast. He chose to do this in order to stay true to what his restaurant is known for.

“We’re known for our paella; we’re known for the tapas,” Kirban said. “And when we do a pre-set menu, people are kind of disappointed. They come here for those items because they can’t get it anywhere else.”

Prices for tapas range from $6 to $16, and the paella prices range from $38 to $54 and are meant to serve two people. Reservations are not required but strongly recommended. Visit mitomatina.com