Five Romantic Restaurants

The Lodberrie Restaurant in the Queens Hotel is putting on a mouth watering spread for the Valentines weekend including:

Starters: Soup of the day with homemade bread; pear, goats cheese salad with apple dressing; salt chilli squid accompanied by a sweet chilli dip; mussels in a white wine and leek sauce; spicy chicken strips with stir fried vegetables; chilli and hoi sin sauce in a pompadom basket

Main: 16 oz rump steak with onion rings, confit tomatoes and garlic butter and pepper sauce; salmon on a bed of cauliflower puree accompanied by samphire new potatoes; supreme of chicken stuffed with smoked cheese and bacon on a bed of champ forest mushrooms on a bed of tarragon sauce; lamb rump steak served with garlic mash, roast Mediterranean veg and a thyme jus; sticky pork belly with white apple puree, roast garlic mash and jus; Mediterranean goats cheese tartlet served with a rocket salad

Dessert: Napoleon cheesecake with white chocolate shards and strawberries; dark chocolate fondant with ganache and vanilla ice cream; lemon tart with rasp and orange compote; passion fruit panna cotta with citrus compote and almond tulle; trio of ice creams with chocolate shards and fruits; homemade petit fours.

The price is £40 per head for a three course meal and you can make a reservation by calling 01595 692826.

The Scalloway Hotel, Shetland's only rosette-awarded restaurant, has a special Valentine's Day menu too, which you can view online - you will be served a glass of Prosecco upon arrival and there is a wide range of dishes to choose from including Shetland lobster velouté with a lobster mousse tortellini for a starter, char-grilled venison loin, glazed salsify, truffle Parisian potato with dark chocolate jus for a main and burnt lemon semifreddo, thyme sable, blood orange curd, meringue shards for dessert.

It's £95 per couple for a three course meal and you can ring 01595 880 444 to make a reservation. The restaurant is fully booked on the Saturday night but there are still tables available on the Friday and Sunday.

The Kveldros Hotel in Lerwick features a cosy, atmospheric environment. So much so my husband and I chose to have our wedding reception here two years ago (you can read all about it here in my first Taste of Shetland blog post). They too have a special Valentine's Day menu including:

Starters: Chef’s own bloody Mary tomato soup ; local scallops wrapped in strips of Dim Sum pastry deep fried till crispy & served with a soy honey coleslaw & sesame dressing; whole pear poached in port syrup served with blue cheese truffles and toasted walnuts; haggis spring roll served with neeps & tatties and whisky sauce

Main Course: Prime fillet steak medallions layered with sliced mozzarella and beef tomatoes served with basil dressed salad and hand cut chips; fresh Shetland salmon fillet set on Anna potato with sauce vierge; supreme of chicken set on dauphinoise potato with a wild mushroom and truffle sauce; pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon drizzled in maple syrup oven baked and served with sweet potato and caramelised apple

Dessert: fruit skewers served with chocolate Irish cream sauce; chef’s own mojo cheesecake served with lightly whipped cream; warm sticky toffee banana cake with butterscotch sauce and light passion fruit bavarois served with fresh berries and fruit coulis.

They still have tables left, but places on the Sunday night are limited. Ring 01595 692195 to make a reservation. Prices are £34 per head for a three course dinner.

Busta House in Brae is Shetland's oldest continually inhabited house and it dates back to the 1500s, and as such, it is (in my personal opinion) one of the most romantic venues in Shetland.

Their Valentine's Day menu boasts dishes such as a homemade spiced red bell pepper soup topped with croutons for an appetiser, sliced breast of Barbary duck wrapped in Parma ham accompanied by a summer fruit compote as a starter, pan-seared local king scallops & king prawns in a fresh pesto cream for a main and a Valentine's Day cheesecake with vanilla and strawberry coulis for dessert.

Prices are £40 per person for a four course meal and you can ring 01806 522 506 to make a reservation. There are still tables on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

The Bay Brassiere in the Lerwick Hotel boasts a very modern and stylish restaurant setting with a special Valentine's Day menu including a few new cocktails in their range. They're also offering special accomodation rates if anyone is wanting to stay for the night, and this can be upgraded to include a champagne breakfast in bed if you wish.

There are still a few tables left on both Saturday the 13th and Sunday the 14th, but they're going fast!

Ring 01595 962166 for more information or to book a table.