There’s a reason many romantic date nights include a meal. Gourmet food and perfectly-paired wine creates unforgettable moments, plus sensory memories that will linger forever. Treat your date to a dress-up occasion at one of these fine-dining spots (some have dress codes that discourage shorts, denim, athletic wear, and sandals or flip-flops). Choose from these top Fairmont Hotels & Resorts dining destinations to plan a memorable night with your own unique flavor.
Addison at Fairmont Grand Del Mar
You might come for the cuisine, but you’ll return for the views. Addison was San Diego’s first Michelin-starred restaurant and now has three of the coveted stars. It also has one of the prettiest patios in all of Southern California. From this standalone building at the Mediterranean-inspired Fairmont Grand Del Mar, take in the rolling hills from a bluff overlooking the spectacular 18th hole of a championship golf course, with the Pacific Ocean a few minutes away. Or be embraced by the cozy ambiance of the restaurant interior: a roaring fireplace, tiled floors and a dark-wood ceiling.
Chef William Bradley crafts what he calls “California Gastronomy,” celebrating regional ingredients and the laid-back elegance of the region. Tasting menus make each meal a singular dining experience. A perfect date might match the 10-course menu with wine pairings, chosen from a 12,000-bottle cellar highlighting not only stellar California vintages but gems from around the winemaking world.
Signature dishes here also provide plenty of eye candy. Salmon confit is cleverly served in a caviar tin and topped with a generous layer of Osetra. What look like dessert churros have silky chicken-liver filling. At Addison, feed your date with treats for the eyes and the palate.
The River Restaurant By Gordon Ramsay at The Savoy
The Savoy, located in the heart of London and renowned for its art deco opulence, is an urban icon. And its new celebrity-chef restaurant speaks of Britain’s connection to the water, captured in the dining room’s panoramic views of the River Thames. Seafood, treated respectfully and delicately, is the focus here, with the best fish and shellfish the UK has to offer.
Take a seat at the centerpiece raw bar to taste ocean-fresh oysters, ceviche and caviar. Sample a sophisticated à la carte menu, with flavors only a globetrotting celebrity chef like Gordon Ramsay can create. Monkfish is sauced in perfectly spiced tandoori curry. Cod is butter-baked until it melts in the mouth. Scottish lobster is grilled, still tasting of the briny waters from which it was fished. Gordon’s fish and chips, served English-style with peas and tartar sauce, is a favorite.
Fans of the TV-famous chef can also taste his other savory specialties here, from beef wellington to a burrata starter topped with Romesco sauce and smoked almonds. And chef’s dry-aged rib-eye steak with minted Cornish new potatoes might just be the way to capture the heart of your meat-and-potatoes dining companion.
The Palm Court at The Plaza
Hotel guests at The Plaza, New York’s storied, Central Park–adjacent landmark, can take their breakfast here. You might even bring a young Eloise book-obsessed guest here for the themed afternoon tea. Yet The Palm Court is best experienced for its grown-up romance and charm in the evenings, when soft lighting drifts in through the elaborate skylight ceiling. Cocktails and a light dinner are the way to drink in more than a century of glamor, notable guests (including The Great Gatsby author F. Scott Fitzgerald) and American history.
This is a place to celebrate the classics, sometimes with modern twists (including creative alcohol-free cocktails). Smoked salmon, oysters, shrimp cocktail or caviar are ideal accompaniments to a cherry blossom, a new riff on the peachy Bellini. Pair a blackberry-infused old fashioned with opulent bites like a prime ribeye taco, truffle herb fries or The Plaza’s famous lobster roll. Pair French onion soup, a Caesar-dressed baby gem lettuce salad, or a classic club sandwich or burger with a gorgeous glass of wine.
Some desserts are given original spins, like cheesecake graced with notes of Earl Grey tea, or meringue-topped citrus tart made from kalamansi and candied kumquat. The iconic three-scoop ice-cream sundae, however, remains perfectly the same with whipped cream, maraschino cherries and chocolate sauce.
Champlain Restaurant at Fairmont Le Château Frontenac
Think French food and your mind might drift to Paris, but Champlain Restaurant at Fairmont Le Château Frontenac in Québec City brings the terroir of French Canada to the table. This castle-like hotel is one of the world’s most photographed, perched on the banks of the St. Lawrence River with privileged views of the old walled city that’s a UNESCO Heritage Site.
The elegant eatery has a wine list so famous, including its specially bottled Château Frontenac Cuvées, it has earned Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence seven years in a row. You can even choose to have a dining experience amid the stunning glass-walled wine cellars, noshing on caviar, cheese or Wagyu beef.
Your French favorites are on the five-course Signature menu, from foie gras to duck and delicate mignardises for dessert. To truly experience Québec cuisine, choose the larger eight-course Discovery menu, which incorporates local ingredients like chaga, chanterelle and lobster mushrooms, plus boreal-forest flavors like cedar and samphire.
In keeping with modern tastes, a vegetarian version of the menu focuses on earthy ingredients (think: black walnut, beet and butternut squash) treated with gourmet finesse to form a satisfying eight-course alternative.
Botanist at Fairmont Pacific Rim
Pacific Rim is not just the name of this luxury waterfront hotel but also the symbolic direction toward which Botanist restaurant looks, embracing the bounty of the Pacific Northwest. Hailing from Hidalgo, Mexico, executive chef Hector Laguna creates warm, family-style hospitality with his food. The ultimate date night here features a chef’s choice menu for each person, accompanied by wine pairings specially selected by the sommelier.
Vancouver is famously situated between mountains and ocean, and Botanist’s decor, rich with floral-print fabrics, looks and feels like a lush rainforest. Request a table in the Garden, a glassed-in space trellised with greenery and more than 50 plant varieties, to experience the outdoors from inside. The dinner menu imaginatively showcases hook, hunt and harvest ingredients, from sustainably fished halibut and salmon to local organic produce and foraged mushrooms.
The venue is also home to Botanist Bar, which recently earned the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award while landing on the 2023 North America’s 50 Best Bars list at number 19. Sip an award-winning cocktail with a late-night menu of tamarind-glazed ribs or crispy artichokes or shrimp.